The G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting has started on the island of Bali. The forum is discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on world economy. At the meeting, the G-7 countries are adamant they will uphold a united position against Russia. According to Kyodo News, the traditional group photo before the start of the event was scrapped after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken refused to have his photograph taken alongside Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In a speech to parliamentary leaders, President Vladimir Putin stated “Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” and went on to say that Moscow’s “special operation in Ukraine”, as he calls it, was the beginning of a shift towards a “multipolar world” and to accuse the West of attempting to impose “its new world order”.  

The Ukrainian side responded: “There is no plan by the “collective West”, there is a concrete z-army that has invaded sovereign Ukraine, shelling towns and killing civilians. Everything else is primitive propaganda.”

In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelensky stated he would be addressing the parliament of Slovenia on 8 July, and announced that after the donor conference in Lugano, emergency aid for Ukraine is expected amounting to USD 2 billion which will be used for strengthening the budget and preparing for winter.