Moscow will respond to the West freezing its assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
At the end of July, Brussels sent the first tranche of military aid to the Ukrainian side in the amount of 1.5 billion euros in proceeds from immobilized Russian assets.
"Retaliatory measures will certainly follow. They will be balanced, verified and will not cause damage to Russian economic operators. We have a sufficient arsenal of appropriate political and economic steps against those who are trying to 'lay their hands' on Russian gold and foreign currency reserves," the ministry said.
Moreover, sending proceeds from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine is illegal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Although the frozen assets themselves are not being confiscated, Brussels' use of the proceeds... is an illegal act... Both the freezing of Russian assets and any subsequent actions with them are absolutely illegal," the ministry said.
It said the practice of freezing assets cannot but affect the attitude toward the euro as a reserve currency.