New loan

Paris: Kiev to receive 50 billion by the end of the year

The loan is to be repaid from interest profits from frozen Russian assets.

(Bild: AFP/Yoan VALAT)

According to information from Paris, the G7 states have agreed to disburse 50 billion US dollars (around 46.5 billion euros) to Ukraine by the end of the year. However, the assets are not to be paid out of their own pockets in the end.

"There is an agreement", the French presidency declared on Wednesday. The loan to Ukraine is to be repaid with "the interest profits from frozen Russian assets".

According to the French, the idea is an "American initiative". If "for any reason the Russian assets are released or the interest from the assets is not sufficient to finance the loan, we will have to think about how to share the burden", the Élysée Palace went on to explain.

Agreement reached before the start of the summit
Previously, the spokesman for the US National Security Council, Jake Sullivan, had announced that there would be "unity among the G7 when it comes to using these frozen assets to help Ukraine rebuild".

The summit of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations (G7) begins on Thursday in Borgo Egnazia, Italy. In the afternoon, the focus will be on further aid for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi will also take part in the talks. Selensky was still in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, where he spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the Ukraine peace conference taking place in Switzerland at the weekend.

Security agreement with Ukraine
On the fringes of the G7 summit, Zelensky and US President Joe Biden also want to sign a bilateral security agreement between their countries. According to the US, the agreement includes arms supplies and support for Ukraine, but no deployment of US armed forces. It is similar to the bilateral agreements that Ukraine has already signed with 15 other countries.