Ukrainian President Zelenskyy meets G7 leaders virtually

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met virtually with G7 leaders on Wednesday, telling them Moscow expects Western unity to “collapse” next year.

Participants at the meeting, including key Kyiv allies US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said they remained committed to supporting Ukraine. The announcements come amid concerns that Western support for Ukraine may be weakening as Kyiv has made little progress on the battlefield.

“We are determined to support an independent, democratic Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” the G7 leaders said in a statement following the meeting.

The G7 leaders announced measures that will be taken against Russia to reduce Moscow’s income. Thus, by January it is planned to ban the import of non-industrial diamonds from Russia, and by March – the import of Russian diamonds processed in other countries.

The G7 announced additional measures, including a price cap on Russian oil, and called on third countries to immediately stop supplying Russia with military materials under threat of “severe cost,” reported VoA.

The leaders also promised to increase humanitarian support for Ukraine as winter approaches, calling on Russia to stop its aggression and compensate for the damage it has already caused.

While Zelenskyy met with G7 leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip abroad. Over the course of one day, he visited two Middle Eastern countries, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in an attempt to strengthen Moscow’s position in the region.

The UAE, where the UN climate conference (COP28) is currently taking place, is a US ally with close ties to Russia. UAE officials warmly welcomed Putin to Abu Dhabi.

Putin met with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, discussing a variety of issues with him, including the “Ukrainian crisis,” as he called it. After that, he held talks with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. It was expected that the topic of Ukraine would also be touched upon at this meeting.

The Ukrainian delegation at the COP28 conference condemned Putin’s visit to the region, pointing to environmental crimes committed by Russia in their country.

“It is extremely upsetting to see how the world treats war criminals, because that’s what he is, in my opinion,” said Marharyta Bohdanova, a worker at the Ukrainian pavilion at the COP28 climate summit. “Seeing how people let people like him in the big events … treating him like a dear guest, is just so hypocritical, in my opinion.”