“The document proposes an incentive for the US president to redirect at least $250 million in asset income to Ukraine every 90 days”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
A bipartisan group of senators, including Gene Shagin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jim Risch, Chuck Grassley, Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham, proposed changes to the Ukraine Recovery REPO Act “to improve the implementation of the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine and other purposes.” The REPO law, which is the basis for the initiative, was passed in April 2024.
Shagin, a Democrat, pointed out that Russia’s war against Ukraine has caused “spectacular destruction and loss of life, and Putin must be held accountable.”
“The repurposing of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets is a necessary step to provide Ukraine with the resources to defend and rebuild its communities. Importantly, this approach allows us to continue to support Ukraine at no additional cost to American taxpayers. This legislation demonstrates the strong bipartisan commitment of Congress to support Ukraine. I urge the administration and our allies to continue this effort to make Russia pay the price for its aggression,” she said.
According to Whitehouse, frozen Russian assets are the most suitable target for providing Ukraine with the support it needs for its defense and reconstruction:
“REPO 2.0 will encourage the Trump administration and our G7 allies to begin removing frozen Russian assets and distributing them to Ukraine on a schedule to increase economic pressure on Putin.”
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Having a schedule for the withdrawal of Russian assets will ensure confidence in support for Ukraine and accountability for “sponsors of Putin’s ruthless regime,” Blumenthal said.
The law on the application of REPO-2025 provides for:
- transfer of all of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets of about $5 billion under US jurisdiction to an interest-bearing account
- encouraging US President Donald Trump to divert at least $250 million from this account to Ukraine every 90 days
- encouraging the Secretary of State, along with the Treasury Secretary, to conduct a vigorous diplomatic campaign to persuade US allies to begin transferring at least 5% (approximately $15 billion) of Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine every 90 days
In Western countries, more than 260 billion euros of Russian assets have been blocked since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. Most of the assets (about 190 billion euros) are kept in the Belgian depository Euroclear. EU countries have repeatedly discussed the possibility of confiscating the frozen assets of Russia, but the European Union decided to use only the profit from the frozen assets to help Ukraine.
In the Kremlin, the West’s plans to confiscate Russian assets were called encroachment on state and private property, as well as illegal actions.
