What does the UN want from Russia?
The resolution envisages the creation of a register to document all the damages inflicted on Ukraine and the establishment of a mechanism to pay out reparations. Even though the document does not instruct countries to immediately confiscate Russian properties, the EU is laying down a legal framework to seize the frozen Russian assets, says Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The UN resolution can propel the economic struggle between Russia and the West to a whole new level. “If the blocked assets of Russia, and primarily the Central Bank, are used as reparations to rebuild the Ukrainian economy before a peace treaty is signed, it will become a truly important international precedence,” professor of economics at the University of California Oleg Itskhoki told Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The resolution was backed by 94 countries, with the EU members, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, and South Korea among them. These are the same states that froze the Russian Central Bank reserves worth around $300 billion.