US and Ukraine sign 10-year military pact | BBC News

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and PresidentBiden have signed a 10-year bilateral security dealbetween Ukraine and the US, hailed by Kyiv as "historic".

The agreement proposes US military and training aid to Ukraine - but it does not commit Washington to send troops to fight for its ally.

US President Joe Biden said it was another reminderto Russia "that we're not backing down". HoweverMoscow has threatened what it called "extremely painful" retaliatory measures.

G7 leaders meeting in Italy also agreed to use frozenRussian assets to raise $50bn (£39bn) for Ukraine tohelp it fight invading Russian forces.

The money is not expected to arrive until the end of 2024 but is seen as a longer-term solution to support Ukraine's war effort and economy.

Some $325bn worth of assets were frozen by the G7,alongside the EU, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The pot of assets is generating about $3bn a year ininterest. Under the G7 plan that money will be used topay off the annual interest on the $50bn loan for theUkrainians, taken out on the international markets.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Vicki Young.