The West raises a huge sum of money for the attacked Ukraine. And the attacker Russia is supposed to pay indirectly for it.
Kazan/Kiev/Washington – While Russian President Vladimir Putin pompously celebrates the Brics summit of emerging industrial nations in his country, the G7 democracies want to initiate a billion-dollar loan for the attacked Ukraine. The loan of 50 billion US dollars (46 billion euros), made possible together with the EU, is to be secured by interest on frozen Russian state assets. The US wanted to contribute $20 billion, said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington. This means that a breakthrough for the giant financial aid is foreseeable.
The German Finance Minister Christian Lindner welcomed the US decision: “This also clears the way for support from the European Union to the tune of 18 billion euros” – the equivalent of around 20 billion dollars. Another $10 billion is expected to come from Great Britain, Japan and Canada.
At the Brics summit, which was held under strict security precautions in the megacity of Kazan, 700 kilometers east of Moscow, plenary sessions are on the program on Wednesday. Host Putin is using the meeting to demonstrate that he is not internationally isolated even two and a half years after the start of the war of aggression he ordered against Ukraine.
The abbreviation Brics stands for the first letters of the first five members of the group of states: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Putin dedicated the first day of the summit on Tuesday to bilateral talks with the heads of state and government of this inner circle. According to the Kremlin, Ukraine was also a recurring topic.
Kremlin: Brics summit on Ukraine agrees
The Brics group had recently grown to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. According to Russian news agencies, Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said membership is being discussed with 13 other interested states. Putin wants to make the group of states a counterweight to the US-led world order. However, not all members follow Moscow’s anti-Western course.
A political declaration is expected as a result of the summit in Kazan. Ushakov said that a formulation had been found regarding Ukraine that was accepted by all participants. He did not give any details.
According to the Kremlin, Putin’s meeting with his most important guest, Chinese head of state Xi Jinping, was also about Ukraine. China’s backing is important for Putin’s continued warfare. In addition, Beijing, like Moscow, is interested in breaking the dominance of the West and sees the Brics as a possible means of doing so.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again offered Putin mediation in the Ukraine conflict. “We fully support the restoration of peace and stability as quickly as possible,” Modi said. India has not yet emerged as a mediator – unlike the United Arab Emirates, which has brokered several prisoner exchanges.
Russia should pay indirectly for credit
The Group of Seven major democratic industrial powers (USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada) and the EU approved the large loan of 50 billion US dollars for Ukraine in June. The special thing about it: It is secured by interest income from frozen Russian central bank assets.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen emphasized that this Ukraine support was not financed by the American taxpayer. “What is happening here is that Russia is paying for this support,” she explained. Ukraine should be able to decide for itself how it uses the money – for example for weapons purchases, reconstruction and the state budget.
An agreement between those involved is expected to be reached by the end of the week on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Washington. Putin sharply criticized the plan and described it as robbery. The G7 decision “will not go unpunished,” he threatened.
NATO: Soldiers from North Korea would be a significant escalation
Meanwhile, there is growing international concern that Russia could send thousands of soldiers from North Korea to the war against Ukraine. South Korean representatives will visit NATO in Brussels early next week to provide information on North Korea’s support for Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more international pressure on the communist leadership in Pyongyang.
“If North Korea can interfere in the war in Europe, then the pressure on this regime is definitely not enough,” said Zelensky in Kiev. Such an expansion of the war must be stopped. “In particular, we have information about the training of two units of the North Korean military – perhaps even two brigades with 6,000 men each,” he said.
Russia and the isolated communist state have promised each other military assistance. North Korea has already delivered ammunition and missiles. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced last week that, according to his country’s findings, 1,500 North Korean soldiers had already been sent to Russia. In total, North Korea is said to have decided to send around 12,000 soldiers, including special forces.
When South Korea informs NATO, the main focus will be on whether North Korea will send troops to the Ukraine war, said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a visit to Estonia. This would represent a significant escalation. At the moment he cannot confirm that North Korean soldiers are actively involved in the fighting.
Moscow has commented evasively on the reports. The Russian army is gradually advancing in eastern Ukraine, but is suffering heavy losses. The Kremlin wants to avoid a mobilization of Russian men for fear of discontent among the population.
