G7 countries to lend Ukraine $50B backed by Russian assets

Leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies on Thursday began a two-day summit in Italy. The diplomats approved a plan to loan Ukraine $50 billion that would be repaid using frozen Russian assets. In 2022, the G7 countries froze approximately $280 billion of Russia’s reserves held in the Central Bank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States, European Union, and other nations will separately provide the loans to Ukraine.

What other topics are the leaders going to discuss? Diplomats are set to talk about the war in Gaza and the growing economic threat posed by China. President Joe Biden on Wednesday increased sanctions against Russia and targeted Chinese companies that sell electronics and drone components to Moscow.

Is there anything else significant about this year’s summit? Pope Francis on Friday will give a speech about the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence. He will be the first pope to address a G7 summit. The block also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Algeria, Brazil, India, Kenya, and Turkey to attend the meeting. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Leo Briceno and Carolina Lumetta’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how aid for Ukraine cleared the House of Representatives recently, but lawmakers couldn’t agree on artificial intelligence regulations.