“Our Congress has given us the authority to confiscate Russian assets in the United States. We intend to use it. What Putin has destroyed, Russia must and must pay to rebuild,” Blinken said.

The US Secretary of State added that the US is working with other Group of Seven countries to unlock billions of dollars and send a strong message to Putin that time is not on his side.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Blinken reaffirmed “the U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s recovery.”

Blinken arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit on May 14 to demonstrate unwavering support for Ukraine as it defends its freedom from Russian aggression.

P.S.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Bank of Russia’s assets worth about 260 billion euros have been blocked abroad, with more than two-thirds of them frozen in the EU.

In July 2024, Ukraine may receive the first tranche of the profits from the blocked assets of the Russian Central Bank, if the EU leadership manages to agree on such a step.