MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. Any EU operations involving Russian assets without Russia’s consent are unlawful, and the European Commission’s actions amount to outright robbery, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"As you know, since February 2024, the EU has transferred 6.6 bln euros to the Kiev regime from reinvestment of Russian Central Bank funds frozen in the Euroclear depository. In July, Brussels intends to replenish the Ukrainian budget in the same way with almost another 1.5 bln euros. I would like to stress once again that any operations they conduct with our assets without Russia’s consent are unlawful. What the European Commission is doing is outright robbery, and any attempts to whitewash it with pseudo-legal statements, wording or invented slogans are untenable," the diplomat noted.

"Profit from operations involving Russian reserves stems solely from the blocking of funds that were de facto seized from our country in 2022 without trial, without investigation, and without any legal basis. Everyone involved in this dirty story will inevitably be held accountable for their actions," Zakharova stressed.