Russia wants Europe to believe its frozen money is untouchable. It isn’t. Europe holds €210 billion of Russian state assets, €185 billion of them in Belgium. It is the strongest lever the free world has, and it sits unused.
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Move the frozen Russian assets out of Belgium’s sole responsibility and into the custody of the European Union. This would:
**Protect Belgium.**Belgians have faced repeated Russian threats for holding the money. Once the funds sit with the whole EU, Russia loses its leverage over one country.**Relieve European taxpayers.**Russian money, legally frozen and legally transferred, can sustain Ukraine’s resistance instead of national budgets.**Fund the coalition’s R&D frontline.**If a share goes to defense innovation, Russia’s own money will pay for the battle-tested Ukrainian technology that now defends Poland, the Baltic states, and the rest of Europe’s skies.
Hugo Dixon, the great-grandson of Winston Churchill, and his colleagues have built the legal and political case. Read it here.
Washington has just opened its market to Russian diesel, throwing the Kremlin a lifeline. Europe can’t control that decision. It can control the €210 billion it already holds.
**If Europe acts:**Russia loses its leverage over Belgium, Ukraine gains a funding base that doesn’t depend on any single election, and Europe’s defense industry gains a paying customer for combat-proven technology.**If Europe waits:**the assets stay a hostage to Russian threats and legal pressure, and European taxpayers carry the full cost of a war Russia started.
What to say: lexicon
Say “Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Never say “the Ukraine war” or “the war in Ukraine.”
Avoid the words “stalemate” and “escalation.” The rhetoric of “avoiding escalation” creates an acceptance of a never-ending war. Well, a proper “escalation” is the way out of a “stalemate.”
Ukraine is striking the oil refineries that fuel the Russian war machine. Russia is striking the schools, homes and bridges where Ukrainians live.
“Make Russia pay instead of Western taxpayers.”
“Make the war expensive for Russia.”
“Make imperialism expensive”
*JP Lindsley, an American journalist based in Ukraine, is co-founder and editor-in-chief of UnderFire.News. *
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**Ukrainian Drones Set St. Petersburg Oil Facilities Ablaze—**Ukrainian dronesstruck oil facilities in St. Petersburg on October 18, setting fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal, the Ruchyi oil depot, and industrial warehouses, according to Governor Alexander Beglov. The terminal is a major petroleum storage and export facility, with reported annual throughput of 12.5 million tons. Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point said its FP-1 drones participated in the strike.A VK data center and an Ozon logistics facility were also attacked, both companies confirmed. The operation followed Kyiv’s resumption of strikes on Russian oil infrastructure after a three-day pause under an attempted U.S.-brokered energy ceasefire. Trump has pressed Ukraine to halt the attacks and blamed Kyiv for higher fuel prices. Zelensky countered that Russia had launched almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles against Ukraine over the preceding week, arguing that Moscow was offering no reciprocal restraint in exchange for American sanctions relief.
