Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Canada yesterday to urge the G7 to provide more backing for the war against Russia even after US President Donald Trump left the summit early due to developments in the Middle East. The G7 wealthy nations struggled to find unity over the conflict in Ukraine as Trump expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa would provide $1.47 billion in new military assistance for Kyiv as well as impose new financial sanctions. A Russian attack overnight on Kyiv and other cities that killed at least 16 people “underscores the importance of standing in total solidarity with Ukraine,” Carney said.
Carney said when G7 leaders met for dinner on Monday before Trump left, they stressed the importance of using “maximum pressure against Russia” to force it to start serious peace talks. “We are ready for the peace negotiations, unconditional ceasefire – I think it’s very important. But for this, we need pressure,” Zelenskiy replied.
Carney has plans to issue a chair statement calling for more pressure on Russia through sanctions and saying the G7 backs US-led peace efforts, two G7 sources said. Canada holds the rotating G7 presidency this year. Other leaders do not need to sign off on G7 chair statements.
A European official said leaders had stressed to Trump their plans to be hard on Russia and Trump seemed impressed, though he does not like sanctions in principle.
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