G7 leaders: We will give Ukraine billions of dollars in loans using frozen Russian assets

Leaders of the world's seven most industrialized countries (G7) agreed on Thursday to lend Ukraine $50 billion using frozen Russian assets. Diplomats confirmed that agreement on the deal was reached even before the leaders arrived in Italy for the three-day G7 summit.

The details of the agreement will be discussed during their meeting in Italy, but Kiev is expected to receive the money towards the end of this year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be in Italy and is expected to sign another bilateral security agreement with US President Joe Biden.

The G7 countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States, froze about $300 billion worth of Russian assets shortly after Moscow launched its invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. Earlier this week, Zelensky said he expects to receive billions of euros from allied countries for the defense of Ukraine and for the reconstruction of his country after the war.

The war in Ukraine started on February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine. The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions. As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./ REL