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Russia is considering a scenario of committing a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia NPP - such a terrorist attack will entail global consequences, said in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.«By occupying the ZNPP, Russia grossly violates international law and nuclear safety norms and standards, including the seven IAEA fundamental principles on nuclear safety and security. We expect an objective assessment by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi regarding Russia's criminal actions», - the document says.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes, as a terrorist state, Russia has violated all fundamental principles of international nuclear security law and the vast majority of its own treaty obligations, but was not made to face just consequences for its crimes.«We call on the international community, in particular the Group of Seven and the EU, to take urgent measures to prevent a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, including but not limited to introducing strengthened restrictive measures against the Russian nuclear industry and military-industrial complex», - emphasized in the statement.«We insist on the need to recognize Russia as a terrorist state and ensure the inevitability of political, economic and legal consequences for all crimes and illegal actions committed by it», - summarizes the Ministry. &nbsp;

Russia is considering a scenario of committing a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia NPP - such a terrorist attack will entail global consequences.

Ukraine insists on the need to recognize Russia as a terrorist state due to the preparation of a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye NPP

We need support and assistance not “as much as we can”, but all the way until Ukraine prevails, - Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the KSF Chairman, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2016 stated at the 16th Annual Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv on the 22nd of March.“We hold this Forum to call on the entire world, to wake up the entire world time and again so that they understand that the lessons of the events leading to the First and the Second World wars and their consequences have not been explored or learned”, - he emphasized.Any day’s delay costs lives of the Ukrainians and further jeopardized the very existence of the Ukrainian land, the KSF Chairman stressed.“So, our call and appeal today to the whole of the civilized world is: Ukraine must prevail, give us weapons”, - the KSF Head emphasized.“We need not only anti-missile weapons, we need missiles to strike at russia. We need weaponry to oust the russian invaders from Ukrainian soil. We need assistance “not as much as we can”, but all the way until Ukraine prevails.” – Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.“This is the issue of the very existence for Ukraine and the entire world, - he stressed.The 16th Annual Kyiv Security Forum is held March 21-22, 2024, to gather transatlantic support for Ukraine. This year Forum slogan is “Ukraine’s call to the World: Together We Prevail!”.

We need support and assistance not “as much as we can”, but all the way until Ukraine prevails.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the KSF: Our call to the entire civilized world is – Ukraine must prevail, give us weapons 

The financial damage to Ukraine from russia’s war is estimated at hundreds of billions USD and rising.The Western assistance to Ukraine is expressed in tens of billions USD and rising.However, this so called “assistance” is not for free. Most of it is in the form of loans, which will have to be paid back.Meanwhile, Ukraine’s total government debt reached 145 billion USD in 2023 or about 90% of GDP and rising.The future reconstruction will require enormous investments.Who must pay for all those expenses?The obvious answer is: the aggressor state, that is the russian federation. The russians will certainly pay in the long run, for all their innumerable crimes. However, the exact timeframe for Ukraine’s victory is not yet clear. The future reparations are yet to be determined in international courts with their very lengthy procedures. The frozen russian assets are still untouched, which speaks volumes about pecuniary priorities of capitalism over its alleged democratic values.The collective West bears part of responsibility for this war. First, because of its decades-long infatuation with moscow that blinded a critical look at this terrorist state. Second, because it took away nuclear weapons and its carriers from Ukraine and gave them to russia. Third, because of its indifference and inactivity in 2008 and 2014, and its criminal procrastination about providing Ukraine with all necessary weapons since February 2022. Fourth, because this russian war is waged against all Western democracies, which they know and acknowledge.The longer the West allows this war to continue, the more it will have to pay for its consequences. Ukraine defends directly all of Europe and, indirectly, the United States, against the russian army of thugs. Ukraine is the moral leader of the modern free world. The West cannot afford withholding its support for Ukraine. Ukraine’s cost and the brunt of the war is much higher than any amount of money that it will ever receive from its Western partners. Ukraine owes the West nothing. The West owes Ukraine everything.So, there are two possible outcomes:Either the West wakes up and helps Ukraine crush the russian empire as swiftly as possible. All the russian money abroad will be given immediately to Ukraine. All the funds that Ukraine has received from all of its foreign creditors since 2014 must be written off, or those funds will be included as part of the future russian reparations for Ukraine, officially endorsed by international courts.Or the West continues to “manage escalation” and pay for this inadequate and short-sighted policy for many decades to come. &nbsp;Oleksandr Aleksandrovych, Ambassador-at-large Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, specially for the Kyiv Security Forum. &nbsp;

Oleksandr Aleksandrovych, Ambassador-at-large Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, specially for the Kyiv Security Forum.

Who must pay for russia’s war?

