Defend Ukraine, and make Russia pay for it

Russia’s goal in its war against Ukraine has not changed. It aims either to conquer Ukraine or to destroy it. This war is being fought economically just as much as it is being fought on the battlefield. To survive, Ukraine must win in both places. 

The White House has warned that the U.S. will run out of funds for Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress does not approve a supplemental package. For the first time since February 2022, U.S. assistance to Ukraine has failed in a floor vote in Congress. 

Congress must take swift action to ensure that Ukraine can continue to defend its freedom against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Failing to act now would be a demonstration of weakness in the face of aggression that will embolden Russia, subject Ukraine to the relentless Russian war machine and endanger the free world. Congress must pass a supplemental, and it should use Russia’s funds to supplement American spending. 

The total amount of Russian state assets frozen in the U.S. is approximately $8 billion — far less than the supplemental request amount. However, the REPO Act, which authorizes the U.S. president to seize frozen Russian state assets, can be included in the supplemental. Not only would this provide more imperative aid for Ukraine to protect its people this winter and beyond, but it would send a strong message to our G7 allies that the Western world must now act. 

It is not easy to confiscate Russia’s assets, but it is becoming even more difficult to find other sources. This is truly a case of justice delayed becoming justice denied.

The financial needs are real and urgent. The Ukrainian state budget for 2024 has a $41 billion deficit for the country’s bare minimum survival needs. That figure doesn’t include the estimated cost of reconstruction, conservatively estimated at $411 billion, an amount that is several times greater than the entire value of Ukraine’s pre-war gross domestic product, with some estimates in the trillions.

Three things are happening at the same time. First, Ukraine is struggling to keep its economy running. It has lost one-third of its GDP. Second, Russia is getting stronger. Its GDP has grown, allowing it to increase its military spending by 70 percent in 2024 compared to the year prior. Meanwhile, the Western world is sitting on a $350 billion pot of Russian money. 

All these frozen funds are legally owed to Ukraine as compensation for reconstruction and reparations. The G7 has already confirmed that this money is never going back to Russia. But instead of just sitting there, these funds could essentially serve as a down payment on what Russia already legally owes.

As Russia pillages Ukraine in violation of nearly every basic tenet of international law and human morality, the West seems more concerned with protecting Russian assets than using them to protect Ukraine. In effect, we have become Putin’s best bankers. 

It would be a cruel irony to deny Ukraine the lifesaving benefit of these assets by invoking precedence for Russia’s “sovereignty” and “property rights” when Russia is blatantly violating Ukraine’s basic right to even exist.

The question isn’t whether Russia must pay, the question is when. The longer the West delays passing the supplemental and tapping into Russian reserves, the more we (not just Ukraine, but we ourselves) risk losing this war, not only to Russia’s weapons, but to every hospital that cannot be rebuilt, every energy station that loses power, every damaged train that cannot deliver medicine, and every child stolen from his or her country. 

Congress must pass the supplemental for Ukraine, and the REPO Act must be a part of it. The U.S. must seize and transfer Russia’s frozen sovereign assets to fulfill Russia’s existing obligation to compensate Ukraine. 

Passing a supplemental with the REPO Act would serve a dual purpose, providing Ukraine with crucial funds for victory while showing Putin that his war has consequences and that Russia cannot exploit international law while wrecking all of its tenets. 

It is time for the U.S. to lead. Ukraine, the world and justice are waiting.

Yuliya Ziskina is a senior legal fellow at Razom for Ukraine and a practicing attorney who recently testified in the U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing, “Making Russia Pay: Sovereign Asset Confiscation for Ukrainian Victory.”