WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The United States said it has lent Ukraine $20 billion backed by interest on frozen Russian assets, part of a $50 billion G7 aid package agreed this summer.
The administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to send the loan before the end of the year amid concerns about whether President-elect Donald Trump will continue US support for Ukraine.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has repeatedly criticized the amount of US aid to Ukraine, but has also said he will support the loan program.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on US and European military and financial aid as it tries to stop a Russian invasion that began in February 2022. The US aid package for Ukraine worth $61 billion was approved in April – the fifth since the war began in February 2022 – but is likely to expire early next year.
That means the $50 billion G7 loan is crucial to ensuring that Ukraine has enough assets and weapons to defend itself through the first half of 2025 if Trump cuts off further support.
“These funds — paid for with windfall revenues earned from Russian frozen assets — will provide Ukraine with a critical infusion of support as it defends its country from an unprovoked war of aggression,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
The G7 loans “will help ensure that Ukraine has the resources it needs to maintain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its courageous resistance,” Yellen said, adding that Washington’s support will help Kiev “defend its sovereignty and achieve a just peace.”
The announcement of the loan followed months of negotiations between the U.S. and allies — including the European Union — on how best to use frozen Russian assets, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, to help Ukraine without violating international law.
The US Treasury Department announced that Washington has transferred $20 billion to a World Bank fund that will make the money available to Ukraine, Radio Free Europe's English-language editorial staff reported.
