The immobilization and use of the assets of the Central Bank of Russia as a specific type of Western sanctions against Russian Federation

Grzegorz Kozłowski

Uniwersytet Warszawski, Studium Europy Wschodniej
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2025-007X


Abstract

This article aims to examine immobilization and utilization of the assets of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) in support of Ukraine. The freezing of these assets constitutes a distinctive form of the European Union’s sanctions regime against the Russian Federation.  While legal scholarship generally concurs that the decision to immobilized the assets was justified and that Russia should remain deprived of access until the cessation of hostilities and compensation for damages inflicted on Ukraine, the question of whether these funds can be seized or alternatively deployed through loan mechanisms remain open. While legal and financial frameworks appear to permit either approach, the decisive factor will be political. The willingness of the European Union and G7 states to mobilize these resources in support of Ukraine is likely to be heavily influenced by the progress and outcome of peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.


Keywords:

Ukraine, Russia, sanctions, European Union, G7, freezing of the Russian Central Bank’s assets, confiscation / seizure, reperations


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Published
2025-12-03

Cited by

Kozłowski, G. (2025). The immobilization and use of the assets of the Central Bank of Russia as a specific type of Western sanctions against Russian Federation. Forum Nauk Społecznych, (3). https://doi.org/10.31648/fns.11864

Grzegorz Kozłowski 
Uniwersytet Warszawski, Studium Europy Wschodniej
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2025-007X



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