G7 agree on $18.4 billion to keep Ukraine running, ready with more

FILE PHOTO: Service members of pro-Russian troops wait before the expected evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine May 16, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany (Reuters) -The Group of Seven's financial leaders agreed on Thursday on $18.4 billion to help Ukraine pay its bills in coming months and said they were ready to stand by Kyiv throughout its war with Russia and do more if needed, a draft communique showed.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, Germany, France and Italy - the G7 - are holding talks as Ukraine, invaded by Russia on Feb. 24, is struggling to fend off the attack and is running out of cash.