Russia Assets: West ‘must be bolder ’and stop being soft in seizing, frozen All Russian assets – U.K Prime Minister, Sunak Blows Hot

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on the country’s allies to be “bolder” in efforts to seize Russian assets amidst the invasion of Ukraine in an op-ed in The Sunday Times.

Sunak called on the Group of Seven (G7) nations to find a “lawful way” to more aggressively seize frozen assets belonging to the Russian government and its richest citizens and pass the proceeds back to Ukraine to aid its defence.

“We must be bolder in hitting the Russian war economy … And we must be bolder in seizing the hundreds of billions of frozen Russian assets,” he said.

The prime minister visited Ukraine himself last month and reiterated his call for more Ukraine aid from Western allies. Aid has run into partisan opposition in the U.S., where Democrats insist on the funding while Republicans are split, with some being sceptical of the spending’s usefulness.

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, a protracted conflict that has killed tens of thousands and driven a wedge between the U.S. and Europe.

The war is at a near standstill, with Russian and Ukrainian militaries bogged down in the country’s east with the winter weather. G7 nations and other allies began freezing Russian assets shortly after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The allies have gathered about $600 billion in assets and funds, though efforts to route the money to Ukraine have been met with legal hurdles.

In addition to questions over legality, some have also raised concerns over precedent and the future of the Ukrainian economy.

Cornell University sanctions expert Nicholas Mulder told The Associated Press last month that the seizures could actually hurt the long-term health of Ukraine aid.

The European Union reached a tentative agreement to transfer its portion of the global funds, about $216 billion from the Russian central bank to Ukraine late last month.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation enabling the U.S. to freeze Russian assets for Ukraine late last month as well.