The Kremlin rages – G7 group wants to protect Ukraine

At the NATO summit, the G7 group announced it would develop “specific, bilateral and long-term security commitments and arrangements” for Ukraine. A corresponding agreement was signed at the end of the meeting on Wednesday afternoon. In return, the Kiev government is expected to implement legal and economic reforms and achieve greater transparency.

However, the commitments fall far short of the security guarantee that joining NATO would provide. Then the military duty of all members to provide assistance applies, including sending soldiers in the event of an attack. Even before the signing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of an “important signal”. “If the G7 countries declare these guarantees today, it will be an important, concrete success for us,” he said.

On Tuesday, Zelensky’s hopes of an invitation from Ukraine to join NATO were dashed. He strongly criticized this and spoke of a weakness in the West that played into Russia’s hands. The invitation was mainly blocked by the United States and Germany, Ukraine’s two main arms suppliers. As before, they want to provide the country attacked by Russia with concrete military aid, so that it can better defend itself.

Selenskyj praises top results
On the second day of the summit, Selenskyj was forgiving. You could say that the results of the summit are good,” he said after the security commitments were announced. But an invitation to join NATO “would have been ideal”. However, it is clear that this will not happen as long as the war continues.

The G7 agreement aims to equip Ukraine’s armed forces to continue to defend their homeland and, once the war is over, to be so strong that Russia will not dare to launch any further attacks. According to the document available to the data protection authority, modern equipment should also be provided in the field of “air and sea”.

Air combat systems are mentioned as a key capability – without specific weapon systems such as fighter jets or armed drones being described. The group of major industrialized countries includes the US, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan.

Details still unclear
It was still unclear which states wanted to provide which military aid. Also no time perspective is given. So far, the G7 countries have mainly supported Ukrainian land forces with arms deliveries. Western fighter jets and warships have not yet been delivered.

Other points mentioned in the statement include supporting Ukraine’s defense industry, training the armed forces and providing intelligence information. In addition, further financial assistance is also promised.

The United States is already providing massive support to Ukraine: it says it has provided or pledged more than $40 billion in military aid since the start of the war in late February 2022. Britain also announced on Wednesday that it would send Ukraine more than 70 additional combat and logistics vehicles, as well as thousands of ammunition for the Challenger 2 main battle tanks it delivered.

Kremlin: “Extreme Mistake”
The Kremlin described the G7’s security promises as a danger. “We consider this an extreme mistake and potentially very dangerous,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, according to Russian news agencies in Moscow. If the plan goes ahead, these countries will make Europe “a lot more dangerous for many, many years,” he said.