The G7 bloc of rich democracies pledged on Sunday its continued support for Ukraine, as the three-day summit concluded in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The group sounded a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who claimed to have taken the strategic city of Bakhmut.
Russia "will not break" the resolve of Ukraine's allies, US President Joe Biden said, after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit.
"Together with the entire G7 we have Ukraine's back and I promise we're not going anywhere," Mr Biden said.
The US President said he had assured Mr Zelenskyy that Washington and other backers of Kyiv "will not waver, Putin will not break our resolve as he thought he could".
Mr Biden announced a new military aid package worth $375 million for Ukraine during his meeting with Mr Zelenskyy, saying the US would provide ammunition and armoured vehicles.
That new pledge came after the US agreed to allow training on American-made F16 fighter jets, laying the groundwork for their eventual transfer to Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the support, adding that “we will never forget.”
Other leaders of the G7 nations including Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, echoed Mr Biden's sentiments.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised his country would back Ukraine for as long and as much as necessary.
Mr Biden told G7 leaders Washington supports joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F16s warplanes, although Kyiv has not won commitments for delivery of the fighter jets.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the potential for such training on US-made F16s is a message to Russia that it should not expect to succeed by prolonging the conflict.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said training would start this summer and Ukraine would get the air force it needed for the future.
Mr Zelenskyy said he was confident that Kyiv would receive F-16 fighter jets from the West.
He said Russian troops were in Bakhmut, which Moscow claimed it captured a day earlier, but insisted the east Ukrainian town was "not occupied".
But Mr Putin hailed what he said was a victory for his forces, describing it as the "liberation" of Bakhmut in a statement on the Kremlin's website.
The assault on the largely-levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticised the summit for aiming to isolate both China and Russia.
“The task has been set loudly and openly: to defeat Russia on the battlefield, but not to stop there, but to eliminate it as a geopolitical competitor,” he said. “Look at the decisions that are now being discussed and adopted in Hiroshima, at the G7 summit, and which are aimed at the double containment of Russia and China.”
Two rounds
Mr Zelenskyy held two major rounds of meetings on Sunday, one with G7 member states and a second with a host of invited guests, including India and South Korea. He also held one-to-one talks with several of the leaders.
He compared the "total destruction" of Bakhmut to the 1945 nuclear devastation of Hiroshima, which hosted the G7 summit.
"Today [Russian troops] are in Bakhmut," Mr Zelenskyy said at a press conference during the summit, insisting "Bakhmut is not occupied by Russia today".
"I cannot share with you the tactical views of our military. The most difficult thing would be if there was some tactical mistake in Bakhmut and our people were surrounded," he said.
Mr Zelenskyy also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their first face-to-face talks since the war. He briefed Mr Modi on Ukraine’s peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country before any negotiations.
India, the world’s largest democracy and a major buyer of Russian arms and oil, has avoided outright condemnation of Russia’s invasion.
Mr Zelenskyy attributed the fact that he did not meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to scheduling issues.
Asked if he was disappointed the meeting did not happen, he suggested it was more of a disappointment for the Brazilian leader.
"I think it disappointed him," he said.
US vs China
Addressing issues other than the Ukraine war, Mr Biden said ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw "very shortly", after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon this year.
"It got shot down and everything changed in terms of talking to one another. I think you're going to see that begin to thaw very shortly," Mr Biden told reporters at the summit.
Mr Biden also met the leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss military interoperability and the economic coercion they face from China, a US official said.
A day earlier, the G7 leaders outlined a shared approach towards China, looking to "de-risk, not decouple" economic engagement with the country regarded as the factory of the world.
In a statement, the G7 also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, where Chinese military exercises have raised concerns over the security of Taiwan, the democratic, self-governed island that China regards as part of its territory.
China's foreign ministry issued a complaint to Japan expressing firm opposition to the G7 statement, saying it disregarded China's concerns, had attacked it and interfered in its internal affairs, including Taiwan.
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Mr Zelenskyy. AP -
Mr Yoon with Mr Zelenskyy during a bilateral meeting at the summit. AP -
Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Yoon meet with their respective teams. Reuters -
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, right, shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. EPA -
Crowds outside the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima watching the motorcades of visiting leaders. EPA -
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks. EPA -
Mr Biden at a meeting with Mr Zelenskyy. Reuters -
Leaders and delegates at the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima during the three-day summit. EPA -
Yoon Suk Yeol, President of South Korea, left, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during their meeting at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. AP -
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, second left, and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, take part in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment meeting during the second day of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second right, and European Council President Charles Michel, left, at a meeting during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Reuters -
From left: US President Joe Biden, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Quad meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Reuters -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and France's President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
US President Joe Biden, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, centre, in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, right, in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
Clockwise from left: US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima. AFP -
Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean President, left, and his wife Kim Keon Hee arrive at Hiroshima Airport in Mihara for the G7 Summit. AFP -
France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Hiroshima. AFP -
From left: Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the UK, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at a tree-planting ceremony in Hiroshima. AFP -
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, and his wife Yuko with US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima. AFP -
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, and his wife Yuko with Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. AFP -
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko, right, with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. AFP -
From left: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima. AFP -
From left: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Kishida, Mr Trudeau, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Council President Charles Michel after laying wreaths in Hiroshima. AFP -
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discuss baseball themed socks. Getty -
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at the Hiroshima airport for the G7 summit. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden salutes troops as he arrives at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on his way to the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima. EPA -
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his wife Britta Ernst arrive in Hiroshima. Reuters -
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty board a plane in Tokyo on their way to Hiroshima. AFP -
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives in Hiroshima. Reuters -
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives in Hiroshima for the summit. Reuters -
A robot developed by Ory Laboratory on display at the summit in Hiroshima. AFP -
Anti-G7 protesters demonstrate before the summit in Hiroshima. Reuters -
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum prepares for world leaders. Bloomberg -
The leaders will also visit the Grand Torii Gate at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island. Getty
