Since the beginning of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine in 2022, the value of the gold reserves of the Central Bank of Russia has increased by more than $216 billion, calculated the agency Bloomberg, writes LETA, citing Meduza.
The agency notes that this amount is almost equivalent to the volume of Russian assets frozen in Europe.
In the European Union, assets of the Central Bank of Russia worth about 210 billion euros are frozen, with approximately 185 billion euros of this amount held in the financial institution Euroclear in Belgium. In December, EU countries overwhelmingly agreed to freeze Russian assets under the jurisdiction of the bloc indefinitely.
According to the Central Bank of Russia, by the end of 2025, Russia's foreign reserves amounted to nearly $755 billion, of which $326.5 billion was in gold.
According to Bloomberg, in 2025, the Central Bank of Russia refrained from large-scale gold purchases and from actively using its gold reserves. The Central Bank began to gradually use gold only at the end of the year, resulting in reserves decreasing to 74.8 million troy ounces.
Nevertheless, the agency estimates that gold currently accounts for about 43% of the Central Bank of Russia's foreign reserves, compared to 21% before the full-scale war in Ukraine began.
The price of gold increased by 65% in 2025, Bloomberg points out. Since the beginning of 2026, gold has risen by more than 8%, exceeding $4,700 per ounce. The Russian Ministry of Finance forecasts further price growth to $5,000 and above.
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