Europe views the frozen Russian assets as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations, so it is delaying their confiscation.

US President Donald Trump is seeking to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, and Europe holds hundreds of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets, which could serve as leverage. Brussels is currently working to redirect interest from these assets to provide support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s allies are calling for the confiscation of the Russian funds.

Around €190B is held by Euroclear, a Belgian clearinghouse, up to €20B in its French competitor Clearstream, and £25B is frozen in Britain. This amount far exceeds the €70B in private assets owned by approximately 2,000 Russian citizens that are frozen under sanctions.

Theoretically, any country holding Russian assets could decide to seize them and transfer the funds to a reserve that would support Ukraine. These funds could then be invested more aggressively to generate higher returns and bolster Kyiv. However, some Western nations believe it would be wiser to utilize the assets as leverage in future ceasefire negotiations or to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction.