DNIPRO, Ukraine – Russian forces bombarded Ukraine with missile and drone strikes for a second day Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens from Dnipro to Kyiv as leaders of the Group of Seven nations said they were “undeterred” by the escalation and would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
“We are undeterred and steadfast in our commitment to providing the support Ukraine needs to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the G-7 said in a joint statement Tuesday. “We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video conference, urged G-7 leaders, including President Joe Biden, to respond more harshly to Moscow’s attacks. He called for more stringent energy sanctions and air defense systems that would help shield Ukrainian cities from Russian attacks.
“Indiscriminate attacks” against civilians constitute a war crime, the statement said. “We will hold President Putin and those responsible to account.”
The 13-point communique also rejected Russia’s annexation attempts in eastern and southern Ukraine after “sham” referendums and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops immediately. It said Russia would continue to pay economic costs for its actions.
Nuclear threats are “putting global peace and security at risk,” it added. “We affirm that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences.”
The group also condemned Russia’s actions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the pressure Russia’s forces have “exerted on the personnel of the facility.”
“This is a further irresponsible escalation and we will hold Russia responsible for any incident caused by their actions,” the statement said.
Russia’s energy sector must be hit with sanctions in response to its escalation of the conflict, Zelensky said in the virtual meeting of the G-7.
“When Russia attacks the energy sector and energy stability of our countries, we must block its energy sector with sanctions, break the stability of Russian revenues from oil and gas trade. A tough price cap is needed for the exports of oil and gas from Russia – zero profit for the terrorist state,” Zelensky posted on his Telegram account.
Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that the United States and United Kingdom “completely control” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government and accused Washington and London of giving Kyiv a “direct order” last spring to terminate negotiations that could have halted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Lavrov’s comments reflect a recently redoubled effort by the Kremlin to portray Russia as being at war not only with Ukraine but with the United States and its NATO allies. The assertions are designed to gin up public support for the unpopular war in Russia and to provide an excuse for repeated setbacks for Russian troops on the battlefield in Ukraine.
After Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine’s capital Monday and damaged critical infrastructure, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry announced that it would stop electricity exports to focus on stabilizing the country’s energy system.
Zelensky also said that “there can be no dialogue with this leader of Russia, who has no future,” referring to Putin without naming him.
“Talks can be either with another head of Russia – who will comply with the UN Charter, the basic principles of humanity and territorial integrity of Ukraine – or in a different configuration, so that the key terrorist does not have the opportunity to influence key decisions through terror,” the message says.
“Now one person is blocking peace – and this person is in Moscow.”
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Ukraine urgently needs additional air defense, as well as other weapons and equipment, after Russia made its “most significant escalation since the start of the war.”
The remarks, made at a news conference at NATO headquarters, come a day after Russian strikes across Ukraine led to calls for additional military support for Ukrainian forces and a day ahead of a meeting of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group and a NATO defense ministerial gathering, both in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will participate in parts of both gatherings, bringing with him a list of weapons and equipment needs for allies to consider. The secretary general also said he welcomed announcements from Germany and the United States on getting advanced air defense systems to Ukraine.
While warning of a long and difficult winter ahead, Stoltenberg cast Moscow’s escalation as a sign that “President Putin is failing in Ukraine” and that the war is “not going as planned.”
“Ukraine has the momentum and continues to make significant gains, while Russia is increasingly resorting to horrific and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure,” he said.
An official at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been kidnapped by Russian forces, Ukraine’s nuclear energy company Energoatom said in a Telegram post.
Valeriy Martyniuk, the deputy director general for human resources at the state-owned company Energoatom, was kidnapped Monday and is being held at an unknown location, the message reads.
The message says that Moscow’s forces might be using torture to get information about the personnel files of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to force Ukrainian staffers to work for Russia’s nuclear company Rosatom. The Washington Post has not been able independently to verify these claims.
“We appeal to [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA Director General [Rafael] Grossi and the entire world community to take all possible measures for the immediate release of Valeriy Martyniuk from the captivity” of Russian forces and for his return to his duties, the company said.
A missile strike left nearly a third of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv without electricity on Tuesday, according to the city’s mayor. Lviv is a major city near the Polish border and is far from the war’s front lines.
In Kharkiv, a city that suffered devastating bombardment during earlier periods of this war, news that it was happening again in major cities – even if just for a day – had an impact.
Life goes on, but lingering traumas don’t fade. In central Kharkiv, a woman said she barely left her child’s side during Monday’s citywide blackout.
“We couldn’t leave her alone. We couldn’t let her go outside,” 47-year-old Inna Varchenko told The Washington Post as she took 11-year-old Valeria to run errands.
Wrapped in a pink raincoat, the little girl stood close by her mother, hugging her at times as we spoke. “We lived in this city through everything,” Varchenko said, looking down at her daughter. “That means she saw everything, she heard everything. Really, she’s still scared.”
Putin met International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. The U.N. watchdog is seeking a buffer zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which Russian forces control.
The first of four air defense systems long promised by Germany to Ukraine will be ready for deployment within the “next few days,” Berlin’s Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht says.
In a statement issued Monday, Lambrecht explicitly linked the need for a speedy delivery of the weapons to Moscow’s renewed strikes on nonmilitary targets across Ukraine in recent days. The systems, capable of protecting an entire city, had initially been scheduled for delivery by the end of the year.
“Russia’s attacks with missiles and drones terrorize the civilian population in particular. That is why we are now providing support especially with air defense weapons,” she said in a statement – adding that the three remaining systems would follow.
Here’s what to know
– The G-7 meeting on Tuesday came a day after Russia launched strikes on multiple towns and cities, targeting energy infrastructure and civilian sites. The United Nations called the attacks “particularly shocking” and a potential violation of international humanitarian law.
– The mayor of Lviv in western Ukraine said nearly a third of the city lost electricity after a missile strike hit infrastructure on Tuesday. Andriy Sadovyi said residents may also face water supply disruptions and urged them to stay in shelters.
– Russian President Vladimir Putin met with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. The U.N. watchdog is seeking a buffer zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which Russian forces control.
– NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Ukraine urgently needs additional air defenses, as well as other weapons and equipment. A meeting of NATO defense ministers will also discuss Ukraine’s pleas for weapons later this week.
(c) 2022, The Washington Post · Louisa Loveluck, Ellen Francis, Rachel Pannett, Jennifer Hassan, Maite Fernández Simon
