© Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFPFILE PHOTO: US congressman Eli Crane.
Several months ago, US President Joe Biden proposed a supplemental security package that would earmark around $60 billion in assistance to Ukraine, but it has since remained stalled in Congress as Republicans demand more focus on security at the Mexican border.
On Sunday, however, Johnson signaled that the package could come up for a vote soon, with "some important innovations." Among these, he said, is a possibility of extending a loan to Ukraine - an idea favored by GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump - as well as seizing Russian sovereign assets frozen in the US and transferring the proceeds to Kiev.
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, the West has frozen around $300 billion in Russian assets, most of which are under European control. While numerous Western officials have proposed seizing the funds to finance Ukraine, many have pointed out that there is no legal basis for doing so. Moscow, for its part, has called the blocking "theft," warning of retaliation if its funds were to be confiscated.
Comment: Congressman Crane is right. Additional funding shouldn't be on the table, but a peace deal should be.