EU commits $19 bn to Ukraine under G7 plan
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on November 28, 2024, Ukrainian rescuers prepare to load the remains of a Russian X-55 cruise missile onto a truck following a missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More than a million Ukrainians were left without power in freezing cold temperatures on November 28, 2024 after a massive nationwide Russian missile and drone attack. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
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(AFP) - The European Union on Thursday confirmed it would give Ukraine 18.1 billion euros ($19 billion) as part of a bigger G7 loan backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
The Group of Seven advanced economies last month finalised an agreement on a $50 billion loan to Kyiv to help prop up the country as it struggles to fight back against Moscow's invasion.
The United States committed to providing $20 billion of the money, while the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan also agreed to contribute.
The funds for Ukraine come at a crucial juncture for Kyiv as questions swirl over the future of US support once Donald Trump returns to power.
The EU had originally said it was willing to provide up to $38 billion before its G7 partners announced their shares.
Senior EU official Valdis Dombrovskis wrote on X that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyiv on the 18.1 billion euros "to help Ukraine cover immediate needs".
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal welcomed what he called a "bold step" by the EU.
"This is not just aid -- it's a precedent for holding Russia accountable for its crimes and ensuring it pays for its brutal war of aggression," Shmygal wrote on X.
The EU has frozen roughly $235 billion of Russian central bank funds since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the vast bulk of immobilised Russian assets worldwide.
About 90 percent of the funds in the EU are held by international deposit organisation Euroclear, based in Belgium.
The latest EU funds come on top of roughly 120 billion euros of support that officials say the EU and its member states have provided Kyiv since Russia's invasion.
© Agence France-Presse
