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spokesman John Kirby said that Biden is looking forward to meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to get information about the situation at the front. Given the opposition expressed by some politicians, the White House has encouraged Zelenskyy to meet with US lawmakers to make the case for continued military support.
The US finds a way to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden may use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to gain access to them. The law states that the president may block, regulate, direct, annul, prevent, or prohibit property transfer from one owner to another. "These powers refer to the transfer of any right, authority, or privilege over property in which a foreign state has an interest and which is under the jurisdiction of the US," the NYT reported. For example, George Bush Jr. used this method when he froze Iraqi assets in the US after the invasion of Kuwait and turned them over to the UN Compensation Commission. Meanwhile, the US Treasury Secretary is pushing for a tax on the proceeds of frozen Russian assets instead of confiscating them. She called it a "sensible proposal" and noted that the US is discussing the idea with the EU. Yellen backed an EU plan to introduce a windfall tax on profits from frozen Russian sovereign assets, calling it a "sensible" way to help fund Ukraine's recovery.
The US Senate resumes work after the holidays and plans to increase aid to Ukraine. American lawmakers have returned to Washington following the holiday and plan to pass spending bills quickly. In August, President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve about $40B in additional spending, including $24B for aid to Ukraine and other international needs. Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the administration is working closely with the Senate and the House of Representatives on an additional aid package that provides funding through the end of 2023. According to Sullivan, the administration believes it will be able to secure the necessary funding. However, prospects for Biden's additional request may have less hope in the House of Representatives, where several supporters of Donald Trump have criticized the US' funding of Kyiv. At the same time, Republican leader Mitch McConnell predicted that US funding to support Ukraine would continue despite increasing calls from some party members to cut aid to Kyiv.
Ukraine expects to receive another $3.3B in budget support from the US by the end of the year. According to the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Serhiy Marchenko, the Ministry of Finance is counting on the same amount of financial assistance from the US in 2024 as it received this year. The minister said the amount would be somewhere between $12B to $14B. However, according to him, there is still a lot of uncertainty in this matter. Marchenko is confident that state budget expenditures in 2024 will not be lower than this year, particularly for defense spending. Therefore, external financing is necessary at a level not less than this year's $42B. The head of the Ministry of Finance specified that, in addition to the US' help, is the situation will require assistance from the EU, IMF, and individual countries - Japan, Canada, Great Britain, and possibly Norway. "If we receive the same amount of support from our partners, we can finance next year's budget," Marchenko stated.
Blinken arrived in Kyiv to reassure Ukraine of US support and announced a new $1B aid package. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Ukraine on September 5 to demonstrate Washington's support amid Ukraine's counteroffensive and criticism among some Republicans concerning the level
52 UKRAINE Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com