Ukraine's Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska, left, and Deputy Minister of Justice Iryna Mudra attend a press conference at the Embassy of Ukraine on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Washington. – A pair of Ukrainian justice ministers in Washington this week urged U.S. lawmakers to put aside domestic political disputes and find a way to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia.
Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska and Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra traveled to the U.S. to promote a bill that would allow the U.S. to repossess Russian state assets held in America and be used for the benefit of Ukraine.At a press conference at the Ukrainian embassy Wednesday, the ministers also called on U.S. lawmakers to pass a stalled supplemental funding proposal that would allot tens of billions of dollars in additional aid to Ukraine.
The ministers met with lawmakers, though they did not talk to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The Republican speaker the aid package passed by the Senate last month and insisted that the House work its own will on the matter., which would use assets confiscated from the Russian Central Bank and other sovereign assets for Ukraine. That measure has not moved forward.in Russian foreign holdings in retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We really hope the U.S. is going to be a champion in terms of confiscation of Russia’s sovereign assets and leading other countries,” Maliuska said, adding that “the hardest discussion will be with regards to resources and assets located in Belgium.” More than two-thirds of Russia’s immobilized central bank funds are located in the EU.for liquidating roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets and using them for Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.