Citing data from the European Commission (EC), the total value of Russian private assets frozen in the European Union due to sanctions has reached 24.1 billion euros ($25.9 billion), according to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on Saturday.

The frozen assets increased from 18.9 billion euros in December to 24.1 billion euros in May, the newspaper reported, adding that approximately 1,473 individuals and 205 companies from Russia are now sanctioned by the EU.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, nearly half of Russia's foreign currency reserves have been sanctioned, amounting to about $300 billion, as part of the West's draconian sanction campaign against the country. 

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This comes after the EC lawyers concluded that the assets of the Bank of Russia, which had been frozen by the EU, will be returned to Moscow once the war in Ukraine ends, according to the German newspaper Die Welt newspaper last month. 

The newspaper cited an unpublished EC document, which stated that the assets of the Bank of Russia "cannot be touched since once upon a time when the war ends, they will have to be returned to Russia." EC experts have reached that "sobering conclusion" despite having claimed that "there is political will but legal barriers are high."

The European Council previously said it had requested recommendations from the European Commission on means of using Russian assets to help in the restoration of Ukraine.

The West using frozen Russian assets to help with Ukraine's reconstruction is a complex legal issue that will require the European Union to do a lot of work before a decision is reached, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on October 25.

In June last year, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Venediktov deemed the freezing of Russian assets to be one of the greatest thefts in history.

Read more: EU giving Kiev seized Russian assets will prompt retaliation: Russia