President Joe Biden’s administration is backing legislation that would let it seize some of $300bn in frozen Russian assets to help pay for reconstruction of Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, citing a National Security Council (NSC) document addressed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“The bill would provide the authority needed for the executive branch to seize Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine,” the document, which is available to the publication, says.
Biden’s support for the move emerges as Republicans in Congress have blocked more than $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, partly over concerns that Washington is carrying too much of the financial burden as Kyiv’s counteroffensive stalls.
The White House is seeking to balance that with competing worries that the move could taint the reputation of the US financial system and spark a flight from the dollar. The administration also wants to align the move with Group of Seven allies, particularly in Europe, where about $200 billion of the frozen Russian assets are held and where support for seizure, particularly unilaterally, has been tepid.
The World Bank has estimated the reconstruction of Ukraine could cost about $411 billion.
The National Security Council declined to comment, as did the office of Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.