President Joe Biden and top global allies took action on dual fronts on Thursday to reinforce their solidarity with Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion, with Group of Seven leaders clearing the way for a USD 50 billion loan package for Kyiv as he prepared to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The money and the security support, both being announced during the annual G7 summit, held this year in southern Italy, were intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the world’s leading industrialised democracies were standing behind Ukraine.

 

The US and European countries have agreed to keep sanctioned Russian assets locked up until Moscow pays reparations for its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official said. That clears the way for leaders to announce the $50 billion loan package for Ukraine. The highly anticipated agreement will leverage interest and income from more than USD 260 billion in frozen Russian assets, largely held in Europe, to secure a USD 50 billion loan from the US and additional loans from other partners. Ukraine will receive the first payments sometime this year.