MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Wednesday that the European Union would be committing an “unprecedented violation” of international law if it used frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine.
EU countries have been wrangling for months over what to do with the assets, with the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell putting forward a plan on Wednesday to divert interest earned on them for Ukraine.
“The Europeans are well aware of the damage such decisions could do to their economy, their image, their reputations as reliable guarantors,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“They will become the target of prosecution for many decades,” he warned.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that Moscow would inevitably respond to what she called “direct banditry and theft.”
EU officials say their latest proposal could see an estimated three billion euros a year used to help Ukraine.
The EU froze around 200 billion euros of Russian central bank assets held in the bloc as part of punishing sanctions imposed on Moscow for sending troops into its neighbor in February 2022.
Most the funds are held by the international securities depository Euroclear, based in Belgium.
Under the EU plan, 90 percent of the money taken from the profits would go to a fund used to cover the cost of weapons for Ukraine.
The other 10 percent would be funnelled into the EU’s budget, where it would be used to help increase the capacity of Ukraine’s own defense industry.
The push by the EU to find more funds for Ukraine comes as a $60 billion support package from the United States, Kyiv’s other major backer, remains blocked in Congress.
Dwindling weapon supplies two years into the conflict have left Ukraine’s forces outgunned on the front lines and struggling to halt Russian advances.
EU leaders are set to discuss the proposal at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and officials said the money could start going to help Ukraine by July if a quick agreement is reached.
EU officials insisted their plan was legally sound because the profits being targeted were earned by the securities depositories as a result of the sanctions, and did not belong to Russia.
Some member states including Germany have been very cautious about any moves that could undermine the faith of overseas investors in the European financial system.
At the same time, Brussels is under pressure from Ukraine and the United States to go further and to seize the entire 200 billion euros’ worth of Russian government assets.
Kremlin says EU plan to use assets for Ukraine breaks law
https://arab.news/mku6j
Kremlin says EU plan to use assets for Ukraine breaks law
- “The Europeans are well aware of the damage such decisions could do to their economy, their image, their reputations as reliable guarantors,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said
- “They will become the target of prosecution for many decades”
Indonesia to send record number of women officers to assist Hajj pilgrims
- Women comprise 33% of Indonesian Hajj officers in 2026
- They will assist the world’s largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Friday concluded a training program for Hajj officers, a group that this year includes a record number of female guides to help Indonesian pilgrims perform the spiritual journey.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia sends the largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims every year, comprising 221,000 people in 2026.
They will be assisted by more than 1,600 Indonesian officers who came from different parts of the country to participate in a 20-day training program in East Jakarta to prepare them for the roles, ahead of the pilgrimage season in May.
“Education and training for Indonesian Hajj officers … are carried out as part of the operational preparations for the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage,” said Puji Raharjo, director general of Hajj management at the ministry, during the closing ceremony on Friday.
“This program is aimed at ensuring the physical, mental, technical and organizational readiness of the officers in order to guide, serve and protect Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.”
Indonesia is sending more than 500 female Hajj officers in 2026 — its largest group of women guides yet.
“This year, women officers comprise about 33 percent, the highest in the history of Hajj management in Indonesia,” Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, the minister of women’s empowerment and child protection, told reporters.
As over 55 percent of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims are women and most of them are elderly, female officers can help ensure that they are treated with more care and empathy, she added.
Fauzi said: “There are many issues that are more suitable to be handled by female officers, things related to women’s issues, assistance inside the room, or emergencies that concern the privacy of the (women) pilgrims.”
The training program, which ran from Jan. 10-30, was aimed at preparing the officers physically and educating them on existing Hajj policies and mechanisms, while also covering operational case studies and lessons on effective communication and Arabic, as well as simulations of real-life situations related to the pilgrimage.
Indonesian Hajj officers will undergo a round of training online in February, before another session is held with reference to their departure locations in Indonesia.
“Every year, Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims in the world. This fact demands us to be truly ready and organized with officers who are dependable. Hajj officers fill a strategic role, you represent the state for the pilgrims, (and) you represent the state in front of the world,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said while addressing this year’s batch of Hajj officers.
“This training and guidance program is therefore very important, as this is where you all prepare in order to understand the extent of your duties, strengthen coordination and come together in unity and discipline for the mission ahead.”