Through sanctions imposed by Western states, in 2023 russia lost $67 billion of its oil and gas revenues.This is the data from the Kyiv Security Forum <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/sanctions_en_e0d5f5c9ea.pdf">study of the outcome of economic sanctions against russia</a> in 2022-2023.According to the document, “considering the fact that the objective of imposed sanctions was to encumber the russian capabilities to wage the war, the said sanctions look logical and well to the purpose. In 2023 compared against 2022, oil and gas revenues of the russian budget went down by $ 67 billion or 40%”.The study authors claim that annual russian war-related expenditures equal $ 108 billion, so a shortfall of $ 67 means 62% of the above spending.The study also emphasized failure of expectations that russian economy collapses thus putting an end to war. There were several reasons why this was not the case. russia was getting ready for war for quite some time, while bracing against the imposed sanctions.“The fact of life is as follows. russia is the state having its own under-converted currency and, hence, has a free hand vis-à-vis emission policies. It does not depend on external financing despite all sanctions, and enjoys sufficient revenues from its exports making itself rather sustainable in domestic spending for a pretty long-term perspective”, - the study stresses. &nbsp;It is also indicated that the russian economy bore rather well the imposed sanctions on goods and services supply not solely because of the so-called “parallel importing” (grey-market import) or successful import substitution. Sanctions were primarily introduced by the states accounting for around 50% of russia’s external trade. At the same time, countries like China, Turkey and some others fail to adhere to sanctions regime in full, or apply partial sanctions only.Speaking about financial sanctions, experts quote barring russia from SWIFT thus making it face the convertible currencies deficit and ruble depreciation. This also accelerated spikes of producer and consumer prices, making russia dependable on Chinese Yuan (CNY).At the same time, freezing russian central bank assets is deemed to be one of the most successful economic sanctions. This has resulted in substantial depletion of the National Wealth Fund, as from March 2022 to January 2024 the liquid resources have gone down by 44 % (from 8,9 trillion rubles to 5 trillion rubles).Experts envisage further potential sanctions tightening in secondary sanctions imposition and sealing off any supply of russian petrochemicals to states-parties to sanctions. In the same vein, oil tankers of the russian grey fleet should be blocked, russia must be put on the the FATF “black list”, and fines ought to be imposed on banks that assist circumventing sanctions. &nbsp;“Economic sanctions will have a truly devastating effect if russia fails to continue its exports of resources and raise respective funds. It is only then that the russian federation may become eligible to meet the conditions to lift sanctions,” the Kyiv Security Forum concludes.Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the leading platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, of national and global security. &nbsp;

Kyiv Security Forum study of the outcome of economic sanctions against russia in 2022-2023.

Because of sanctions, russia is losing billions of dollars, yet remains capable of waging its war

This upcoming Friday, May 17, an online discussion will be held by the Kyiv Security Forum dedicated to one of the pivotal issues to ensure Ukraine's sustainment - tranfer of the russian assets frozen by the West to our state.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>On November 3, 2023, the Financial Times published the famous "Mr.Yatsenyuk letter" urging to let Ukraine use russia's assets worth $300 billion frozen in the United States and European Union states.The appeal, initiated by the Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, was supported by such well-known international figures as: Lawrence Summers, President Emeritus of Harvard University and US Treasury Secretary in 1999-2001, Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank in 2007-12, Francis Fukuyama, and as well as dozens of high-ranking American and European diplomats, politicians and experts. This topic occupies a central place in KSF public events and the KSF Team dialogue with international partners.What are the prospects of resolving the issue of "russian assets" and what it takes to make russia pay for all its crimes committed against Ukraine?<img src="https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/KSF_0517_en_ba82298329.jpg" alt="KSF_0517_en.jpg" srcset="https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/thumbnail_KSF_0517_en_ba82298329.jpg 245w,https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/small_KSF_0517_en_ba82298329.jpg 500w,https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/medium_KSF_0517_en_ba82298329.jpg 750w,https://ksf-openukraine.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/large_KSF_0517_en_ba82298329.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px">These issues will receive focused attention of the online-meeting attended by the leading world experts in this sphere: Philip Zelikow, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Counselor of the U.S. Department of State in 2005-07; Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State in 2005-06; as well as Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance; Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-16; Natalie Jaresko, Member of the KSF Security Council, Minister of Finance of Ukraine in 2014-16; Danylo Lubkivsky, Director of the Kyiv Security Forum.Kyiv Security Forum is the leading international platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.Online-discussion broadcast will be available at:KSF Facebook page – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://bit.ly/3zAC7Xk">bit.ly/3zAC7Xk</a>Arseniy Yatsenyuk YouTube channel – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://bit.ly/3Nnd6Vs">bit.ly/3Nnd6Vs</a>KSF Media partners include: Espreso, Hromadske Radio, Censor.NET, Gordon, Gazeta.ua, Interfax-Ukraine, Ukraine Media Center, Glavkom, Ukrainian Crisis Media Center, Ukraine World, The Day Newspaper.&nbsp; &nbsp;

This upcoming Friday, May 17, an online discussion will be held by the KSF dedicated to one of the pivotal issues to ensure Ukraine's sustainment - tranfer of the russian assets frozen by the West to our state.

