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By: The opinion Posted May 19, 2023, 0:38 am EDT
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, plans to attend in person G7 Summit in Japan, according to people familiar with the plans, quoted by The Washington Post.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Zelensky was scheduled to attend virtually during Sunday’s leaders’ meeting, but that the Ukrainian leader will now travel to Hiroshima for the summit.
The Financial Times first reported the news of Zelensky’s visit.
Ukraine’s president risks his safety by making a daring trip to the other side of the world, while trying to win more commitments to continue arms and aid from the world’s richest democracies for Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders.
The officials who provided the information did not say when Zelensky would arrive in Japan. But the leaders meeting in Hiroshima, including President Joe Biden and his counterparts from Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, they will speak for the next three days on all dimensions of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Zelensky’s long-awaited trip to Japan comes amid mounting pressure over the success of Ukraine’s impending counter-offensive against Russian forces, to turn the tide of a conflict that has become a grueling, slow-moving battle in recent years. last months.
Zelensky will make his request in the context of Hiroshima, a city that stands as a stark reminder of the catastrophic costs of war.
“We have the task of maintaining the momentum of international support and communication for Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his late-night speech on Thursday. “I am confident that we will accomplish this task.”
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