US President Joe Biden. Photo: EFE
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will ask Congress for an additional amount of $ 33 billion to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression, two official sources, a significant increase in US support in European countries.
Biden would also suggest the use of assets confiscated from Russian oligarchs to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by the invasion of Moscow troops in that country.
The liquidation of these “kleptocratic” assets will allow the “transfer” to kyiv of the revenues generated for “fix the damage (caused in Ukraine) of the Russian aggression, ”the White House said in a statement.
In a presentation he will make this Thursday morning, President Joe Biden will ask for money to supply the Ukrainian army, strengthen its economy and support millions of refugees who fled the Russian invasion two months ago.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky requested that the proceeds from sanctions against Russia be given to Ukraine to assist in reconstruction. Photo: EFE
It will also seek new support from Congress on tighten US sanctions against the Russian government and its beneficiaries, the White House said.
Biden would ask lawmakers to make it a crime for someone to “know or intentionally have proceeds derived directly from corrupt dealings with the Russian government.”
They will also need to double the statute of limitations for foreign money laundering offenses to 10 years, and expand the definition of “blackmail” in U.S. law to include efforts to avoid penalties.
Ukrainian order
In a virtual address to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank last week, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky called that the proceeds from sanctioned goods and Central Bank reserves be used to compensate Ukraine for its losses.
He said Russia’s frozen assets “should be used to rebuild Ukraine after the war, as well as to compensate for losses caused by other countries.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier will require congressional action to authorize such actions.
It has already caused war more than $ 60 billion in damage in buildings and infrastructure, World Bank President David Malpass said last week. And the IMF, in the latest outlook on the world economy, has said that Ukraine’s economy will contract by 35% this year and next.
In recent weeks, the United States and its international allies have detained dozens of oligarchs and their families, as well as hundreds of Russian officials involved or believed to support the invasion of Ukraine.
The White House says the new tools will strengthen the effect of the sanctions to the Russian economy and to its ruling class, by making sanctions more difficult to avoid.
Development news
Source: AFP and AP
Source: Clarin
