ULN as a consequent participants of the Coordination Platform for RD4U attended the last meeting on March 20, where Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Iryna Mudra, once again raised concerns regarding the imminent expiration of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia, set for July 2025.
We join her serious concerns and emphasize the critical need for immediate action to prevent the lifting of these sanctions, particularly those that have frozen approximately €200 billion in Russian central bank reserves.
The expiration of these sanctions would result in the unfreezing of Russian assets, thereby money will return to the aggressor aggressor, bolstering its militarized economy and undermining efforts to hold Russia accountable.
“Ukraine, together with its partners, is making every effort to secure a decision on the transfer of frozen Russian assets into future compensation funds. However, time is running out. The sanctions that freeze these assets are set to expire in July this year. If a decision is not made in the coming months, we risk losing a unique historic opportunity to ensure that it is Russia that pays for the destruction it has caused,” Iryna Mudra said in her address to the representatives of RD4U, civil society and other stakeholders.
Experts Anton Moiseienko from the Australian National University and Yuliya Ziskina, legal advisor at the Razom Foundation, in their analysis titled “The Impending Collapse of Russia Sanctions: The Cost of Inaction,” warn that the EU’s failure to renew sanctions could lead to the release of frozen Russian assets, which would significantly bolster Russia’s capacity to continue its military activities in Ukraine.
The experts argue that transferring these assets to Ukraine as reparations would not only enforce international law but also alleviate the financial burden of Ukraine’s reconstruction.. They caution that inaction may result in the irreversible loss of these funds and weaken the EU’s credibility in enforcing sanctions.
In summary, the discussion above underscores the critical urgency of maintaining a robust sanctions regime against Russia. The analysis speaks that potential expiration of EU sanctions against Russia in July 2025 poses a significant threat to Ukraine’s and the whole democratic world’s pursuit of justice and reconstruction efforts.
Russia is responsible for initiating this war, and its assets should be used to compensate victims, cover national losses, and rebuild the country.
