US President Joe Biden on Thursday proposed using the confiscated assets of Russian billionaires, whom he called “bad guys,” to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by the country’s invasion by Moscow troops. The statement came in an announcement made at the White House.
That proposal, a hardening of Washington’s stance on Moscow, will be accompanied by fresh military aid to Kyiv, also announced by Biden on Thursday.
The American leader also asked Congress to authorize the transfer of $33 billion ($165 billion) in aid to Ukraine, including $20 billion ($100 billion) in military aid.
Of the total, $8.5 billion will help Ukraine’s government respond to the immediate crisis, while about $3 billion is needed to fund humanitarian aid and address the global food supply price shock resulting from the Russian invasion deal with.
“We are not attacking Russia, we are helping Ukraine defend itself against the aggression it is suffering from. (…) We must help Ukrainians fight for their territory or we will side with Russian aggression,” he said. The President also said that humanitarian measures taken by the US to support Ukrainians, such as sending food, water and medicines, will continue.
Biden cited a “longterm security system,” a strategy to continue helping Ukraine against Russian threats and aggression. He assured that Ukrainian refugees are welcome in the US and will be granted entry visas.
The US government has provided Ukraine with more than $3 billion in arms since the Russian invasion began on February 24. The White House is now trying to get enough funding from Congress to extend that support through October.
European Union countries have so far seized more than $30 billion ($150 billion) in Russian assets, of which $7 billion ($35 billion) are billionaire luxury goods (yachts, works of art, real estate, and helicopters). , said the White House.
“We will not allow Russia to intimidate Western countries with sanctions. Threats won’t win,” added the American leader. For him, “energy is not just a commodity, but a Russian weapon used to intimidate and blackmail other nations.”
The US government “blocked boats and planes worth over a billion dollars and froze hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian elites in American accounts”.