Russia’s sovereign assets held by G7 countries will stay frozen until Russia ends the war and compensates Ukraine for the damage, the bloc has said.
The bloc’s finance ministers and Central Bank Governors issued the statement via a Communiqué after a summit in Canada between May 20 and May 22, 2025.
“We condemn Russia’s continued brutal war against Ukraine and commend the immense resilience from the Ukrainian people and economy,” the Communiqué says.
“The G7 remains committed to unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty and independence toward a just and durable peace.”
The Communiqué says the G7 welcomed diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire, but if those efforts fail, the leaders plan to explore new options to pressure Russia, including stronger sanctions.
“We reaffirm that, consistent with our respective legal systems, Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine”, the Communiqué says.
Western nations froze Moscow’s overseas assets after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with G7 and EU holdings totaling around $300 billion.
In October 2024, the G7 finalized a $50 billion loan for Ukraine, backed by proceeds from frozen Russian assets, to support the country through 2025 under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) program.
The ERA program redirects interest earnings from Russia’s immobilized assets toward Ukraine to compensate for the destruction caused by the war. The ERA loan provides financial assistance that Ukraine will not have to repay, a significant relief for the country’s struggling economy.
This initiative was negotiated between Ukraine, the EU, the US, Canada, Japan and the UK.
The UK has advocated transferring nearly €200 billion ($224 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in Belgium into an investment fund – a move seen as a possible step toward eventually using those funds to support Ukraine.
While the UK backs the idea, major EU countries like Germany and Italy have so far opposed it.
How G7 sees Ukraine’s reconstruction
The World Bank Group estimated Ukraine’s reconstruction will cost $524 billion over the next decade. The G7 plans to help build investor confidence through bilateral and multilateral initiatives.
The Communiqué says the G7 will continue to support Ukraine through the Support for Ukraine’s Reconstruction and Economy Trust Fund (SURE TF) under the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
It says the G7 will work through the Ukraine Donor Platform with Kyiv, international financial institutions, and the insurance industry to lift the blanket ban on Ukraine as soon as possible.
Some insurance companies and financial institutions imposed the ban due to high investment risks in Ukraine during the war, citing active hostilities, missile strikes, legal uncertainty, and other factors.
Senior Marsh McLennan partner Crispin Ellison questioned the nature of a blanket ban against Ukraine in an interview with Kyiv Post in November 2024.
“Ukraine is excluded under something called the RUB exclusion: Russia-Ukraine-Belarus exclusion. And that is offensive to a lot of Ukrainians. The reason why you don’t reinsure in Russia and Belarus is, if nothing else, because of international sanctions. The reason why you’re not insuring in Ukraine is because you have made a decision not to,” Ellison said.
Ellison called it “a blanket exclusion.” For this, the global insurance market should “take a more nuanced view of the risks,” not a simplistic approach of “We do not reinsure in Ukraine,” he told Kyiv Post.
The G7 countries said that they will continue related discussions during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10-11, 2025.
“Further, we agree to work together with Ukraine to ensure that no countries or entities, or entities from those countries that financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be eligible to profit from Ukraine’s reconstruction,” the G7 statement says.