G7 Plans to Channel Frozen Russian Assets for Ukraine Support

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen revealed that a G7 initiative aims to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine financially beyond 2025. The plan could involve issuing bonds or granting loans, potentially providing Ukraine $50 billion in the near term. Discussions are ongoing among G7 negotiators.

A G7 plan to bring forward the value of earnings on frozen Russian assets can be a significant source of support for Ukraine beyond 2025, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday. "It's important that Russia realise that we will not be deterred from supporting Ukraine for lack of resources," she told a news conference ahead of a G7 finance meeting in Stresa, Italy.

She said the immobilized Russian assets represent a potential source of support for Ukraine through 2025 "but beyond that as well." G7 negotiators have been discussing for weeks how to best exploit some $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets, such as major currencies and government bonds, which were frozen shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The United States is pushing to find a way to bring forward the future income from those assets, either through issuing a bond or more likely granting Ukraine a loan that it says could provide it with as much as $50 billion in the near term.