The White House said in a statement that the confiscation of Russian funds would “transfer all proceeds from the looted assets to Ukraine to compensate for the damage caused (to Ukraine) as a result of Russian aggression,” according to Agence France-Presse.
In turn, Reuters reported that Biden will ask Congress later Thursday to provide new funding to cover the costs of military support to Ukraine, in addition to new legal tools to tighten sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
Oligarchs are the Russian businessmen who made fortunes in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and have strong ties to the Kremlin.
The agency stated that Biden is seeking to transfer the frozen Russian businessmen’s funds to support Ukraine.
Biden is expected to ask Congress for large sums of money to help Kyiv counter the Russian attack, as well as to legislate the confiscation of Russian oligarchs’ funds to fund military and humanitarian operations in Ukraine.
US officials are seeking the full amount they expect to need by September, at the end of the fiscal year, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
US military aid to Ukraine has exceeded $3 billion since the outbreak of the war on February 24.
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