Make Moscow Pay: The Case for Seizing Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine’s Defense

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1. [SS from essay by Wally Adeyemo, Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. From 2021 to 2025, he served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; and David Shimer, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. From 2021 to 2025, he served in the National Security Council, including as Director for Eastern Europe and Ukraine and as Director for Russian Affairs.]

   As Russia continues its war against Ukraine and the Trump administration reduces U.S. aid to Kyiv, European countries have stepped up their support of the Ukrainian people. But more can be done. At this critical moment, the European Union should seize the immobilized Russian sovereign assets that sit in Europe and use those resources to provide Ukraine with a sustainable source of assistance.

   In February 2022, just days after [Russia](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/russia) launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States worked with the G-7 to freeze approximately $300 billion in Russian assets, the vast majority of which were held in Europe. Before the decision was made, some European countries raised economic and legal concerns, but they ultimately agreed. Over the course of the Biden administration—which both of us were a part of—the United States encouraged Europe to go one step further and seize Russia’s funds so that they could be put to use, as opposed to sitting frozen in accounts. But European leaders were unwilling to take this additional action: concerns similar to the ones raised several years earlier persisted.

2. A very slippery slope indeed- the rationale behind such a move may be quite justified; however, it would open a Pandora’s box as it would show non-Western countries that their assets can be seized. The reasoning may be sound this time, but it is asking for an unreasonable amount of faith that the US and the west will *always and forever* act in such a manner, and won’t move to stifle their adversaries to fulfill geopolitical objectives. Such a move would irrevocably erode trust in the global financial system- one of the key foundations of which is that their holdings are beyond the reach of the whims of any one bloc or country. Many are already quite alarmed after the freezing of Russian assets; selling them off would certainly throw the system into turmoil.

3. Confidence in USD is already in a bad place with Trump, US debt & rising protectionism. The last thing the world needs right now is countries scared of their assets being seized by great powers. This is a feel good policy that’ll end up doing more harm than good.

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