MÜNSTER, Germany (Reuters) – G7 foreign ministers on Friday called on Russia to end its “aggression” against Ukraine and stressed that any use of a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon would expose it to serious consequences.
In a joint declaration adopted at the end of a two-day meeting in Münster (Germany), the representatives of the United States, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, Great Britain also announced an agreement to create a coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair and defend its energy infrastructure against Russian attacks.
“We will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” they said, adding that the G7 countries are committed to helping Ukraine this winter.
A US State Department official said on condition of anonymity that the G7 countries had also discussed the modalities of military aid to Kyiv and that the focus had been on anti-aircraft support, which must enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
“They discussed Ukraine’s needs as winter approaches and agreed on the need for a G7 coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical infrastructure. energy and water”, he declared, adding that the subject would be at the heart of the concerns of the G7 in the days and weeks to come.
“Discussions focused on this topic and which countries would be able to provide the systems and support that could enable Ukraine to better defend against these drone and missile attacks,” he said.
In recent weeks, Russia has been increasing its strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, particularly electricity. Kyiv says the strikes damaged up to 40% of the power grid and warned residents risk facing blackouts.
Moscow has admitted targeting energy infrastructure but denies targeting civilians.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Iran of supplying Russia with “kamikaze” drones used by Russian forces in strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. Iran rejects this accusation.
“We will continue to impose economic costs on Russia and other countries, individuals or entities that provide military support to Moscow’s war of aggression, as many of us have already done regarding the provision by the Iran of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia,” the G7 foreign ministers said.
The G7 also condemned Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” and rejected “Russia’s false claims that Ukraine is preparing a ‘dirty bomb'”, recalling that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found no signs of undeclared nuclear activity at three inspected sites in Ukraine.
(French version Valentine Baldassari and Kate Entringer, edited by Sophie Louet and Marc Angrand)