Russia’s ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, suddenly commented on the possible confiscation of some Kremlin assets held in European countries. In the very first sentence, he called the situation “a blatant act of robbery” intended to “sponsor the war in Ukraine”.
“One such idea is currently being developed by the European Commission. It involves appropriating the assets of the Bank of Russia held in the Belgian depository Euroclear — worth €185 billion. The plan is to issue certain bonds backed by these funds, and transfer the money to Kyiv for its military adventures… Russia will regard any operations involving its “frozen” reserves as plain theft and an attempt to line one’s own pockets. We will respond to such actions according to the principle of reciprocity. There should be no doubt that we have an arsenal of response measures against unfriendly countries”.
Judging by how easily the Kremlin official moved from propaganda clichés to open threats, it’s fair to say Moscow truly is worried about the financial sanctions imposed for waging war against Ukraine. Yet what’s interesting here is that all such threats remain deliberately vague — the Putin regime has not declared any specific retaliatory measures against these “unfriendly states”. Perhaps because, in reality, it has no means of influencing the situation.
Viktorov’s statement is also notable for containing two directly contradictory claims:
“The Ukrainian regime is already unable to pay off its debts. And it will not receive any “reparations” from Russia. Under these conditions, the European Union itself will have to bear legal and financial responsibility for all the consequences. … And as always, it will be ordinary European taxpayers who will have to pay for Brussels’ schemes”.
It’s amusing that the Kremlin official first talks about the seizure of Russian assets abroad — and then suddenly brings up European taxpayers. How exactly are the two connected? Only Viktorov seems to know. It gives the impression that Russian propagandists have been instructed by their superiors to insert the line “ordinary European taxpayers will pay for everything” into as many statements as possible — and are now being monitored for how zealously they comply.
Importantly, this statement by Putin’s diplomat is only part of a broader pattern. Recently, Russian propagandists and officials have been increasingly vocal about the possible confiscation of Russian assets held in the “collective West”. And these comments are always followed by threats toward those countries — or by claims that their financial attractiveness is about to collapse. Through this narrative, the Kremlin is trying to put pressure on European politicians and civil society in an effort to avoid the irreversible loss of its funds.
