Ukraine receives $1.7 billion from Canada under G7 loan covered by Russian assets
Ukraine has received the first tranche of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars (about $1.7 billion) from Ottawa under the G7's Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry announced on March 13.
The ERA mechanism, totaling $50 billion, provides loans to Ukraine that will be repaid using future profits from frozen Russian assets.
According to the ministry, Canada's contribution to the initiative is $3.5 billion, and the loan will be granted for 30 years.
"Canada is a reliable and steadfast partner of Ukraine. I am grateful for the support of the ERA mechanism. It is a fair and necessary tool to hold Russia financially accountable for its crimes in Ukraine," Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, G7 countries have frozen approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets.
The ERA initiative, backed primarily by the U.S. and the EU, aims to use profits from these frozen assets to finance Ukraine's defense and reconstruction.
In addition to the Canadian contribution, Kyiv received 752 million pounds ($970 million) as the first installment of the U.K.'s contribution to the G7 loan, as Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on March 7.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
