Assets of Russians and Belarusians seized by Ukraine can be used for large-scale post-war reconstruction of the country, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said on Friday, Reuters reports.

The government has frozen about 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21 billion) worth of Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24, according to the state agency the Bureau of Economic Security.

“Now we are looking for the necessary resources for (our) critical recovery,” Marchenko told Ukrainian Sospilny, suggesting the creation of a special liquidation fund as a source of budget for reconstruction.

“This fund may include money seized on the territory of Ukraine from citizens of Russia and Belarus,” he added, without elaborating.

Ukrainian officials say that the government will have to spend about $38 billion on reconstruction in 2023 alone. The total cost of reconstruction is estimated at $750 billion.

The European Union is also considering the possibility of using Russian assets frozen by Western sanctions against Moscow in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said at an EU summit last week.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said the sum is around 300 billion euros, although Germany and other states say the asset confiscation may be illegal.

Moscow said on Thursday it would retaliate if the EU took steps to seize assets belonging to the Russian state or its citizens. The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova said that any such step would be “theft”.