The Ukrainian authorities introduced Tuesday that each one Russian belongings within the nation shall be seized and used to assist rebuild what has been destroyed within the ongoing warfare.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal mentioned that every thing Russia owns in Ukraine shall be transferred to the nation's Nationwide Funding Fund and thought of state property. The announcement got here greater than two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin first ordered troops to invade the nation.

The warfare has thus far devastated Ukrainian cities, with properties, colleges, and hospitals often underneath assault. Russian troops have additionally been accused by Ukrainian officers and different Western nations of committing grave warfare crimes by massacring harmless civilian populations.

"We'll take away every thing that Russia owns in Ukraine and channel these belongings into strengthening the military, supporting the folks, and rebuilding our nation," Shmyhal mentioned Tuesday, in response to the Ukrainian Nationwide Information Company. "Each the president and the federal government have repeatedly said that Russia should pay for what it has destroyed in Ukraine."

Ukraine to Seize Russian Assets
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal mentioned Tuesday that each one Russian belongings in Ukraine shall be seized and used to rebuild the nation. Right here, Shmyhal addresses a press convention in Warsaw on Could 5, 2022.JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Photos

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned final week that Russia has brought about at the very least $600 billion in harm for the reason that warfare started. In some locations, Russian shelling has practically destroyed whole villages and water methods, leaving many in Ukraine with out primary assets.

"Russia should pay reparations. We all know it clearly," Zelensky mentioned at The Wall Avenue Journal CEO Council Summit 2022. "They've destroyed every thing themselves."

A spokesperson for the United Nations mentioned Tuesday that over 7,000 Ukrainian civilians have thus far been killed within the warfare, although officers estimate the precise demise toll to be a lot larger. Final month, graphic photographs emerged exhibiting mass graves and corpses with their arms tied behind their backs within the Ukrainian city of Bucha, the place a whole lot of residents had been murdered. Russian troops have additionally been accused of killing kids, in addition to raping and torturing ladies.

Russia has additionally suffered important warfare losses. Ukraine has mentioned its fighters have killed at the very least 12 of the nation's high generals, and upwards of 20,000 troopers have reportedly been slain.

The warfare has additionally taken an enormous financial toll for Moscow. Final week, Newsweek reported that Russia is spending an estimated $900 million a day to fund the combating. Amongst different issues, that cash consists of paying Russian troopers, offering them with munitions, bullets and rockets; and the price to restore misplaced or broken navy tools.

Russia has additionally confronted important sanctions from the worldwide neighborhood. The U.S., European Union, and different international locations have strongly condemned the warfare and have labored to weaken Moscow's financial ties.

"Putin is banking on us shedding curiosity," President Joe Biden mentioned late final month whereas discussing the U.S. assist for Ukraine. "He is betting our Western unity will crack. He is nonetheless betting on that, and as soon as once more we will show him incorrect. We won't reduce our resolve."

Newsweek contacted Russia's ministry of overseas affairs for remark.