U
kraine's lawsuits to seize Russian assets and make Russia pay for its war are creating a precedent in Western law, where state property of the aggressor nation is no longer immune from enforcement. According to Oschadbank's supervisory board member Roza Tapanova, this shift in attitude is due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has led countries around the world to impose sanctions and reevaluate their stance on confiscating Russian assets.

    Oschadbank seized Russian assets in France worth approximately €87 million ($99 million) as part of an award of damages in Ukraine's favor following Russia's expropriation of the bank's assets in annexed Crimea. The bank initiated the case against Russia in 2015, and is now working to reclaim ownership of its assets and receive compensation for their expropriation.

    Tapanova noted that Russia understands the implications of this precedent, as other countries are watching the case to finalize their position on seizing Russian assets. Besides France, Oschadbank has initiated lawsuits to seize Russian assets in the US, UK, Czech Republic, and Finland.

    The total cost of reconstruction and recovery following Russia's invasion is expected to be $524 billion, approximately 2.8 times Ukraine's estimated nominal GDP for 2024. Ukrainian firms are preparing more claims against Russia as war damages mount, including state-owned Naftogaz Group, Ukrhydroenergo, and private Amic Energy, as well as subsidiaries of the private SCM Group.

    Tapanova emphasized that Western courts no longer see Russian property as immune from legal enforcement, and that lawyers have begun to understand that even corporate property can be linked to Russia as the state and used to pay for its crimes. This shift in attitude is expected to lead to a significant increase in lawsuits against Russia, with Ukrainian law firms potentially facing an overload of work to sue Russia for damages and fight to pursue asset seizure through legal proceedings.