US Treasury official visits Ukraine to discuss sanctions on Russia and seizing Russian assets
A U.S. Treasury official is traveling to Kyiv this week to talk about U.S. financial support for Ukraine, efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia and plans to use immobilized Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine as it fends off Russian forces
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. Treasury official is in Kyiv this week to talk with government officials about U.S. financial support for Ukraine, efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia and plans to use immobilized Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine as it fends off Russian forces.
Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo's trip comes as Russia gains territory on the battlefield after an especially lengthy delay in U.S. military aid left Ukraine at the mercy of Russia’s bigger army and as the outlook for Ukraine’s state finances is on shakier ground.
Adeyemo is set to meet with officials in Ukraine’s finance ministry and president’s office. He's also planning a stop at the Kyiv School of Economics to speak with faculty and civil society groups working on sanctions policy and ways to make sanctions on Russia more effective.
President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that allows the administration to seize the roughly $5 billion in Russian state assets located in the U.S. However, a majority of the $260 billion in frozen Russian assets are in Europe, and U.S. officials are hoping for a consensus from their European allies on how to spend that money.
