G7 pledges security aid for Ukraine

Vilnius, July 12: The Group of Seven industrial nations issued a joint declaration on Wednesday pledging long-term security assistance for Ukraine to bolster the besieged country’s defenses during and after its war with Russia.
“Our solidarity will never waver,” said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which sits with Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States to make up the G-7.
The announcement, which came on the last day of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, lays the groundwork for individual nations to negotiate their own arrangements with Ukraine.
“We’re going to help Ukraine build a strong, capable defense,” U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the support, saying the actions taken during the Vilnius summit would provide “much needed and meaningful success” for his country.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the G-7’s arrangement makes it possible for signatories to further specify their concrete contributions to Ukraine and embed them “in a longer-term strategy which Ukraine can then rely on.” (AP)