US Eyes Over $300 Billion in Frozen Russian
Central Bank Funds to Assist Ukraine
Dave DeCamp / AntiWar.com

(December 21, 2023) — The Biden administration is quietly signaling its support for seizing more than $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank funds to use to fund Ukraine, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The central bank funds are held in the US, Europe, and Japan and were frozen using sanctions implemented after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Stealing the funds and giving them to Ukraine would be an unprecedented move and would take the US-led Western economic war against Russia to another level.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously said that seizing the funds without action from Congress is “not something that is legally permissible in the United States.”

US officials have also been concerned that the move could make other countries hesitant to keep funds in dollars or at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

But as the Biden administration is struggling to get Congress to authorize more funding for the proxy war, it’s taking a closer look at the idea of using the Russian funds.

According to the Times, the US has been discussing the issue in recent weeks with fellow Group of 7 nations and pressed them to come up with a strategy by February 24, the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.

President Biden has yet to sign off on the strategy as the details are being worked out. One issue that needs to be settled is whether the funds would go directly to Ukraine or [be] disbursed in another way.

G7 officials are also discussing whether the funds should be limited to spending on Ukraine’s government and reconstruction or used for its military as well.

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