TOKYO – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join a video summit later on Dec 6 with leaders of the Group of 7 (G-7), chair Japan said, hours after unexpectedly skipping a virtual meeting with US senators.

Almost two years after Russia’s invasion, signs are growing that Western support for Ukraine is fraying just as a counter-offensive struggles and as President Vladimir Putin’s oil revenues rebound.

The meeting from 2.30pm GMT hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will see Mr Zelensky “join the first part”, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

Besides Ukraine, the talks will cover the Middle East, support for developing countries and artificial intelligence, a White House official said.

Mr Zelensky unexpectedly cancelled a planned video link appearance with US senators on Dec 5 in which he was to have appealed for continued funding.

He had been expected to press them to support a procedural vote on Dec 6 on an emergency aid package that includes more than US$60 billion (S$80 billion) for Kyiv.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Mr Zelensky had been prevented from taking part by a “last minute” hiccup, but he pressed ahead with the briefing anyway – only for the proceedings to turn into a war of words.

‘Kneecap’ Kyiv

The US Congress is more divided over backing for Ukraine than it has been at any time during the nearly two-year conflict, with the country fast exhausting the military aid provided by the United States so far.

Senate Republicans are making their support for additional Ukraine funding contingent on President Joe Biden’s Democrats accepting reforms to the asylum system and tightened border security – measures the Democrats have already rejected.

The White House’s budget chief warned Congress on Dec 4 that failure to agree on fresh funds for Ukraine by the end of 2023 would “kneecap” Kyiv on the battlefield.

EU summit

Backing for Ukraine’s war effort and its possible accession to the European Union are also set to be thorny topics at a summit next week of the bloc’s leaders.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose ties with Mr Putin are the closest among EU leaders, has demanded that key decisions on Ukraine be dropped from the gathering’s agenda.

The recent election victory of Mr Geert Wilders, whose far-right party wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine, has also sparked worries about continued support from the Netherlands.

After a November meeting of G-7 foreign ministers in Tokyo, the group said their support for Kyiv would “never waver” and that they were committed “to standing by Ukraine for as long as it takes”.

The group includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada as well as the European Union. Until 2014, it included Russia and was called the Group of Eight. AFP