"Russia should not bet that if it holds out long enough, it will end up weakening support for Ukraine." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the message from Ukraine and its allies was clear: "Russia must withdraw troops."Īny peace plan, he said, "can't simply be linked to a freeze of the conflict". Zelensky put his country and Russia's invasion firmly at the top of the agenda and secured firm backing for key elements of his 10-point peace plan, centred on the need for a Russian withdrawal. Separately, the foreign ministry in Beijing said it had summoned G7 host Japan's ambassador on Sunday to protest against what it described as efforts to "smear and attack" China at the gathering. It prompted an angry Moscow to denounce the entire G7 summit as a "propaganda show" that whipped up "hateful anti-Russian and also anti-Chinese messages".
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It came after the United States lifted a veto on Ukrainian access to advanced US-made F-16 fighter jets, a significant upgrade from Kyiv's Cold War-era fleet of MiGs and Sukhois.īeyond the promised supplies, the trip has been a major diplomatic coup for Zelensky. Indian PM Narendra Modi has resisted criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine The White House earlier unveiled a $375-million package of US aid that includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery shells, anti-tank guided missiles and thermal imaging systems. "Putin will not break our resolve as he thought he could," Biden told reporters after meeting Zelensky. He left Japan with reassurances, however, that his allies will see out the fight, with US President Joe Biden insisting that Ukraine's backers "will not waver." Zelensky denied that Russian troops now occupy Bakhmut, although he acknowledged they were in the city, which has been ground into ruins in months of brutal fighting that shows little sign of slowing. There are no people."īut he vowed that like Hiroshima, Ukraine would rebuild, and joined Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a sombre ceremony to lay flowers at a cenotaph commemorating the 140,000 people killed by the bomb. "The photos of Hiroshima remind me of Bakhmut," he said after a visit to the city's museum, which documents the suffering caused by the 1945 US nuclear bomb attack. He used the emotional history of Hiroshima to drive home his despair over the destruction of his country, including the frontline city of Bakhmut, which Russian troops claim to now control. Still Zelensky can claim victory on several fronts, having won US backing for the supply of advanced fighter jet, and the chance to woo powerful unaligned nations such as India that have not condemned Russia's invasion.
The need for his bold diplomatic gambit in Japan was underscored by setbacks on the ground back home, where Russia claimed to have taken control of the eastern city of Bakhmut after months of bloody battle. He leveraged the powerful symbolism of Hiroshima, synonymous with the horrors of war, to press partners and sceptics alike to back his defence against Russia's 15-month onslaught.
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