By Eryk Bagshaw
Hiroshima: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has used his surprise appearance at the G7 to call for all governments to deliver arms to Kyiv, and to demand global unity in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a fiery speech, Zelensky used the setting of Hiroshima where the first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945 to warn “our lives will equally burn to ashes” as his country reels from the bombing of Bakhmut. He described the eastern Ukrainian city, once home to 73,000 as a “scorched wasteland of houses turned to rubble”.
The President took aim at neutral countries India and Brazil and accused them of being fooled by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a powerful speech at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima. Credit: Christopher Jue
Zelensky said he did not have any proof that Brazil, China or India were sending any weapons to Russia but said he had been in touch with “certain leaders” to try to convince them of the Ukrainian cause.
“I am here in Hiroshima, so the world can hear the Ukrainian call for unity from here,” he said. “Russia has tramped on everything that is civilised.”
The Ukrainian leader was flown into Japan on Saturday by the French military in a high-stakes dash to secure more weapons from the world’s wealthiest economies ahead of a summer counteroffensive. The United States said it would train Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots after months of lobbying from Kyiv. Britain announced it would also take part in the F-16 program, and implement a series of new sanctions against Moscow as the G7 pledged to “starve Russia” of resources.
Zelensky said Ukrainian armed forces had been preparing for an expected attack on Russian positions in the coming months.
“Russia will feel it when we have a counteroffensive,” he said.
But the confident rhetoric masked some tactical losses in recent weeks for Kyiv.
Zelensky earlier told US President Joe Biden that “there is nothing left” in Bakhmut after Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had seized the key Ukrainian city.
“For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing,” he said, except for “a lot of dead Russians”.
The eight-month battle for the city in eastern Ukraine has been one of the most bloody of the war, causing 354,000 casualties who have been killed or wounded.
But he later clarified he had not intended to convey that the city had been completely taken over by Russian forces after a series of claims and counterclaims from Moscow and Kyiv.
“Bahkmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today,” he said in Hiroshima.
Late on Sunday (local time) the Ukrainian military’s general staff said in a statement that: “The fight for the city of Bakhmut is continuing.”
The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in the invasion’s longest battle, and a series of comments from Ukrainian and Russian officials added confusion to the matter.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary army Yevgeny Prigozhin had earlier claimed that Bakhmut had come under complete Russian control at about midday on Saturday.
Prigozhin on Sunday reiterated via an audio message posted via the Telegram messaging app that his forces had captured all the territory in Bakhmut as promised and would leave the conflict zone later this week.
“Wagner has made no advances. Wagner today captured no territory. We have captured all the territory we promised to capture, right up to the last centimetre,” Prigozhin said.
The G7 push has been met with threats of retaliation by the Russian armed forces, which has positioned two submarines and warships in the Black Sea, sparking fears it could hit Ukraine with more missile strikes to coincide with the G7, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s military told Ukrainian television.
In a series of group meetings with G7 leaders over the weekend, including Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Zelensky broadened his pitch for more support beyond Europe’s borders.
“We don’t have accidental meetings,” said Zelensky. “I cannot afford myself to have accidental meetings because we are at war.”
Albanese said the Australian government was always examining what it can do to support the people of Ukraine and President Zelensky, but did not announce any new measures for the war-torn country in Hiroshima.
“We regard his struggle as a struggle on behalf of all those who support nation-states continuing to exist within sovereign borders,” he said. “The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine is an outrage.”
Zelensky confirmed he was working with Australia on further measures. “I cannot say details, but we are grateful for those packages of support,” he said. “I am really grateful for that.”
He called on all democratic countries - including Japan and South Korea - who have yet to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine to provide them to Kyiv as the war enters its next phase.
“We will paralyse other potential aggressors,” he said. “When everyone who wants war sees how united and determined the world is for peace, there will be no point in them starting a war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined G7 world leaders in Hiroshima on Sunday. Credit: Getty
G7 leaders appear to have organised some meetings to target neutral powers who have refused to take a position on the war. “I do believe that it can be a game changer,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian President was seated next to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was part of a group session with Brazilian President Lula da Silva. Lula last month called for Zelensky to give up Crimea.
Modi has declined to back sanctions against Moscow due to India’s dependence on Russian military supplies, but the Indian leader was seen shaking Zelensky’s hand in Hiroshima and maintained New Delhi’s “clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward”.
“We will attract as many countries and leaders as possible for the sake of the Ukraine Peace Formula,” Zelensky said.
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