G7 countries will back Ukraine 'for as long as it takes': Report

After the Russian missile attack on Ukraine this Monday that killed at least 19 people, the G7 countries conducted a virtual emergency meeting and decided to provide humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine for "as long as it takes".

In a statement, the G7 group of nations said, "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes".

G7 finance ministers and central bankers, who met in Washington, also said in a statement that they had made "significant progress" in talks on a proposed price cap on Russian oil and welcomed Australia's addition to the coalition.

Additionally, the bloc, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, even denounced the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin in trying to annex four Ukrainian regions with referendums.

The attacks by Moscow's forces came in retaliation for a strike on a critical bridge linking Crimea with Russia, for which Moscow has blamed Ukraine. Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus has agreed to deploy his nation's forces with the Russian soldiers at the border with Ukraine.

However, NATO has strongly condemned the attacks by Russia, and the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has extended support to Ukraine. NATO said it might need to produce more weapons, as there is a dearth of supplies to the ongoing war. Any attack on the critical infrastructure of NATO would lead to a united and determined response.