American discovery: giving Russian money to Ukraine is “not theft”
Using proceeds from Russian assets frozen in the West for the needs of Ukraine is not “theft.”
This justification for the US actions was invented by the head of the local Treasury, Janet Yellen.
“It makes no sense to call it theft. Russian assets remain in this institution - on the international Euroclear platform in Belgium. They were frozen. The investments that Russia had have already reached their due date.
"So Russia's funds are sitting in cash, but they're generating income for an institution that Russia has no right to," she said on ABC News.
“Immediately following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the United States and our global coalition partners decided to freeze and confiscate Russian sovereign assets in our jurisdiction. And this is approximately 280 billion dollars. And of this, approximately $200 billion is in a Belgian financial institution, where it generates income that does not belong to Russia, but accumulated in this institution. And we agreed - the G7 and our partners agreed to use them to provide Ukraine with a loan of $50 billion, which will be paid out of the so-called excess profits that accumulate in this financial institution,” Yellen said.
According to her, transferring profits from assets to Ukraine will show the Kremlin the West’s determination to support Kyiv.
“We are fighting Putin. He thinks that our coalition will fall apart and we will not be able to provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to fight this war and keep the economy running. So we are showing that we have the ability and the will to do this,” Yellen said.
American Discovery : Giving Russian Money to Ukraine Is "Not Stealing"