Frozen Russian Funds for Weapons for Ukraine: New Bill Introduced in USA

US Senators Tim Kaine, John Cornyn, Chris Coons, Roger Wicker, Chuck Grassley, and Sheldon Whitehouse have introduced a bill that would allow Ukraine to use frozen Russian assets to purchase weapons.

This was announced in an official press release on the website of Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.

The new bill expands the scope of the previously passed REPO Act. Currently, the REPO Act allows Russian funds frozen in the US to be used only for humanitarian and economic aid, as well as for Ukraine’s reconstruction and contributions to international recovery funds.

Chuck Grassley and Sheldon Whitehouse emphasized that such funding for Ukraine’s military needs will not require expenditures from the US budget or American taxpayers’ money.

Between $5 billion and $7 billion in sovereign funds, belonging primarily to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, are frozen in US financial institutions.

As a reminder, Textron Systems announced that assembly has begun at its production facility in Louisiana for the Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV), production of which was halted in 2019.

Ukraine is among the countries set to receive these vehicles. The MSFV is an upgraded version of the M1117 armored personnel carrier.