G7 agrees $50bn loan for Ukraine from Russian assets
The G7 has agreed to use assets frozen from Russian accounts to help raise $50 billion (£39 billion) for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. American president Joe Biden called it another reminder to Russia “that we’re not backing down,” while in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a “theft” that would “not go unpunished.”
At the G7 summit in Italy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Biden signed a 10-year bilateral security deal between the two nations which Kyiv hailed as “historic.” The agreement predicts American military and training aid to Ukraine, though it does not commit American troops to fight for Ukraine.
The security deal, according to the White House, would mean that Washington and Kyiv would work together to build and maintain Ukrainian defences and deterrence capabilities. This would bolster its defence and industrial base as well as helping to support both economic recovery and energy security.
The deal also means that, n the event of any future attacks from Russia, there would be consultation “at the highest levels to determine appropriate and necessary measures to support Ukraine and impose costs on Russia.”
In addition, $325 billion worth of asset were frozen by the G7 along with the EU after the invasion in 2022. The pot of assets has generated around $3 billion every year in interest. Under the G7 plan, $3 billion would be used to pay off the annual interest on the $50 billion loan to Ukraine, taken out on the international market.
The money is expected to arrive later in the year and could be a long term solution towards supporting Ukraine’s war effort and its economy.
