MP Maslov suggests that partners introduce special duty on Russian goods to compensate for damages to Ukraine

Partner countries should introduce a special duty on the import of Russian-produced or related goods, oil and other products, and the proceeds should be transferred to the Fund for the compensation of damages caused to Ukraine.

The relevant statement was made by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Commitee on Legal Policy, Member of the Working Group on the Establishement of Special Tribunal Denys Maslov in an interview with Ukrinform.

“As you know, the Register of Damages has indeed been launched, and it is the first component of the comprehensive international mechanism for the compensation of damages,” Maslov noted.

In his words, the next step will be the creation of a compensation commission to review applications and determine the sum of compensation awarded to Ukrainian citizens.

At the same time, the third stage will be the establishment of the fund, which is to be filled from different sources and ensure compensation payments.

“There is no doubt that the damages caused to Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens must be repaid by the offender. In this case, it is not only about the responsibility of Russian government officials but the responsibility of the country as a whole,” Maslov stressed.

He recalled that, based on the various data, the estimated value of the frozen Russian assets was about EUR 300 billion.

“We insist that all these funds be transferred to Ukraine and directed to compensation purposes. However, one should realize that the state also needs this money for other important purposes... There is a possibility that a portion of this sum or even the whole amount will be directed to finance the defense needs,” Maslov explained.

According to him, contributions and grants from partner countries will be the second source to replenish the Compensation Fund. After Ukraine wins the war, the country’s economy will become the third source.

“In my opinion, since the sovereign assets of the Russian Federation will not be enough to compensate for the damages, some more funds should come from the companies, entities and individuals connected to the Russian Federation that are affected by the sanctions, as well as those avoiding them,” Maslov emphasized.

He mentioned that such initiative would be time consuming, but it is necessary to use the commercial assets of different entities, for example Gazprom, to compensate for the damages caused to Ukrainian citizens and finance Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.

“I also believe that partner countries should introduce a special duty on the import of Russian-produced or related goods, oil and other products, and the proceeds should be transferred to the Fund for the compensation of damages caused to Ukraine. There is already such an example in history, so it should not be a big problem to adopt and implement this practice, ” Maslov added.

A reminder that, on April 2, 2024, the International Register of Damages started its work in The Hague. Generally, up to 8 million applications are expected to come from the Ukrainians affected by Russian armed aggression.