Dem
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GOP
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The leaders of the G7 are meeting right now, even if the gathering has something of a funereal vibe. PM Rishi Sunak is definitely a dead man walking, and Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden are in the middle of tough election battles. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, PM Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are all unpopular, and any or all of them could be out of office by this time next year. Only Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, the fascist, is basically safe.
Even if there is a lot of lame duckery going on, however, that doesn't mean that the leaders can't get some things done. In particular, they all want to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. And so, they agreed to "loan" Ukraine $50 billion. The reason we put "loan" in quotations is that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also present at the G7 as an observer, will get the money now, but Ukraine doesn't actually have to pay the money back.
So, who is funding this generous de facto donation? That would be... Russia. After Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the G7 members froze about $280 billion in Russian assets. Those assets are currently generating about $3 billion a year in interest, and that interest will be used to pay back the $50 billion. So, in effect, Russia is giving Ukraine $50 billion to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.
You have to admit, it's pretty funny that Ol' Vlad is paying to fight... himself. The members of the G7 might not be able to participate in the war directly, but the various members—especially the U.S. and the U.K.—have spent the last 75+ years figuring out ways to have an indirect, but still substantive, impact when they want to. And boy do they want to, here. Tough luck, Mr. Putin. (Z)