Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned G7 leaders that a “difficult” winter war looms as a Russian missile attack on a busy shopping centre on Monday killed at least 13 with officials fearing the death toll could rise further.
At least 1,000 people were said to be inside the shopping centre in Kremenchuk, 330km southeast of Kyiv, when two missiles struck the building and flames engulfed the facility. Dmytro Lunin, the governor of the Poltava region, said that more than 50 had been injured.
“Russia continues to take out its own powerlessness on ordinary citizens,” said Mr Zelenskiy after the attack.
The strike followed attacks on Odesa and Kyiv as G7 leaders met in the Bavarian Alps. They heard, in a video call with Mr Zelenskiy, that allowing the conflict to drift into “the harshness of winter” made it more likely that “positions will be frozen” with Russia.
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US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Ukrainian president asked for the support of President Joe Biden in having the US “recognise Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism” for its war in Ukraine.
Such a move — a rarity in US diplomacy — would allow Washington sanction countries that continue to do business with Moscow and freeze Russian assets in the US.
Mr Biden joined Germany in promising to deliver an air defence system to Ukraine. His officials say the G7 will move on Tuesday to back a ban on Russian gold exports as talks continue on the details of a cap on Russian oil prices.
On Monday, G7 leaders promised to support Ukraine “as long as necessary” and to “severely impair” Russia’s war effort.
Budgetary aid
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said the group’s members would “increase pressure on Putin still further” and announced an additional €28 billion in budgetary aid.
On Tuesday discussions of support for Ukraine will shift to Madrid and a gathering of Nato member states. Ahead of that meeting Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced “the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defence since the cold war”.
The alliance will boost its rapid reaction force from 40,000 troops to 300,000 and raise the size of its multi-national battlegroups in several eastern European states to brigade level.
In addition, Nato will pre-position more military stockpiles in potentially vulnerable states and boost their air defence and other capabilities.