Yellen spoke about the introduction of a special IMF loan program for Ukraine

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday stressed the importance of launching a special IMF lending program for Ukraine, in addition to a new $10 billion US aid package currently in the pipeline in Washington.Yellen pointed out that the $46 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid already provided by the United States to Ukraine has enabled Kiev to maintain economic and financial stability amid the war.“Our economic aid is enabling Ukraine to resist,” Yellen said, quoting President Biden as saying that “the United States will support Ukraine in its struggle – for as long as it takes.”Yellen’s statements were made at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Bangalore, India, on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ahead of a meeting of G20 finance ministers.After Thursday’s meeting, ministers from the world’s major economic powers called for increased financial support for Ukraine and pledged to keep tough sanctions in place against Russia. G7 countries have pledged up to $39 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine this year.G7 finance ministers hope a new IMF loan program for Ukraine worth around $15 billion will be ready by March.”We, together with the international community, remain firmly committed to meeting Ukraine’s urgent short-term financing needs,” Japan’s Finance Minister Sunichi Suzuki told reporters. “Our sanctions have significantly undermined Russia’s ability to wage an illegal war. We will continue to closely monitor the effectiveness of the sanctions and take additional measures if necessary,” added the Japanese minister.”We must redouble our efforts to completely isolate Russia from international markets,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.