Kremlin outraged over U.S. plans to transfer Russian oligarchs' frozen assets to Ukrainian Armed Forces
Washington's statement about transferring frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to the Ukrainian Armed Forces has sparked an "absolutely negative" reaction in Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in particular, referred to such plans as "unlawful acts".
"Undoubtedly, any claims that they have found legal grounds to continue this lawlessness are legal nonsense. This will inevitably lead to legal proceedings. None of these cases of illegal confiscation will be ignored," he said.
Peskov also pointed out the "outrageous fact" that both the Russian government and Russian businessmen are being deprived of the right to defend their interests in foreign courts.
"This, of course, contradicts everything that can be envisaged from the perspective of international and national law of these states, but as soon as such an opportunity presents itself, we will, of course, defend our rights," said Peskov.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the US initiative as "lawlessness" and "thievery".
"The practice of confiscating other countries' property by a country that has enshrined the inviolability of private property as the basis of its development and functioning is deeply unacceptable and repulsive. But this serves as a reminder to all economic operators of how risky it is to do business with the United States," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
During a visit to Kyiv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the transfer of $5.4 million to the Ukrainian armed forces, which had been seized from Russian oligarchs.
"For the first time we are transferring to Ukraine assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs, which will now be used to support Ukrainian military veterans," Blinken said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. According to him, those Russians "who have enabled Putin’s war of aggression should pay for it”.