ISTANBUL
The leaders of G7 countries on Tuesday condemned Russia’s latest military strikes on Ukraine in the “strongest possible terms”, saying these “indiscriminate attacks” constitute a “war crime.”
“We will hold President (Vladimir) Putin and those responsible to account,” they said in a written statement following their urgent meeting after Russian strikes.
“The G7 firmly condemn and unequivocally reject the illegal attempted annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in addition to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol,” the statement said.
“We solemnly reiterate that we will never recognise this illegal annexation or the sham referenda that Russia uses to justify it,” it added.
G7 nations underlined that Russia “blatantly violated” the UN Charter, and called on all countries to “unequivocally reject these violations of international law and demand that Russia cease all hostilities and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its troops and military equipment from Ukraine.”
Adding that they will continue to impose further economic costs on Russia, the leaders said in the statement that they deplore “deliberate Russian escalatory steps, including the partial mobilisation of reservists and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.”
“We reaffirm that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences,” the statement said.
The leaders pledged continued military support to Ukraine during their virtual emergency meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the statement further said, adding that they will "stand firmly" with Ukraine for "as long as it takes."
