The Group of Seven (G7), composed of the world's largest economies, pledged to donate $19.8 billion in financial aid to help Ukraine sustain its economy and its defense capabilities against Russian attacks.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told reporters that $9.5 billion of the total amount was mobilized at meetings of the G-7 finance ministers in Koenigswinter, Germany this week.
Lindner said that the leading economies have agreed to help Ukraine "to defend itself successfully" amid its financial situation.
"We need to do our utmost to end this war," he noted.
UPI reported that almost every discussion at the finance minister's meetings this week touched on the Russia-Ukraine war, from the need to minimize dependency on Russian energy to the necessity to modify relations to maintain economic stability.
World's Leading Economies Agree To Work Together in Helping Ukraine
According to a G-7 statement: "Russia's war of aggression is causing global economic disruptions, impacting the security of global energy supply, food production, and exports of food and agricultural commodities, as well as the functioning of global supply chains in general."
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that, during the two-day summit, all finance ministers have pledged "to do what's necessary" to "put together the resources" that Ukraine needs to "get through" the Russian invasion, per WHYY.
According to the latest World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine's economy is expected to contract by 35 % this year and next.
During their meeting, per Lancaster Online, the finance ministers of the G-7 countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States - also discussed rising inflation, food security concerns, and other economic difficulties.
The European Commission on Wednesday recommended creating a fund for Ukraine with an undefined amount of subsidies and loans, maybe borrowed jointly by the EU, to fund post-war reconstruction, as per a report from Euractiv.
The G7 expressed their support but did not go into depth.
The draft stated a call on all partners "to join" in helping Ukraine's "long-term recovery and to ensure the massive joint effort for reconstruction is closely coordinated, including with the Ukrainian authorities and international financial institutions."
According to finance experts, reconstructing Ukraine may cost around $527 billion up to $2.1 trillion depending on the length of the war and the area of destruction.
With such vast amounts at stake, the EU is considering not just a new cooperative borrowing project patterned after the pandemic recovery fund, but also seizing Russia's now-frozen assets in the EU as a source of funding.
Some countries, such as Germany, argue that the proposal, while politically appealing, would be legally problematic, and the G7 draft communique did not address the matter.
An Important Day for Ukraine
On Twitter, Ukraine's defense ministry lauded the allocation of funds for the war-torn country as an "important day" for Ukrainian triumph."
Another important day for 🇺🇦victory. The 🇺🇲 Senate has approved allocation of aid to 🇺🇦 in the amount of almost $ 40 billion.The G7 and int. fin. institutions have agreed to allocate $ 18.4 billion for 🇺🇦 for the next 3 months. These are decisive steps in defense of Freedom.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 20, 2022
Over the following three months, the G7 and financial organizations will provide funding to the country in crisis.
The United States voted on Thursday to approve a legislation that would provide $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, with $7.5 billion going to the G7 aid package.
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