Volodymyr Zelensky was in a rush. When the Ukrainian president arrived at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on 20 May, he hurried down the stairs of the plane he had been loaned by the French government and into a waiting car, which whisked him to the first of his meetings over the next two days. Greeting Zelensky in a conference room at the venue, Rishi Sunak slapped him on the back and exclaimed, “You made it!”
What followed was a showcase of Western unity. The leaders of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – stood alongside Zelensky, literally shoulder to shoulder, in the family photograph as they pledged even greater support for Kyiv. “Together with the entire G7, we have Ukraine’s back and I promise we’re not going anywhere,” said Joe Biden, the US president, as he announced a $375m package of security assistance and a plan that will facilitate the transfer of F-16 fighter jets.
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