Putin's Matryoshka: A War Reparations Facility for Rebuilding Ukraine

This Article addresses a critical, trillion-dollar question: How do we hold Russia accountable for the reconstruction of Ukraine? The nation has been devastated by Russia's brutal war of aggression, with tens of thousands killed, millions displaced and its economy in shambles. The enormity of the problem cannot be overstated. Existing proposals to support Ukraine, including many from prominent scholars, largely focus on seizing Russian assets, particularly central bank reserves "frozen" by sanctions. Such strategies, however, are legally problematic-likely well beyond the scope of Presidential authority-and financially insufficient. Moreover, while prospective new legislation could expand presidential powers, it risks new challenges, including significant constitutional considerations and potential violations of international law-risking adverse implications for U.S. foreign policy, as well as the efficacy of global financial infrastructure. To square this most critical circle, this Article proposes establishing a war reparations facility for Ukraine, modeled on the United Nations Compensation Commission, which paid over $52 billion to 1.5 million victims of Iraq's unlawful 1990 invasion of Kuwait, funded by a levy on Iraqi oil sales. The proposal offers numerous advantages, including bypassing legal issues associated with seizing Russian reserves and-most critically-facilitating direct compensation to individual war victims, similarly funded through a Russian oil sales levy. Though hardly uncomplicated, Russian participation can be incentivized through economic leverage. Due to sanctions, Russian oil trades at a discount, totaling tens of billions annually. As detailed in the Article, that delta can be transposed to fund a reparations facility for Ukraine, in effect collateralized by $325 billion of Russia's "frozen" reserves. Along with an actionable solution-with immediate policy utility-this Article raises significant normative implications, including with respect to critical issues of state responsibility following conflicts. While there is no way for Russia to truly compensate its victims, reparations may provide some modicum of justice and the means to rebuild. It is imperative for policymakers to celeritously implement this critical support for victims of a barbaric war.