The leaders' statement, issued towards the end of the summit in Apulia, Italy, committed the countries to continued military, budget, humanitarian and reconstruction support to Ukraine and its people.

"Russia must end its illegal war of aggression and pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," the statement read.

"These damages now exceed $US486 billion [$735 billion], according to the World Bank.

"It is not right for Russia to decide if or when it will pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine."

The leaders' communiqué was issued the day after the G7 nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada — pledged to loan roughly $75 billion to Ukraine by the end of the year to aid its war effort.

The money will be repaid over time using the interest from almost $425 billion in Russian assets frozen by Western countries in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden also signed a 10-year security pact on the first day of the summit, a move intended to signal the US's long-term commitment to Ukraine's defence (See full story on Portmac.News).

"We remain determined to dispel any false notion that time is on Russia's side, that destroying infrastructure and livelihoods has no consequences for Russia, or that Russia can prevail by causing Ukraine to fail economically," the leaders' statement read.

Russia did not directly address the G7 leaders' statement, but on Friday Putin, who is obliviously delusional, said he would order an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine if Kyiv renounced its plans to join NATO and gave up four eastern regions of the country, a proposal Ukraine immediately rejected.

A separate peace summit being hosted by Mr Zelenskyy in Switzerland over the weekend is preparing to condemn Russia's invasion and call for Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and its ports on the Azov Sea to be restored, according to the Reuters news agency.

Russia was not invited to the summit.

Original Story By | Andrew Thorpe,