Russia Ready to Retaliate Against Seizure of Assets

Facts

• After the US House passed legislation aimed at seizing almost $300B in Russian assets, the Speaker of Russia's upper house of Parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, said her government is ready to take 'retaliatory measures' should Washington try to do so.¹
• Speaker of the lower chamber, Vyacheslav Volodin, added that of the $280B in assets throughout the West, only $5-6B are in the US compared to roughly $224B in the EU. Russian officials also said that other foreign investors' assets could end up caught up in the dragnet.¹
• This comes as Switzerland announced it unfroze 140M Swiss francs ($153M) in Russian assets last year because the 'legal requirements for their freezing were not met.' The Swiss government also cited the removal of individuals from the 'EU sanctions lists.'²
• Switzerland further noted that the remaining frozen assets held in the country — including 17 properties as well as furniture, instruments, and art — fell in value by 1.7B francs to 5.8B francs ($6.4B) from Feb. 2022-Dec. 2023.³
• The US legislation, which still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by Pres. Joe Biden also proposes $61B for Ukraine — including for long-range weapons systems. Even if passed, analysts say it would take weeks to fully replenish Ukraine's stockpile.⁴
• On the battlefield, Russia has been shifting its focus to Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, since late March, including a missile strike on a 250m (820 foot) TV tower on Monday. The US-based Institute for the Study of War says Moscow may also launch a ground offensive on the city.⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters.com, ²TASS.com, ³barrons.com, ⁴CNBC and ⁵Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT International. The US has already bankrupted Europe's defense industry by dragging it into this war, but confiscating sanctions will destroy the economy more broadly. Not only is this idea pure thievery, but it would also damage European business competitiveness. Some countries have already raised this alarm, but it's incumbent upon the whole bloc to reject this flawed proposal.
• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by ECFR. Governments across the globe are trying to fund not only Ukraine's defense but also compensation for the victims of Russia's invasion. Lawyers have pointed out that due to these internationally recognized compensatory provisions, confiscation is actually legal. Those who fund illegal invasions automatically waive their property rights, and their money will be used to rebuild rather than destroy.

Predictions