Russia’s International Reserves Reach Record $687.7 Billion Despite Western Asset Freeze

By Staff, Agencies

Russia’s international reserves have surged to an all-time high of $687.7 billion as of the end of June, according to the latest data released by the Russian central bank on Thursday.

This milestone comes despite the continued freeze of over $300 billion in Russian assets by Western countries in response to the Ukraine conflict—an action Moscow has condemned as illegal and tantamount to theft.

The Bank of Russia reported a $500 million [0.1%] increase in reserves during the week of June 20, citing favorable market revaluation. Over the past month, reserves grew by $9 billion, surpassing the previous record of $687.3 billion set in early May. The central bank releases these figures weekly, with a one-week delay.

Russia’s international holdings consist of foreign currencies, IMF special drawing rights, and monetary gold. Approximately half of these assets—over $300 billion—were immobilized by Western governments in early 2022. While the Bank of Russia has not disclosed full details about the frozen assets, it is known that around two-thirds are held by the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear, which continues to earn substantial interest on them.

Western governments have debated seizing the frozen assets outright, but legal constraints and concerns over sovereign immunity have delayed such moves. Instead, the European Union has approved using interest income generated from these funds to finance aid to Ukraine. In 2023, Euroclear transferred €1.5 billion [about $1.7 billion] in interest earnings to help secure a $50 billion G7 loan for Ukraine.

So far, the European Commission has distributed €7 billion of its €18.1 billion share of that loan, funded by the returns from Russia’s immobilized reserves. There are ongoing discussions within the EU about increasing those returns by investing the assets in higher-yield financial instruments. However, such proposals face resistance from key member states like Germany and Italy due to legal and financial risks.

Moscow has sharply criticized the West’s actions. President Vladimir Putin recently described the freeze as “robbery,” arguing that even the term “theft” does not fully capture the extent of the Western seizure. He warned that any further confiscation could push Russia—and potentially other countries—away from Western financial institutions and toward alternative regional systems.