The European Union said on Thursday that its member countries have agreed to initiate written procedures to reach an agreement on long-term freeze of Russia central bank's assets.
According to an EU diplomat, the EU governments are expecting to agree by Friday to freeze the Russian assets immobilized in Europe until the specified freeze period is reached, replacing the requirement to vote every six months on whether to renew the freeze, which needs the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states.
The move establishes the groundwork for an EU initiative to leverage the frozen Russian sovereign assets in extending loans to Ukraine, which would fund the country from 2026 to 2027, provided the assets remain frozen indefinitely.
The European Commission has proposed invoking Article 22 of the EU treaty to ensure the assets' indefinite freeze.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the scheme promoted by the European Commission to expropriate Russian assets is definitely illegal, according to Russian media outlet TASS.
The anticipated plan will inevitably entail harsh countermeasures, and those initiating this fraudulent scheme would bear full responsibility for all adverse consequences inflicted on the global economy, she said.
Following the full escalation of the Ukraine Crisis in February 2022, the West has frozen about 300 billion U.S.-dollar Russian overseas assets, with the value of the frozen assets of the Russian central bank reaching about 200 billion U.S. dollars.
Around 90 percent of the frozen Russian assets in the EU are held by the Brussels-based securities depository, Euroclear.
EU moves to long-term freeze of Russian central bank's assets
EU moves to long-term freeze of Russian central bank's assets
An American content creator has given his take on a surprising new viral trend which has taken social media by storm, as global internet users joke about entering a "very Chinese phase" of their lives.
The unexpected phenomenon which is sweeping across the online world shines a new spotlight on Chinese culture and lifestyle, and sees users declare they are "becoming Chinese" alongside the phrase "you've met me at a very Chinese time of my life," accompanied by videos of them adopting Chinese habits on various social media platforms.
U.S. influencer Paul Mike Ashton, known online as 'BaoBaoXiong', gained fame for coining the phrase which led to the "city or not city" meme back in 2024.
As for this latest online sensation, Ashton believes it's not just another amusing meme, but also a casual way to experience Chinese culture through everyday details, rather than abstract stereotypes.
He said the current wave is giving foreign audiences a fresh, tangible perspective on China, which makes cultural exchange more engaging and relatable.
"As a content creator, I absolutely think that this is going to be changing the way people perceive China in general. Oftentimes when we need simplified stories, we need people to see things as a whole unit as opposed to their little parts. I would say even just the practice of doing these things is giving you a chance to engage with the culture and engage with specifics instead of just kind of this big overall idea and getting new experience like 'OK, this particular form of life actually does really feel very nice and very comfortable'. I think it also gives a chance for Chinese creators to take more of a spotlight and actually talk a little bit more about their culture in ways that people will listen because there's a curiosity about this," he said.
Ashton also believes there are other deeper reasons for why this "becoming Chinese" trend has taken off, pointing to the current challenges and level of discontent many people feel in the U.S., which means many are looking for some form of escapism.
"I think I've heard somebody mention before kind of this idea that the U.S., politically and economically, is in a very sensitive time. There's a lot going on and there's a lot of unrest and a lot of unhappiness and a lot of unsatisfaction. So, I think that it's been proposed this idea that people are kind of looking for stuff outside of these sorts of traditional cultural superpowers to kind of find a sense of either excitement or safety or comfort," he said.
Ashton also pointed to how concerns over the future of the popular TikTok app early last year saw many online users flocking over to the Chinese mobile app RedNote as being another notable factor driving the emergence of these online trends.
He said this renewed global interest in Chinese culture has created fresh engagement channels on other international platforms.
"This is almost a year now since the initial TikTok refugee exodus last year in which a lot of people suddenly took interest in Chinese culture in a new way than before. So, I think there's been since then some opportunities to engage with and interact with Chinese culture in TikTok, in international social media, besides just China on its own that definitely I think has influenced this becoming a bigger trend," he said.
US influencer shares thoughts on 'Becoming Chinese' trend
