Russia Is Blocked From Collecting $4.5 Billion in Ukraine Bond Dispute

Kyiv can make the case that Moscow cajoled it into an unfavorable bond sale a decade ago, U.K. court rules

In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding a red binder, and Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s president, agreed that Moscow would bail out Kyiv’s cash-strapped government with bond purchases.

PHOTO: SERGEI KARPUKHIN/REUTERS

By 

Alexander Osipovich

 and

 

Eliot Brown

March 15, 2023 7:59 am ET

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The U.K.’s highest court sided with Ukraine in a dispute with Russia over more than $4.5 billion in debt, allowing Kyiv to make the case that it doesn’t need to repay bonds it has said were foisted upon it nearly a decade ago.

Wednesday’s ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court means that Ukraine can go to trial to argue that the debt should be voided because it was forced to issue the bonds and sell them to Russia under duress.