Ukraine’s G7 allies would support the government in Kyiv “for as long as it takes,” despite Russia’s steps to escalate its war there, leaders of the club of major industrialized nations planned to say in a statement yesterday.
The G7 pledged their “undeterred and steadfast” commitment to helping Ukraine “uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity” during a 90-minute videoconference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that started at about 2pm in Berlin, according to a draft of the leaders’ statement seen by Bloomberg.
“We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the leaders of the US, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Canada and the UK said.
Photo: AFP
They would also vow to “impose further economic costs on Russia” and “to coordinate efforts to meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements for military and defense equipment.”
The G7 leaders conferred one day after Russia launched a series of missile strikes on Kyiv and a dozen other cities that struck key infrastructure targets, as well as civilian sites.
In the statement, the leaders condemned “deliberate Russian escalatory steps” and said the tactics were “putting European and global peace and security at risk.”
They did not provide details of any new steps they would take or weapons they would provide.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday also condemned Russia’s latest missile strikes, saying that the act of aggression could be classified as war crimes under the Rome Statute for being directed against civilians.
This latest “brutal and inhuman” assault on Ukraine once again demonstrates the Russian authoritarian regime’s “illegal military expansion” into another nation’s territory and the “evil nature of its human rights violations,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Taiwan offers its condolences to people in Ukraine who lost family members due to the senseless missile strikes, she said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) wrote on Twitter that Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian residential areas with missiles was “utterly unacceptable.”
“We strongly condemn the cowardly act of killing innocent civilians. #Taiwan partners with fellow democracies to #StandWithUkraine,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the G7 leaders also said they were “deeply troubled” by what they called the “deliberate damage” last month to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that transport Russian gas to Germany’s north coast.
Swedish investigators last week said that detonations caused the ruptures, with the evidence pointing to a deliberate act that Germany’s vice chancellor suggested was ordered by the Kremlin.
The incidents sparked fears that Russia could stage surreptitious attacks on vital energy links to trigger price increases as winter approaches.
“We strongly condemn these reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage,” the G7 leaders said. “Any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure is unacceptable and will be met with a united and determined response.”
Additional reporting by CNA
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