Kyiv continues to receive US military aid, despite the Pentagon's running out of money. This was stated by Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova in an interview with Voice of America.
She noted that Ukraine needs more weapons, and that new bills need to be passed urgently.
"That's why all eyes are now on the US Congress," Markarova said, referring to the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that has been stalled for several months.
Due to the delay in Congress, more and more experts are discussing alternative funding options for Kyiv. One such option is the confiscation and transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. In total, we are talking about more than $300 billion, most of which are frozen in the EU.
The diplomat explains that due to the nature of the fighting, the Ukrainian military needs a lot of weapons, and even the scale provided by partners at the beginning of the full-scale invasion was not enough. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the issue comprehensively.
"Even with the unprecedented assistance of the past year, we do not have enough shells, we do not have enough everything. Therefore, we need to maintain the level of support and increase it, and we need to start co-production, our own production, and seize Russian assets very quickly. Because they have to pay for it," says Oksana Markarova.
She believes that the Congress will approve a new aid package for Kyiv before the procedure for transferring Russian assets is agreed upon. Therefore, Russian assets can hardly be considered an alternative way of financing if Congress continues to delay the approval of the $61 billion package.
According to Markarova, who once headed Ukraine's Finance Ministry, the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine, even if the decision is made quickly, will be "a matter of months.”