G7 countries pledge to back Ukraine, impede Russia

The G7 countries pledged support for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia after a virtual meeting on the second anniver­sary of Moscow’s invasion.

Pro-Ukraine demonstrators at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires take part in a rally commemorating the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

The G7 countries pledged support for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia after a virtual meeting on the second anniver­sary of Moscow’s invasion.

The leaders vowed to “raise the cost” of Russia’s war on Ukraine but made no public statement about further military aid to Ukraine, urging “the approval of additional support to close Ukraine’s remaining budget gap for 2024”.

“We will continue to raise the cost of Russia’s war, degrade Russia’s sources of revenue and ­impede its efforts to build its war machine,” said the group, which includes the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.

It called on Iran to stop helping Russia’s military and expressed concern about the transfer by ­Chinese businesses of weapon components, military equipment and dual-use materials to Moscow.

Finally, the leaders demanded that Russia “fully clarify the circumstances” around the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison more than a week ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the meeting to plead for more support for his ­embattled military forces.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday. Picture: AFP

“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,” he said.

To mark Saturday’s second ­anniversary of the invasion, crowds gathered in Berlin, London, Paris and other European cities, waving the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag and demanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin end the war.

Demonstrators unfurl a giant Ukrainian flag in front of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi during a rally to mark the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

With concerns growing about waning support from Ukraine’s ­allies as an emboldened Moscow makes battlefield gains, there were calls at a protest at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate for accelerated arms deliveries.

Addressing thousands of supporters, some waving banners that read “arm Ukraine now”, Berlin mayor Kai Wegner decried Putin’s “brutal war of aggression”.

“He wants to wipe out Ukraine, he wants to wipe out the identities of Ukrainians,” he told the crowd, which organisers estimated at 10,000-strong while police gave a figure of 5000.

“But we won’t let that happen.”

There were protests across France, several thousand joining a march in central Paris with shouts of “Putin murderer” and “Russia out of Ukraine” ringing out from the crowd.

In the city of Rouen, Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol told a crowd of several hundred that Ukraine was “defending its sovereignty but also its values and ­ideals, which are those of Europe. Europe is at war – we cannot remain on the sidelines of this battle.”

More than 1000 protesters gathered in the Polish capital of Warsaw as demonstrations also took place in many other cities, ­including Dublin, Athens, Stockholm and Milan.

A demonstrator in Madrid holds sunflowers during a rally in support of Ukraine, to mark the second year of Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. Picture: AFP

According to a survey released last week, only 10 per cent of Europeans believe Ukraine can defeat Russia on the battlefield.

The survey conducted last month across 12 EU countries showed an average 20 per cent of those asked ­believed Russia could win, and 37 per cent thought the conflict would end in a compromise settlement.

AFP