On May 17th the Kyiv Security Forum holds an online-discussion on the issue of russian assets confiscation

“All menacing verbiage about jeopardy to the US dollar and Euro stemming from the effort of the free world to confiscate russian assets is not worth a dime. It is the collapse of Ukrainian statehood, it is the collapse of the US and EC leadership that can negatively affect the US dollar and Euro ”, - emphasized Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the KSF Chairman, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2014, at the KSF online-discussion.Despite all sanctions imposed by the G7, russia’s annual war-related spending is around USD 120 billion: “The current situation is very grave, and all depends both on political willingness and the fact whether we all believe that the rules-based world order still exists and will exist in future ”, - Mr. Yatsenyuk stressed.At the same time, putin and President of China have issued a joint statement “heavily criticizing even the very attempts to confiscate russian assets”, - Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized: “I personally take this as the challenge to the free world, to the US and the EU. Indeed, this is an attempt to stop confiscation of russian assets by the G7 ”. &nbsp;“If russia and China can blackmail the entire free world then what is happening to the world? Do we possess any tools for influence to retaliate? Indeed, we do have such tools. It is only the issue of political willingness. And we act fair and square (within the applicable legal rules)”, - he added.The KSF Chairman also emphasized the existence of a legal basis to confiscate russian assets, as russia committed the crime of aggression: “And this must go hand-in-hand with bringing russia to justice”.Hence, the faster the G7 outlines the way to confiscate the already frozen russian assets, the better, - KSF Chairman argued: “This war is for long, this is the war of attrition. putin demonstrates no sign of wishing for negotiations, as some put it. putin’s single objective is to capture Ukraine and undermine the world order and the entire free world, including the US dollar and the Euro. So, we must prevail”.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

“All menacing verbiage about jeopardy to the US dollar and Euro stemming from the effort of the free world to confiscate russian assets is not worth a dime". 

Frozen russian assets must be confiscated in their entirety and transferred to Ukraine, - Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the KSF online-discussion

Western countries can transfer $ 300 billion of frozen russian assets to Ukraine, and the mechanism to do so is currently widely discussed.This was emphasized by Philip Zelikow, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Counselor of the U.S. Department of State in 2005-07, during the online-discussion of the KSF established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.“Whether Ukraine survives in this war depends from money and weapons. Many talk about weapons, but only very few talk about money. And money is no less important than weaponry”, - he stressed.Mr. Zelikow also argued that a lot depends on nations of Europe when it comes to the issue of frozen russian assets transfer to Ukraine, as the lion’s share of such frozen assets are kept in Europe.At the same time, Mr. Zelikow added, the EU countries find themselves under heavy pressure to disallow them confiscation of russian money.“What is actually happening behind the scene is that russia, China, and Arab states blackmail German, French and Japanese authorities,”, - former US Department Counselor said.Philip Zelikow also argued that one of the scenarios to resolve this issue being discussed now is the possible transfer of frozen russian assets under jurisdictions beyond the European Union, namely, to Northern America or Great Britain.“Northern America and the UK, in their turn, can take decisions on how to manage the money within their jurisdictions”, - he summed up.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Western countries can transfer $ 300 billion of frozen russian assets to Ukraine, and the mechanism to do so is currently widely discussed.

russia and China blackmail Europe to prevent confiscation of frozen russian assets, - American expert

In case of any negotiations, russia will press to regain its $ 300 billion frozen by the West. So, this money ought to be transferred to Ukraine prior to any talks commencement.This was emphasized by Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State in 2005-06, during the online-discussion at the KSF established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.“This war will end, and one way or another, there will be talks. I do not expect that the war ends by russia surrendering to Ukraine. There will be talks about terms and conditions to end this war”, - he stated.“We are aware of the russian wishes for negotiations. There will be issues of borders, and whether Ukraine can join NATO and the EU, etc. In fact, though, they’ll demand two things only: lifting sanctions against russia, and regaining their $ 300 billion”, - Stephen Rademaker believes.According to him, the best possible scenario for Ukraine is to get hold of this money before the talks start.“The best option will be to tell Russia: &nbsp;it’s too late, the money is no longer there. If these funds remain available, it will be too difficult to resist russian claims”, - former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State emphasized.Stephen Rademaker &nbsp;also stressed that russian assets were frozen to the very purpose of stopping russia in this war and getting back to the rules and norms of international law. So, the best way to use this money is to direct it to compensation of damages and losses inflicted, rather than to any other purpose.“If the mentioned funds are used to other purposes, it will be tremendously difficult to substantiate such a move (confiscation, - ed.). This money ought to be used solely to the benefit of those who are victims of this war, and to compensate all damages and losses inflicted by the russian federation during this war”, - he summed up.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

In case of any negotiations, russia will press to regain its $ 300 billion frozen by the West. So, this money ought to be transferred to Ukraine prior to any talks commencement.

