Ukraine's president gets £2.26bn loan on visit to UK

(CLO) Ukraine and the UK signed a £2.26 billion loan deal on Saturday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the country for a security summit with European Union leaders.

The £2.26bn loan will go to Ukraine’s military and will be repaid with profits from frozen Russian assets in the West. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko signed the loan agreement, with the first tranche of funds expected to arrive in Ukraine by the end of next week.

Unlike the tense atmosphere in the Oval Office during talks with US President Donald Trump on ending the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president was warmly welcomed by British Prime Minister Starmer outside his residence at 10 Downing Street.

British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves (center) with Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the loan in London on Saturday. (Photo: X/Volodymyr Zelenskyy)

In a meeting described by Mr Zelenskyy as “warm”, he thanked the UK for its “tremendous support” for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Meanwhile, Mr Starmer reiterated his stance on the UK’s “unwavering support” for Kiev.

The funding will be distributed in three equal annual payments of £752 million each.

The announcement of the loan deal comes on top of the UK's commitment to provide £3 billion a year in military aid to Ukraine.

The loan follows the Prime Minister's announcement that the UK Government will increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to spend 3% of GDP on defence in the next parliament when economic and financial conditions allow.

This is the UK's contribution to the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loan programme for Ukraine, through which the G7 countries will collectively provide $50 billion to support Ukraine.

Bui Huy (according to Gov.Uk, Kyiv Independent)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-ukraine-nhan-duoc-khoan-vay-226-ty-bang-khi-toi-vuong-quoc-anh-post336742.html