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G7 vows to 'not let Russia win'

The Group of Seven (G7), which comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and US, issued a joint statement blasting Russia's ongoing military action in Ukraine on Sunday. Moscow was expelled from the collective, then known as the G8, in 2014.

The seven nations vowed to never let Moscow win the "war against Ukraine" and pledged further military and economic support for Kiev.

"We remain united in our resolve that President Putin must not win his war against Ukraine," the joint statement reads.

That in bold sums up the establishment perspective, because Russia is what stands between them and their complete subjugugation of the planet.

The document, issued on May 8 - the day most Western nations celebrate the end of WWII in Europe and victory over Nazism - said the G7 nations owe support for Ukraine in "the memory of all those who fought for freedom in the Second World War."

© AFP / Thibault CamusA video screen showing the G7 leaders during a summit on May 8, 2022

The G7 accused President Vladimir Putin of bringing "shame on Russia and the historic sacrifices of its people," as well as violating "the international rules-based order."

The West's rhetoric is little more than a silly meme:

The seven world leaders who took part in Sunday's summit, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, vowed to provide further financial aid to Ukraine to support both its immediate needs and "long-term recovery and reconstruction."

The statement says that $24 billion has already been provided and pledged to Ukraine by the international community, while praising the assistance programs launched by the World Bank and the IMF.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged an additional $50 million in military assistance for Ukraine, and said Ottawa would temporarily lift all trade tariffs on Ukrainian imports.

It's not clear what exactly Ukraine is exporting at the moment.

Further military aid has also been promised. "We will pursue our ongoing military and defense assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, continue supporting Ukraine in defending its networks against cyber incidents, and expand our cooperation, including on information security," the statement reads, without providing further details.

This likely involves helping Ukraine with its cyber propaganda campaigns.

Apart from that, the Group of Seven also announced a set of measures designed to limit Russia's access to "financial channels and ability to pursue their objectives," committing to phasing out "dependency on Russian energy" and "phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil," although no specific deadline has been set.

Other measures include further restrictions on Russian banks and the financial sector, and personal sanctions against Russian "elites" and their family members deemed to be close to Putin or who support him. The seven nations also vowed to "continue ... efforts to fight off the Russian regime's attempts to spread its propaganda," and said that "respectable companies" should not provide "revenue to the Russian regime or its affiliates."

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

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Hundreds of thousands of people assembled for an annual procession through Moscow while holding portraits of their family members who fought against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II as Russia celebrates Victory Day on Monday.

The 'Immortal Regiment' is a massive civil march held on Victory Day in which people carry portraits of those from their family who participated in the war.

More than one million people took part in the event in Moscow on Monday, the Russian Interior Ministry said.

The procession set off from one of Moscow's railway stations at 15:00 local time and traversed the seven-kilometer-long route through the city center to Red Square. President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin took part in the march as well.

The event was held online in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

In addition to Moscow, 'Immortal Regiment' processions were also held in many other cities across Russia, including all of the country's regional capitals. More than 200,000 people took part in Novosibirsk and over 100,000 participated in the Siberian city of Omsk.

The Red Army's fight against Hitler's forces is often called the Great Patriotic War, which started for the USSR on June 22, 1941. In Russia, May 9 is one of the country's most revered public holidays.

The 'Immortal Regiment' began as a grassroots movement in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012. The idea was then quickly picked up by other cities. The processions are held on Victory Day all across Russia and in many places abroad, where Russian-speaking expats participate alongside locals.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski has said that the pro-Ukraine protesters who threw red liquid at Sergey Andreyev, Russia's ambassador to the country, in Warsaw had legitimate reasons to be angry at him.

Andreyev was attacked as he was about to lay flowers in honor of fallen Red Army soldiers on Monday, when Russia celebrated its victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in Europe.

"The gathering of opponents of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, where genocidal crimes are committed every day, was legal," Kaminski wrote on Twitter.

Attacking a diplomat is not legal, that the Interior Minister would deliberately twist the incident is revealing.

"The emotions of Ukrainian women, who took part in the protest and whose husbands are bravely fighting to defend their homeland, are understandable."

One wonders what other illegal acts the minister would support of these Ukrainian women.

The minister confirmed that Polish authorities had warned Russian diplomats not to partake in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony on Victory Day.

Evidently commemorating those that fought against Hitler, and won, is more important; Poland could have made efforts to protect them, in gratitude for the sacrifices that were made by those troops, but evidently it chose not to.

© Wojtek Radwanski / AFPPro-Ukraine protesters in Warsaw, Poland, May 9, 2022.

Ambassador Sergey Andreyev was attacked by protesters opposing Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. He later said that the liquid was syrup and that he was unharmed. Moscow strongly condemned the incident, demanding that Poland arrange a new wreath-laying ceremony and guarantee security there.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, meanwhile, told reporters that the attack was "by all means regrettable" and "an incident that should not have happened."

"Diplomats enjoy special protection regardless of the policies pursued by the governments they represent," Rau said.

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