G-7 leaders commit to more Russia sanctions with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy set to attend summit

Leaders of the Group of Seven have committed to a set of further measures to pressure Russia, as its invasion of Ukraine continues for a second year.

“We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort,” the group said.

G-7 leaders are in Hiroshima, Japan, for a three-day meeting to discuss international trade and security, as Russia continues its war in Ukraine, while the U.S. and China battle for influence in a multipolar world.

“We will starve Russia of G-7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” the group said in a statement released late Friday, which also revealed its economic support for Ukraine’s recovery following the war.

The newly announced sanctions build on previous measures and will be broadened to “ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia’s aggression including those used by Russia on the battlefield are restricted across all our jurisdictions, including exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine,” the G-7 said in its statement.

The restrictions were announced as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to fly to Japan to attend the G-7 summit.

The G-7 doubled down on its support for Ukraine, touting the efforts of international organizations’ reform programs to rebuild Kyiv’s war-torn economy.

“Under the leadership of Japan’s G7 Presidency, together with the international community, we have ensured Ukraine has the budget support it needs for 2023 and early 2024,” the bloc said, adding it stands “ready to support the sustainable and resilient recovery and green reconstruction of Ukraine, including by sharing our experience, knowledge and expertise regarding humanitarian de-mining and war-related debris and pollution management.”

The International Monetary Fund last month extended a $15.6 billion loan to Ukraine, as part of a $115 billion package to bolster its economy.

Those developments come as the United Kingdom separately imposed more sanctions on Russia under a legislation to be introduced later in the year.

“The U.K. is today announcing a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry worth $4 billion in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said in a Friday release.

“As today’s sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” Sunak said.

The G-7 announced intentions to limit trade in diamonds of Russian origin.

“In order to reduce the revenues that Russia extracts from the export of diamonds, we will continue to work closely together to restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia and engage with key partners with the aim of ensuring effective implementation of future coordinated restrictive measures, including through tracing technologies,” the group said.

However, the additional efforts to squeeze Russia’s economy are unlikely to make a significant impact, according to George Washington University research professor of international affairs, Robert Orttung.

“The new restrictive sanctions on Russia will have minimal impact on world trade. None of these measures are likely to get Russia to stop its war on Ukraine since Putin is fully committed to that and the sanctions are not harming Russia’s ability to operate on a day-to-day basis,” he said in an email.

“Since China and India are not participating in the sanctions, Russia still has plenty of trading partners,” he added.

Orttung noted that the measures to heighten economic pressure on Russia would be symbolically important when combined with extensive military aid to Ukraine.

“The most helpful outcome for world trade will be an end to the war that blocks Russia from further aggression,” he said.

“Everything that the West can do to increase Ukrainian fighting capacity and weaken Russia moves us closer to this goal.”