President Joe Biden and fellow leaders from the Group of Seven sought to assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of their support as Russia’s war against his country enters its third year.
The leaders held a videoconference on Saturday to mark two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. The call came at a critical point in the war, with Kyiv’s weapons stockpiles running low and the prospect of a protracted stalemate on the battlefront.
Biden and Zelenskyy were joined on the call by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and the foreign minister of France, Stephane Sejourne.
The participants met to “discuss our continued support for Ukraine and steps we can take together to continue holding Russia accountable,” according to a White House statement.
G7 leaders will call on Russia to “completely” and “unconditionally withdraw its military forces” from Ukraine and will pledge not to recognize elections that Russia holds now or in the future in occupied territories, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg.
Ukraine’s allies are pledging to step up their military assistance and capacity to deliver weapons as fighting intensifies this spring, but there are increasing worries about the sustained commitment to aiding Kyiv as the war drags on.
“We are reclaiming what belongs to us, and will certainly make the Putin-system pay the proper price for every Russian evil,” Zelenskyy said on the call, according to a transcript of his remarks.
He stressed the urgency of obtaining immediate military assistance. “You know very well all we need to keep our sky protected; to strengthen our military on the land; and you know all we need to sustain and continue our success in the sea,” Zelenskyy said. “We count on you.”
Biden’s request for over $60 billion in additional assistance remains stalled in Congress, where Republicans are using Ukraine aid as leverage to extract concessions on border security and immigration policy.
The U.S. presidential election, in which former President Donald Trump is poised for a general-election rematch with Biden in November, has also stoked fears about the future of U.S. assistance. Trump has been a critic of aid to Ukraine and alarmed U.S. allies earlier this month by threatening to encourage Russia to attack NATO members that failed to meet defense spending commitments.
Canada is pledging to provide C$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in aid this year, funds which will help Kyiv meet its budgetary needs, Trudeau’s office said on Saturday. The Canadian leader traveled to Ukraine’s capital along with Meloni, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and von der Leyen, in a public show of allied support for the country.
The European Union recently approved a 50 billion euro ($54.2 billion) aid package and Japan has committed to provide Ukraine an additional $4.5 billion this year.
The G7 will also impose fresh sanctions on Russia, intensify efforts to enforce a price cap on Russian oil, and crack down on the Kremlin’s ability to circumvent trade restrictions.
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