Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, following the conclusion of the G7 Summit Leaders’ Meeting on May 21, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. The G7 summit will take place in Hiroshima from 19 to 22 May.
Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images
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Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, following the conclusion of the G7 Summit Leaders’ Meeting on May 21, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. The G7 summit will take place in Hiroshima from 19 to 22 May.
Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images
A lot happened in the 24 hours that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the G-7 summit this weekend.
In a rare and brief trip, Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima, Japan on Saturday to talk to world leaders about progress in Ukraine and to re-energize support from allies.
The meeting comes at a crucial time — Russia recently declared victory over the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut where some of the deadliest fighting has taken place and Ukrainian officials say they need more weapons to take back occupied land. Ukraine says its forces are still fighting and have not surrendered.
The G-7 summit is an annual gathering of the world’s richest and largest democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — to address the most pressing international issues. urgent and coordinate on global policy.
Zelenskyy says that the city of Bakhmut is completely destroyed
Zelenskyy’s appearance on Sunday came less than a day after Russian forces claimed victory over Bakhmut – a town in eastern Ukraine that has been under attack for 10 months. It is considered the longest and bloodiest battle in the war so far.
When asked if Russia’s claims are true, Zelenskyy said that Bakhmut was completely destroyed and there was practically nothing to occupy. He later compared it to the aftermath in Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945.
“You have to understand that there is nothing, they destroyed everything,” Zelenskyy told the G-7 leaders. “For today Bakhmut is only in our hearts.”
Still, he emphasized that Ukrainian forces are still fighting in the city and have not surrendered — despite what the Russians said.
The United States supports Ukraine’s long-standing request for F-16 jets
One of Zelenskyy’s main goals when attending the G-7 summit was to secure more military aid for his country.
Ukraine has already received billions from Western allies. The United States alone contributed about $37 billion to the conflict.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden pledged an additional $375 million in weapons, including ammunition and armored vehicles.
Biden also came out in support of training Ukrainian pilots on American-made F-16 fighter jets — giving the country the green light to send those warplanes to Ukraine. The President said that Zelenskyy assured him that Ukraine will not use the jets to hit targets inside Russia.
Ukrainian defense officials have called the plane a game changer and it has been on the country’s wish list since the start of the Russian invasion. The new aid comes as Ukraine prepares to launch counter-offensives to retake occupied land.
Zelenskyy tried to win over the president of India
The G-7 was an opportunity for Zelenskyy to reach out to world leaders who have been reluctant to denounce Russia, such as India’s prime minister Narendra Modi.
India was one of the few countries to solidify its ties with Russia in the midst of the Ukraine war.
Not only did Modi refuse to condemn the invasion, he was buying Russian oil and gas — undermining the efforts of Western democracies to hurt Russia’s economy through economic sanctions.
Over the weekend, Zelenskyy tried to win over Modi. While the Indian Prime Minister has promised to do everything in his power to end the war, his attitude towards the conflict has remained the same.
Still, Zelenskyy said he is determined to get the support of Modi and leaders of other countries that have not come out clearly in favor of Ukraine.
