Ukrainian President's Office confirms Zelenskyy will attend G7 summit "online or in person"

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, will attend the G7 conference in Italy from 13 to 15 June. 

Serhii Nykyforov, spokesperson for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has confirmed that Zelenskyy will attend the G7 summit in Italy on 13-15 June, either in person or online.

Nykyforov confirmed to Suspilne that Zelenskyy will take part either online or in person. He added that with the US delegation attending the conference, Zelenskyy expects to propose further strengthening of the defence support, forming a coalition of Western fighters, and accelerating the supply of the F-16 fighter jets.

"It's beyond any doubt. The G7 are our primary partners. We will discuss with them the major topics of our ties, including bilateral conversations with the G7 governments," Nykyforov said.

One of the primary subjects will be to bolster Ukraine's air defence with more systems and missiles.

According to Nykyforov, Zelenskyy discussed this with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the Shangri-La summit in Singapore.

"This was the main topic. Now, serious efforts are underway to ensure that air defence systems will come to Ukraine. We anticipate positive public announcements in the near future", he said.

Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Zelenskyy would attend the Group of Seven meeting in Brindisi, southern Italy, from 13 to 15 June.

She did not indicate whether Zelenskyy would visit Italy in person or connect via video link.

Politico had previously reported that President Zelenskyy might also attend the G7 Summit, but there was no official confirmation.

The summit, which will be largely focused on the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, is expected to approve the Group of Seven's plan to use frozen Russian assets.