Group of Seven (G7) countries reached an agreement on Thursday to offer Ukraine $50 billion in loans, backed by funds from immobilized Russian assets.
“All G7 are contributing to this loan. It is the windfall profits from the Russian immobilized assets in Europe that will serve it,” the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
The G7 has agreed to provide Ukraine with loans worth around $50 bn by end of year.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 13, 2024
We'll use the windfall profits from Russia’s sovereign assets to repay them.
This builds on EU action, where we are already directing these windfall profit to Ukraine's defence & reconstruction. pic.twitter.com/nYu2g78X18
The technical details are to be finalized in the coming weeks, a G7 diplomatic source told Reuters. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the additional funding would arrive by the end of this year.
The United States had agreed to provide up to $50 billion itself, a senior U.S. official said, but that amount could decline significantly as other countries announced their participation.
According to a person close to the talks, the aim of the deal was to ensure it can run for years regardless of who is in power in each G7 state—a nod to concerns that the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump may be much less sympathetic to Kyiv if he manages to beat Biden in November’s election.
Russia regards attempts by the West to take income from its frozen assets as criminal, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, cautioning that Moscow’s response would be very painful for the European Union.
Security accords with U.S., JapanG7 Summit. Clear support for Ukraine, international law, and a just peace.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2024
Every day we strengthen our positions and our defense of life.
Every meeting serves the purpose of giving Ukraine new opportunities for victory. I am grateful to all of our partners.
🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🇩🇪 🇨🇦 🇫🇷 🇮🇹… pic.twitter.com/rGtWgqqtM5
On the sidelines of the summit, Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with the U.S. President Joe Biden, aimed at bolstering Kyiv’s defense against Russian invaders.
The agreement is meant to be a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership, according to the text of the deal.🇺🇦🇺🇸 Today is a truly historic day. We signed the strongest agreement between Ukraine and the United States since our independence. pic.twitter.com/z0JM9qEzrh
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2024
“The parties recognize this agreement as supporting a bridge to Ukraine’s eventual membership in the NATO alliance,” the text says.
Under the agreement, the United States restated its support for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, amid a renewed push by Russia on Ukraine’s eastern front.
The text adds: “To ensure Ukraine’s security, both sides recognize Ukraine needs a significant military force, robust capabilities, and sustained investments in its defense industrial base that are consistent with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standards.”
“The United States intends to provide long-term materiel, training and advising, sustainment, intelligence, security, defense industrial, institutional, and other support to develop Ukrainian security and defense forces that are capable of defending a sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine and deterring future aggression,” it further states.
Zelenskyy has long sought NATO membership but the allies have stopped short of taking that step. The Western alliance regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article Five clause.
The Ukrainian head of state also signed a 10-year security accord with Japan, under which Japan agreed to provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion this year.
Zelenskyy calls for Marshall PlanJapan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida @kishida230 and I have just signed a security agreement between Ukraine and Japan. A unique document with one of the world’s most economically and technologically advanced countries. 🇺🇦🇯🇵
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2024
In 2024, Japan will provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion…
During the summit, Zelenskyy also asked the G7 nations to approve a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine’s reconstruction after the damage caused by Russia’s invasion.
The Marshall Plan was a multi-billion dollar program of economic aid delivered by the United States to its European allies after World War II, and is credited for revitalizing those economies after the conflict's devastation.
“We need a clear plan for the recovery of Ukraine. Similar to what the Marshall Plan was for Europe after the war,” he told the G7 leaders according to a readout of his speech posted on the presidential website.
The World Bank has estimated that rebuilding Ukraine will cost nearly $500 billion.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday that his country needs between $10-30 billion annually over the next 10 years in order to properly rebuild itself.
The full-scale war started nearly 28 months ago when Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Since then, the Kremlin has shown no signs of ending the war soon.
