Ukraine’s foreign minister has pressed diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations for support to fend off Russian aerial attacks that have caused rolling blackouts across the country.
Speaking at a meeting to discuss defence cooperation, Andriy Sybiha warned that Ukraine must overcome what will be a “very difficult, very tough winter.”
“We need the support of our partners,” Sybiha said at the gathering in Canada attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts.
“We have to move forward to pressure Russia, to raise the price for the aggression, for Russia, for Putin, to end this war.”
Canada announced more sanctions against Russia on Wednesday and a day earlier, the United Kingdom pledged funding for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The new Canadian sanctions on Russia target 13 people and 11 entities, including several involved in the development and deployment of Moscow’s drone program.
“Those who enable Russia’s war will face consequences,” Foreign Minister Anita Anand said.
Britain says it will send £13 million (€14 million) to help patch up Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The money will go toward repairs to power, heating and water supplies and humanitarian support for Ukrainians.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who made the announcement before the meeting, said Putin “is trying to plunge Ukraine into darkness and the cold as winter approaches” but that British support would help keep the lights and heating on.
Rubio made no immediate announcements about new US initiatives but said on social media that the meeting delved into ways “to strengthen Ukraine’s defence and find an end to this bloody conflict.”
“The United States remains steadfast in working with our partners to encourage Russia to pursue diplomacy and engage directly with Ukraine for a durable and lasting peace,” he posted on X.
US support for Ukraine under President Donald Trump and his relationship with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been erratic and marked by repeated policy shifts during unsuccessful efforts to bring Zelenskyy and Putin together to agree on a peace deal.
US arms transfers to Ukraine have been spotty and Trump, at several points, has said Ukraine must be prepared to cede territory that Russia has occupied since the start of the conflict in early 2022, only to later suggest Ukraine is capable of retaking those areas and then back once more to doubting Kyiv can win the war.
Zelenskyy has said he wants to order 25 Patriot air defence systems from the United States. Russian missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Tensions between allies
The Ukraine talks were part of the G7 meeting that Anand is hosting in southern Ontario as tensions rise between the US and traditional allies such as Canada over defence spending, trade and uncertainty over Trump’s ceasefire plan in Gaza.
The two-day meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, near the US border, comes after Trump ended trade talks with Canada because the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement on television that upset him.
That followed a slate of acrimony over the president’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Anand met with Rubio, but she earlier noted that a different minister leads the trade issue, and neither diplomat responded when asked about Canada-US trade talks resuming.
Trump has placed greater priority on addressing his grievances with other nations’ trade policies than on collaboration with G7 allies.
Rubio had brief talks with Cooper, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and South Korea’s Cho Hyun.
The State Department had no immediate comment on the substance of those discussions.
The G7 comprises Canada, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Anand also invited the foreign ministers of Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine to the meeting, which began Tuesday.
Additional sources • AP
