Russia may agree to use $300bn of frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine

Russia may agree to use $300 billion in frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal, but under certain conditions.

Reuters reports this with reference to three sources.

It is noted that Moscow will insist that part of these funds be used to restore the temporarily occupied territories currently under the control of Russian troops.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the United States and its allies have banned transactions with the Russian central bank and the Ministry of Finance, blocking between $300 and $350 billion of Russian assets. Most of them are European, American and British government bonds held in the European Securities Depository.

Negotiations between Russia and the United States are at an early stage, but Moscow is discussing the possibility of using a significant portion of the frozen reserves to rebuild Ukraine.

The World Bank estimates that the total cost of rebuilding Ukraine is $486 billion.

It is noted that the Kremlin refused to comment on the situation.

Reuters emphasises that this is the first report of Russia's possible consent to the use of frozen funds, which may indicate Moscow's readiness for certain compromises.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not need to be present at the talks with Russia.

Peace talks

Donald Trump has stated that the United States is conducting constructive negotiations on a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In particular, he expressed hope that agreements would be reached as soon as possible.

He also claimed that Washington had already made some progress in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, Donald Trump indicated that his administration had already held discussions with Moscow, but did not specify who participated in such a dialogue. Also, during his phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump never said that Europe needs a seat at the table in negotiations on Ukraine.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the war without Kyiv's participation pose a threat to everyone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that he was ready to sit down with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the sake of peace, despite his hostile attitude. He also added that he did not see a ready-made peace plan from Trump, but conveyed his readiness to negotiate.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to «allocate people» to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war. At the same time, he called any such talks «illegitimate».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine does not recognise the loss of its territories, but is ready for diplomatic solutions to return them if it becomes a NATO member.