The Kremlin said Wednesday 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 floating a plan to divert most of them to Ukraine on Tuesday.
"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 on Wednesday warned Moscow would inevitably respond to what she called "direct banditry and theft".
The plan, set to be put before member states on Wednesday, would see 90 percent of profits made on the assets go to a fund used to cover the cost of weapons for Ukraine.
The other 10 percent would be funneled into the EU's budget, where it would be used to help increase the capacity of Ukraine's own defence industry.
The push by the EU to find more funds for Ukraine comes as a $60-billion support package from Kyiv's other major backer, the United States, remains blocked in Congress.
Dwindling weapon supplies two years into the conflict have left Ukraine's forces outgunned on the front line and struggling to halt Russian advances.
The EU froze some 200 billion euros of Russian central bank assets held in the bloc as punishment after Moscow sent troops into its neighbour in February 2022.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
US Urges India To "Utilize" Ties With Russia, Tell Putin To End Ukraine War Russia Should Attend Second Ukraine Summit, Says Zelensky Amid Raging War Russian, US Defence Chiefs Discuss Lowering Escalation Over Phone Call Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold "No Defamatory Remarks Against Governor": High Court To Mamata Banerjee Government Announces Partial Rollback Of Fee Hike In 13 Medical Colleges US Expresses "Great Concern" Over Pak's Decision To Ban Imran Khan's Party Digital Attendance Of Teachers Suspended Till Further Orders In UP Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.