Canada contributing $5 billion to new G7 deal being finalized to help Ukraine using frozen Russian assets

Canada will contribute $5 billion to a new plan to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia as G7 leaders meet in Italy, according to a government official. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other leaders of seven of the world’s advanced economies are finalizing a new deal to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russian gains on the battlefield.

A government official said Canada’s new financial contribution will be part of that deal that’s being worked out. The U.S., with Canada’s support, has proposed using the interest on roughly 200 billion euros in frozen Russian assets held mostly in Europe to secure a $50 billion US bank loan for ongoing support for Ukraine. 

“I think we will have the major tentpoles of this decided, but some of the specifics left to be worked through by experts on a defined timetable,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said about the discussions.

The Canadian announcement comes ahead of Trudeau’s meeting with Zelenskyy Thursday in Italy. 

Trudeau first made the pitch to use seized Russian Central Bank assets in February during a G7 call, the government said. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland last month encouraged G7 finance ministers in Italy to use the assets to help pay for Ukraine’s recovery. 

The RCMP said last month it has frozen $140 million in Russian assets in Canada since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Global Affairs Canada said it also ordered the seizure of  a Russian plane and a company believed to be tied to a Russian oligarch. 

The recent federal budget said Canada is committed to exploring with allies “possible legal mechanisms to make full use of these assets.”

Ukraine is in dire need of more weapons, ammunition and training after a long lull in deliveries from Washington. U.S. Congress approved a $61 billion US military aid package for Ukraine last month, but only after political conflict within the  Republican Party delayed the package for six months. 

Defence Minister Bill Blair met with the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Belgium on Thursday and announced plans to send the first shipment of 2,000 decommissioned rocket motors used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to Ukraine. 

Canada will also donate close to 30 Nanuk remote weapons systems, which is a remotely controlled weapons station that can be used on armoured vehicles. Blair also said the government is sending more than 130,000 rounds of small arms ammunition to Ukrainian troops.

Trudeau is taking part in a series of working sessions on Thursday with G7 leaders about the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, along with development in Africa and climate change. 

He’s scheduled to have bilateral meetings with French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday.