Putin's Order to Identify Seizable U.S. Assets in Russia

The President of Russia has ordered the identification of U.S. assets in Russia for potential seizure to retaliate against the possible confiscation of Russian assets in the U.S. In Vladimir Putin's decree, securities, company shares, real estate, movable property, and ownership rights among U.S. assets are mentioned as items that can be seized. Reuters reported on Thursday, May 25, citing officials and economic experts, that Russia's retaliation is difficult in the absence of investments from foreign governments, and the Kremlin is likely to target private sector assets. The G7 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Japan, have held discussions in recent weeks on how to optimally utilize $300 billion of foreign assets seized from Russia after Western sanctions due to its military invasion of Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, had previously stated that U.S. assets in Russia are minimal compared to the seized Russian assets in the U.S., and the Kremlin is likely to focus on seizing private U.S. assets in Russia. Last week, a court in St. Petersburg ruled to seize $283 million of Deutsche Bank assets and $102 million of Commerzbank assets. Both banks are German and were financing a gas processing plant project by the German company 'Linde' in Russia, which was halted due to sanctions. Regarding China's military assistance to Russia, Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, stated that unlike the U.K., the U.S. has not seen evidence of China sending lethal military equipment to Russia in the Ukraine war. Grant Shapps, the U.K. Defense Secretary, had said a day earlier that there is evidence that deadly Chinese weapons could reach Russia now or in the future. However, Sullivan, just hours after Shapps' remarks, stated that the U.S. does not share the same view and expressed eagerness to negotiate with the U.K. to ensure a common operational picture. He further noted that the possibility of China directly sending lethal weapons to Russia had previously raised concerns, but this has not occurred so far. The U.S. had previously accused China of assisting Russia with technology and sending non-lethal military equipment but had not confirmed the shipment of Chinese weapons to Russia. Independent analyses of Chinese customs data and U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that last year about 90% of high-priority goods used in Russian weapons production were imported from China. The U.S. and Western countries have sanctioned Russia for its military invasion of Ukraine and are providing financial and military assistance to Kyiv. The Conflict Intelligence Team reported on Thursday that the Ukrainian army targeted and sank a Russian ship in the Black Sea four days ago using a U.S.-made missile. Russia has not officially confirmed this, but since the beginning of the Kremlin's invasion, Ukraine has destroyed several Russian warships in the Black Sea.