Russia threatens retaliation if its assets are confiscated

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Western countries against seizing Russian assets in a statement on Sunday.

In a Telegram post, Zakharova said she was in favor of keeping Russia’s frozen assets intact so that Germany could use them as leverage to urge Russia to cede some of the territory it invaded in Ukraine. He cited a Wall Street Journal report saying that

Zakharova said Russia had no intention of ceding territory and threatened “severe” responses if Western countries seized Russian assets.

“I don’t know who is saying what, but the assets in the territory will not change,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram, according to the English version provided by Google Translate.

“And Russian assets must remain inviolable, otherwise there will be severe responses to Western theft. And many in the West already understand this. It is a pity that it is not,” the translation continued.

Under a new U.S. foreign aid package signed last week, U.S. authorities gained new powers to seize Russian state-owned assets in the United States and use them for Kiev’s benefit.At the start of the war, the United States and its allies froze approximately $300 billion in Russian assets held overseas, of which approximately $5 billion was in the United States.

This could mean an additional $5 billion in aid for Ukraine, but the United States is unlikely to seize assets without the agreement of other G7 countries or the European Union.