ISTANBUL 

Moscow may seize British assets and further Ukrainian territory over the recent use of its frozen assets to provide additional military support for Kyiv, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

A statement by the UK Defense Ministry on Wednesday said London transferred weapons and military support worth over £1 billion ($1.3 billion), which it said were purchased with money raised from frozen Russian assets. The announcement came as UK Defense Secretary John Healey visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Commenting on the UK’s transfer, Medvedev, who is a former president and prime minister of Russia, argued that the country “committed an offense,” as a result of which Moscow acquired the right to reclaim the amount concerned from London and Ukraine.

“But given that this money cannot be recovered in court for obvious reasons, our country has only one way to return the valuables. To return what was seized in kind. That is, ‘Ukrainian land’ and other real estate and movable property located on it,” Medvedev said on Telegram.

He also suggested “confiscating the valuables of the British Crown,” including UK property in Russia itself.

British authorities did not immediately comment on Medvedev’s remarks.

Western countries have frozen roughly $300 billion in Russian Central Bank assets since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Many have dispersed interest earned on those assets to fund Ukraine’s defense, a move the Kremlin has condemned​.​​​​​

Some countries also support seizing the assets altogether, rather than just using the interest to secure loans for Ukraine.