Russia-Ukraine war: G7, Zelenskyy hold talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be meeting with the G7 countries this week as the group looks to discuss its continued support for Ukraine in the war that is moving toward its eighth month. The meeting with the G7 also follows the recent Russian strikes on civilian targets.

The spokesperson for British Prime Minister Liz Truss said that the G7 countries will be having a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy on Tuesday. The meeting comes a day after Vladimir Putin ordered strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine, claiming to hit energy, command, and communication targets.

The Russian strikes also followed the partial explosion of the Kerch Strait bridge over the weekend, which connects Russia to the annexed Crimea region. Putin called the explosion at the bridge a terrorist act.

The White House also confirmed the meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss the continued support of the G7 to Ukraine. The White House said the meeting would also be to discuss how to hold Putin accountable for the continued aggression against Ukraine.

The strikes led to 14 people dead and 69 people wounded, according to Ukraine’s emergency services, as the strikes hit tourist sites, parks, and intersections.

The explosions took place in the cities of Lviv, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr, including the capital Kyiv in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchiuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, and Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.

While Putin gave the order to strike after he accused Ukraine of launching attacks on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, the United States said the scale of Russia’s attacks meant that the strikes were planned long before. Zelenskyy spoke to Biden Monday following the attacks and shared on a post in the Telegram messaging platform that air defense was now Ukraine’s top priority.

“We will do everything to strengthen our armed forces,” said Zelenskyy in his nightly video address. “We will make the battlefield more painful for the enemy.”

In the call, Biden told Zelenskyy that the US would provide Ukraine with advanced air defense systems. Back on September 27, the Pentagon said it would start delivering the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System over the coming months.