President Volodymyr Zelensky
on Monday urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia’s invasion
by the end of the year, as G7 leaders planned new sanctions and vowed to
support Ukraine “as long as it takes”.
US President Joe Biden and his
counterparts from the Group of Seven rich nations, meeting for three days in
the Bavarian Alps, promised to tighten the economic screws on Moscow over its
February 24 invasion.
They also put on a show of
unity over Ukraine, even as the fallout from the war intensifies with soaring
energy and food prices driving up global inflation.
“We will continue to provide
financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine
for as long as it takes,” the G7 said in a statement on the summit’s second
day.
Addressing the gathering via
video-link, Zelensky urged leaders to help end the war before winter sets in
and conditions for his troops become tougher.
He urged allies to keep up the
pressure and “intensify sanctions” on Moscow, including by imposing an oil
price cap to limit Russia’s energy revenues.
German Chancellor and summit
host Olaf Scholz signalled the G7’s readiness to do more, saying “we will
continue to increase pressure on (Vladimir) Putin. This war has to come to an
end”.
Among the new steps being
discussed by G7 leaders is the price cap on Russian oil imports sought by
Zelensky and sanctions targeting Russia’s defence industry.
Washington meanwhile is
planning to send Ukraine sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles, a source
familiar with the process told AFP.
Zelensky has long asked allies
for more powerful defences against Russian attacks.
An announcement is “likely
this week” on the purchase of an “advanced medium to long-range surface-to-air
missile defence system”, the source said.
The summit of the G7 — which
comprises the US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Canada — ends on
Tuesday.
It will immediately be
followed by a meeting of NATO countries in Spain, where Ukraine is again
expected to dominate the agenda.
– ‘Toughest days’ –
Since failing to capture Kyiv early in the war, Russian troops have focused on
the eastern Donbas region where they have been gaining ground.
Two women were killed by
Russian bombardments on the north-eastern Kharkiv region over the past 24
hours, a local official said on Monday.
Russian shelling also
continued in and around the eastern city of Lysychansk, after Russian forces at
the weekend took full control of its twin city and industrial hub Severodonetsk
following weeks of fierce fighting.
