G7 voices support to Ukraine on anniversary of illegal annexations by Russia

That’s according to a statement posted by MFA Italy’s press service, as seen by Ukrinform.

"As we mark two years since Russia’s illegal annexation of portions of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, we the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, stand firmly with Ukraine and its territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence," the statement said.

The Group of Seven says it will never recognize any violations of international law committed by Russia against Ukraine and its people and will continue to “condemn in the strongest possible terms” Russia's illegal aggression, its human rights violations and abuses in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and the ongoing brutal attacks destroying civilian, critical, and urban ​​infrastructure, government officials noted.

"We call on all members of the international community to do the same and to urge Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to abide by the UN Charter and the basic principles that underpin the international order," the statement reads.

As the ministers noted, political, military, financial, economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine and its legitimate defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion remains steadfast, as is our commitment to raise the costs of Russia’s illegal war. Together, these measures will help set the proper conditions for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace rooted in the principles of the UN Charter. G7 will continue to engage the broader international community to that end, aiming to restore full respect for the rules-based international order, G7 ministers believe.

"This war of aggression can end now if Russia withdraws its forces immediately, completely, and unconditionally from all Ukrainian territory to its internationally recognized borders, withdraws its claims of annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and respects Ukraine’s sovereign rights as an independent nation," the statement said.

As reported earlier, on February 20, 2014, Russian troops sporting uniform without insignia launched a military invasion of Crimea with the aim of occupying and annexing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The land grab was the first part of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine that eventually evolved into a full-scale invasion by Russia. After the occupation of Crimea, Moscow unleashed a war in eastern Ukraine including with the use of its proxy forces on the ground.

On February 24, 2022, Russia went for a full-blown military incursion into Ukraine, branding it a “special military operation”.