Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at center of last day of high-level diplomacy as G7 looks to punish Russia

HIROSHIMA, Japan — World leaders ratcheted up pressure Sunday on Russia for its war against Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the center of a swirl of diplomacy on the final day of the Group of Seven summit of rich-world democracies.

Zelenskyy’s in-person attendance at one of the world’s premier diplomatic gatherings is meant to galvanize attention on his nation’s 15-month fight against Russia. Even before he landed Saturday on a French plane, the G7 nations had unveiled a slew of new sanctions and other measures meant to punish Moscow and hamper its war-fighting abilities.

“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today,” he tweeted after his arrival.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, and French President Emmanuel Macron meet Saturday at the Grand Prince Hotel during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Ukraine is the overwhelming focus of the summit, but the leaders of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union, also are working to address global worries over climate change, AI, nuclear proliferation, poverty and economic instability.

Two U.S. allies — South Korea and Japan — continued efforts Sunday to improve ties that have often been hurt by lingering anger over issues linked to Japan’s brutal 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Washington wants the two neighbors, both of which are liberal democracies and bulwarks of U.S. power in the region, to stand together on a host of issues, including rising aggression from China, North Korea and Russia.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would directly engage at the summit.

Bolstering international support is a key priority as Ukraine prepares for what’s seen as a major push to take back territory seized by Russia in the war that began in February last year. Biden said Friday he’d agree to allow training on potent American-made fighter jets, which lays the groundwork for their eventual transfer to Ukraine.

Russia’s deputy defense minister, Alexander Grushko, accused Western countries of “continuing along the path of escalation” following the announcements that raised the possibility of sending the F-16s to Kyiv.

Prigozhin Press Service via AP

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group military company, speaks in a video released Saturday while holding a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said early Sunday that forces of the Wagner private army, with the support of Russian troops, seized the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The eight-month battle for the city is the longest and probably most bloody of the conflict.

The ministry statement on the Telegram channel came about eight hours after a similar claim by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin. In an earlier video also posted on Telegram, Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control about midday Saturday.

Russian state news agencies cited the Kremlin’s press service as saying President Vladimir Putin “congratulates the Wagner assault detachments, as well as all servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces units, who provided them with the necessary support and flank protection, on the completion of the operation to liberate Artyomovsk,” the city’s Soviet-era name.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials about the latest claim.

Zelenskyy also met on the sidelines of the G7 summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their first face-to-face talks since the war, and briefed him on Ukraine’s peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country before any negotiations.

While India maintains close ties with the U.S. and its Western allies, it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and oil.

Susan Walsh, Associated Press/Pool

From left, President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for a photo Sunday during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the G7 summit for aiming to isolate both China and Russia. “The task has been set loudly and openly: to defeat Russia on the battlefield, but not to stop there, but to eliminate it as a geopolitical competitor,” he said.

The G7 vowed to intensify the pressure.

“Russia’s brutal war of aggression represents a threat to the whole world in breach of fundamental norms, rules and principles of the international community. We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to bring a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” the group said in a statement.

China, the world’s No. 2 economy, was another major focus of the meetings. There is increasing anxiety that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear weapons program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. 

The G7 said they did not want to harm China and were seeking “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing. They also urged China to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

Xun Hou, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said that “gone are the days when a handful of Western countries can just willfully meddle in other countries’ internal affairs and manipulate global affairs. We urge G7 members to … focus on addressing the various issues they have at home, stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs, stop containing and bludgeoning other countries.”

Stefan Rousseau, Pool via AP

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet Saturday at the Grand Prince Hotel during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

The G7 also warned North Korea to completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, “including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology,” the leaders’ statement said.

The G7 leaders also discussed efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The group reiterated its aim to pull together up to $600 billion in financing for the G7’s global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to China’s investment dollars.