G7 summit minus Trump vows greater support for Ukraine

ZELENSKY TELLS CARNEY LATEST ATTACK SHOWED NEED FOR ALLIES' BACKING

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Group of Seven leaders on Tuesday vowed greater support for Ukraine but stopped short of joint condemnation of Russia for its growing attacks, at a summit missing Donald Trump.

The US president had been due to speak at the G7 summit with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he has had a volatile relationship, but flew back Monday over the Israel-Iran conflict.

Zelensky met the remaining leaders at a remote lodge in the Canadian Rockies, hours after Russia hit Kyiv with one of the worst bombardments since it invaded in February 2022, killing at least 10 people in the capital.

Support from Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Zelensky and announced Can$2 billion ($1.47bn) of military support, including drones and helicopters, for Ukraine.

But the G7 summit stopped short of issuing a joint statement, unlike in past years under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden when the club of major industrial democracies denounced Russian "aggression."

A Canadian official, backtracking on an earlier account of the US trying to water down a proposed statement, said there was never an attempt to issue one due to Trump's continued hopes of mediating with Russian President Vladimir Putin.