Vladimir Putin must pay for $500billion damage his war caused in Ukraine – here’s how we make him do it

Keir Starmer issues stark warning to Putin & reveals military chiefs will meet in UK to thrash out Ukraine peace plans

PM's Putin warning

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VLADIMIR Putin must pay for the $500billion of damage that his war has caused to Ukraine.

He started this war, and so justice demands that Russia should pay reparations.

AP

Putin must pay for the $500billion of damage that his war has caused to Ukraine[/caption]

EPA

He started this war, and so justice demands that Russia should pay reparations[/caption]

It must be Moscow, not Ukrainians or Western taxpayers, who pay to rebuild the infrastructure that Russia has so deliberately destroyed.

There is a way to ensure that Putin pays at least some of the bill.

Today, there are around $300billion of frozen Russian assets in Western financial systems, with the vast majority held in Europe.

They should be seized and given to Ukraine.

To ease concern, these assets should be transferred to a compensation trust that would pay out to Kyiv.

If this does not happen imminently, Ukraine may never get the support it needs.

In the coming weeks, there is a chance a ceasefire can be put in place.

But it might not be ­possible to negotiate a permanent peace.

It would leave this war as a frozen conflict.

In these circumstances, the political will to keep Russian assets frozen would not last forever, meaning they would be returned to Moscow.

Keir Starmer warns Putin 'sooner or later he will have to come to the table' as world leaders push Russia for ceasefire

Putin under pressure

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Another scenario is if Ukraine is forced to the negotiating table by withdrawal of Western support.

Putin would have the whip hand and undoubtedly demand the return of assets — giving Russia funds to spend on weapons to further menace Ukraine.

This risks becoming reality if we and our European allies do not act quickly.

So let us take a decisive step to making Putin pay and seize these assets.