The Biden administration supports a proposal to issue $50 billion in bonds backed by frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine as Congress remains deadlocked over an aid package for Kyiv, according to a report.
The plan involves pooling the $280 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen by the Group of Seven countries and the European Union to back the securities dubbed "freedom bonds," Bloomberg reported.
The blocked assets generate about $3.6 billion of net profits each year, the report said.
The bonds could raise an amount nearly equal to the $60 billion in aid stalled in Congress.
Leaders of the European Union discussed using the profits from the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine during a summit in Brussels on Thursday, the report said.
With the aid stalled, Ukrainian troops have faced key shortages of military equipment even as Russia presses its advances.
The White House National Security Council declined to comment, Bloomberg reported.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the leaders to use the funds to support the war effort.
"Russia must feel the real cost of war and the need for a just peace," Zelensky told the group via video link, adding it was "only fair," Reuters reported.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he backs the idea.
"These (proceeds) should first of all be used to buy those weapons and ammunition that Ukraine needs to defend itself," Scholz said, according to Reuters.
The Senate approved a $95 billion aid package with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine in February, but the package has stalled in the House because of Republican opposition.
