Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, urged the Group of Seven world leaders to provide modern air defense systems to Ukraine for better protection of his country from daily missile strikes. Also in order to toughen economic sanctions against Russia.
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The high-level summit in the Bavarian Alps, which Zelensky attended through videoconference from Kyiv, took place as Russian forces attacked Lysychansk ,the last big city still held by Ukrainian troops in eastern Luhansk province. Neighboring Sievierodonetsk also was lost to the Russian forces over the weekend after weeks of fierce resistance.
Leading economic powers talked about their commitment to Ukraine for as long as it takes with plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions. Zelensky also briefed the G7 leaders on how his administration has utilized the hundreds of billions of dollars in assistance he’s received to date to maximize Ukraine’s capacity both to resist Russian advances, and to pursue counter-attacks where possible.
The ongoing war in Ukraine moved from being a distant, abstract conflict to something more tangible for the leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest democracies. Volodymyr Zelensky told G7 leaders that despite their efforts to arm his country and to isolate the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, more needs to be done and within a few days.
He asked for better, more modern air defense systems, more sanctions on Russia and security guarantees, according to European officials. Ukraine also wants help unblocking its ports for grain shipments, and Zelensky reportedly said he wants the war with Russia to end before the onset of winter.
Even though allies moved swiftly to impose an unprecedented range of sanctions, Russia’s economy has proven resilient, mostly because countries, even India have stepped up to buy discounted oil from Moscow.
“This confirms that sanctions packages against Russia are not enough, that Ukraine needs more armed assistance, and that air defense systems — the modern systems that our partners have — should be not in training areas or storage facilities, but in Ukraine, where they are now needed,” Zelensky said in his address
Trudeau held what was described as an impromptu call with Zelensky on Sunday, ahead of the Ukrainian leader’s address, where they spoke about “ramping up pressure on Russia,” according to a readout of the call provided by senior Canadian officials.
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In his nightly address, Zelensky talked about the call. “I spoke about this today with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau — how else we can strengthen defense support for Ukraine and how else we can increase the pressure of sanctions on Russia. I thanked Justin for the help already provided — one of the most tangible,” Zelensky said.
Trudeau filled in Zelensky on the kind of discussions that went on at the Commonwealth Summit late last week, where Canada and Britain tried to convince reluctant members of the organization of mostly former British colonies to get more firmly behind Ukraine and to condemn Russia.
The war in Ukraine has consumed a lot of political oxygen and time for the G7 leaders, who appeared at times to be struggling to put other initiatives in the spotlight.
The U.S. launched on Sunday what is known as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure, a multibillion-dollar program meant to help low-income countries build roads, bridges and airports to improve their economies. It’s meant to be a rival to China’s so-called Belt and Road initiative.
Beijing’s colossal infrastructure investment is said by its supporters as having the possibility of ushering in a new era of trade and growth for economies in Asia and beyond. But skeptics believe that China is laying a debt trap for borrowing governments.
