The Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court against the Belgian depository Euroclear, demanding recovery of damages caused by the financial institution's illegal actions. The regulator's press release on December 12 noted that the reason for the lawsuit was the freezing of approximately €190 billion in Russian assets, as well as options discussed by the European Commission for using them to support Ukraine without Moscow's consent.

"In connection with the illegal actions of the Euroclear depository, causing losses to the Bank of Russia, as well as in connection with the mechanisms officially considered by the European Commission for the direct or indirect use of the Bank of Russia's assets without the consent of the Bank of Russia, the Bank of Russia is filing a claim in the Arbitration Court of the City of Moscow against the Euroclear depository for recovery of the losses caused to the Bank of Russia," - the document says.

According to the Central Bank, Euroclear's actions resulted in the inability to manage funds and securities, which directly harmed the Russian regulator. The specific amount of the claims was not disclosed in the statement. Earlier, on December 3, the European Commission presented a draft mechanism for a "Reparations Loan to Ukraine," which envisages the use of frozen assets to finance Kyiv in 2026–2027.

In a separate statement on December 12, the Bank of Russia promised to challenge any such initiatives in national and international courts, including the UN.

"The mechanisms for the direct or indirect use of the Bank of Russia's assets provided for by this document, as well as any other forms of uncoordinated use of the Bank of Russia's assets, are illegal, contrary to international law, including violating the principles of sovereign immunity of assets," — the text emphasizes.

A decision on the use of EU assets is expected at the summit on December 18, where most countries have already supported their indefinite freeze until the conflict is resolved and reparations are paid. Since the outbreak of full-scale conflict in 2022, the West has frozen a total of €260 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves.