(March 3): The Bank of Russia is suing the European Union (EU) for putting an indefinite freeze on assets blocked over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it’s being deprived of legal protections in a first challenge of its kind since the war erupted.
The claim filed with the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg contests the European Council’s regulation of Dec 12, 2025, according to a Russian central bank statement published on Tuesday.
The EU regulation violates “basic and inalienable rights to access justice, inviolability of property, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks” that are guaranteed under international law, according to the statement.
EU member states in December approved extending a freeze on some €210 billion of Russian sovereign assets that have been held in the bloc since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The EU intends to keep the assets immobilised until the war ends and Russia pays reparations to Ukraine.
Most of the money is held in Euroclear, and the Belgian government has been resisting EU efforts to make use of the funds to back a loan supporting Ukraine.
While the Russian central bank is suing on a relatively narrow issue of law, the suit risks exposing the regulator to questioning and scrutiny of its economic actions in support of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine that’s now in its fifth year.
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The regulation blocks any transfer of the assets for an unlimited period and prevents the Bank of Russia from using the courts to defend its rights, including enforcing any rulings or arbitration awards related to those assets, according to the central bank.
It also argues that the council committed serious violations of EU procedure by adopting the regulation with a majority vote rather than unanimously.
The European Commission took note of the Russian central bank’s claim, spokesperson Balazs Ujvari told reporters on Tuesday. “We are fully confident about the legality of this regulation and its compatibility with EU law and international law,” he said.
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Shortly after the EU published the regulation, the Russian central bank issued a warning to the bloc, threatening to seek compensation in local courts from European lenders if it proceeded to use the frozen assets to support Ukraine.
It also filed a lawsuit in Moscow seeking 18.2 trillion roubles from Euroclear in December.
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