G7 nations seek to step up pressure on Russia, aid for Ukraine
The Group of Seven (G7) leaders are readying new penalties on Russia and additional assistance for Ukraine at a summit in Germany to underscore their support for Kyiv as it battles Russian forces for the fifth straight month.
The G7 leaders plan to expand sanctions on Russia’s technology and defense sector, impose new tariffs on Russian goods and sanction those engaged in human rights abuses in Ukraine, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House on Monday.
The G7 nations will also commit to helping Ukraine cover its “short-term budgetary funding shortfalls,” the fact sheet said, and pledge to provide military, humanitarian, financial, and diplomatic support for Ukraine for as long as needed.
For its part, the United States is expected to make a new $7.5 billion commitment in aid for Ukraine that is part of the $40 billion aid package approved by Congress last month.
The announcements came on the second day of the G7 summit in Germany, where G7 leaders met virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The G7 — which includes the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada — is trying to demonstrate support for Ukraine as the bloody Russian war enters its fifth month with no end in sight.
While President Biden has succeeded in keeping allies united behind a forceful, coordinated response to Russia’s war, there have been questions about whether that unity can endure as the war drags on and continues to disrupt the global economy.
In addition to the announcements Monday, Biden has also said that the G7 economies will ban Russian gold imports, cutting off another source of revenue for the Russian economy.
The G7 is also discussing a global price cap for Russian oil that would cut down on the profits of Russia’s energy industry. A senior administration official described the G7 finance ministers as in the “final discussions” about the price cap and indicated the details would be finalized sometime after the summit concludes.
The Biden administration is expected to announce a handful of new penalties on Russia in the coming days in coordination with the other G7 countries.
For instance, the State and Treasury Departments plan to impose blocking sanctions on state-owned defense businesses and defense research organizations, according to the White House fact sheet. The departments also plan to impose blocking sanctions on private military companies operating in Ukraine, Russian units implicated in human rights abuses, and officials installed in Ukraine by Russia.
Biden will also announce that the U.S. will impose higher tariffs on over 570 groups of Russian products worth about $2.3 billion, the fact sheet said.
And the G7 will seek to use money collected by new tariffs on Russian imports to provide additional assistance for Ukraine.
Source: TEST FEED1
