Zelensky urges G-7 to step up support to end war with Russia this year

To end the war before the end of the year, Ukraine will need more military, political and financial support from the G-7 countries, Zelensky explained, according to two sources.

THE Ukraine must get more support from its allies to be able to drive the Russia of newly conquered territories in the country before the cold weather allows the invaders to consolidate their gains, said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyto the G-7 leaders in a video conference on Monday, according to officials in attendance.

To end the war before the end of the year, Ukraine will need more military, political and financial support from the G-7 countries, Zelensky explained, according to two sources.

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine’s harsh winter would make it more difficult for his troops to defend their positions and maintain supply lines, which stretch more than 2,000 kilometers from north to south of the country.

The Ukrainian leader also said that this is not the time to negotiate with Russia. “Ukraine will negotiate when it is ready, that is, when it has re-established a strong position,” he said, according to a French official.

Zelensky reinforced the call for the G-7 nations – the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan – to urgently step up the delivery of more heavy weapons and air defenses to Ukraine in order to stop the Russian advance.

European Union (EU) countries agreed on Monday that the bloc’s natural gas storage facilities must be filled to at least 80% capacity for the next winter in the region as Russia cuts exports. of the commodity. The regulation also says that underground storage gas will have to be raised to up to 90% of capacity.

Some EU members do not have storage facilities, so the measure calls for them to store 15% of their annual national gas consumption in other EU countries, allowing them access to reserves in other EU countries.

The EU is trying to reduce Russian energy use amid the Kremlin war in Ukraine, while looking for other sources. The ban on Russian coal imports will begin in August, and an embargo on most Russian oil will be implemented over the next eight months.

Meanwhile, Moscow is halting deliveries of natural gas, a fuel used to power factories and generate electricity that the EU has not included in its sanctions package for fear of severely damaging the European economy. Before the war, the bloc obtained about 40% of its natural gas from Russia.

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