U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the Group of Seven (G7) nations have made funding pledges exceeding the $15 billion that Kyiv has estimated it needs over the next three months to make up for the loss of revenue caused by the war with Russia.
Yellen told reporters that the funding pledges came during the first day of a two-day meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Germany.
"The message was, 'We stand behind Ukraine. We're going to pull together with the resources that they need to get through this,'" Yellen said at a news briefing in Koenigswinter near Bonn.
The European Commission pledged 9 billion euros, and other countries, including Canada and Germany, pledged additional amounts, she said.
The G7 finance leaders also discussed mechanisms to reduce Russia's revenues from oil exports to Europe. Yellen said there is a lot of interest in the concept, but "nothing is really crystallized as an obvious strategy."
High global inflation was another significant topic during the meeting, Yellen said, but none of the policymakers had said they were considering raising their targeted inflation rates.
"What was discussed was the critical importance of central banks taking the actions that are needed to show they are committed to the inflation targets that they've set," Yellen said.
The G7 finance leaders met as they look to shore up funding for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia's unprovoked invasion, which has derailed its economy.
"I'm quite optimistic that we will be able at this G7 meeting to raise funding which allows Ukraine to defend itself over the next months," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at the opening of the meeting just outside of Bonn.
Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, Ukraine has seen its economy decimated and millions displaced from their homes.
Kyiv, which estimated it's running a $5 billion monthly budget deficit, has looked to the West for help finance its government and the war effort, and Linder said a "double-digit, billion-euro" figure was needed to assure Ukraine's "liquidity."
The G7 consists of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.