For the first time ever. U.S. handed over confiscated Russian assets to Estonia to help Ukraine

U.S. handed over confiscated Russian assets to Estonia (photo: Getty Images)

For the first time in history, the United States has transferred confiscated Russian assets to Estonia. They will be used to support Ukraine.

Today, at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary of State Tõnis Saar announced the transfer of $500,000 from confiscated Russian assets.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, these funds were confiscated in the case of a network of illegal purchases of high-precision machine tools for the Russian military industry.

“This transfer is the first of its kind by the United States to a foreign ally for the express purpose of assisting Ukraine,” the U.S. Department said.

It was decided to transfer the confiscated funds to Estonia, as it is not possible to make a direct transfer to Ukraine. Estonia will use the funds for a project to accelerate damage assessment and critical repairs to the Ukrainian energy system after targeted strikes by the Russian army.

Confiscation of Russian assets

At the end of 2023, the Western press reported that the United States proposed to the G7 countries to confiscate $300 billion in frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine. The initiative was supposed to be agreed upon by February 24, 2024, but this issue is still being discussed between the partners.

According to Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra, this year Ukraine expects to transfer $4 billion of Russian assets frozen in the G7 and EU countries.