With Ukraine losing ground, allies debate how to squeeze cash for Kyiv out of frozen Russian assets

abcnews.go.com:

Ukraine's allies are looking for ways to squeeze money out of frozen Russian assets and use it to help Kyiv fend off Moscow's invasion

FRANKFURT, Germany — Ukraine's allies are wrestling with how to squeeze money out of frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv's war effort, a debate getting more urgent as Russia gains territory on the battlefield and as the outlook for Ukraine’s state finances looks shakier.

At the top of the agenda as finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies meet Thursday through Saturday in Stresa, Italy, on the shores of scenic Lago Maggiore, is what to do with the Russian central bank reserves frozen in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and many of its supporters have called for the confiscation of $260 billion in Russian assets frozen outside the country after the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion.

But European officials have resisted, citing legal and financial stability concerns. Most of the frozen assets are located in Europe.

A European plan to merely use the interest on the Russian funds would provide only a trickle of money every year — about $2.5 billion-$3 billion at current interest rates, which would barely meet a month's financing needs for the Ukrainian government.

U.S. Treasury officials and outside economists are proposing ways to turn that annual trickle into a much larger chunk of upfront cash.

That could done be through a bond that would be repaid by the future interest income, giving Ukraine the money immediately. The ministers will meet with Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko on Saturday.

“Securing Ukraine’s position in the medium-to-long term requires unlocking the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen