EU backs Ukraine war compensation, funds from Russian frozen assets up for debate

Prefer on Google by Chris Powers Demonstrators holding flags of Ukraine and the European Union, a demonstration called by Ukraine solidarity organizations on the eve of the third anniversary of the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on the Boulevard du Temple (between the Place de la Republique and the Place de la Bastille) in Paris, France, on February. 23, 2025. (Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images) EU foreign ministers agreed on May 11 that the bloc would ratify an agreement to set up a body able to award compensation to victims of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, an EU official confirmed to Kyiv Independent. Canada is also expected to sign the convention establishing the International Claims Commission during a visit to Brussels on May 11, which would make it the first non- European country to do so. Once up and running, the claims commission will review compensation claims for damage, loss, or injury caused by Russia against Ukraine and decide on the amounts due to the victims. To proceed, it needs to be ratified by 25 European countries. Ireland was the fifth and the most recent country to do so, on May 7. More ratifications are expected ahead of a key Council of Europe meeting in Moldova on May 15, during which significant progress on the claims commission is expected to be announced. One aspect not likely to be finalized already this week: the compensation fund, which has yet to be put in place. A senior EU official told the Kyiv Independent that the compensation fund was also not on the agenda for the foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on May 11. When the European Parliament agreed to support the claims convention in April, a European lawmaker from Lithuania, Petras Austrevicius, suggested that it could "reopen the debate on how best to utilize Russia's frozen assets to fund war reparations."