The US Senate approved the seizure of Russian assets in favor of Ukraine

The U.S. Senate passed a $1.66 trillion federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2023, which includes an amendment to seize Russian assets in favor of Ukraine. This was announced by Paul Massaro, senior political adviser to the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“The US Senate just voted unanimously to send seized oligarch assets to Ukraine,” he tweeted.

This amendment was made by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. We are talking about the ability to transfer the frozen assets of Russian businessmen and companies for humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine, Graham explained in a conversation with CNN.

Dec. 20 $1.66 trillion fiscal year budget bill was introduced to the US Congress. The document also takes into account the allocation of $44.9 billion to help Ukraine and NATO allies. Senators are rushing to pass the bill and submit it to US President Joe Biden for signature before the end of the week to prevent a shutdown.

Last week, on December 16, the US Senate also approved the defense budget for 2023 in the amount of $858 billion. The amount exceeded last year’s figure of $778 billion and became a record in the history of the country. The defense budget provides for the allocation of $800 million to Ukraine.

Previously, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly proposed to confiscate the frozen Russian funds in favor of the country. So, in March, Kyiv said that these assets were “reserved” for Ukraine, and in May, President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that partner states sign an agreement on the seizure and confiscation of Russian assets abroad in favor of Kyiv.

November 15 UN General Assembly accepted draft resolution on reparations to Ukraine. It was proposed to create an international mechanism and establish an international registry for registering evidence of “damage, loss or harm caused to all interested individuals and legal entities, as well as to the state of Ukraine.”

The draft document was criticized by the Russian authorities. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared about the “insignificance” of the document. The Kremlin also pointed out the lack of legal force for such a resolution. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov notedthat the adoption of the draft document is an attempt to “complete the robbery” of Russia’s blocked reserves.