G7 pledges $50 billion in aid to Ukraine by year's end

The group has agreed to provide Ukraine with $50 billion via the use of frozen Russian assets by the end of the year

Group of Seven leaders have agreed to provide Ukraine with $50 billion via the use of frozen Russian assets by the end of the year, the French presidency said on Wednesday.

"We have an agreement," a presidency official said, ahead of a G7 summit in Italy on Thursday that will focus on backing Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion.

G7 leaders had aimed to agree a deal on using the profits from the interest on 300 billion euros ($325 billion) of frozen Russian central bank assets to help Kyiv, using the profits as collateral for a loan of up to $50 billion.

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US President Joe Biden is to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday during the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy.

"Originally this was an American initiative," the French presidency official said, adding that in theory the loan to Ukraine would be repaid with "the proceeds from the frozen Russian assets".

"But if for some reason or another, if the Russian assets are unfrozen or the proceeds from the Russian assets are not enough to finance the loan, then we'll have to consider how to share the load" of the loan, the source said.