US senators urge Trump to send frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

A group of Republican US senators has urged President Donald Trump to confiscate Russian assets frozen in the United States and direct them towards assistance for Ukraine.

Source: a letter obtained by European Pravda

Details: The letter was signed by Republican senators Jim Risch, Roger Wicker, John Kennedy and Rick Scott.

In the letter, the senators urged Trump to use the authorities granted to him under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act and, in coordination with the G7 and European allies, to transfer to Ukraine the full amount of Russian sovereign assets that are frozen or immobilised in the United States.

The senators argue that such a move would help unlock a decision on the use of US$162 billion of immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the European Union.

They wrote that once confiscated, these funds from Europe would be used to purchase weapons from American manufacturers for delivery to Ukraine. The senators said that this would be a win-win for America: it would generate orders that help accelerate the development of their domestic defence industry while ensuring Ukraine's ability to defend itself in the near future.

They call on Trump to instruct Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take immediate action to confiscate approximately US$5 billion in Russian sovereign assets that are currently frozen in the United States.

The letter adds that even if peace is achieved, Ukraine will need to modernise its armed forces, and using these assets would ensure Ukraine's ability to reliably defend itself in the coming years, while simultaneously unlocking access to more than US$81 billion in new European investment in the US defence industry.

Background:

• According to Bloomberg, the United States has lobbied several European Union countries in an attempt to block EU plans to use frozen Russian assets to back loans for Ukraine.
• Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing at the EU summit over a mechanism for using Russian assets to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, with cautious optimism that the outlines of an agreement could be reached by Friday morning.

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