Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told G7 leaders today that he wanted Russia’s war in Ukraine to end before the end of the year, before winter sets in.
Speaking via video link at the G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps, Zelensky said the fighting conditions would make it more difficult for his troops as they expand their fight against Vladimir Putin’s men.
He therefore urged G7 leaders to do their utmost to end the war before the end of the year, while calling for anti-aircraft systems and security guarantees.
Zelensky also pleaded with the leaders “Intensifying sanctions” against Russia, while stressing the need to continue piling “heavy” sanctions against Moscow and “not lowering the pressure”.
the president asked for help with the export of grain from Ukraine and for help with reconstruction, the European official said on condition of anonymity.
Zelensky addressed the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States via video link on Monday, the second day of the three-day G7 summit in southern Germany.
The high-level talks come a day after Kiev suffered the first Russian attack on the capital in three weeks, Ukraine said, with a rocket attack on a residential building that killed one person.
Two women were also killed in the past 24 hours by Russian bombing raids on the northeastern region of Kharkov, the local governor said Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told G7 leaders today that he wanted the Russian war in Ukraine to end before the end of the year, before winter kicked in.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron sit at a round table as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses G7 leaders via video link during their working session at Elmau Castle, Germany on Monday
G7 leaders will commit on Tuesday to a new package of concerted actions designed to increase pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine, and will finalize plans for a price cap for Russian oil, one said. senior US official Monday.
The US also plans to send Ukraine advanced anti-aircraft missiles to defend itself against Russian attacks, a source familiar with the process said Monday.
President Joe Biden “has made the procurement of advanced air defense systems for Ukraine a priority,” the source said, asking not to be identified.
An announcement is “probably this week” about the purchase of an “advanced medium-to-long-range surface-to-air missile defense system” as well as other weapons to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
Zelensky’s speech to G7 leaders came on the back of news that Russia has defaulted on its foreign government bonds for the first time since the Bolshevik coup more than a century ago, as sweeping sanctions effectively cut off the country from the global financial system and its assets untouchable for many investors.
A US official said Monday the omission showed how dramatically the sanctions affected the Russian economy. The official spoke to reporters as the White House released a fact sheet detailing possible G7 actions to support Ukraine and further stem Moscow’s oil revenues.
“The twin goals of the G7 leaders were to target directly (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s revenues, particularly through energy, but also to reduce the spillovers and impact on the G7 economies and the rest of the world. the world,” the US official said. said on the sidelines of the annual G7 summit.
Rescuers are working near a damaged residential building, which was damaged by a rocket attack by the Russian army in Kiev on Sunday. The rockets hit the nine-story building and a kindergarten
A view of a bomb crater after a Russian shell hit a school building last night as the Russo-Ukraine war continues on Monday in the Shevchenkivs’kyi district of Kharkiv, Ukraine
But the Kremlin on Monday rejected claims it has failed to pay its foreign debt.
Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had paid bonds owed in May, but the fact that they had been blocked by Euroclear because of Western sanctions against Russia was “not our problem.”
“Our position is known. Our reserves have been unlawfully blocked and any attempts to use these reserves will also be illegal and would amount to outright theft,” Peskov said.
G7 leaders, (clockwise from left) Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, President of the Commission of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, US President, Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida, French President Emanuel Macron and President of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel pose for a group photo on the first day of the three-day G7 summit at Schloss Elmau on June 26, 2022 near Garmisch-Partenkirchen
In response to the war in Ukraine, the G7 countries, which account for nearly half of global economic output, are determined to increase pressure on Russia without ramping up the already soaring inflation that mainly affects the global south. .
The price cap could hit the Kremlin’s war chest while driving down energy prices.
The G7 leaders will also make an “unprecedented long-term security commitment to provide Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support for as long as it needs,” including the timely delivery of advanced weapons, the White House said in a fact sheet.
Western sanctions have hit the Russian economy hard and the new measures aim to further deprive the Kremlin of oil revenues. According to the US official, the G7 countries will work with others — including India — to limit the revenue Putin can continue to generate.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…