Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the confiscation of American assets in response to the seizure of Russian assets in the United States.
According to a decree published in Moscow on Thursday, Putin's move is meant to compensate for the damage caused by the "unfriendly" US actions to the Russian Federation and Central Bank.
Accordingly, a court in Russia can seize assets belonging to US citizens, such as shares in corporations and property rights. Similarly, a Russian individual or entity can petition a court to determine a violation of their property rights in the US, specifying the amount of damages incurred.
The Russian government has four months to make the necessary legal changes to implement the decree, according to the information provided.
Putin has issued multiple warnings against confiscating Russian state assets in the past.
In April, the US House of Representatives voted in favour of the seizure of frozen Russian assets.
At the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned the West against attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets, and threatened potential retaliation.
The European Union, Switzerland and other countries have also blocked Russian assets.
EU member states have agreed to use the interest income from frozen Russian assets in the EU to provide military assistance to Ukraine in the future.
According to the Commission, around €210 billion ($227 billion) of the Russian central bank's assets are frozen in the EU.
However, the assets have not yet been seized due to concerns in the EU about potential Russian retaliations.
Moscow criticized the confiscation of the interest income, calling it theft.