U.S Secretary of state, Antony Blinken has stated that Russian President, Vladimir Putin must foot the bills of Ukraine’s reconstruction.
He averred, “There is one more crucial step we can take: making Russia pay for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.”
“What Putin destroyed Russia should and must pay to rebuild. It’s what international law demands. It’s what the Ukrainian people deserve,” he added.
Blinken vowed to “seize” Russian assets in the U.S and “immobilise” the country’s foreign assets in order to force these payments.
“We’re working with our G7 partners to see that Russia’s immobilised sovereign assets are used to remedy the damage that Putin continues to cost,” Blinken said in a speech in Kyiv.
“You have denied Putin his goal of erasing Ukraine from the map,” Blinken said.
He added that Ukraine also succeeded in rebuffing Russia’s attack on the capital Kyiv.
Also, he noted that the recent overhaul of mobilisation was “a difficult decision but a necessary one” to replenish the frontlines and provide respite to those who have served non-stop for more than two years.
Additionally, Blinken asserted that the U.S will back Ukraine until the country’s security is “guaranteed.”
“We’re with you today. And we will stay by your side, until Ukraine’s security, sovereignty, and ability to choose its own path is guaranteed,” Blinken said.
He also praised Ukrainian workers and business owners who have “kept the economy running”, noting that steel factories have doubled their output over the last six months and exports now exceed pre-war levels.
“This economic dynamism hinges on our ability to provide security,” he noted.
Blinken concluded by hailing Ukraine for “moving forward” while its neighbour was “going back in time.”
He added that the Russian leader has “always underestimated” what Ukrainians have understood; “the fierceness with which free people will defend their right to continue living freely.”
“The spirit of Ukrainians cannot be destroyed by a bomb or buried in a mass grave, it cannot be bought with a bribe or repressed with a threat. It is pure, it is unbreakable and it is why Ukraine will succeed.”
Antony Blinken
U.S Defends Russian Uranium Ban
Also on Tuesday, the United States voiced confidence that it was boosting both its security and climate goals after it banned uranium imports from Russia, whose nuclear industry has been a key money maker.
On Monday, President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on Russian-enriched uranium in the latest effort by Washington to disrupt Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ban on imports of the fuel for nuclear power plants begins in about 90 days, although it allows the Department of Energy to issue waivers in case of supply concerns.
“Russia continues to use its military-industrial base in its war against Ukraine and to undermine international and US national security, in part with proceeds from its uranium exports,” State Department Spokesman, Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday.
The legislation will release $2.72bn in funding for the Energy Department to invest in uranium enrichment inside the United States – a boon sought by the domestic nuclear industry.
Miller noted that the new law “will provide assurance to industry, allies and partners that the US has made a clear decision to establish a secure nuclear fuel supply chain, independent of adversarial influence, for decades to come.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom stated that a US ban on Russian nuclear fuel was “discriminatory” and “non-market oriented,” and warned the ban would harm the global market.
The US Treasury also put sanctions on a Russian citizen and three Russia-based companies it said were trying to evade US sanctions in a scheme that could have unfrozen more than $1.5bn belonging to Russian metals tycoon, Oleg Deripaska.
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