WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine will receive a $50 billion loan from its G7 allies backed by frozen Russian assets, the White House announced Wednesday. U.S. officials said distribution of funds would begin by the end of the year, with the United States providing $20 billion of the total.
Leaders of wealthy democracies agreed earlier this year to plan a huge loan to help Ukraine in its fight for survival after the Russian invasion. Interest earned from profits from the Russian central bank’s frozen assets will be used as collateral.
“Ukraine can get the help it needs now without costing taxpayers,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. These loans will help Ukrainians protect and rebuild their country. And our efforts make clear that tyrants are responsible for the damage they cause. ”
At a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko said the U.S. loan would not be paid for with U.S. taxpayer money, but with windfall proceeds from defunct Russian sovereign assets. I was assured in writing that it would be done.
“The fall of Ukraine would invite further aggression by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and jeopardize the security of our European NATO allies, which we are pledged to protect in our treaties,” Yellen said. Ta.
An additional $30 billion will come from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and others.
“Let me be clear: something like this has never been done before,” said Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs. “Never before has a multilateral coalition, while respecting the rule of law and maintaining unity, frozen the assets of an aggressor country and used the value of those assets to fund the defense of a victim country.”
Singh said the Biden administration intends to distribute the US share of $20 billion in economic and military aid to Ukraine. Sending military aid would require Congressional action, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said it could take weeks or months for currently promised weapons and equipment to reach Ukraine.
The idea of using Russia’s frozen assets to aid Ukraine initially faced resistance from European officials, citing concerns about legal and financial stability. The move gained momentum after more than a year of negotiations between Treasury officials and after Mr. Biden signed a bill in April that allows the government to seize about $5 billion in Russian state property in the United States. .
The G7 announced in June that much of the loan would be backed by profits from about $260 billion in idle Russian assets. Most of that money is held in EU member states.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies immediately froze the Russian central bank assets they had access to.
The timing of the loan has been called into question with the presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris coming up about two weeks before the election. The candidates take opposing views on the Russian threat.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed suggestions that military aid to Ukraine currently approved by the Biden administration could be denied by his new team.
“I’m confident that these materials will continue to flow,” Austin said, adding that he was confident everything would be delivered “according to the schedule that we have outlined.”
However, Austin also made it clear that the Biden administration remains steadfast in its opposition to giving Ukraine the authority to use U.S.-supplied ATACM missiles to strike deep into Russia.
He said the latest infusion of about $800 million in long-term aid would fund production of Ukrainian drones that can strike farther than ATACMS, which has a range of about 300 kilometers (185 miles).
The World Bank’s latest damage assessment for Ukraine, released in February, estimates that rebuilding and reconstruction costs will amount to $486 billion over the next 10 years.
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Associated Press writer Lolita C. Bardo contributed to this report.