Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Seized Assets for Battlefield Equipment and Readiness (SABER) Act, legislation that would amend current law to allow Ukraine to purchase military equipment using confiscated assets from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other Russian sovereign assets.

"Seizing Russian sovereign funds so that war criminal Putin can't use them for his illegal invasion in Ukraine was the first step, and we achieved that through our bipartisan REPO law," said Whitehouse. "Hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian funds should be put to good use repelling Russian invaders and supporting the brave Ukrainians fighting for freedom."

"The REPO Act laid important groundwork for seizing and repurposing billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets to help the Ukrainian people defend their own sovereignty after Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," said Cornyn. "By extending the law's permissible use of funds to replenish Ukraine's arsenal, this legislation would go one step further to helping our ally defend against Russian aggression and force Putin to foot the bill for arming Ukraine."

The Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act, which Whitehouse sponsored, currently permits the confiscation and transfer of frozen Russian sovereign assets under U.S. jurisdiction to Ukraine in support of reconstruction efforts, economic and humanitarian assistance, and contributions to international bodies charged with providing assistance to Ukraine. The SABERAct would build on the REPO Act by allowing Ukraine to use seized Russian sovereign bank assets to purchase defense articles and services in response to Russia's brutal invasion.

U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (SC-02) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.