U.S. does not control Russian assets, most are held in Europe

Some American journalists write, and Ukrainian journalists repeat after them: "There are rumours Trump may even leverage $330bn in frozen Russian state assets, threatening to give them to Kyiv to buy U.S. weapons, - The Telegraph," and similar statements.

So! Donald Trump cannot use $330 billion of frozen Russian assets to purchase American weapons for Ukraine. First and foremost, because only a very small portion of Russian assets is frozen in the U.S., totaling just $5 billion, not $330 billion.

The situation with frozen Russian assets is as follows: In 2023, $335 billion of Russian assets were frozen worldwide. However, the majority of these assets are held in Europe ($217 billion or €201 billion), while the United States holds only a small share ($5 billion or €4.5 billion), and Japan holds a modest amount of a few billion dollars.

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has been refuting inaccurate reports by journalists for two consecutive days regarding the potential use of frozen Russian assets for the purchase of American weapons. Kellogg emphasizes that such negotiations are ongoing but are still in the early stages.

At the same time, the Special Representative carefully explained and elaborated on another option. In order to end the war in Ukraine, the U.S. is working to negotiate with OPEC countries to reduce oil prices to $45 per barrel. Kellogg stated that at the current price of "black gold" around $78 per barrel, Russia continues to earn billions, but if the price drops to $45 per barrel, the Kremlin will lose those revenues.

Kellogg stated that the situation would come to an end, noting that Trump had mentioned the previous day in Davos that the economy, in addition to diplomacy, plays a key role.

Keith Kellogg also stated that the international community will not be able to force Russia to stop its war against Ukraine by merely providing weapons and helping Ukraine win on the battlefield. Economic measures of influence are also necessary.

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About the author. Rostyslav Demchuk, journalist, expert on Euro-Atlantic issues.

The editorial staff don't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.