Senators Introduce SABER Act to Let U.S. Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy Weapons for Ukraine

If passed, the bill would allow U.S.-held Russian sovereign assets to directly fund Ukrainian arms purchases under an expanded REPO framework.

Overview

A bipartisan group of senators filed the Seized Assets for Battlefield Equipment and Readiness (SABER) Act on June 18 to let frozen Russian sovereign assets under U.S. control pay for military equipment and services for Ukraine.
The measure would amend the 2024 REPO law to broaden permissible uses of seized assets so funds can be spent directly on defense procurement rather than only on reconstruction, compensation, or loans.
Sponsors include Republicans John Cornyn, Roger Wicker, and Chuck Grassley and Democrats Tim Kaine, Chris Coons, and Sheldon Whitehouse, and a House companion is being led by Representative Joe Wilson.
Allied governments and legal experts have raised concerns about the plan’s legality and diplomatic fallout because several jurisdictions prefer using only profits from frozen assets and view outright seizure as legally risky.
Western states froze roughly $300 billion in Russian assets after Russia’s 2022 invasion, about $4–5 billion are under U.S. jurisdiction, and the existing REPO framework already helped underwrite a $20 billion U.S. share of a $50 billion G7 loan repaid from asset-generated profits.