G7 Leaders Push Trump to Back Ukraine as Russia Faces Fuel Crisis and Drone Attacks

World leaders at the G7 summit in France are rallying behind Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging US President Donald Trump to maintain support for Kyiv and pressure Russia to negotiate. The summit comes on day 1,574 of the war. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to “choke off” Russian revenue with new sanctions. He also pledged hundreds of millions of pounds in energy aid for Ukraine, including enriched uranium for its nuclear power plants. French President Emmanuel Macron, the summit host, said he wants the US to tell Ukraine: “We are with you, we will continue to support you, and we will increase the pressure on Russia to achieve a meaningful negotiation.” He stressed that any talks must include Ukraine, Russia, Europeans, and Americans. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hope that “a window can open for diplomacy” on ending the war. He said he wants to discuss this further with Trump. Trump, who arrived at the summit on Monday, said he had “a very good conversation” with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and believes “maybe we can do something there.” On the battlefield, a drone set fire to an oil depot in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region early Tuesday. Officials closed a road leading to the bridge across the Kerch Strait, which links Crimea to the region. On Monday, Ukraine hit two bridges connecting Russian-held parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region with Crimea. In Krasnodar, a popular summer tourist area, disruptions to fuel supplies have caused panic-buying, the regional governor said. A Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber—used to fire cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine—crashed in Siberia’s Irkutsk region during a training flight. The defence ministry said the four-person crew ejected safely. Zelenskyy said two Russian drones “deliberately” targeted Kyiv’s monastery quarter in a mass overnight attack. The strike set the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra site on fire and killed 11 people across the country. He called the attack “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date” and urged G7 leaders to take “decisive and substantive” action, including more air defence support.