Zelensky will personally attend the G7 summit

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will personally attend the G7 summit later this week, four people told the Financial Times about preparations.

He said Zelensky was expected to attend the discussions in Hiroshima on Sunday.

His unexpected appearance is aimed at bolstering Western support for Ukraine as the war with Russia heads into its 16th month, and to garner support from non-G7 attendees such as India and Brazil, which are seeking Western support to punish Moscow. Steps are not included.

Officials cautioned that his visit could be canceled due to security reasons. His presence could complicate Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s efforts to ensure that the summit, which is being held in Asia for the first time in seven years, would not focus solely on the war in Ukraine.

Kishida wants the gathering to focus on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region and reach out to developing countries as well as the war in Ukraine. The US also wants a stronger focus on the Indo-Pacific and wants to ensure that the countries display greater unity on their approach to China.

In March, Kishida made his first visit to Kiev to formally invite Zelensky to attend the Hiroshima summit, marking an extremely rare visit by a Japanese leader to a war zone. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Kishida has repeatedly warned that “today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia”.

Zelensky is expected to redouble efforts to secure increased military support from Western allies, including the supply of US-made F-16 fighter jets that require Washington’s blessing.

They are also expected to discuss efforts to promote their 10-point peace plan to end the war, which calls for the full withdrawal of Russia and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. A rival Chinese proposal does not refer to these as a pre-requisite for starting peace talks.

A spokesman for the Japanese government reiterated previous statements that Zelensky is expected to attend the event via video conference.

Since the start of the war in February last year, Zelensky’s international travel plans have been kept secret until the last minute over security concerns.

Zelensky has not visited Asia since the start of the war. The Ukrainian president made unannounced trips to the UK, France, Italy and Germany this week.

A spokesman for Zelensky could not be reached for comment, and had previously declined to comment on the president’s travel plans.

Additional reporting by Christopher Miller in Kiev