Newsletter of the main news 14.04/20.04

1️⃣ Frozen Russian assets

Japan will provide Ukraine with a $3 billion loan under the G7 ERA mechanism using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The agreement, signed by Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko and Japanese Ambassador Masashi Nakagome, is in the form of an exchange of notes. The loan is for 30 years and will be repaid from the proceeds of immobilized Russian sovereign assets. The funds will be used to finance the budget, reconstruction and development of Ukraine.

The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, announced that if he wins, his government will transfer $22 billion worth of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to support the fight against Russian aggression and restore infrastructure. He criticized the Liberal government for its inaction and promised swift action, emphasizing that support for Ukraine is a consistent position of the Conservatives. Poilievre also emphasized Canada's continued solidarity with Ukraine. Early elections in Canada will be held on April 28.

Austrian Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer supported the idea of using the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to help Ukraine, calling it “reasonable.” However, he emphasized that Austria would not initiate this step and would join the EU's collective decision. The statement came after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Warsaw, where Spain proposed the creation of an EU defense fund partially financed by Russian assets. Austria, like Spain, is facing difficulties in increasing defense spending, in particular in raising the defense budget to 2% of GDP by 2032.

2️⃣ Sanctions, their violation and circumvention

The European Union is developing a “plan B” to extend anti-Russian sanctions in case Hungary blocks them. Lawyers in Brussels are exploring the possibility of legally upholding the sanctions decision without the need for a unanimous extension of the regulation, which could lead to lawsuits. Other options include proposing new sanctions, increasing duties, or transferring sanctions to the national level, although this is complicated by the lack of relevant legislation in EU countries. At the same time, the EU plans to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession in June, which may result in an additional veto by Hungary.

The United States presented in Paris a plan for a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine, which envisages a possible freezing of the conflict with Russia's de facto control over the occupied territories and Ukraine's temporary refusal to join NATO. The plan also considers a partial easing of sanctions against Russia, which is a cause for concern among Ukraine's allies. Implementation of the plan is possible only after the cessation of hostilities by Russia. The United States emphasized that the talks should be completed in a matter of days, and the creation of post-war security forces in Ukraine with the participation of France and the United Kingdom is being discussed separately.

Russia has asked the US to allow it to purchase Boeing aircraft from frozen assets after a possible truce in Ukraine. It is recognized that without a cessation of hostilities, these funds will remain unavailable, and the offer is not a condition for a truce. At the same time, the United States has about $5 billion of frozen Russian assets, and the total amount of blocked funds of the Russian Central Bank in the West is about $280 billion. Moscow has also called for the lifting of sanctions against Aeroflot and the resumption of flights with the United States, but Washington has not officially commented on these appeals.

The Lithuanian Seimas decided to extend national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens for another year. Despite the initially proposed stricter restrictions, the final version of the bill rejected them, in particular, the initiative to unify the rules for Belarusians and Russians when issuing residence permits. Lithuania continues to ban the acceptance of applications for Schengen and national visas from Russian and Belarusian citizens, restricts their rights to purchase real estate and import products, and rejected proposals to revoke residence permits for visits to these countries.

The French court allowed the enforcement of the Hague arbitration award to compensate Russia for $5 billion in damages caused to Naftogaz as a result of the occupation of Crimea. This decision is part of Naftogaz's global campaign to recover compensation and makes it possible to start enforcement in France. As part of this process, encumbrances have already been registered on Russia's assets in France in the amount of over EUR 120 million. Legal support in the process is provided by Le 16 Law.

Finnish Customs has launched an investigation into a possible attempt to violate sanctions against Russia related to the export of archival documents on the construction of a nuclear power plant. The materials seized at the Kimenlaakso warehouse may contain data subject to EU sanctions. The case involves the managing director of a company that participated in the project. The decision to press charges will be made after the investigation is completed, and the official nuclear facilities in Loviisa and Olkiluoto are not involved in the case. Earlier, Finland canceled the Hanhikivi NPP project, which was to be implemented with the participation of Rosatom.

The Harju County Court in Estonia sentenced 65-year-old Tatiana Sokolova to 16 months in prison for violating EU sanctions. She received funds from a sanctioned Russian fund to finance the legal costs of pro-Russian activist Andrey Andronov. The money was transferred to her accounts in Russia, transported across the border and handed over to the defendant's lawyers. The plea agreement stipulates that 12 months of the prison term will be replaced by community service, and four months of pre-trial detention will be credited to the sentence. The court also ordered Sokolova to pay the costs of the proceedings and confiscated EUR 10,000. The decision has not yet entered into force.

3️⃣ Sanctions policy of Ukraine

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has begun consideration of Petro Poroshenko's lawsuit against President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the sanctions imposed on him. The fifth president considers these restrictions illegal and contrary to the law, accusing the authorities of attempting to exert political pressure to remove him from the political process. The sanctions were imposed by presidential decree based on a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of February 12, 2025. Poroshenko claims that no evidence has been provided to justify the sanctions, and that their application blocks not only his personal activities but also the work of his charitable foundation. The court hearing was attended by MPs and representatives of EU diplomatic missions.

On April 17, 2025, the HACC Appeals Chamber upheld the first instance decision to confiscate the assets of pro-Russian activist Volodymyr Sergienko. The HACC found that Sergienko had systematically spread propaganda in support of Russian aggression through his Telegram channel and interviews. According to the decision of February 28, 1/2 share of an apartment in Lviv and 50% of the share in the authorized capital of Health Care Ukraine LLC were transferred to state ownership. The appeal decision has entered into force and is not subject to appeal.