Frozen Russian assets may help Ukraine wage war four more years - Reuters
Russian assets abroad will help Ukraine wage war for another four years (Photo:REUTERS / Peter Nicholls)
Confiscation of Russian assets abroad worth about $320 billion will help finance Ukraine's defense until the end of 2028, Reuters reported on April 29.
The idea of assets confiscation includes usage of Russian assets, frozen after Russian invasion, to support a loan that Western countries will provide to Ukraine, or to transfer interest from these assets to Kyiv.
The United States is proposing to open up a new fundraiser for Kyiv by capitalizing interest payments that accumulate at Euroclear, clearing house in Belgium where most of the assets are held. A specialized company would likely issue bonds backed by future interest rates and pay proceeds to Ukraine, Reuters points out.
“It will help, but it will not be a game changer, as it will be able to finance Ukraine for less than six months," Reuters wrote.
"But if Kyiv will get $320 billion, that will be a different matter. This will allow to finance war at least until the end of 2028."
If the war ends by 2028, this money can be used to rebuild Ukraine, which estimatedly will cost $486 billion, World Bank reported.
At the same time, only $5 billion of Russian assets are in the United States, bulk of thier frozen money is kept in EU, which has legal doubts about their confiscation.
Struggle over Russian assets
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill that would help to confiscate Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine to rebuild its infrastructure on Jan. 24
Prior to that, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that his country, together with EU, was considering legal authority to direct $300 billion in Russian assets to Ukraine's reconstruction and other needs.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that outlines of decisions necessary to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine are already being prepared.
Bill No. 8038 on transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine received the required number of votes to be passed by US House of Representatives on April 20.
Ukraine may receive almost eight billion dollars as part of this procedure. This bill must now be approved by US Senate.
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