A radical turn in Ukraine war strategy

THE US proposal to seize US$280 billion in Russian assets, frozen in international financial institutions since the start of the Ukraine war, marks a radical turn in Washington’s strategy towards the conflict.

Late last month, the US legislature gave President Joe Biden the power to confiscate Moscow’s funds under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (Repo) for Ukrainians Act.

On paper, it means that Washington could use Russia’s own money to wage war against them. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that the Repo Act provides a legal basis for the transfer of Russian state assets in the US to Kyiv, to compensate for the damage Moscow has inflicted on Ukraine.