UK’s Truss to tell G7 leaders to ‘stay the course’ in Ukraine

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss will on Tuesday tell her fellow G7 leaders they “must not waver one iota” in supporting Ukraine, as they hold emergency talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The leaders of the grouping of wealthy nations and Zelensky are set to convene Tuesday afternoon European time to discuss the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine, Berlin announced on Monday.

Truss’s office said the British leader, who only succeeded Boris Johnson in Downing Street just over a month ago, would use the call “to urge fellow leaders to stay the course”.

“The overwhelming international support for Ukraine’s struggle stands in stark opposition to the isolation of Russia on the international stage,” she will say.

“Their bravery in the face of the most brutal acts of violence has earned the people of Ukraine global admiration.

“Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. And for our part, we must not waver one iota in our resolve to help them win it.”

Strikes were reported in multiple cities across Ukraine early Monday, including rare attacks on the capital Kyiv and the western Lviv region.

Zelensky accused Russia of targeting his country’s energy infrastructure.

It follows Saturday’s blast on the Kerch bridge linking the occupied Crimea peninsula to Russia which was personally inaugurated by Putin in 2018 and which he has blamed on Kyiv.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters Monday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had spoken by phone with Zelensky and assured him “of the solidarity of Germany and the other G7 states”.

He confirmed the grouping would start talks by video link at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Tuesday and Zelensky would take part at the beginning of the meeting.

It is the first G7 leaders’ discussion since Kyiv launched a counter-offensive in eastern and southern Ukraine in recent weeks that has reclaimed swathes of territory, thanks in part to Western weapons supplies.

“Germany will do everything in its power to mobilise additional aid and, in particular, to help repair and restore (Ukraine’s) damaged and destroyed civilian infrastructure, such as the electricity and heating supply,” Hebestreit added.

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