Russia responded to reports of Zelensky’s plan failing at the G7 summit

Aleksei Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, called the recent G7 summit a failure, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s early departure as the key reason for the lack of support for Ukraine.

He was responding to reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the summit without receiving the financial and political backing he had hoped for.

“First and foremost, this is because Trump left the summit early. (…) The planned meeting with Zelensky, which the Kyiv regime was heavily relying on, did not take place. Nor did several other meetings scheduled for this summit. As a result, the decision Kyiv expected — a joint condemnation [of Russia] and coordinated actions — was not made. Therefore, we can say this summit failed,” said Chepa.

In his view, the summit once again highlighted Europe’s and the G7’s dependence on the United States.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zelensky left the G7 summit in Canada without securing the support he needed. The authors of the article noted a significant difference between the current G7 communiqué and previous ones. The latest statement welcomes Trump’s efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and expresses a desire to increase pressure on Russia, including through sanctions. Compared to earlier communiqués, the wording in this one is much softer.

The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported that the canceled meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the G7 summit was a major blow to Kyiv and may indicate that the conflict is becoming a lower priority for the United States.