When Putin has lost war his billions must be seized to rebuild Ukraine

Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)Ukrainians have been rounded up and executed in towns like Bucha, and their settlements pulverised in places like Lyman and Bakhmut. Russia is losing the war. But that has not diminished its brutality. Now it uses drones and missiles – some from Iran and North Korea – to devastate Ukrainian cities by night. All of this will need to be fixed, and the country of Ukraine must somehow be rebuilt. Even as its soldiers lose and run on the battlefield, Russia may seem untouchable. It is a tragic and depressing sight. There is no way – under current rules – to get Russia to pay for Ukraine’s rebuilding.Pessimistic analysts believe Russia will never pay for the crimes it has committed in Ukraine.And the money can’t come from us. We and the rest of Ukraine’s allies are hurting. They are suffering from slow growth and high inflation. They simply can’t pay for all of this.Getting reparations from Russia using traditional models seems remote. Russia remains on the UN Security Council, and it will simply veto any attempts by the global community to make it pay for the damage it has caused.But solutions are possible. I and the New Lines Institute have convened legal and policy scholars to produce an answer. The result is our new Multilateral Action Plan on Reparations. This represents a new model of reparations.This week we launched it in Brussels with the Ukrainian Ambassador to the EU present, and today, we will launch the model in Westminster with Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK in Parliament.Ours is an effective, ground-breaking system designed to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by Russia’s invasion.The report spells out an international legal process to identify, collect, and distribute sanctioned Russian money, for the benefit of Ukraine.Our legal analysis envisages the creation of a new fund and compensation commission modelled on the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) which was created by the UN to compensate Kuwait after Iraq’s invasion in 1990. A new reparations deal could be established by international agreement between willing parties.In the aftermath of the Second World War, multiple countries working together took action to define and collect a pool of assets of the defeated Nazi state.The agreement allowed for the seizure of German assets across the world. This could be done again.The democratic world has immense financial muscle and legal power. Signatories of a new agreement would commit to seize Russian assets within their jurisdiction, in accordance with their national and constitutional requirements, and afterwards place them into the fund, for subsequent distribution by the new compensation commission.The allies of Ukraine have already sanctioned, frozen and seized many billions of dollars of Russian state assets. This money – already sitting idle under the control of foreign governments – can be put to use rebuilding and compensating Ukraine for Russian aggression.This capital will be vital in rebuilding Ukrainian infrastructure and restarting of its economy. It will be essential in paying for the cost of assisting the people and society of Ukraine in recovering their mental health and social stability, both of which have been seriously affected by the war.Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state could petition a new commission for reconstruction and reparation funds. Once evidence of necessity was produced, the commission could draw on the funds gathered by these methods and disburse the money.There is a lot of Russian capital, including central bank assets and frozen oligarch cash.But other sources of reparations are also possible. One option compatible with the UNCC precedent, would be to place a charge on Russian oil and gas revenues which would be paid into the Ukrainian fund.And there are a broader range of Russian assets held in the West. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has developed into a fully ‘criminal gang state’ where the courtiers and leading supporters of the Kremlin leadership have been permitted to plunder the country.DON’T MISS:Sturgeon’s independence bid in tatters as Sunak will ‘stand firm’ [UPDATE]Fury as BBC branded ‘incapable’ of impartiality over vile Sunak insult [REACTION]Hunt delays crunch Budget and drops hint Sunak is tearing up plans [INSIGHT]This plundering has now continued for over 20 years. Assets ripe for seizure in the order what our report assesses to be in the ‘low trillions’ of dollars.This is a significant source of money. And a state as corrupt and looted as Russia’s has been for the 20 years of Vladimir Putin’s rule presents other opportunities for freezing and seizure.Much of this is common knowledge and the subject of much documentation. The late writer Karen Dawisha in her book Putin’s Kleptocracy noted that in Russia, every year, hundreds of billions of dollars are paid to affiliates of the regime in bribery money alone. A creative treaty could render those assets useable for seizing and adding to the fund.The authors intend this model to assist Ukraine as it rebuilds a shattered country, economy and society in response to Russian aggression.Future wars will resemble Russia’s war in Ukraine more than they resemble the Second World War or Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. International law, and international governance, will have to adapt.We believe the New Lines model will be a tool to help keep the peace in future – as well as one that can aid in Ukraine’s reconstruction.Ukraine must be rebuild, and our model is intended to make Russia pay for it.