Moscow will confiscate EU assets if Brussels 'steals' frozen Russian funds - Putin ally

FILE PHOTO: Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament, attends a plenary session in Moscow, Russia, Russia, October 17, 2023. Russian State Duma/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will confiscate assets belonging to European Union states it deems unfriendly if the bloc "steals" frozen Russian funds in a drive to fund Ukraine, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday that the EU executive was working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction.