According to the report, the sum consists of the assets of Russian individuals and entities on the EU sanctions list, as well as the Central Bank of Russia.
Western countries have frozen Russia's foreign currency reserves and halted international payments from Russian banks as part of sanctions against Moscow after it launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
In November 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the creation of a special structure to manage the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank and private assets to support Ukraine. However, a source in the Council of the European Union told Sputnik in late January that the possible use of Russia's frozen assets in the EU was accompanied by complex legal issues.
Moscow states that the European Union's attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets are an expropriation of property in violation of international law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would do everything possible to return the seized assets, given the illegality of their seizure.