US proposes $50 billion Ukraine bonds using Russian assets – Bloomberg

The US has proposed issuing $50 billion in bonds for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, as was reported by Bloomberg, citing two unnamed US officials familiar with the plan.

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The proposal envisages combining $280 billion of Russian Central Bank assets that have been frozen in G7 countries and the European Union and directing the profit from them towards so-called freedom bonds to provide aid to Ukraine, said one of the interlocutors.

The publication reports that more than two-thirds of Russia's frozen assets are blocked in the EU, where they generate about $3.6 billion in profit per year. The income from the possible placement of the bonds, according to Bloomberg, would equal $60 billion in US aid that is still blocked in Congress.

This idea is being discussed, however, some G7 countries, including Germany and France, have expressed caution regarding the new US initiative, said another interlocutor.

At the same time, as the publication notes, the leaders of the G7 countries have previously stated that the assets will remain frozen until Russia agrees to pay Ukraine for the damage caused. The US argument is to develop a variant that maximizes the income from the frozen assets and helps in supporting Ukraine.

Read also: Borrell proposes to use 90% of income from frozen Russian assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine