ALBAWABA - During a press conference, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the United States of America will be contributing $20 billion to a loan package that is being offered by the G7 to provide aid to Ukraine.
Profits from frozen Russian assets will be used to fund the loan, which is a component of a bigger $50 billion deal, Yellen stressed, claiming that American taxpayers won't be responsible for the financing, saying “Russia is paying for this support,” AFP reports.
The first distributions of the funds are expected to take place before the end of this year, and it is believed they will be used to meet both the military and economic needs of Ukraine.
In addition to the financial package, The United States is getting ready to impose more sanctions on Russia's weapons acquisition network, which are anticipated to be announced next week, would target third-country middlemen who assist Russia in acquiring vital supplies for its military activities, according to Reuters.
Yellen stated that she believes that Russian assets will stay frozen despite the EU's necessity to extend sanctions every six months, despite current negotiations about how to maintain the blockade in place, as Bloomberg reports.
EU leaders are now trying to increase this duration to 36 months, which would provide the loan more stability over the long run. However, Hungary has obstructed modifications to the EU's sanctions framework, since EU decisions need unanimous consent, arguing that any choices must be postponed until after the US elections.
Following more than two years of American attempts to disrupt Russia's revenues and industrial structure since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Yellen said that these sanctions will include measures targeting financial institutions that facilitate transactions for Russian firms.
