Ukraine War Deal: Russia Could Concede $300 Billion

Russia's main demands to stop fighting include withdrawal of Kyiv's troops from Ukrainian territory, Moscow claims, end to Ukraine's NATO ambitions

- Reuters

Russia could agree to using $300 billion of sovereign assets frozen in Europe for reconstruction in Ukraine but will insist that part of the money is spent on the one-fifth of the country that Moscow's forces control, three sources told Reuters.

Russia and the US held their first face-to-face talks on ending the Ukraine war on 18 February in Saudi Arabia, and both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they hope to meet soon.

After Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the US and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia's central bank and finance ministry, blocking $300-350 billion of sovereign Russian assets, mostly European, US and British government bonds held in a European securities depository.

While discussions between Russia and the US are at a very early stage, one idea being floated in Moscow is that Russia could propose using a large chunk of the frozen reserves for rebuilding Ukraine as part of a possible peace deal, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Swathes of eastern Ukraine have been devastated by the war and hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed or injured on both sides while millions of Ukrainians have fled to European countries or Russia.

A year ago, the World Bank estimated reconstruction and recovery would cost $486 billion.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions and because discussions are only preliminary.

The Kremlin declined to comment.