Zelenskyy to join G7 at Hiroshima summit as leaders prepare to unveil new Russia sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies in Hiroshima, Japan, making his furthest trip from of his war-torn country as leaders are set to unveil new sanctions on Russia for its invasion.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

“We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country,” said Danilov. “There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests”.

Japanese leader Fumio Kishida said he invited Zelenskyy to the G7 Summit during his visit to Kyiv in March.

Zelenskyy is also set to appear virtually at a Friday meeting of G7 leaders, where they are to get an update on battlefield conditions and agree to toughen their efforts to constrain Moscow’s war effort.