Lawmakers Applaud Progress on Using Seized Russian Assets for Ukraine
Two leaders of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, also known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, said last week they welcome the Biden administration’s decision to move forward with giving Ukraine $20 billion in loans that will be repaid with interest generated from frozen Russian central bank assets.
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The loans, which are part a $50 billion loan package the Group of Seven nations have agreed to provide to Ukraine (see 2406140056), are “an important first step in making Russia pay for the death and devastation they have caused throughout Ukraine,” said Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., the commission’s chairman and ranking member, respectively.
The lawmakers said the U.S. must continue working with allies to ensure that all $350 billion in frozen Russian assets held abroad are confiscated and repurposed to help Ukraine defend and rebuild itself. While the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in April (see 2404240043), authorizes asset seizures in the U.S., most of the frozen assets are in Europe.