By Alex Raufoglu

Copyright kyivpost

WASHINGTON DC – A powerful, bipartisan bloc in the US Senate is demanding an immediate end to the West’s passive approach toward Moscow’s frozen assets, declaring that it is time to move from “freezing” to seizing.

Led by a coalition of influential Senators including John Kennedy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the Senate resolution, introduced on Tuesday, is an unprecedented call for the outright confiscation of an estimated $300 billion in Russian sovereign funds currently held across the G7 and European Union.

The goal: to convert Russia’s immobilized war chest into a continuous, no-cost financial lifeline for Ukraine.

The resolution demands an aggressive disbursement schedule, urging allies to release the funds in massive tranches of no less than $10 billion per month until the entire sum is exhausted, thereby bankrolling Ukraine’s defense and monumental reconstruction.

The “hit Putin’s wallet” strategy

For the senators behind the push, the policy is simple economic warfare. It is designed to change Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fundamental calculus of the war, transferring the massive financial burden of the conflict directly to the Kremlin.

“Let me be clear: President Putin will keep committing crimes against humanity until fighting his war in Ukraine becomes more costly than stopping,” declared Sen. Kennedy. “Hit Putin in his wallet, and you change his behavior.”

The strategy would spare US taxpayers further expense while delivering critical military aid. Sen. Graham stressed the financial advantage: “The $300 billion in frozen Russian assets should be used to help Ukraine deal with Putin’s invasion, at no cost to the American taxpayer.”

The funds, according to Sen. Blumenthal, could be immediately used for weapons, including “drones, missile defenses, long range artillery, and other arms necessary to defeat Russia’s murderous slaughter.”

Sen. Whitehouse emphasized the need for immediate action, urging the Executive Branch and G7 allies to begin seizing and disbursing the money on a “regular schedule” to ramp up economic pressure.

Legal showdown: war crimes and sovereign immunity

The resolution directly confronts the legal and diplomatic caution that has plagued the G7 nations, particularly in Europe, where the majority of the funds reside. The senators argue that Russia’s widespread atrocities have entirely forfeited its claim to sovereign immunity.

Citing documented war crimes – including the systematic targeting of civilians and ambulances, sexual violence, and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children for “re-education” – the resolution declares that Russia is fully financially responsible for the harm caused.

It explicitly recommends the Executive Branch conclude that the seizure is a legitimate countermeasure under international law.

This legal argument aims to tear down the last defense against confiscation, offering a solid legal basis for allies hesitant to trigger the potential long-term global financial consequences of seizing another state’s assets.

Diplomatic weaponry: leveraging US arms sales

In a significant diplomatic escalation, the resolution calls for using US military sales – one of Washington’s most powerful tools – as leverage to enforce global compliance.

The measure asks the US President and the Secretaries of State and Defense to actively prioritize foreign military sales to countries that quickly seize and repurpose Russian assets.

Conversely, it calls for the de-prioritization of sales to nations that are found to be holding the funds but have failed to move toward confiscation and disbursement.

The authors see this tactic as a necessary means of overcoming the “allied hesitation” that has hampered the effectiveness of existing sanctions, transforming a stalled financial asset into the ultimate deterrent against future acts of aggression.