Russia has directly struck a nerve with the European Union. According to Reuters, on October 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing assets of French, German, Swedish, and Belgian companies within Russia under temporary administration. The Kremlin previously stated that such measures were taken in response to EU countries’ involvement in “direct battlefield hostilities,” while emphasizing these steps “can be revoked.”
This is not Russia’s first use of the “asset card.” In April 2023, Putin issued a similar decree placing assets of companies from unfriendly nations under temporary management in Russia, initially targeting shares held by Germany’s Uniper and Finland’s Fortum in Russian energy firms. In October 2024, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov further announced that Russia would follow Western precedent by utilizing revenue generated from assets belonging to unfriendly countries operating in Russia.
Currently, the EU has frozen approximately €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets due to the war. The scale of Western corporate assets in Russia remains significantly smaller. From a personal assessment, this marks an escalation in what amounts to an “asset war,” yet both sides are carefully managing the intensity. Russia has not formally confiscated assets but instead placed them under temporary administration; the EU has not seized principal capital but instead implemented indefinite freezing coupled with the use of asset-generated income. Both parties are testing each other’s limits while preserving room for de-escalation. This form of “controlled confrontation” is more dangerous than outright confrontation, as it can persist indefinitely without resolution.
Yet the party truly disadvantaged is not Russia, but the EU. Russia has grown accustomed to sanctions and maintains a wartime economy functioning at minimal capacity. European firms, however, have real investments and operational facilities in Russia. Each additional day of freezing translates into tangible losses for European businesses. Meanwhile, Russia’s assertion that measures “can be revoked” effectively shifts the burden back to the EU: if you wish to reclaim your assets, offer something in return.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879210744716416/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.