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Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for crunch G7 summit with Rishi Sunak & world leaders after US gives green light for F-16s
VOLODYMYR Zelensky has landed in Japan to attend a key G7 summit with Rishi Sunak and other world leaders.
The Ukrainian president said "peace will become closer" after arriving for the conference in Hiroshima on Saturday.
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Photos showed Zelensky - clad in his trademark green fatigues - arriving in Hiroshima before being driven away in a motorcade in a black BMW.
And later he was pictured sharing an embrace with Mr Sunak as the Uk continues to lead the international effort to back Ukraine.
The two then sat down for a meeting at the Grand Prince Hotel.
"Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory," he tweeted.
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Zelensky - a former TV star turned inspiring war leader - has been on a whistlestop world tour over the last week.
He has been trying to drum up more weapons and support for Ukraine as they continue to defend their country from Russia.
It comes after US President Joe Biden finally gave the green light for allies to hand Ukraine F-16 fighter jets.
President Zelensky flew halfway around the globe to attend the G7.
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The fighter jet agreement marks a key breakthrough on arming him to battle Putin in the skies.
Rishi Sunak has been leading the push for months to help him get the newer tech he's been begging for ahead of a new spring offensive in the 15 month war.
And last night it emerged the Americans would finally give the nod for their planes to be used after months of resisting the calls.
Government insiders said it was unlikely that the British typhoon fighter jets Zelensky had demanded would be able to be used any time soon - and they were always a long term objective to train up fighters on our kit instead.
The Netherlands are likely to be first to send US designed planes - which needed permission from the US - as 24 of their are due to be decommissioned soon.
Ukraine has already received former Soviet fighters from Poland and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Zelensky will hammer India, Brazil and Indonesia to get off the fence and back his war-torn nation for the benefit of the entire world.
He is expected to address the G7 in Hiroshima tomorrow (sun) in behind the scenes talks with leaders on peace and security in Hiroshima, after stopping off in Saudi Arabia on Friday afternoon to address leaders there.
Last night PM Rishi Sunak warned Putin "we're not going anywhere" and will back Ukraine to the end.
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The PM, who has been leading international efforts to help Zelensky get the jets and weapons they want, laid a wreath at Hiroshima's peace memorial yesterday which read: "Shakespeare tells us to ‘give sorrow words. Yet language fails in the light of the bomb’s silent flash.
"No words can describe the horror and suffering of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But what we can say, with all our hearts, and all our souls, is no more.”
He will meet with French President Macron and Indonesian president Widodo today for a string of Bilateral chats, and Indias PM Modi on Sunday.
But he won't have a one on one chat with President Biden as he is widely expected to visit him in Washington for a formal trip next month.
The pair have already held two one on one chats - most recently in Northern Ireland last month - since the PM took office last year.
Russia's invasion was claimed by Putin to simply be a "special military operation" which would only last two weeks when he struck on February 24, 2022.
Now tens of thousands of Russians - up to 200,000 - are lying dead in the fields across Ukraine.
And millions of Ukrainian civilians have endured untold misery as the cities have been devastated and their homes stolen.
Putin foolishly believed his forces would be welcomed into Ukraine as liberators.
But instead, the initial attack ended in a disaster which saw his forces devastated and thrown back to Russia.
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Kyiv continues to call for Western arms which they believe they need to defeat the Russians.
The world is awaiting to see what Ukraine will achieve in their upcoming counter-offensive - with hopes it could provide key gains across the frontline, especially around Bakhmut.
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