G7 discusses situation in Ukraine after Russian strikes on the country’s infrastructure

President Joe Biden and G7 leaders hold a virtual meeting Tuesday to discuss further action in support of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called air defense systems his “number one priority,” speaks at the meeting.

Recall that Russia fired cruise missiles at Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in the largest air attacks since the war began, killing at least 11 people and wounding 64.

Biden condemned the attacks and pledged to continue working with allies to hold Russia accountable for its “war crimes and atrocities,” the White House said. Biden also promised more air defense systems.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the main targets were energy facilities.

“They carried out many strikes yesterday and today they are striking the same and new facilities. These are war crimes planned in advance and aimed at creating unbearable conditions for civilians – a deliberate strategy of Russia for several months,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

In an evening video message from the scene of one of the attacks in Kiev, Zelensky promised that Ukraine would continue to fight: “We will do everything to strengthen our armed forces. We will cause the enemy a lot of pain on the battlefield.”

G7 leaders are also expected to issue a warning to Belarus after Minsk said Monday that it is deploying its own troops near Ukraine along with Russian troops.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on G20 finance and agriculture ministers to take urgent action to help the 70 million people threatened by severe food shortages from the war.

Yellen told the first joint meeting of G-20 finance and agriculture ministers that Putin and Russian officials – including those attending meetings in Washington this week – are responsible for the “enormous human suffering” caused by the war, a Treasury spokesman said.

“We are referring to the lives of innocent people taken yesterday by President Putin’s barbaric missile attacks across Ukraine,” she said.

Yellen stressed that U.S. sanctions against Russia do not target the production, manufacture, sale or transportation of agricultural goods, including fertilizers, and urged G20 representatives to make sure sanctions do not prevent the delivery of agricultural goods to those who need them.

She also urged G20 nations to increase financial assistance for initiatives such as the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, for which Washington has just allocated $155 million, and to avoid any restrictions on food exports.

Yellen said the U.S. has pledged nearly $10 billion this year to help countries facing severe food shortages.

At this week’s G20 meeting, Western governments plan to increase pressure on Russia, stressing its continued support for Ukraine. According to U.S. officials, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will clearly and repeatedly emphasize the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the global economy.

Yellen will meet with counterparts from the G7 on Wednesday and the G20, which includes Russia, on Thursday during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

She is also meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko on Tuesday and will participate in a ministerial roundtable on Ukraine support hosted by the World Bank on Wednesday, officials said.

“At these meetings, we will clearly condemn Russia. We also expect our partners to do the same,” the senior U.S. official said, adding that Yellen will also call on partners to “accelerate and increase economic assistance to Ukraine.”