G7 invokes ‘unity’ against Russia; EU pledges funds

Ukraine min says world ‘paying price’ of food crisis in Russia’s war

Wangels, Germany, May 13: Leading democracies on Friday pledged unwavering support for Ukraine in its war with Russia while the European Union promised to hike military support for Kyiv by more than half a billion dollars.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) met on the second day of a three-day meeting in the German resort of Wangels, joined by their counterparts from Ukraine and Moldova.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the G7 were “very strongly united” in their will to “continue in the long term to support Ukraine's fight for its sovereignty until Ukraine's victory”.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was pledging an extra 500 million euros ($520 million) in military aid.

The cash will raise the EU's total military aid for Ukraine to two billion euros, he said.

“The recipe is clear — more of the same,” Borrell said.

“More pressure on Russia, with economic sanctions. Continue working on international isolation of Russia. Countering the disinformation about the consequences of the war... And presenting a united front to continue supporting Ukraine.”

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also called for further support for Ukraine.

“It is very important at this time that we keep up the pressure on Vladimir Putin by supplying more weapons to Ukraine, by increasing the sanctions,” she said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised the G7 nations' resolve to help Kyiv but also urged them to go further.

“We see that the best way to move forward and to keep peace in our part of the world is to continue with European integration,” he said.

Meanwhile, The impact of the Russian invasion on food exports from Ukraine, a traditional arable farming powerhouse, would be felt across the world, its agriculture minister said Friday.

“People across the world are paying the price for this war,” Mykola Solsky said in a press conference during a meeting of G7 agriculture ministers in Stuttgart.

—