Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday secured fresh pledges of military hardware as well as “unwavering” diplomatic support from G7 nations in Hiroshima, Japan, as Ukrainian forces appeared to suffer a setback in Bakhmout.
The United States announced an additional $375 million in military aid to Ukraine, in the form of ammunition, anti-tank missiles and armored vehicles, among others, after already giving the green light on Friday to future aircraft deliveries F-16 fighter jets by other Kyiv allies.
These announcements, however, came as Russia claimed on Saturday the total capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmout, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
Mr. Zelensky made Sunday in Hiroshima ambiguous remarks on the current situation in Bakhmout, affirming in a second time that the city was “not occupied” by the Russians.
In a sequence full of symbols, he also gathered in front of the cenotaph to the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
“I can honestly say that the photos of destroyed Hiroshima remind me of Bakhmout. There is absolutely nothing left alive, all the buildings are destroyed,” he said afterwards, also drawing a parallel between the renaissance of Hiroshima after the Second World War and the reconstruction of Ukraine which he calls for.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not break our determination” to support Ukraine, whose allies “will not weaken”, swore US President Joe Biden after a meeting with Mr. Zelensky at the G7.
“The G7 leaders invited the leader of the Kiev regime they control to their meeting and turned the Hiroshima event into a propaganda show,” the Russian Foreign Ministry retorted on Sunday.
The surprise irruption of Mr. Zelensky in Hiroshima placed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict at the center of this G7 and eclipsed other major themes of the summit such as the relations of the main industrialized democracies with China.
“By inviting President Zelensky to Japan, we showed the unwavering solidarity of the G7 with Ukraine,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, host of the summit.
Mr. Zelensky held meetings on Saturday and Sunday with his G7 counterparts, but also with leaders of third countries invited to the summit, to plead with them the cause of Ukraine and its ten-point peace plan, centered on the demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian soil.
He seems to have notably scored points with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who promised him that India would do “everything possible” to settle the conflict and that he understood his “suffering” and that of the Ukrainian people.
“There was emotion” around Mr. Zelensky during a G7 conference on Sunday with the leaders of the invited countries (India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam …), told AFP the president of the Comoros and the African Union Azali Assoumani, who was also present.
“We condemn the war, we support Zelensky, and also, very sincerely, I salute his courage,” added this leader.
But the Ukrainian president’s charm offensive also hit a false note: Brazilian President Lula ultimately did not meet him one-on-one during the summit.
Very reluctant to condemn the Russian invasion, Lula had caused controversy last month by declaring that the United States should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine.
While condemning the “violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine” and calling for dialogue in the group discussions, Lula on Sunday attacked the members of the United Nations Security Council, whose five permanent members are the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
“Permanent members carry on the long tradition of waging unauthorized wars, whether for purposes of territorial expansion or regime change,” he said, in a reference to the invasion of Iraq. by a US-led coalition in 2003.
Mr. Zelensky assured that he was unable to meet Lula because of their respective overloaded schedules.
When asked if he was disappointed not to have been able to converse directly with Lula, the Ukrainian president replied: “I think he was disappointed”.
Mr. Zelensky left Sunday evening from Hiroshima airport, according to the Japanese public channel NHK.
21/05/2023 17:11:40 Hiroshima (Japanese) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
