Financial leaders of the Group of 7 countries have agreed to allocate $18.4 billion to Ukraine for budget calculations. They also said they were ready to support Kyiv throughout the war with russia and do more if needed, - reported by Reuters, citing a communiqué received by journalists.
Yesterday and today, the finance ministers and central bankers of the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, Germany, France and Italy (G7 in total) are holding talks, one of which is the war in Ukraine.
"In 2022, we have mobilized $18.4 billion in budget support, including $9.2 billion of recent commitments. We will continue to support Ukraine during the war and are ready to do more if needed," the group's financial leaders said.
They welcomed the decision of the European Commission to provide Ukraine with a loan of 9 billion euros and noted that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation plan to support another 3.4 billion. But it is unclear whether these funds are part of the approved $ 18.4 billion.
Ukraine needs $5 billion a month to provide salaries to state employees and the work of administrations. The short-term financing package agreed by G7 financial leaders will cover Ukraine's three-month needs. However, aid has yet to be approved at the level of G7 leaders.
The European Commission yesterday approved a loan of 9 billion euros and offered to finance it through EU loans. She also proposes to create a fund of unspecified grants and loans for Ukraine to pay for post-war reconstruction. According to some economists, such a project requires between 500 billion and two trillion euros, and this estimate may vary depending on the scale of the destruction and the duration of the war.
Given the scale of the sums, the EU is considering confiscating frozen russian assets and using them to finance reconstruction. Some countries, such as Germany, say the idea is "interesting, but will have a very shaky legal basis." The United States believes that it is too early to talk about post-war recovery and should focus on Ukraine's current budget needs for the next three months.