Zelensky to make in-person visit to G-7

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to make an in-person appearance at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan this weekend, according to media reports.

The visit comes amid Zelensky’s latest diplomatic push to shore up support ahead of Kyiv’s long-awaited counteroffensive. The Ukrainian president landed in Saudi Arabia on Friday to join a summit of Arab leaders, following a swing through several European capitals.

“Very important things will be decided there,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said of the three-day G-7 summit in Hiroshima, according to CNN.

“Therefore, the physical presence of our president is absolutely important — to defend our interests, to explain, to provide clear proposals and clear arguments on the events that are taking place in our country,” he added.

Zelensky’s expected visit comes as the U.S. plans to unveil a “substantial” sanctions package against Russia at the summit Friday, aimed at targeting Russian sanctions evasion and sectors of the Russian economy “key to its military-industrial complex.”