Frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Faced with the refusal of our MAGA-Republican representative in Congress to allow a vote on helping Ukraine, it would seem that the next logical step, or “Plan B”, is for the US Government and its Allies to tap into the frozen Russian Central Bank assets to pay for Ukraine's defense.

While the total amount of these assets isn’t totally clear, they appear to amount to around $300 billion, plus some $30 billion for sanctioned individuals, as of June, 2022. Apparently, though, there seem to be some reasons why the US government and its allies haven't directly tapped into frozen Russian Central Bank assets to finance Ukraine's defense, despite the moral appeal of this strategy. 

 There are of course legal considerations as international law generally protects sovereign assets from seizure by other nations. Confiscating them could set a dangerous precedent and discourage other countries from holding foreign reserves in dollars or other major currencies. 

Further, while the frozen assets belong to the Russian Central Bank, the legal ownership of these funds isn’t necessarily known. From a political standpoint, seizing Russian assets could be seen as an aggressive act, further escalating tensions and potentially pushing Russia toward more extreme measures like using its nukes to retaliate. 

These assets stand in stark contrast with the estimated damage suffered by Ukraine that was estimated to be €600 billion (roughly $640 billion) in November 2022, as stated by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and that with more time passed and even more damage done, easily cross today the trillion dollar threshold. 

Well, tapping these frozen assets wouldn’t even begin to offset that loss created by Putin, and sometimes, desperate situations call for extreme measures, and if we don’t do it now, it might trigger more expensive and grave consequences down the road. 

This, of course, demands a modicum of courage not found with most of our political leaders. A strong leader is needed for that...