Ukraine-Russia war live: G7 plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv as nine dead in missile strike

A Group of Seven summit opened Thursday with agreement reached on a U.S. proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral, giving Kyiv a strong show of support even as Europe’s political chessboard shifts to the right.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni welcomed the G7 heads of state to the summit at a luxury resort in southern Italy, saying she wanted the message of this meeting to be one of dialogue with the global south and unity.

She likened the G7 to the ancient olive trees that are a symbol of the Puglia region, “with their solid roots, and branches projected toward the future.”

Russian forces deliberately starved Ukrainians in Mariupol as a tactic of war by targeting their water, food and medical facilities before taking the strategic port city in 2022, according to an investigation by an international human rights group.

Satellite imagery showing evidence of targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure in the city, including food distribution centres, was collected by Global Rights Compliance’s Starvation Mobile Justice Team, and relate to the first 85 days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine before the fall of Mariupol.

With her contempories in Puglia contending with challenging domestic elections or troubling poll ratings, the Italian premier alone has entered the summit from a position of stability, seeking to further her own agenda for Italy.

While the Ukraine war and stability brought by Joe Biden’s US presidency had lent unity to proceedings in recent years, the prospect of Donald Trump’s return and a number of other elections has imbued this week’s summit with a different sense of urgency to reach agreements while the status quo still remained in place.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Cuban counterpart later on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The talks come a day after a Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine entered the harbour in the Cuban capital Havana, a stopover the U.S. and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force as tensions rise over the Ukraine war.

The Kremlin said on Thursday there was no reason for any country, including the United States, to be worried about the presence of Russian warships in Cuba on an exercise.

A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine churned into Havana harbour on Wednesday, a stopover the U.S. and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force as tensions rise over the Ukraine war.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there was no evidence of Russia transferring any missiles to Cuba, but that the U.S. would remain vigilant.

When asked about purported nervousness in Washington over the fear that Russia could transfer military personnel to Cuba or even create a military base on the island, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such exercises were common practice.

“This is a normal practice for all states, including such a large maritime power as Russia,” Peskov told reporters. “So we don’t see any reason to worry in this case.”

The Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, half submerged with its crew on deck, sailed to Cuba on Wednesday after conducting “high-precision missile weapons” training in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cuba’s foreign ministry said the vessels carried no nuclear weapons, an assertion echoed by U.S. officials.

The UK will target ships in Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet with new sanctions as part of co-ordinated action with G7 partners to support Ukraine.

These are the UK’s first sanctions targeting vessels in Mr Putin’s shadow fleet, which Russia uses to circumvent UK and G7 sanctions to trade in Russian oil, Downing Street said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is at the G7 summit in Puglia, said: “The UK will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight for freedom.

“Today we are once more ramping up economic pressure through sanctions to bear down on Russia‘s ability to fund its war machine. Putin must lose, and cutting off his ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.”

The 50 new sanctions designations and specifications also take aim at the Moscow Stock Exchange and other institutions at the heart of Russia‘s financial system as well as suppliers supporting Russia‘s military production.

Britain added 42 new designations and six new ship specifications under its Russia sanctions regime, including on Russian group Eko Shipping and some China-based companies, an update to the government website showed on Thursday.

The sanctions also targeted China-based Hengshui Yuanchem Trading and Hong Kong-based HK Hengbangwei Electronics for being or having been involved in “destabilising Ukraine“ or “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine,” according to the government document.

A US Patriot air-defence system in Poland will be replaced by another battery from elsewhere in the world, a Polish deputy defence minister said on Thursday, after a media report that it would be sent to Ukraine.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that President Joe Biden had approved the transfer of a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine from Poland.

“The American battery will be replaced by a battery from another part of the world,” Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“Poland did not agree to transfer the Polish battery. Polish patriots defend the Polish sky and this will not change.”

Kyiv has urged its Western allies to supply it with Patriot air-defence systems due to intense Russian air strikes.

Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined the main issues for Ukraine to be discussed at the G7 summit in Italy today.

In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said the key issues are: “Developing fighter jet coalition, expediting pilot training, and accelerating aircraft delivery.

“Development of the Ukrainian air defense system based on the most powerful Western systems, as well as an increase in long-range capability.

“Approval of the format for using Russian assets to benefit Ukraine, particularly in the development of our defense industry, and joint weapon production.”

NATO defense ministers gathered Thursday hoping to agree on a new plan to provide long-term security assistance and military training to Ukraine, after Hungary promised not to veto the scheme as long as it’s not forced to take part.

The ministers are meeting over two days at NATO headquarters in Brussels in the last high-level talks before a summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on July 9-11, where the military organization’s leaders are expected to announce financial support for Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Western allies are trying to bolster their military support as Russian troops launch attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, taking advantage of a lengthy delay in U.S. military aid. European Union money was also held up by political infighting.