Russia is pursuing legal means, including obtaining representation from international law firms, to stymie efforts by the U.S. and its allies to seize frozen Russian assets, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 12, citing unnamed sources.

ussia is pursuing legal means, including obtaining representation from international law firms, to stymie efforts by the U.S. and its allies to seize frozen Russian assets, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 12, citing unnamed sources.

Western countries have immobilized around $300 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s assets since the start of the full-scale invasion. Washington, Brussels, and Kyiv have long discussed legal ways of channeling these funds to aid Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.

Bloomberg reported on Jan. 10, citing documents it had obtained, that U.S. President Joe Biden backs legislation that would allow the confiscation of some frozen Russian funds and funneling them to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to the report, describing the potential seizure of assets as “illegal” and an action that will have “profound consequences,” the Russian state-run news outlet Ria Novosti reported on Jan. 11.

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