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In response to
"The U.N.’s human rights body says Russia’s recent strikes could amount to a war crime."
by
crash davis
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G7 leaders pledge continued support for Ukraine at an emergency summit.
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BRUSSELS — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations said on Tuesday that they were unwavering in their support of Ukraine and threatened “severe consequences” if Russia were to escalate its attack with nuclear weapons.
The joint statement from G7 leaders — including President Biden and leaders of European allies and Japan — came after an emergency virtual meeting called in response to Russia’s onslaught against civilian targets across Ukraine on Monday, the broadest barrage of strikes since the initial stages of the invasion in February.
“We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms and recall that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime,” the leaders said.
The G7 leaders, whose meeting began with remarks from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, also rebuked Russia over claims it has made on four partially occupied Ukrainian regions, saying the group “will never recognize this illegal annexation or the sham referenda that Russia uses to justify it.”
They promised to impose further economic sanctions against Russia and added that they were “undeterred and steadfast” in their support for Ukraine.
By pledging to keep up financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic aid, the statement sought to dispel concerns about Western slowness or fatigue — especially over continuing to arm Kyiv. A meeting of Ukraine’s allies known as the defense contact group was scheduled for Wednesday in Brussels, and was expected to focus on enhancing Ukraine’s air defenses.
The statement by the G7 leaders also made reference to a “postwar settlement,” a subject that Ukraine’s Western allies have been careful to broach gently, lest it appear they are pushing for Ukraine to stop fighting and negotiate with Russia even as Ukrainian forces are reclaiming territory in the south and east.
“No country wants peace more than Ukraine, whose people have suffered death, displacement and countless atrocities as the result of Russian aggression,” the statement said. “In solidarity with Ukraine, the G7 leaders welcome President Zelensky’s readiness for a just peace.”
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