MECHANISMS FOR THE COMPENSATION OF WAR DAMAGES: TOWARD A FAIR SOLUTION FOR UKRAINE

Abstract

Russia’s audacious, unprecedented, illegal invasion of Ukraine, which began in a hybrid form in February 2014 before escalating into a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, has brought with it a significant amount of destruction, multibillion-dollar losses, and damage beyond measure – both to the whole state and to each individual Ukrainian resident. As a result of Russian aggression, thousands of civilians have been killed, dozens of cities have been damaged by shelling and airstrikes, and countless enterprises, medical institutions, educational institutions, cultural heritage monuments, kilometres of road, and residential buildings have been destroyed. The war continues, meaning that the damage caused to Ukraine by Russia is steadily increasing with each new day. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, one of the most important tasks has been to find ways and means for post-war reconstruction in Ukraine, as well as for the payment of compensation to the victims of the war. These compensation mechanisms should be implemented alongside those that come at the expense of the funds of the Russian Federation, which, accordingly, necessitates the lawful capture of these funds from an array of possible sources (sovereign assets of the Russian Federation, the assets of Russian oligarchs, etc.). After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, civilized countries froze the assets of the external foreign exchange reserve of the central bank of the Russian Federation, along with the private assets of Russian oligarchs. After freezing assets, the next step on the path towards transferring to Ukraine the assets and funds of the Russian Federation (both sovereign assets and those of private persons), which are located in many countries around the world, should be their confiscation, since freezing alone is not an effective measure. An important task is to help states take this step and develop appropriate confiscation mechanisms in their national legislation. This article is devoted to the study of this issue, as well as to the comparative analysis of that which has already been achieved in this field.