An power generator operates outside a barber shop while a hairdresser sits on a chair, without a customer, during blackout hours in Kyiv on Wednesday. — AFP OTTAWA, Nov 13 (AFP): G7 foreign ministers on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and raised the alarm about the escalating crisis in Sudan, as they wrapped up a meeting in Canada.
In a joint statement, the top diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States voiced "unwavering support" for Ukraine's territorial integrity.
"An immediate ceasefire is urgently needed," the Group of Seven said.
At the talks near the famed Niagara Falls, G7 leaders discussed various options to bolster funding for Ukraine's efforts against Russia's invasion.
The statement said the scenarios discussed included "further leveraging immobilized Russian sovereign assets" held across different G7 jurisdictions-a complex strategy that has been debated intensively within the European Union.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha-who was invited to the talks-had earlier told reporters that the G7 needed to increase pressure on Russia's Vladimir Putin while reinforcing Ukraine's war-making capacity.
"Putin still has an illusion that he can win," Sybiha said.
"In reality, he has lost over one million soldiers and has not achieved a single strategic goal...We must make the cost of continuing this war unbearable and dangerous for Putin personally and his regime," he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced new sanctions on entities that Canada says are used to launch cyberattacks on Ukraine.
Vessels that are part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet-ships allegedly used to transport Russian oil in defiance of global sanctions-were also targeted.
"Canada will continue to ensure that Russia's actions do not go unpunished," Anand told reporters.
She said the sanctions were the first on the "IT infrastructure used in Russia's hybrid strategies against Ukraine." Companies involved in Russia's liquefied natural gas industry were also on the sanctions list.
The UK also announced o13 million ($17.1 million) of funding to help repair Ukraine's energy sector, which has sustained massive Russian attacks in recent days.
The joint G7 statement also condemned surging violence in Sudan, saying the conflict between the African nation's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had triggered "the world's largest humanitarian crisis."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged international action to cut off weapons to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, blaming the paramilitary force for surging bloodshed.
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