Ukraine must receive frozen russian assets prior to engaging in any negotiations with russia, - former US Assistant Secretary of State 

russia must pay for all damages inflicted to Ukraine, in particular, to its energy sector, and russian frozen assets amounting to $ 300 billion must be confiscated to meet this purpose.This was the message voiced by Natalie Jaresko, Member of the KSF Security Council, Minister of Finance of Ukraine in 2014-16 during the online-discussion at the KSF established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation.“Restoring the country needs funding here and now. &nbsp;Just look at what happened since russian missile attacks this March, look at all destruction of the energy sector, multiple electric stations damaged and ruined”, - she said.“It is necessary to spare no effort to ensure that households enjoy electricity supplies before winter comes. To do so, money is needed. Indeed, there is money arriving from partners. The question is whether this is enough,” - KSF Security Council Member underlined.Natalie Jaresko also claimed that Ukrainian state budget is in dire need of funds.“As a former Minister of Finances, I am deeply concerned about the Ukrainian state budget. We need to bear in mind that public funds are in deficit. This so-called social deficit means ability to pay wages to public servants. It is necessary to finance civil service, teachers, doctors, all those who keep working extending assistance to households”, - former Finance Minister stressed adding that the frozen russian assets must be used to fund the above needs as well.“It is important to keep in mind that the public budget is of utmost importance to assist the very functioning of the state and making refugees return to Ukraine”, - she added.According to Natalie Jaresko, the issue of frozen russian assets confiscation must be resolved as fast as possible, since there is no bullet-proof guarantee that Western assistance arrives at regular and predictable intervals, as was the recent case of delayed military assistance.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

russia must pay for all damages inflicted to Ukraine, in particular, to its energy sector, and russian frozen assets amounting to $ 300 billion must be confiscated to meet this purpose.

russia must pay by its frozen by the West assets for destruction of Ukrainian energy sector, - Natalie Jaresko 

The European Union must find additional Euro 200 billion to assist Ukraine, as Ukraine Facility mechanism of 50 billion is insufficient to cover all financing needs.This was the message by Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance during the online-discussion at the KSF established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.“Today, we cannot visualise the state of affairs in the US &nbsp;next year, and we do not know whether Ukraine can ensure all budget allocations to pay wages to doctors, teachers, etc. To a degree, this is covered by the Ukraine Facility mechanism, but we need to seek for and find additionally some Euro 200 billion from the European Commission, or the EU member states to assist”, - she said.MEP von Cramon-Taubadel also mentioned that “there are sufficient financial possibilities to fund all needs to make Ukraine more resilient militarily”.Viola von Cramon-Taubadel emphasized that frozen Russian assets in Europe can become the source of such needed funding.“Russia must pay in any case. It needs to compensate all its war crimes and all destruction and ruination it inflicted. This money needs to be located and used. This is obvious”, - she said.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

The European Union must find additional Euro 200 billion to assist Ukraine, as Ukraine Facility mechanism of 50 billion is insufficient to cover all financing needs.

Ukraine will need additional financing of Euro 200 billion, - Member of European Parliament 

Russia must be punished for its war against Ukraine, and one of constituent elements includes confiscation of frozen rusian assets to the benefit of Ukraine.This was the message by Danylo Lubkivsky, Director of the Kyiv Security Forum during the online-discussion at the KSF established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation.“russia must pay for all its atrocities committed in Ukraine. We must identify ways and means to make russia pay, to punish russia for all it has committed and continues to do now in Ukraine”, - he said.Mr. Lubkivsky recollected that in November 2023, the Financial Times published the famous “Mr.Yatsenyuk letter” urging to let Ukraine use russia’s assets worth $300 billion frozen in the United States and European Union states. The appeal, initiated by the Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, was supported by a number of well-known international figures.&nbsp; “The very idea of our today’s discussion is to make &nbsp;us move forward in our joint efforts to adopt truly realistic and pragmatic decisions about frozen russian assets. The whole story of the russian war against Ukraine has proved to each and every one that any delay or freezing adoption of a decision ends up in an unviable solution”, - he emphasized. &nbsp;“The decision must be taken, and we urge and call on all world leaders and the upcoming G7 Summit in June to adopt all needed decisions to make us prevail, to ensure a true and joint victory of Ukraine, of all our friends and partners from across the world”, - Danylo Lubkivsky summed up.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVImHe7GwT8" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the major platform in this country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Russia must be punished for its war against Ukraine, and one of constituent elements includes confiscation of frozen rusian assets to the benefit of Ukraine.