"There is no sense at all in which it's theft … So there's no legal issue here. And our allies, our partners, the G7 will provide Ukraine a $50 billion loan, which will be repaid over time from these proceeds," Yellen said in an interview with the ABC News broadcaster on Sunday.
Yellen is also convinced that there is a "battle of wills" between the West and Russia regarding these funds. According to her, Russia believes that the Western coalition "will crumble in the sense we won't go on providing Ukraine with the resources that they need to fight this war."
"And this is a way of showing that we have the capacity and the will to do so," the treasury secretary concluded.
Last week, G7 countries agreed on a loan structure to provide at least $50 billion to Ukraine in loans, which will be funded by revenue generated by the interest on Russia’s frozen assets, but they will not confiscate the principal amount of those funds.
Russia has maintained that any attempts to confiscate its assets amount to theft and a violation of international law.