Italy, which is holding the rotating presidency of the G7, is organizing, today, an online summit meant to reiterate the support for Ukraine. The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has paid a surprise visit to Kyiv, where she is presiding over the virtual meeting in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky. The summit is the first of the heads of state and government of the G7 member countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada) under the Italian presidency. It was convened to mark two years since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, at a time when Kyiv recognizes that it is facing an extremely difficult situation, its troops lacking ammunition and American aid. The G7 decided, last year, to sign bilateral security agreements with Ukraine. After London, in January, Kyiv signed, last week, agreements with Germany and France, and 25 other states, including Poland, have joined this initiative. Concretely, these security agreements can stipulate the provision of military equipment, interoperable with those of NATO, the training of Ukrainian forces and the strengthening of Ukraine’s defense industry. At the end of the meeting, a joint statement on Ukraine will be adopted. The participants are to decide on tightening sanctions. Two years into the war, the EU approved, on Friday, the 13th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes the most consistent set of measures in a single package.
