The U.S. government is considering purchasing American weapons for Ukraine with money received from frozen Russian assets, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's peace envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Fox News on Jan. 24.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 6 in an interview with Lex Fridman that he had proposed to Trump that Kyiv buy U.S. weapons with frozen Russian assets. He added that this could be "one of the security guarantees." Zelensky did not specify what Trump's reaction was.
This approach can be part of a comprehensive solution that will support Ukraine in its war against Russia and strengthen the U.S. defense industry, Kellogg said.
The idea of directing Russian assets to the needs of Ukrainian defense remains "on the table," Kellogg added.
"We've talked about this repeatedly — using Russian frozen assets to do that, to buy U.S. arms," he said.
"That is one piece of the puzzle that needs to be discussed, and it's going to be on the table with the president to talk about. But it's not the piece that is going to solve it. Still, it's an interesting point and worth discussing."
While Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, approximately $3.2 billion. These profits will back a $50 billion loan to Kyiv, while the vast majority of the assets are frozen in European countries.
The European Union recently disbursed €3 billion ($3.09 billion) to Ukraine as part of G7's $50 billion loan initiative. The EU's €20 billion ($20.6 billion) contribution to the program is partially funded by income from frozen Russian assets.
The U.S. has also contributed $20 billion toward the loan assistance, showcasing a concerted Western effort to support Ukraine financially while leveraging Russian assets.
Chris York
(Updated: )
