Ukraine's Zelenskiy lands in Hiroshima to meet G7 leaders
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday (May 20) to attend the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit in the city, to drum up support for his country's efforts to counter the military operation by Russia, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy, wearing his customary olive green fatigues, stepped out of a French government aircraft.
The Ukrainian leader's presence at the G7 summit in a city that was the first to suffer a nuclear attack cast into sharp relief western governments' concerns over the nuclear threat posed by Russia.
Zelenskiy met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima on Saturday (May 20).
The two leaders embraced each other upon meeting and sat side by side to engage in discussions before members of the media were ushered out.
Zelenskiy met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in the day and is scheduled to meet with other G7 leaders as he continues his call for support against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Sunak and other G7 leaders on Friday (May 19) agreed to tighten sanctions against Moscow and pare back exposure to China.
Zelenskiy sat down with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Japan on Saturday (May 20), ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit.
The G7 summit should give the Ukrainian leader a rare chance to both drum up support from the world's rich democracies and sound out "Global South" leaders with long-term ties to Russia.
Zelenskiy’s attendance in Hiroshima, the first city to suffer a nuclear attack, also put in sharp relief western concerns over the nuclear threat posed by Moscow.
G7 members - the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, and Canada - are grappling with the immense challenges posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tensions with China, notably over Taiwan and economic security.
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