Moscow warns EU of ‘harsh’ retaliation over attempts to ‘utilise’ Russian assets

MOSCOW, Dec 5: The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday criticised the European Union over its intention to use the country’s assets, calling it an “illegitimate institution and a gang that legitimises utterly criminal ideas,” the local media reported on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called EU a “criminal group” and raised questions over their plan, which she stressed has no legal basis.
Her remarks came after the European Commission announced its plan to seize Russian assets in Europe worth €210 billion under “reparations loan” scheme to support Ukraine’s financial needs and urged non-EU Western nations to become part of this initiative, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.
She said, “The European Union has become not just an illegitimate institution, but, better yet, a gang that legitimizes utterly criminal ideas and decisions. I believe this is unprecedented. How else are they discussing this publicly? Trying to find something to tie it to? And knowing there’s no legal basis for it, they’re no longer creating coalitions, but rather criminal groups.”
The spokesperson warned that Russia will take “harsh retaliatory measures” if EU takes such a step and stressed that this would not only be a verbal response but also practical actions.
Zakharova said, “If these actions are committed—namely, let’s put it plainly, theft—if there are attempts at banditry and the seizure of Russian assets, then yes, I can confirm that retaliatory measures are indeed being developed interdepartmentally.”
“This will not be a verbal response, not just notes of protest. It will involve both statements and practical actions. They understand this perfectly well, which is why they’re squirming like snakes in a frying pan,” she added.
The EU intends to use Russian assets for zero-interest reparations loan to support Ukraine’s financial and military needs for 2026, 2027 and possibly beyond, Euro News reported. Ukraine will be asked to repay the loan only after Russia ends the military offensive in Ukraine and agrees to compensate for the destruction caused across the country.
Drone strike kills boy in Ukraine as peace talks kept under wraps
Russian drones struck a house in central Ukraine, killing a 12-year-old boy, officials said, while long-range Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted a Russian port and an oil refinery as US peace efforts continued out of public view.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were set to meet Thursday in Miami with a Ukrainian delegation but there was no official confirmation whether the meeting took place.
Those scheduled talks came after discussions between President Vladimir Putin and the US envoys at the Kremlin on Tuesday.
Previous diplomatic attempts to break the deadlock have come to nothing and the nearly four-year war has continued unabated. Officials largely have kept a lid on how the latest talks are going, though Trump’s initial 28-point plan was leaked.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s delegation in Miami wanted to hear from the US side about the talks at the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy, as well as European leaders backing him, have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling in peace talks while the Russian army tries to press forward with its invasion.
Zelenskyy said in a video address late Thursday that officials wanted to know “what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine.” Meanwhile, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who accompanied Putin on a visit to India on Friday, repeated the Russian leaders’ recent criticism of Europe’s stance on the peace talks.
Kyiv’s European allies are concerned about possible Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and want a prospective peace deal to include strong security guarantees.
Kyiv’s allies in Europe are “constantly putting forward demands that are unacceptable to Moscow,” Ushakov told Russia’s state-owned Zvezda TV. “Putting it mildly, the Europeans don’t help Washington and Moscow reach a settlement on the Ukrainian issues.” In Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, a Russian drone attack Thursday night destroyed a house where the boy was killed and two women were injured, according to the head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav Haivanenko.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 137 drones of various types during the night.
Ukrainian drones attacked a port in Russia’s Krasnodar region on the border with Ukraine. The attack sparked a fire at the Temryuk sea port and damaged port infrastructure, officials said.
Ukrainian drones also aimed deeper inside Russia, attacking the city of Syzran on the Volga river, Mayor Sergei Volodchenkov said without providing more details. (Agencies)