According to two senior administration officials, the Biden administration is making a last-ditch attempt to confiscate hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian assets as future negotiation leverage for Ukraine, with only days remaining before turning the keys over to the US government.

Biden's top advisers have been trying to persuade European allies to back the transfer of some $300 billion in Russian funds into a special escrow account that would only be released in the event of a peace agreement. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago, the funds, which are owned by the Russian Central Bank, were first frozen.

A portion of that money is still stored in US-based institutions, but the majority is still in European banks.

One senior administration source told CNN that the purpose of seizing the assets would be to send a straightforward message to Moscow: "You're going to have to come talk if you want your money back."

President-elect Donald Trump's national security staff, which includes Rep. Mike Waltz, who was appointed as national security adviser, and Sen. Marco Rubio, who is his secretary of state designee, has been carefully consulted on the proposal by senior Biden officials.

According to those familiar with the situation, the Trump administration is largely in favor of the plan because it thinks the confiscated funds would encourage Russia to engage in talks again. Trump wants to see a quick conclusion to a conflict that he feels has lasted too long.

The Europeans, on the other hand, are not as fond of the concept and have expressed worries that if banks completely seize Russian funds, they will be breaking international law.

US officials have been trying to allay such fears and figure out how to use the Russian funds that have been frozen in a way that would help Ukraine for more than a year. In what was perceived as a compromise, the G-7 nations decided last year to lend Ukraine the interest that had accumulated from the frozen assets, which yield an annual return of almost $5 billion.

Over a ten-year period, the profits from the projects would repay the ensuing $50 billion loan.

It is extremely doubtful that any agreement will be reached before Trump takes office because Europeans are still hesitant to seize the frozen Russian currency, according to sources who spoke to CNN with just days to go before a change of power in Washington.

Although he hasn't taken office, senior US sources indicated that Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party and a candidate for chancellor, is amenable to the concept of implementing the plan.

This week, while the most damaging fire in Los Angeles' history blazed across the city, the United States canceled a conference in Rome where President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Italian leaders to discuss the matter. Zelensky and Biden had a phone conversation last Friday. It's unclear whether the Russian money issue was brought up.

The White House has long favored using the $300 billion in Russian funds that have been blocked to help rebuild Ukraine and give Ukraine more clout. According to a White House official, Biden has personally brought up the subject with G-7 leaders in recent meetings.

Ahead of Trump's inauguration, the Biden team has spent the last several weeks searching for more strategies to strengthen Ukraine's military standing and financial situation. New penalties against covert vessels carrying Russian energy were announced by the United States last week. The White House announced a day earlier that it will send a last $500 million batch of armaments, increasing the total security aid for Ukraine to above $65 billion.

Officials from Biden have emphasized their desire to depart the Trump administration with the most influence over Ukraine.

The outgoing administration wants to ensure that, should the Trump administration decide to negotiate, it does so from a "position of strength and that President Trump could get the strongest possible deal," Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated during a press conference in Paris last week.

Trump has stated time and time again that he wants to end the war as soon as possible. "We're at a point in the coming year where it may be that the parties will choose to negotiate," Blinken admitted.

The Biden administration will not be able to distribute all of the funds before its term ends next week, despite its hasty efforts to use as much of the funds that Congress approved to transfer to Ukraine. According to a Defense Department official, the Presidential Drawdown Authority will transfer "just under $4 billion" in financing for help to Ukraine from the departing Biden administration to the new Trump administration.

The United States contributed $20 billion to the G-7 credit scheme and sent its share to the World Bank in December. However, according to Ukrainian officials, only $1 billion has been released, with the remaining funds to follow a World Bank schedule. Ukrainian authorities are worried about how much the Trump administration would attempt to reclaim the remaining amount if it hasn't been delivered.

The Kremlin has frequently criticized the freeze of its assets and referred to the $1 billion transfer as theft.

Last month, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "This money was stolen from us, and the blocking of our assets is absolutely illegal, violating all norms and rules."

As a sort of security assurance that Ukraine would desire for agreeing to halt the war, Zelensky claimed in a recent interview that he instructed Trump to instead give them the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to strengthen the Ukrainian military.

"Give us the funds we require for our domestic manufacturing, and we will purchase all of the weapons from the United States," Zelensky declared. "Gifts from the US are not necessary.