PRESS RELEASE : UK shows enduring commitment to Ukraine at G7 summit [June 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 June 2024.

The Prime Minister will be clear that the UK will lead from the front on supporting international peace and security as he attends the G7 Leaders Summit in Italy against a backdrop of heightened volatility.

The Prime Minister will be clear that the UK will lead from the front on supporting international peace and security as he attends the G7 Leaders Summit in Italy against a backdrop of heightened volatility.

At the Summit, the Prime Minister will announce up to £242 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine, to support immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs, and lay the foundations for longer term economic and social recovery and reconstruction.

This funding demonstrates the UK’s continued international solidarity with Ukraine, and our flexibility in responding to immediate needs created by Russian aggression. Critical energy infrastructure, for example, has suffered from an intense Russian missile and bombing campaign over the past few months.

A priority for the PM at the Summit will be to work with partners to agree a way to use immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine. Last month, the Chancellor attended the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, where the G7 discussed potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from these assets, to the benefit of Ukraine.

The UK and G7 leaders have been clear that Russian must pay for the damage it is causing Ukraine. We will explore all lawful avenues by which immobilised Russian assets can be used to support Ukraine. The value of the assets held in G7 jurisdictions is $285 billion.

The UK was the first country to introduce legislation explicitly enabling us to keep sanctions in place until Russia pays for damage it has caused. We also introduced new powers to compel sanctioned individuals and entities to disclose assets they hold in the UK.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

We must be decisive and creative in our efforts to support Ukraine and end Putin’s illegal war at this critical moment. The UK remains at the forefront of the international response as we have been from the outset. We must move from ‘as long as it takes’ to ‘whatever it takes’ if we are to end this illegal war.

From Ukraine to the Middle East, we will be discussing significant global threats at the Summit. Such threats are why it is so vital to strengthen the UK’s national defence, through our commitment to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030.

The UK has now committed almost £12.7 billion in military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine and has often been the first mover on vital lethal aid, from Storm Shadow cruise missiles to a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks.

The Prime Minister recently announced that the UK will send our largest-ever package of military equipment from the UK, designed to help push back the Russian invasion on land, sea and air.

While at the summit, he will attend sessions on Ukraine; Illegal Migration; Economic Security and China; The Middle East; and a credible G7 and UK offer to ‘the global majority’.

The Prime Minister will work to encourage G7 unity in response to the situation on the ground in Gaza, focused on the long-term goal of a stable and prosperous Middle East.

He will press other leaders to recognise migration challenges ‘across the route’ and to take collective action.

He will also seek to strengthen our economic security in relation to China and work collaboratively with partners to identify ways to ensure we leverage the revolution in green technologies for the benefit of the British people and our industries.