G7 Pushes to Put Ukraine Back on Trump's Agenda
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- G7 allies worked to push Ukraine back atop Trump's agenda at the Evian-les-Bains summit, with France and European partners now the biggest military and financial backers of Kyiv after the U.S. cut aid under Trump.
- Macron said he would try to persuade Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia; Trump said he wants to focus on Ukraine now and will meet Zelenskyy one-on-one.
- Zelenskyy joined G7 leaders for a morning working session that wrapped in just 75 minutes, while Trump told reporters the Iran war will soon be "back in the rearview mirror."
- Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine's biggest cities hours before the summit began, killing 11 people and setting fire to a religious landmark — the attacks followed separate phone calls between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy on Sunday.
- The U.K. announced new sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet" oil and gas vessels and sanctions-evasion financial networks, including LNG ships transporting from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, after U.K. troops seized a shadow fleet vessel in the English Channel last weekend.
- Ukraine officially started EU membership negotiations on Monday, a process requiring years of political reforms, though the Trump administration insists NATO membership — Kyiv's preferred security guarantee — cannot happen.
- Trump expressed frustration with Israel's handling of Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying the operation "goes on forever" and throws "a negative light on the big deal" with Iran.
Why it matters: With the U.S. cutting aid and Trump refusing Ukraine NATO membership, European allies — now Kyiv's biggest backers — are racing to keep Ukraine on Trump's radar, especially as Russia intensified strikes killing 11 people hours before the summit and oil-price pressure from the Strait of Hormuz blockade demands rapid G7 coordination.
