Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could use its frozen assets held in the United States to finance postwar reconstruction in Ukraine once a peace treaty with Ukraine is concluded.
Upon receiving an invitation to join a US-led “Peace Council” overseeing Gaza’s reconstruction, Putin raised the possibility of using frozen Moscow funds to pay the $1 billion membership fee.
“I think we could send $1 billion from Russian assets frozen under the previous US administration to the Peace Council,” Putin said.
“By the way, the remaining funds from our assets frozen in the United States could be used to restore the territory affected by the hostilities after the conclusion of a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine,” he added.
However, the frozen Russian assets held in the US are minimal, at around $5 billion, compared to the bulk of $339 billion held worldwide.
According to Putin, the proposal is being discussed with representatives of the Trump administration.
Notably, the territories “affected by the hostilities” include not only Ukrainian regions – including those currently occupied by Russian forces – but also Russia’s Kursk region, where fighting has taken place.
The comments come as the European Union continues discussions on a reparations-based loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets. Putin has previously condemned those plans as “theft of someone else’s property” and threatened that Moscow would respond.
Following those remarks, Russia’s central bank filed a lawsuit in a Russian court against Belgium-based depository Euroclear. No similar lawsuits have been filed in other jurisdictions so far, according to BBC Russia.
The total value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets worldwide stands at about €290 billion ($339 billion), most of which is held in a small number of EU and G7 jurisdictions, according to Ukraine’s central bank.
The National Bank of Ukraine, citing data from the European Parliamentary Research Service, said Belgium holds the largest share – roughly €180 billion ($210.6 billion) – primarily through the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear, which acts as custodian for much of Russia’s central bank reserves.
Japan and the United Kingdom hold the next-largest portions of frozen Russian assets, followed by France and Canada. Smaller amounts are held in Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United States, and Germany.
In Brussels, a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan is widely viewed as a temporary solution while work continues on a separate reparations-based mechanism linked directly to the frozen assets.
That proposal has stalled due to political resistance and legal concerns raised by some member states, including Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has expressed concern that turning frozen assets into long-term financing could expose intermediaries such as Euroclear to lawsuits and pose risks to market stability.
IMF officials have also urged caution, citing potential consequences for the international monetary system and the need for a clear legal framework.
By contrast, the Kyiv School of Economics has argued that Russia has no viable legal avenues to challenge such a scheme, while Ukraine’s central bank maintains that full confiscation would not undermine the euro’s global role.
EU Council President António Costa said in December 2025 that EU leaders had instructed the European Commission to continue work on the reparations loan in parallel with the interim financing plan.