Russian lawmakers said Moscow will demand compensation from European countries for damages caused by the war in Ukraine, The Moscow Times reported on Monday, July 27.
Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, told Russian outlet Lenta.ru that European countries must pay for their “contribution to the conflict.”
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“We will demand compensation from Europe, and this issue will be raised constantly. I am absolutely certain that we have enough strength to make Europe do this,” Chepa said.
He added that Russia also intends to recover $300 billion in assets frozen by Western countries after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Senator says West must pay for destruction
Alexander Voloshin, a member of Russia’s Federation Council representing the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, agreed that Moscow should demand compensation from the West.
He argued that Ukraine cannot compensate for damage to Donbas, occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, or Russian border areas – estimated at 1 trillion rubles (about $13 billion) by Russia’s Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin.
“This burden must be borne by countries that supported the escalation of the conflict, financed Kyiv’s war machine, and consistently rejected any attempts at peaceful settlement,” Voloshin said.
“If Western governments found hundreds of billions for arms supplies, they must understand that sooner or later they will also have to pay for destroyed cities, schools, and hospitals. This is a matter of political responsibility for unleashing an aggressive war and killing our citizens.”
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Kremlin blames NATO for war’s scale
The Kremlin has blamed the West for what it calls the escalation of its “special military operation” into a war now in its fifth year.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that without NATO assistance, the conflict would not have reached its current scale, claiming that “behind Kyiv stands Berlin, Paris, The Hague, Oslo, and unfortunately, Washington.”
Western aid to Ukraine exceeds €384 billion
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States provided Ukraine with €114.6 billion in aid from the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022 through January 2026, while European countries contributed €270 billion. Western allies also provide Ukraine with intelligence support.
By June 2026, Russian losses on the front reached 1.4 million people, including 450,000 killed, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Putin denies Russia started the war
Russia’s full-scale invasion has turned many towns in southern and eastern Ukraine to rubble, with Donbas lacking basic amenities including drinking water.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia “did not start any war” and was only responding to hostilities “unleashed by the Kyiv regime with Western support.” He claimed there was “no aggression” from Russia.
Russian forces launched a widespread drone and ballistic missile attack against Ukraine early Sunday morning, striking multiple urban centers and civilian maritime infrastructure. In Kyiv, debris and strikes caused fires across the Desnianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Solomianskyi districts. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko noted that debris hit an 18-story residential building, igniting a fire on the 7th and 8th floors. No casualties were reported in the capital. Concurrently, Russian forces attacked the central city of Kryvyi Rih, striking a shopping center and causing a large fire. In the Black Sea, on July 25, Russian drones twice struck a civilian cargo ship sailing under the flag of Palau as it departed a port in the Odesa region carrying 2,800 tons of corn.
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