The leaders of the ‘Group of Seven’ (G7) have stated that they plan to increase the supply of air defence capabilities to Ukraine, including additional systems and interceptor missiles, and have also expressed their willingness to consider extending licences to Ukraine to allow for an increase in military production.
This is set out in a joint statement by the leaders, published on 17 June following the summit held in France.
“We commend Ukraine’s resilience and its progress on the battlefield in recent months, and emphasise that a new momentum is now building. To support and accelerate this new momentum, we agree to increase the supply of air defence capabilities, additional systems and interceptors, as well as long-range assets. We are also prepared to consider extending licences to Ukraine to enable an increase in Ukraine’s military production,” the statement reads.
Furthermore, the G7 leaders pledged to step up pressure on Russia’s military economy. “In this context, we will strengthen our sanctions, in particular those targeting the oil and gas sector. We consider this an opportune moment to take further measures, at a time when President Trump has concluded an agreement – which we support – to open the Strait of Hormuz,” the leaders stated.
They also noted the importance of energy security and agreed to provide further support to help Ukraine get through the coming winter.
On 16 June, US President Donald Trump stated that the signing of the agreement with Iran and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz were paving the way for the reinstatement of sanctions against Russian oil.
On 16 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists that strengthening Ukraine’s air defences was one of the key focuses of the G7 summit talks. “Absolutely all” of the G7 “will be working to strengthen our defences. We discussed both systems and missiles,” he said, without going into detail.
At the same time, he added that he had spoken with US President Donald Trump about the possibility of Ukraine producing equipment to counter ballistic missile strikes:
“I raised the issue – we discussed this with President Trump – our teams will be working on it; God willing, this time we will manage to obtain licences to produce the relevant anti-ballistic systems and missiles.”
Last month, the President of Ukraine sent a letter to the US President and Congress, in which he reported on the growing shortage of air defence systems for shooting down missiles, in particular, systems to counter ballistic missiles, against the backdrop of threats from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In particular, according to media reports, the letter notes that “when it comes to defence against ballistic missiles, we rely almost exclusively on the United States.” This refers to the PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot systems.