On Thursday and Friday, the Group of Seven finance leaders is expected to agree to assist Ukraine pay its debts in the coming months, but rising prices, climate change, supply chains, and the imminent food crisis are also on the agenda.
The Ukraine crisis has forced Western nations to reconsider decades-old connections with Russia, not only in terms of security, but also in terms of energy, food, and global supply alliances ranging from microchips to rare earths.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the U.S., Japan, Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, and Italy (the G7) are meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia on February 24 and is running out of cash.
"We have to secure the liquidity of the Ukrainian state," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the group, told reporters on entering the talks.
"I am quite optimistic that we will be able at this G7 meeting to rise the funding which would allow Ukraine to defend itself over the next months," he said.
"Ukraine is overshadowing these meetings. But there are other issues that must be discussed," a G7 official, who asked not to be named, said, adding that debt, international taxation, climate change, and global health were all up for debate.
Ukraine estimates its monthly financial needs at $5 billion to keep public employees' salaries paid and the administration running despite Russia's daily destruction.
The G7's short-term funding package of about $15 billion would cover Ukraine's needs for three months.
On Wednesday, the European Commission offered Ukraine up to €9 billion in loans, financed by EU borrowing guaranteed by EU governments, to satisfy Kyiv's needs through the end of June.
Japan will double its aid to Ukraine to $600 million to help it meet its immediate needs, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
The EU executive also recommended creating an undisclosed grant and loan fund for Ukraine to pay for its post-war reconstruction, which could be jointly borrowed by the EU.
Officials from the U.S. say it's too early to arrange finance for a big rebuilding plan for Ukraine, and that the focus should be on Kyiv's immediate budget needs over the next three months.
Some experts estimate that such a project would cost between €500 billion and €2 trillion, depending on the length of the fight and the extent of the destruction.
