The EU has legal authority to temporarily raise at least €33.8 billion of Russia's central bank's frozen assets to help pay for Ukraine's reconstruction, Bloomberg reports citing its sources..

The legal service of the Council of the EU told diplomats that such a plan is legally feasible if a number of conditions are met, in particular: the assets are not expropriated, the principal and interest will subsequently be returned to Russia.

The EU has been exploring options for using frozen Russian assets following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the proposal is controversial and the discussion is at a very preliminary stage.. EU officials and some member states were concerned about the legal rationale for such a move..

Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she wants to make Russia pay for the destruction in Ukraine with the frozen funds of the oligarchs and the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation..

[see_also ids\u003d"

G7 and EU officials said there appeared to be no clear legal basis for simply seizing Russian banking assets and redirecting them to Ukraine.. As a first step, the EU is considering pooling assets at the EU level or internationally to generate profits that could be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, which the World Bank estimates could cost at least $350 billion.. EU officials believe that any plan should be implemented in cooperation with the G7.

The exact amount of assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation abroad is still unknown.

According to preliminary estimates - 300 billion dollars. Approximately 33.8 billion euros of which are on deposits in the EU.

Some member states will continue to push for the confiscation of Russian assets from allies, coupled with an attempt to hold Moscow accountable for war crimes through a special tribunal..

Who is looking for the property of Russians in Ukraine and how the state will confiscate it, read the article by Kristina Zelinskaya "