Ukraine wants to receive $50 billion from the G7 without conditions and for any purpose

Ukraine is seeking to attract $50 billion from the G7 countries for its budget without conditions and for any purpose. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the «Ukraine 2024. Independence» forum on Tuesday, August 27.

According to Shmyhal, Ukraine expects the Group of Seven (G7) countries to launch a mechanism for additional loans to increase budget revenues. This is known as Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine (ERA). The  mechanism  is expected to launch by the end of 2024.

«We have our political framework. It should be $50 billion. Ukraine should receive it no later than the end of this year. These funds should be unconditional for Ukraine [i.e., not tied to any reforms]. They should be interest-free and not affect the increase in public debt. And we can use these funds for any needs,» Shmyhal said, as quoted by Ekonomichna Pravda.

He mentioned that Ukraine plans to use the money to compensate victims of the war, finance the budget deficit, purchase weapons, and cover other needs.

«It is a difficult task. The G7 countries and the European Union have to find a consensus among themselves on how to provide this money. These funds will be compensated to our partners by the proceeds from frozen Russian assets, which total $300 billion. The partners will receive between $3 billion and $4 billion annually, and these amounts will be used to repay this grant to Ukraine,» Shmyhal explained.

He added that Ukraine is not limiting itself to these plans. Kyiv expects the further confiscation of all frozen Russian assets. If the confiscation occurs before the partners receive their money back, the balance will be covered by Ukraine from the confiscated amount.

In late May, G7 finance ministers supported the idea of providing Ukraine with a loan secured by the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to help finance Kyiv after 2024.

The ministers’ discussion was based on a proposal by the United States. The plan is to extend a loan of about $50 billion to Ukraine. It should be repaid from the proceeds of the Russian central bank’s assets.