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‘Lame Duck’ G7 Leaders Plan to Back $50B Loan to Ukraine with Frozen Russian Assets

POLITICO: ‘Most of the attendees are distracted by elections or domestic crises, disillusioned by years in office, or clinging desperately to power’

Published: June 13, 2024
  |   By Chris Karr
‘Lame Duck’ G7 Leaders Plan to Back $50B Loan to Ukraine with Frozen Russian Assets

Amid political strife within their own countries, democratic leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) are hashing out a deal to loan Ukraine $50 billion for its ongoing war effort against Russia.


Though specifics are still in development, the loan would utilize interest earned on Russia’s central bank assets, which have been frozen since its 2022 invasion, as collateral.

The G7 summit, which is comprised of the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, takes place this year in the Southern Italian coastal resort of Borgo Engnazia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the secluded resort on Thursday to meet with the G7 leaders.


According to Bloomberg, which broke the news of the plan early Thursday morning, Ukraine could repay the loan with about $280 billion in profits from blocked funds that are currently immobilized in Europe.

“Under the mechanics to be signed off in Italy, the US, European Union and other participants will each provide a loan to Ukraine with the proceeds generated by the assets over time used to pay that money back,” reported the outlet, which spoke to sources under the condition of anonymity. “The loans will be structured differently on the basis of each participant’s internal procedures and each will carry the risk of the loans they provide, should the frozen assets generate fewer profits than envisioned.”

A French official told AP News that the money could reach Kyiv by the end of the year. The official also said the loan would be mostly guaranteed by the U.S. and “topped up” with money from Europe and other national contributions.

The frozen assets, which include money held in banks outside Russia, cannot be accessed by Moscow despite the fact the country still owns them.

A senior European Union official confirmed to Reuters that an outline agreement had been reached.

“I think it’s done,” the official said. “It should be fine. I don’t expect leaders to say … (anything against it).”

“I think we will have the major tentpoles of this decided, but some of the specifics left to be worked through by experts on a defined timetable,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday in Italy. “That’s how I anticipate this will all play out.”

“While governments can generally freeze property or funds without difficulty, turning them into forfeited assets that can be used for the benefit of Ukraine requires an extra layer of judicial procedure, including a legal basis and adjudication in a court,” AP News reports. “So the European Union instead has set aside the windfall profits being generated by the frozen assets. That pot of money is easier to access.”

Additionally, thanks to the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act passed earlier this year, the Biden administration can snap up $5 billion in Russian assets that reside in the U.S. in order to further aid Kyiv.


The G7 summit occurs during a time of political upheaval for almost all the leaders in their own countries.

A report from POLITICO highlighted the shared challenges faced by six of the seven world leaders, referring to them as "lame ducks."

"The G7 summit ... features arguably the weakest gathering of leaders the group has mustered for years," the outlet writes. "Most of the attendees are distracted by elections or domestic crises, disillusioned by years in office, or clinging desperately to power."

French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are each facing a snap election and unlikely victories. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suffered a defeat in the EU parliament election last weekend, which saw success for the center-right Christian Democrats and far-right Alternative for Germany, nabbing 30 percent and 16 percent of the vote, respectively. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's disapproval rating hit an all-time high of 57 percent this month. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's year-long, double-digit trailing in polls has drawn comparisons to President Joe Biden.

In a stark similarity to Kishida, Biden's disapproval rating, which has climbed steadily since March of 2023, now rests at 56.5 percent.

“With the exception of Meloni, the leaders at the G7 summit are all pretty weak,” said former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder, per POLITICO. “Trudeau is probably not going to win the next election. Biden has a tough election race. Scholz is weakened. Macron is weakened. Sunak is a ‘dead man walking,’ and Kishida has serious issues at home as well.”

In contrast to the aforementioned leaders, the outlet noted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "can't stop winning. Two years after coming to power as leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, the pugnacious, folksy Tolkien fan from a blue-collar district of Rome increased her party’s popular share of the vote in Sunday’s European election. She’s now poised to play a critical role shaping the future direction of EU policy in Brussels."

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