On June 13, the leaders of the G7 countries agreed to grant a loan of 50 billion dollars to Ukraine, to be financed by the profits from the frozen Russian assets. During the meeting in Bari, the presidents of the United States and Ukraine signed a historic 10-year security agreement.
"I confirm to you that we have reached a political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine in the amount of about 50 billion dollars by the end of the year," said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who also hosted the meeting.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was also invited to the meeting, thanked for the support. He said that this $50 billion will be directed "both to defense and to reconstruction."
He urged Kiev's allies to go further and actually seize Russia's frozen assets.
Zelensky once again stressed the need for more air defense systems, with which Kiev can repel the incessant Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"With the G7 agreement to use the profits from frozen Russian assets, we are sending a strong signal to Ukraine that we will support it in its fight for freedom for as long as necessary, but also a sign to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he cannot win ", said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting.
During the meeting in Bari, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky signed a historic 10-year security agreement.
According to the agreement, the US will provide Ukraine with a range of weapons and training. Washington has vowed to defend its ally "now and into the future".
The deal, which is similar to the one the US has with Israel, obliges Washington to train the Ukrainian military, provide defense equipment, conduct joint exercises and work together on defense industrial cooperation.
Zelensky described the agreement as "a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine."
"The agreement states that America supports Ukraine's future membership in NATO and recognizes that our security agreement is a bridge to Ukraine's membership in NATO," Zelensky said at a press conference with US President Joe Biden. | BGNES