Group of Seven and the United States leaders on Thursday agreed to lend Ukraine $50 billion for defense and reconstruction after sealing a 10-year security deal with Japan and the US at a summit in Italy.
The loan backed by profits from interest on frozen Russian assets is to provide help this year to Kyiv in the face of Russian attacks and ground offensive.
Summit host Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the “political agreement” after the first day of the Puglia talks, saying it was a hard-fought but “fundamental” step.
At a joint press conference with the Ukrainian leader afterwards, Biden said the deal emphasized to Russian President Vladimir Putin the long-term commitment of Kyiv’s allies.
With it, the G7 leaders “collectively show Putin he cannot wait us out, he cannot divide us,” Biden said.
Addressing leaders earlier at the luxury Borgo Egnazia resort, Zelensky said the loan was a “vital step forward in providing sustainable support for Ukraine in winning this war.”
Zelensky also signed what he called a “historic” 10-year security deal with Biden, and another with Japan.
The deal will see the US provide Ukraine with a range of military aid and training plus the buildup of Kyiv’s domestic arms industry over the next decade, while Zelensky said it would act as a bridge to his country finally winning prized membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.
The deal with Japan will see Kyiv getting $4.5 billion this year from Tokyo and support for the next decade, the countries’ leaders said.
Aside from security and defense assistance, Japan will provide humanitarian aid, help with reconstruction efforts, and support Ukraine in various other areas from cybersecurity to countering Russian disinformation campaigns.
Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow staged dozens of drone and missile attacks overnight, officials said Friday, leaving several wounded in Ukraine and damaging a fuel reservoir site in a Russian border region.
Russia said it had downed 87 Ukrainian drones, of which 70 had targeted the southern Rostov region that houses the headquarters of its military operation against Kyiv.
