Germany open to seize Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine

Bloomberg

Germany is open to using billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild as long as legal issues can be resolved and allies follow suit.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government supports Ukraine’s demand for war reparations but hasn’t yet taken an official position on seizing assets from the Russian state. The issue is complex and some parts of the ruling coalition are more ardent than others, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The internal tensions reflect the international community’s broader struggle to forge a common position. If Berlin can resolve its own issues, it could provide fresh momentum for discussions in the European Union and put pressure on the US to seize assets, such as central bank reserves, that have been frozen in retaliation over Russia’s invasion.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants Russia to pay for the damages caused in Ukraine. The former co-leader of Germany’s Greens, who is a longtime advocate of a tougher stance on the Kremlin, insists that seizing at least some of the frozen assets needs to be an option, officials familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who heads the pro-business Free Democrats, is more cautious. He’s concerned that confiscating Russian central-bank assets could create a dangerous precedent and lead European nations and their allies into a legal quagmire, the officials said.
The EU and partners from the Group of Seven club of rich countries have frozen some €300 billion ($311 billion) in Russian central-bank reserves. The EU has also blocked around €19 billion in assets held by sanctioned Russian businessmen, although these estimates aren’t complete. The assets are in limbo and can’t currently be distributed.
Instead of a blanket seizure, a more sold path in legal terms could be to target assets of individuals who have been proven to be involved in Russian war crimes, one of the people said. Such cases though could take years to make their way through courts, which could reduce such an initiative to mere symbolism.
The detail of the discussions shows how the potential for asset seizures is moving beyond a theoretical debate and towards implementation, but major hurdles remain. Scholz wants any move coordinated with allies and legally tight, the people said.
During a summit in Brussels, EU leaders discussed several
options for using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, according to the conclusions published after the meeting.

Nato allies seek deal to boost defense spending

Bloomberg

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said allies are pushing to strengthen the alliance’s target of spending 2% of output on defense, with the aim of reaching an agreement by July.
Ukraine warned that Russia may launch more attacks over the Orthodox Christmas holiday even as Kyiv continued to down Shahed drones being sent into the country, the country’s air defense command said.
Ukraine’s air defense systems intercepted every drone from two consecutive nights of Russian strikes since December 31, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Russian forces continued to carry out unsuccessful attempts to improve their tactical positions northwest of Svatove after a tactical pause, the ISW said.
Russian forces, trying to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, are concentrating
efforts on offensive operations in the Bakhmut region in Donbas, Ukraine’s general staff reports.