Deposit Guarantee Fund appeals court refusal: nearly UAH 1 billion in damages inflicted by Russia at stake
The Northern Commercial Court of Appeal is hearing the Deposit Guarantee Fund’s appeal against a ruling that there was no causal link between the actions of the Russian Federation and the loss of assets of four Ukrainian banks — the outcome of the case could determine the future strategy for recovering damages on the international stage.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
February 25, 2026 · 2 min read
What happened
The Deposit Guarantee Fund (ФГВФО) filed an appeal against the decision of the Commercial District Court of Kyiv, which denied recovery from Russia of more than UAH 920 million in damages claimed in a consolidated case brought by the banks "Kyivska Rus", "Aktiv-Bank", "Energobank" and "Petrocommerce-Ukraine". The appeal hearing began at the Northern Appellate Commercial Court on February 25.
Context and reason for the claim
The Fund asserts that these banks were prevented from disposing of their assets due to the occupation of parts of Ukraine (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions), which caused direct financial losses. Amounts by bank: UAH 229.7 million (PJSC "Bank "Kyivska Rus"), UAH 169.5 million (PJSC "KB "Aktiv-Bank"), UAH 223.9 million (PJSC "Energobank"), UAH 301.9 million (PJSC "Bank Petrocommerce-Ukraine"). The court of first instance based its decision on an absence of proven causal link and on the amounts of the losses.
Why this matters for the country and depositors
This appeal is not just a dispute over specific amounts. It is about a legal precedent: if the court upholds the Fund's claim, it will strengthen Ukraine's position when preparing international claims against Russia and increase the chances of recovering compensation through international mechanisms, including the upcoming International Registry of Damages for Ukraine (RD4U).
The Fund's preliminary overall estimate of banks' losses from Russia's actions for 2014–2022 is about UAH 84 billion — a large-scale legal and evidentiary effort that requires consistency in national courts to turn domestic rulings into enforceable international claims.
Social proof: previous cases won
The Fund has already obtained several final rulings in its favor in similar cases. Among them is the January 23, 2024 decision regarding PJSC "KB "UFS" (over UAH 1.9 billion), as well as group and individual decisions in 2025: UAH 498.5 million (July 17, 2025) and approximately UAH 651 million (December 23, 2025) in favor of the Fund. In addition, in December 2024 the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld arbitral awards that recognized the illegality of the expropriation of PrivatBank's Crimean assets — an important international precedent.
"Lawsuits will be filed on their basis, and the court decisions obtained will, in the long run, make it possible to raise the issue of recovering damages from Russia on the international stage."
— Olga Bilay, Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund
What the Fund is doing and what to expect next
The Fund is preparing a detailed list of losses inflicted on banks after the full-scale invasion, to submit these data to RD4U when the registry becomes operational for legal entities. The appellate hearing may either open the way to reinstating the claim at first instance or strengthen the respondent’s argument — in any case, the outcome will affect the tactics of further national and international claims.
Brief conclusion
This case is part of a broader strategy to hold Russia accountable for financial losses inflicted on Ukrainian banks. For depositors and taxpayers it is important that the judicial work be consistent and supported by evidence: only then will national rulings be convertible into actual international recoveries. The next stop is the appeal; its result will determine how quickly and in what form Ukrainian creditors can seek compensation.
