G7 considers more air defence for Ukraine as fighting rages
KYIV (Reuters) - Russian missiles, artillery and drones hammered targets in eastern and southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian General Staff said, as global economic powers pledged to beef up Kyiv's military capabilities with a focus on air defence.
The Group of Seven promised to "meet Ukraine's urgent requirements" after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed for modern tanks, artillery and long-range weapons to counter Russia's devastating invasion.
Zelenskiy also urged G7 leaders gathered at a virtual meeting to support his idea of convening a special Global Peace Summit dedicated to bringing peace to his country.
The summit would be focused on the implementation of Kyiv's 10-point peace plan that insists on, among other things, Russia's withdrawal of all its troops from Ukraine and no territorial concessions on Kyiv's part.
British Defence Minister Ben Wallace said on Monday he would be "open minded" about supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles to target launch sites for Russian drones that have hit infrastructure if Russia carried on targeting civilian areas.
US President Joe Biden told Zelenskiy on Sunday that Washington's priority was to boost Ukraine's air defences.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians but the war has displaced millions and killed thousands of non-combatants.
Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said "unliveable conditions" were likely to send another wave of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees into Europe over the winter.
