Russia on Monday warned it would go after any European state that sought to take its assets after reports that the European Union is looking for new ways to leverage hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

The U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with the Russian central bank and finance ministry after President Vladimir Putin sent his army into Ukraine in 2022, and blocked $300-$350 billion of sovereign Russian assets, mostly European, U.S. and British government bonds held in a European securities depository.

Reuters reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants the European Union to find a new way to finance Ukraine’s defence against Russia using the cash balances associated with Russian assets frozen in Europe.

Politico reported that the European Commission is mulling the idea of using Russian cash deposits at the European Central Bank from maturing bonds owned by Russia to fund a “Reparations Loan” for Ukraine.

“If this happens, Russia will pursue the EU states, as well as European degenerates from Brussels and individual EU countries who try to seize our property, until the end of the century,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

US and Europe do billions in trade with Russia

EU TRADE WITH RUSSIA

The EU has imposed various import and export restrictions on several products, resulting in a 61% decline in exports to Russia and an 89% drop in imports from Russia between the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

In the second quarter of 2025, EU exports to Russia increased, while imports decreased, turning a trade deficit to a surplus of 0.8 billion euros.

The EU, however, continues to purchase oil, nickel, natural gas, fertilizer, iron and steel from Russia.

OIL

Four years ago, Russia was the largest supplier of petroleum products to the EU, but the EU ban on maritime imports of Russian crude oil reduced its share to 2.01% in 2025 so far from 28.74% in 2021.

The share of petroleum oil imports from Russia fell from 29% in the first quarter of 2021 to just 2% in the second quarter of 2025.

NATURAL GAS

Russia’s share in EU imports of natural gas dropped to 12% in the second quarter of 2025 from 48% in the first quarter of 2021.

In this period the share for Norway (+10%) increased by the sharpest amount, but Algeria (+2%) became the EU’s largest partner, accounting for 27% of the bloc’s natural gas imports.

Russia still supplies some EU countries such as Hungary and Bulgaria via the TurkStream undersea gas pipeline from Turkey.

LNG

The value of EU imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia increased considerably between the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2022 as prices increased sharply.

However, Russia’s share in EU imports of LNG had decreased to 14% in the second quarter of 2025 from 22% in the first quarter of 2021.

The United States was the biggest supplier of the frozen gas to Europe in the second quarter of this year, with its share reaching 54%.

IRON AND STEEL

Russia’s share in non-EU iron and steel imports slumped to 6% in the second quarter of 2025 from 18% four years ago.

FERTILIZERS

Russia remained, as of the second quarter of 2025, the largest exporter of fertilizers into the 27-nation EU, and its share of that market had increased to 34% from 28% over the last four years.

The European Parliament voted in May to impose prohibitive tariffs on Russian fertilizer imports, but they will only be introduced in phases and it is too early to assess their likely impact on the market.

U.S. IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA

U.S. imports from Russia fell to $2.50 billion in the first half of 2025 from $14.14 billion four years earlier, according to U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Since January 2022, the United States has imported $24.51 billion of Russian goods.

FERTILIZERS

Last year, the U.S. imported around $1.27 billion of Russian fertilizers, up slightly from $1.14 billion in 2021.

URANIUM, PLUTONIUM

The U.S. imported enriched uranium and plutonium from Russia worth around $624 million in 2024, down from $646 million in 2021.

PALLADIUM

Russia exported palladium to the United States for around $878 million in 2024, down from $1.59 billion in 2021.

Trump presses NATO nations to halt Russian oil purchases

Russia will pursue European states in “all possible ways” and in “all possible international and national courts” as well as “out of court”, said Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.

Russia says any seizure of its assets amounts to theft by the West and will undermine confidence in the bonds and currencies of the United States and Europe.

European states say that Russia is responsible for the destruction of Ukraine in the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two – and that Moscow must be forced to pay.

Some bankers, though, have been wary of the precedent that seizing sovereign assets might have on the confidence that foreign sovereigns have in keeping their money invested in Western government bonds.

Medvedev said earlier this month that Russia would take more Ukrainian territory and go after British property around the world after London said it had spent around $1.3 billion of money raised from frozen Russian assets on weapons for Ukraine.

Russia’s RIA state news agency said the West had made a total of $285 billion in foreign direct investment in Russia’s economy which could be at risk if Russia’s assets were taken.