Russia’s brutal and illegal aggression against Ukraine has now reached a critical juncture. Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine demands bold and decisive action. It is time for the United States and its allies to unlock the value of trapped Russian assets so Ukraine can receive the financial assistance it urgently needs.
The United States and the global coalition including the G7, Europe and the rest of the world are engaged in a battle of wills with President Vladimir Putin. As Russia continues to move toward a permanent war footing and Ukraine faces a major funding shortfall in the future, Putin is gambling that he can wait out the coalition until Ukraine runs out of money and ammunition.
Russian aggression continues with each passing day, threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty, our collective security, and the rules-based international order that underpins the strength of the global economy and international financial system.
Since Russian troops first massed on Ukraine’s border, the United States and the Group of Seven have imposed sweeping multilateral sanctions to deprive Russia of the funds and military equipment to fuel its aggression. The United States has provided Ukraine with weapons, equipment and financial support.
At the start of the war, we also immobilized approximately $280 billion in national assets held by Russian financial institutions, agreeing to keep these assets immobilized until Russia compensated for the damage it had caused.
Most of these assets are currently held in Belgian financial institutions. These assets generate billions of dollars in revenue each year that Russia cannot legally claim. The European Union has agreed to use these “windfall” revenues to help Ukraine, and I applaud the plan. But it will not be enough to meet Ukraine’s immediate and future needs. So the United States, working with its allies, sought to build on the European plan.
We are proposing a loan to provide Ukraine with a definitive amount of funding, to be repaid over time with revenues. The funds provided by this loan will provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to defend and rebuild itself, and they will be paid for by the revenues of Putin’s own assets.
Our proposal sends a clear message to President Putin that we are in for the long haul — that he will not outlast Ukraine and our coalition. It is consistent with domestic and international law, and it does not preclude us from taking additional actions against these assets with our partners in the future.
The United States and our allies have made important progress on our proposal, including through last month’s G7 finance ministers and central bank governors and President Biden’s leadership. This week’s G7 summit provides a critical opportunity for leaders to endorse this proposal and provide further momentum to our efforts to secure resources to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression.
