Russia must pay at least 500 billion euros in compensation to Ukraine, Germany's Merz says

Russian assets frozen by the West should not be released until Moscow pays back at least 500 billion euros (over $580 billion) in compensation to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on July 10 in Rome.

The G7 countries immobilized roughly $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets at the onset of the full-scale war in 2022, later funneling the windfall profits to Ukraine's reconstruction and defense.

The German chancellor, who met President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Italy, noted that Germany is helping Ukraine rebuild its economy also for its own reasons.

"Growth, market freedom, our energy security, as well as the extraordinary strain on our social systems caused by war refugees: all of this is linked to the war in Ukraine," Merz said.

The chancellor further noted that Germany has been involved in Ukraine's reconstruction efforts since the outbreak of the full-scale war.

"The reconstruction of Ukraine is not just a matter of the future... Day after day, we are ensuring that life in Ukraine can continue despite all of Russia's daily and especially nightly attacks."

The comments come as Russia continues to intensify strikes across Ukraine and ground offensives along the front line, damaging infrastructure and putting ever greater strain on the Ukrainian economy.

Delivering opening remarks at the conference on July 10, Zelensky urged European partners to form a recovery coalition to help rebuild Ukraine, calling for an approach similar to the post-World War II Marshall Plan.

The Ukrainian president also called upon Western countries to use the immobilized Russian assets — not only their proceeds — more actively to help Ukraine's reconstruction efforts.

At the event, the EU unveiled new financing worth billions of euros, including the European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called "the largest equity fund globally to support (Ukraine's) reconstruction." Germany is among the countries backing the fund.