Zelensky says G7 agreed Russia is not winning war, discussed more sanctions

KYIV, June 17 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Group of Seven leaders agreed at a summit in France that Russia was not winning its war in Ukraine, and they discussed additional sanctions to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

Speaking by video link in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Europe summit in London, Zelensky said he had detected a shift in mood among the G7 leadership: an understanding that Russia had lost the initiative on the battlefield and was deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. "We had unanimity that Russia is not winning and they are losing a lot of people, that they have to make a deal as quickly as possible, and they don't have the initiative in their hands," he said in a conversation with Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni.

At a morning session in the French resort of Evian-les-Bains, G7 leaders had discussed additional sanctions targeting Russia's oil exports, its banking sector and its military production, Zelensky said. Ukraine would maintain its long-range drone and missile strike on Russian energy and military targets, Zelensky said, but more political pressure was needed to push Russian leader Vladimir Putin towards a peace deal. "He doesn't want to stop the war. He has to be under more pressure," Zelensky said, adding that Russian losses on the battlefield—which Ukraine estimated at around 35,000 killed or wounded per month—were not swaying Putin.

Zelensky calls for meeting with Putin before winter

Zelensky, who is due to hold bilateral talks with Trump later on Tuesday, said he hoped the U.S. leader could convene direct negotiations with Putin in a neutral country such as Switzerland, Turkey or somewhere in the Middle East.

"It's a very important thing to try to organize a meeting before the winter," Zelensky said, noting that last winter had been terrible for Ukraine after Russian strikes wreaked havoc on its electricity and power. "We don't want to go through the same winter again. And Russia has to know... they will also not have a simple one."

Source: gmanetwork.com