The United States and its allies impose new sanctions on Russia

President Joe Biden will hold an online meeting Friday with G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , the White House announced late Thursday. With the meeting taking place exactly one year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Western leaders plan to announce new sanctions tomorrow against those who aid the Russian war machine.
Last year, the same group of leaders gathered for an emergency meeting hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a so-called “special military operation” against Ukraine to impose the first round of sanctions against Moscow.
“The G7 has become a bastion of our strong and united Russian response,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. According to her, on Friday the leaders will discuss continued support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Russia in its aggression against a neighboring country.
According to Jean-Pierre, the sanctions will affect both natural and legal persons associated with the activities of Russian banks, technology and defense sectors.
The United States will also announce a new assistance package for Ukraine that will include economic, security and energy support, she added.
The Australian government announced on Friday that it would send a new batch of drones to Ukraine and announced new financial sanctions against 90 Russian natural persons and 40 legal persons.
“We continue to support Ukraine,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. – (Unmanned Aerial Systems) provide battlefield reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
He did not specify how many drones and which model will be sent to Ukraine.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC she would urge China to take steps to de-escalate the conflict.
Australia, one of Ukraine’s largest non-NATO defense donors, provides humanitarian aid, ammunition and military equipment to Kiev. In addition, Canberra has banned the export of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia.
Since the start of the conflict, Australia has provided around A$500 million ($340 million) in security support for Ukraine. Australian specialists were sent to the United Kingdom to help train the Ukrainian army there. Canberra also imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals and entities.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday that Japan, as G7 chairman, wants to strengthen G7 ties with Kiev and enhance cooperation with Ukraine.
On Friday, Japan will host an online G7 summit to discuss Ukraine’s defense issues.