Rishi Sunak will announce up to £242 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine at the G7 summit in Puglia.

The package is to be used for immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs in Ukraine and to lay the foundations for longer term economic and social recovery and reconstruction, the Prime Minister said.

The £242 million was allocated before Mr Sunak called a General Election for July 4.

The UK and G7 leaders agree that Moscow must pay for the damage it is causing Ukraine and will therefore explore how to use immobilised Russian assets – 285 billion dollars (£222 billion) worth of which are held in G7 jurisdictions – to support Ukraine, the Prime Minister said.

Mr Sunak said: “We must be decisive and creative in our efforts to support Ukraine and end Putin’s illegal war at this critical moment.

“The UK remains at the forefront of the international response as we have been from the outset. We must move from ‘as long as it takes’ to ‘whatever it takes’ if we are to end this illegal war.

“From Ukraine to the Middle East, we will be discussing significant global threats at the summit. Such threats are why it is so vital to strengthen the UK’s national defence, through our commitment to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030.”

The summit in Italy comes as Mr Sunak continues to face pressure at home over his decision to leave D-Day commemorations in France. The backlash has dominated his election campaign for the last week.