The following petition has been launched by the Belgian Committee of the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, in the light of the decision of the Belgian government not to make around €190 billion in frozen Russian funds held by Euroclear available for Ukraine’s urgent defence needs.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION, WHICH DEMANDS THE RELEASE OF THESE VITALLY NEEDED FUNDS NOW! UKRAINE NEEDS THEM URGENTLY!

In response to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian assets, mainly belonging to the Russian state and oligarchs, were frozen in many countries. Approximately two-thirds of these frozen assets, around €190 billion, are held by Euroclear in Brussels. The remainder is held in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Japan.

Since the beginning of the invasion, the Ukrainian state and civil society have been calling for the release of these funds as compensation for the damage caused by Russia, for the reconstruction of Ukraine and to support Ukraine's legitimate defense.

Over the past 3.5 years, the Belgian government has levied taxes on the funds blocked at Euroclear, amounting to approximately 1.25 billion per year. In no single year did Belgian aid to Ukraine exceed this amount of tax revenue. Meanwhile, Belgium spent almost twice as much on purchasing Russian gas, thus continuing to feed Putin's war chest.

At the last European summit on the 23th of October 2025, Belgium, through Prime Minister De Wever, played a key role in sabotaging the use of the funds blocked at Euroclear as collateral for a 140-billion-euro loan to Ukraine, funds that the country urgently needs to maintain its defense and civil expenditure. The Belgian government is hiding behind all kinds of - not insurmountable legal arguments.

We, Belgian citizens in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian citizens in Belgium, and citizens in solidarity from elsewhere in Europe and the world, demand that the Belgian government ends its opposition to the use for Ukraine of the Russian assets frozen at Euroclear in Brussels. These funds should be used in full to contribute to the defense and reconstruction of Ukraine.