Russia could go to war over EU’s £80 billion move 

A senior Kremlin official has warned that the European Union’s plan to use £80 billion of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine could be treated by Moscow as grounds for war.

Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and one of the Kremlin’s most hardline voices, said the move would be seen as a “direct provocation” if the EU went ahead with the proposal.

“If the European Union does try to seize Russian assets frozen in Belgium under the guise of a ‘reparations loan,’ Russia may well view this move as tantamount to a casus belli, with all the relevant implications for Brussels and individual EU countries,” Medvedev said on Thursday.

The warning came a day after the European Commission unveiled its plan to raise nearly £80 billion for Ukraine, either by borrowing against or seizing Russian state and private assets frozen across the EU since 2022. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the plan would cover around two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs until 2027.

“We are proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years that’s €90 billion,” von der Leyen said. “Since pressure is the only language the Kremlin responds to, we can also dial it up.”

The largest portion of the frozen assets about £160 billion is held by Euroclear in Belgium. The Belgian government has repeatedly warned that transferring these funds to Ukraine could make it legally liable for the entire sum.

Western governments have avoided fully seizing Russian assets so far, citing legal risks and the possibility of retaliation against European property in Russia.

Medvedev’s statement is the clearest indication yet that Moscow could treat the loss of its assets as a reason for military action against the EU.

The warning comes as the United States seeks to revive momentum for peace talks. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials in Moscow earlier this week. The Kremlin said no progress was made toward ending the war.

The envoys were expected to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels following weeks of diplomatic turbulence triggered by the leak of a U.S. draft peace proposal. A revised framework presented in Geneva was more favorable to Ukraine, but key disagreements, including territorial questions, remain unresolved.