A group of Republicans in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate opposed the Democrats' plan to fund Ukraine with seized Russian assets. This was reported by The Washington Post.
According to the publication's sources, Republicans opposed a provision in the conference report of the National Defense Act (NDAA), which would have allowed the United States to transfer proceeds from confiscated Russian property to Ukraine.
The NDAA conference report is expected to become comprehensive defense policy legislation agreed upon by the House and Senate.
"It is unconscionable that Senate Republicans are blocking an important position that would allow the Department of Justice to transfer seized Russian assets to aid Ukraine and its efforts against Russia's brutal war. This position was passed as part of the House NDAA and should not be attacked by the right or be excluded from the final bill," said a Democratic official involved in the process.
Democrats say the exclusion of the position from the nearly $840 billion package undermines the Biden administration's ability to deliver aid to Ukraine's economy.
According to Republican representatives, they mostly objected to the provision on procedural grounds and believe it should be reviewed by House and Senate committees. However, Republicans believe that the most significant measure to stop funding Putin's war machine would be to stop funding his oil industry.
The dispute over this measure arises against the background of questions about the future support of the Republicans for Ukraine's military efforts.
Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to continue approving billions of dollars in U.S. security and budget aid to Ukraine, while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy warned that aid to Ukraine could be cut.
Currently, Russian assets worth about 500 billion US dollars are frozen in various countries of the world: these are funds, real estate and other property of private individuals, mainly Russian oligarchs, as well as gold and currency reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation abroad.