NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money, I'm Whelan Wong.

And I'm Darien Woods.

There are about $300 billion of Russian assets stashed at banks and financial institutions in the US and Europe.

These assets were frozen by Western sanctions after Russia launched its full-scale invasion

of Ukraine in 2022.

It is a tantalizing pot of money, especially now that a bill to send more aid to Ukraine

is languishing in the US Congress. Ukraine needs money for fighting the war and rebuilding its economy. And there's 300 billion

dollars of Russian assets sitting right there. I mean it looks tempting but you know not

so fast seizing or confiscating property that belongs to a sovereign state could be a violation of international law.

So instead, policy makers are floating ideas for workarounds, they're brainstorming ways for the US and its allies to get their

metaphorical mitts on this money without infringing on Russia's property rights.

Today on the show, we learn about the under the radar depository in Belgium

where most of Russia's frozen assets are stored.

And we hear two proposals for how Western countries could get some of this money to Ukraine.

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