G7 leaders push Trump to change tone on Ukraine, actions still pending

EVIAN, France — The G7 summit ended on June 17 with leaders celebrating a changed tone and greater alignment on support for Ukraine, but have left President Volodymyr Zelensky short of much concrete to take back to Kyiv.

Ukraine has made strategic gains against Russia on the battlefield in recent months, but remains powerless in the face of ever harsher ballistic missile attacks against civilian targets, and facing a $52 billion hole in its budget that needs to be filled, in practice by donations from G7 allies.

"President Zelensky's participation allowed us to have an in-depth discussion on Ukraine, which, for the first time, enabled us to identify important points of agreement," French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists at a press conference at the end of the summit.

"The first time ever that President (Donald) Trump adopts common language on our biggest challenges, really a success," echoed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in his press conference, making reference to "a new tone in transatlantic unity."

"Even Trump acknowledged things (in Ukraine) have really changed," a senior EU official told journalists at a press briefing.

The leader's statement on Ukraine commits to "accelerate" the delivery of air defenses; "provide further support" for energy infrastructure, and to "strengthen our sanctions," but does not elaborate on any of the three points.

At the EU press briefing, journalists were told that leaders had "very concrete discussions on what can be done in terms of military capabilities and pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

But when the Kyiv Independent asked another EU official, on condition of anonymity, about which countries and which air defense systems were being floated as options, they said "discussions did not enter into such detail. It was more about granting Ukraine licenses in general to allow it to increase military production."

But where air defenses were discussed, and made it into the joint statement, Ukraine's biggest problem, its lack of financial power, fared worse.

At a press conference on June 15 ahead of the G7 Summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that the EU has covered two-thirds of Ukraine's budget needs with a 90 billion euro ($105 billion) loan until the end of 2027, but that "we need Ukraine's partners" to cover the remaining third.

A senior EU official told the Kyiv Independent on the condition of anonymity that von der Leyen did as she said, and she raised the topic in the three-hour discussion of Ukraine on June 16.

But this was not followed up by any discussion of further commitments by the other leaders around the table, leaving the $52 billion hole very much unfilled.

The same official expressed hope that the budget issue would still be included in the joint statement. It did not feature.

The G7 was not, however, the last opportunity for attendees to support Ukraine.

Kyiv is only expected to hit the financial cliff at some point in 2027, as payments from the EU support loan scheduled for next year can be brought forward if needed and requested by Ukraine.

And both Brussels and Kyiv are exploring ideas on how to develop a domestic air-defense capability, at scale, that would end their dependency on U.S. equipment.

One such occasion to potentially see concrete progress could be June 18 and 19, when EU leaders will meet for a summit in Brussels, at which Zelensky is expected to attend.