G7 Vows to Bolster Ukraine’s Air Defense

G7 foreign ministers Friday pledged to “bolster Ukraine's air defense capabilities” following a meeting on the Italian island of Capri.

In a final statement, they said that they were looking at “all possible avenues and feasible options” to use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv, ahead of a G7 leaders’ summit in June.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joined counterparts from Italy, Britain, the United States, Japan, Canada, France and Germany in Capri for talks on the war.

He called for other countries to follow Germany, which at the weekend said it was sending an additional Patriot air defense system to Kyiv.

“We express our resolve in particular to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to save lives and protect critical infrastructure,” the G7 ministers said in a statement dedicated to Ukraine. 

“We will also work with partners towards this end.”

Ukraine has said it is running out of weaponry to shoot down Russian missiles and drones as Moscow has ramped up its attacks on infrastructure across the country. 

Britain's foreign minister David Cameron had also pressed for G7 allies to be “creative” in using Russian assets, frozen after the February 2022 invasion, to help Kyiv.

“As requested by leaders, we will continue our work and update ahead of the Puglia Summit on all possible avenues and feasible options by which immobilized Russian sovereign assets could be made use of to support Ukraine, consistent with our respective legal systems and international law,” the statement said.

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