G-7 leaders mark VE Day stressing unity, support for Ukraine

May 8, 2022, 2:58 AM | Updated: May 9, 2022, 10:57 am
This image provided by the Irpin Mayor's Office shows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walkin...

This image provided by the Irpin Mayor's Office shows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walking with mayor Oleksandr Markushyn, right, in Irpin, Ukraine, Sunday, May 8, 2022. Trudeau made a surprise visit to Irpin on Sunday. The city was severely damaged during Russia’s attempt to take Kyiv at the start of the war. (Irpin Mayor's Office via AP)

(Irpin Mayor's Office via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Leaders from the Group of Seven developed democracies pledged Sunday to phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil, as they met with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for online talks to stress their support and to display unity among Western allies on Victory in Europe Day, which marks Nazi Germany’s surrender in 1945.

Cutting out Russian oil supplies “will hit hard at the main artery of (President Vladimir) Putin’s economy and deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war,” the G-7 countries, which include the U.S., Britain, Canada, Germany, France and Italy and Japan, said in a statement.

“We will ensure that we do so in a timely and orderly fashion, and in ways that provide time for the world to secure alternative supplies,” they added.

Casting a look back at World War II, the leaders stressed unity in their resolve that Putin must not win.

“We owe it to the memory of all those who fought for freedom in the Second World War, to continue fighting for it today, for the people of Ukraine, Europe and the global community,” they said.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s call with the G-7 leaders and Zelenskyy lasted about an hour.

Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s office said in a statement that the G-7 leaders “reiterated the commitment to diversify energy sources, reducing. dependence on Russian supplies.” Italy, heavily dependent on Russian natural gas when the war began, has since secured several agreements for alternative gas supplies from other countries. Draghi is scheduled to meet with Biden in Washington on Tuesday.

The U.S. also announced new sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. They include cutting off Western advertising from Russia’s three biggest television stations, banning U.S. accounting and consulting firms from providing services to any Russian, and piling additional restrictions on Russia’s industrial sector, including cutting off Moscow from wood products, industrial engines, boilers, bulldozers and more.

The White House announced the new sanctions ahead of the May 9 Victory Day, when Russia traditionally celebrates Nazi Germany’s defeat in 1945 with huge military parades.

Putin is expected to talk about what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine and address troops on Red Square on Monday.

The U.S. and European allies were seeking to offer counter-messaging that Putin is further isolating Russia from the rest of the world and doing enormous harm to the Russian economy.

The new round of U.S. sanctions will hit three of Russia’s most popular television stations in Russia – Channel One Russia, Russia-1, and NTV — that the U.S. has said have been at the forefront of spreading misinformation about Russia’s prosecution of the invasion.

The Biden administration said the new sanctions prohibiting U.S. accounting and consulting firms from doing business in Russia will help thwart Russian companies and elites from getting help to obscure their wealth and evade an avalanche of sanctions that have already been enacted.

The U.S. also said it imposed some 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials and issued a new visa restriction policy that applies to Russian military officials and authorities.

The U.S. sanctioned 27 executives from Gazprombank, a bank that facilitates sales by Russia’s Gazprom, one of the largest natural gas exporters in the world, with Europe. The sanctions are the first time that the U.S. has hit the bank that plays a critical role Russia’s considerable gas exports, but the move stops well short of the full blocking sanctions that the U.S. has hit other big Russian banks.

Ahead of the call, U.K. officials said Britain will provide an extra 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in military support to Ukraine to help the nation defend itself against Russian forces.

The funding, which comes from British government reserves, includes 300 million pounds of military kit promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week, such as radar systems to target Russian artillery, GPS jamming equipment and night vision devices.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Ukraine Sunday, touring the northern town of Irpin, which had been heavily damaged by Russia’s attempt to take the capital of Kyiv at the start of the war. The mayor on Sunday posted images of Trudeau on social media, saying that the Canadian leader was shocked by the damage he saw at civilian homes.

Trudeau’s office later said “the prime minister is in Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.”

Jill Biden also made an unannounced visit on Sunday, holding a surprise Mother’s Day meeting in western Ukraine with first lady Olena Zelenska. Biden traveled under the cloak of secrecy, becoming the latest high-profile American to enter Ukraine during its 10-week-old war with Russia.

“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” the U.S. first lady told Zelenska. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a televised address that Sunday was “a May 8th like no other.”

He said Germany has worked hard to own up to its actions during World War II, reconciling with both Russia and Ukraine and committing itself to the concept of “never again.” But Russia’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine in February has brought war back to Europe, Scholz said, a prospect that once seemed unthinkable.

“Freedom and security will prevail — just as freedom and security triumphed over lack of freedom, violence and dictatorship 77 years ago,” Scholz said in his address.

German Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, the second highest-ranking German official after the president, met Sunday with Zelenskyy in Kyiv and attended a memorial event honoring the anniversary of the end of World War II.

“We really appreciate that on the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation itself, and in what for us is such a trying time of war, the President of the German Bundestag Bärbel Bas came to support Ukraine,” said a post published Sunday on Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel.

___

Madhani reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Emily Schultheis in Berlin contributed to this report.

___

Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
2 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
2 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
8 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
16 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
16 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
23 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.
...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
G-7 leaders mark VE Day stressing unity, support for Ukraine