Ukrzaliznytsia studying potential risk from possible arrest of company’s assets abroad by Russia to secure claim on $3 bln debt

Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia is analyzing the possibility of an arrest of assets of Ukrainian railways by Russia to secure the claim on the $3 billion debt and the company is ready to do all possible to avoid this, Director for Reformation, Law and Asset Policy and Board Member of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov has said.

"We’ve raised the issue at Ukrzaliznytsia for the legal analysis. There could be potential risks, but we're doing everything not to have these sanctions applied to railway assets. Of course, we will make relevant operating decisions if it requires," he said after the sector control presentation of the Center for Transport Strategies in Kyiv on Tuesday.

As reported, referring to Russian Deputy Finance Minister r Sergei Storchak, that Ukraine has until March 4 to respond to a Russian court claim for debt on eurobonds.

"The key date is the first one, March 4, by when the Ukrainians are due to respond to our lawsuits. The court will then schedule hearings. We have filed the suit and they have to make at least some sort of counter-argument. It's the usual plaintiff-defendant procedure – the plaintiff first and the defendant second," he said.

Some experts and lawyers said that the decision on the claim could be potentially secured by an arrest of state-owned assets of Ukraine located abroad, which could be passenger cars that run on international routes.