Ukraine seizes 10 Russian ships in Odessa

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced on April 12 that it had seized eight Russian cargo ships and two oil tankers under maintenance at the port of Odessa, with the support of the coast guard and border guards, according to TASS.

Cargo ships at the Ukrainian port of Odessa Reuters

These ships, which are involved in Russian logistics operations in the Black Sea and Danube rivers, will be prohibited from leaving Ukraine. SBI announced that it will continue to search and nationalize Russian assets in Ukraine.

In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a law allowing the government to seize property belonging to Russia and its entities. On April 1, Ukraine’s parliament approved an amendment bill, expanding the authority of authorities to confiscate assets for nationalization, including property of Russian citizens and individuals related to Russia.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on April 8 that all Russian assets in Ukraine will be nationalized.

On April 11, Ukrainian presidential economic adviser Oleg Ustenko told Bloomberg that Ukraine is working with allies and partners to seize Russian assets abroad and use them for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Western countries and some other countries are freezing billions of dollars of Russian assets, but the decision to confiscate them could face legal troubles and will cause strong reactions from Russia.

World Bank Recently, it was predicted that Ukraine’s economy could shrink by up to 45% due to the war. Mr. Ustenko estimated that the war caused damages $1 trillion for Ukraine. This number, if accurate, equates to 6.5 times Ukraine’s GDP in 2020.

According to data from the International Monetary Fund, as of September 2021, Russia’s assets abroad include government reserves and direct investments of the private sector. , up to 1.620 billion USD.