The assets of Russian oligarchs will be directed to the aid package for Ukraine, says Sumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said Sunday that the $ 33 billion aid package for Ukraine will include provisions for the US government to seize and sell assets to Russian oligarchs and give the invading country revenue .

Why it matters: The United States and other governments are targeting financial pressure on oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin to influence his actions in Ukraine and, in the long run, reduce Putin’s power and his circle, according to Axios Emily Peck .

• “Ukraine needs all the help it can get, and at the same time we need all the assets we can raise to give Ukraine the help it needs,” Schumer told a news conference in New York.
• “It is time for the sanctioned Russian oligarchs to be held accountable for the ill-gotten wealth they have received,” Sumer added.

News movement: Sumer’s statement follows a proposal by the Biden administration last week for the federal government to sell assets seized from Russian oligarchs over Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and use the proceeds for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Details: “These oligarchs loyal to Putin are extremely rich and have bought this type of asset that is here in the United States,” Schumer said.

• “These are the things we’re talking about: yachts, mansions,” Sumer continued, noting that artwork and helicopters will also be targeted.
• “You may ask, ‘Are there any of these assets in New York?’ They’re obviously a bunch,” he added.

In figures: More than a dozen yachts owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs have been seized or identified for seizure by governments around the world since the Russian military first invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Click to enlarge: UN officials say there is “no doubt” that Russian forces are using food as a weapon of war in Ukraine.

• An analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit, published earlier this year, predicts that Russia’s military attack on Ukraine will shatter the Ukrainian economy by 47% in 2022.

Reduction: USAID Administrator Samantha Power told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that growing global food shortages are “another catastrophic effect” of the invasion.

Go deeper: Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine