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How the UK could force Russia to finance Ukraine’s recovery

The UK is ‘very cautious’ about seizing Russian cash. But it could be used as leverage when it comes to reparations

By James Dowsett
How the UK could force Russia to finance Ukraine’s recovery
A view of the exterior of Beechwood House, a property owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, in London | Leon Neal / Getty Images
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There is consensus among the UK and its G7 partners that Russia should foot the bill for the destruction it has wrought in Ukraine – with recent World Bank estimates putting the cost of reconstruction at $411bn.

At last month’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, prime minister Rishi Sunak said Britain was working with its allies to explore “lawful routes” to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.

But Sunak’s government has so far stopped short of proposing the seizure of tens of billions of pounds’ worth of Russian assets currently frozen in UK financial institutions.

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