Nobel Laureates Call for the Use of Frozen Russian Assets to Rebuild Ukraine
An initiative uniting 131 Nobel Prize laureates has released a film about their visit to Ukraine. In early March 2025, Ferenc Krausz and Serge Haroche, Nobel Prize winners in Physics, travelled to Kyiv and Kharkiv to express their solidarity with those affected by the war.
During their visit, they presented an appeal signed by 131 Nobel laureates. The document emphasises the urgent need to unlock approximately €300 billion in frozen assets held by the Russian Federation in European banks to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and to provide compensation to the victims of the war. A printed version of the appeal was handed over to Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Centre for Civil Liberties and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2022.
“More than one hundred Nobel laureates recognise that there are only two possible outcomes: either the €300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets will be allocated to Ukraine, or they will be returned to Russia.” There is no third option. These billions were frozen under a sanctions regime that must be unanimously renewed every six months. It is easy to imagine a scenario where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocks the extension of sanctions. That would mean the €300 billion would have to be returned to Russia immediately. In that case, it would become the largest investment by European countries into the Russian war machine,” says Oleksandra Matviichuk.
Anyone who wishes to support the initiative to use the frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s recovery is welcome to join the appeal.
“Please add your voice to this call in order to strengthen public pressure on European governments. And just as importantly – share this petition with at least two people in your circle of family, friends or acquaintances,” states the petition’s website: peace4europa.org.
