Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to give $500,000 worth of forfeited Russian funds to Ukraine as the embattled country tries to fend off the Kremlin’s invasion.

The U.S. will transfer nearly half of a million dollars in confiscated Russian funds to Estonia, which will be then transferred to Ukraine, according to a Saturday DOJ press release. Estonia is receiving the funds first, since “under current authorities, the facts of this case do not allow for a direct transfer to Ukraine.”

The funds were forfeited by the U.S. “following the breakup of an illegal procurement network attempting to import into Russia a high-precision, U.S.-origin machine tool with uses in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors.”

  • xmunk
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    9 months ago

    That’s like… no money. Why is this a story?

      • xmunk
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        9 months ago

        Ah I wasn’t aware this wasn’t already an established process. I assumed we’d done similar stuff before with folks like Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden when they went from our buddies to no-no bad guys that we deny ever actively supporting.

        • PugJesus@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          It’s harder when you still have diplomatic relations with a country.

          like Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden when they went from our buddies to no-no bad guys that we deny ever actively supporting.

          Bin Laden we didn’t support, though. Just Saddam.

          • winterayars
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            9 months ago

            We definitely had relations with and pretty much supported Bin Laden. Just that Rumsfeld wasn’t buddying up to him, that we know of.

    • Chozo@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      Probably just for the poetic justice of seizing money from Russia and giving it to Ukraine.

    • _wizard@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Growing up in Evansville I was explicitly taught, “there is no love in terra haute.” I was also taught that folks from Boonville ate their young.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to give $500,000 worth of forfeited Russian funds to Ukraine as the embattled country tries to fend off the Kremlin’s invasion.

    Estonia is receiving the funds first, since “under current authorities, the facts of this case do not allow for a direct transfer to Ukraine.”

    The funds were forfeited by the U.S. “following the breakup of an illegal procurement network attempting to import into Russia a high-precision, U.S.-origin machine tool with uses in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors.”

    The move presents the first time the U.S. gave funds to a foreign ally for the sole purpose of helping out Ukraine.

    The U.S. intercepted attempts to export a jig grinder, a tool that can develop weapons for nuclear proliferation activities and defense, according to Monaco.

    The transfer is the second time the DOJ’s KleptoCapture task force made Russian assets available to Kyiv after being confiscated.


    The original article contains 250 words, the summary contains 151 words. Saved 40%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!