Key Points
- Mr Zelenskyy has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic visits in recent days.
- He is expected to sit down with Mr Biden on Sunday, the third and final day of the G7 summit.
- European Council President Charles Michel promised Mr Zelenskyy further European Union support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a surprise appearance at the G7 summit in Japan buoyed by US President Joe Biden's decision hours before to open the door to providing Ukraine with advanced F-16 fighter jets.
Mr Zelenskyy spent much of the day meeting with leaders from the world's wealthiest democracies and making his case for more aid after 15 months of battling against Russia's invasion of his country.
"Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today," Mr Zelenskyy tweeted.
Mr Zelenskyy had arrived in Japan aboard a French government plane from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he had travelled to join the Arab League meeting on Friday.
Mr Zelenskyy has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic visits in recent days, with visits to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London.
The Ukrainian leader is expected to sit down with Mr Biden on Sunday, the third and final day of the G7 summit.
He is also expected to give a speech from the symbolic site of the first atomic bomb attack.
While it remains unclear who will provide Ukraine with fighter jets, or when the aircraft might arrive, is seen as a major boost for Mr Zelenskyy after months of public campaigning.
Mr Biden's announcement came after the United Kingdom and the Netherlands had declared on Tuesday their intention to build an international fighter jet coalition to work toward training Ukrainian pilots and eventually delivering aircraft.
Sources in the French president's office said France hopes to help train Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter planes and said it is working with Ukraine to overcome potential language barriers by identifying Ukrainian pilots who speak French as well as English for the training.
Mr Zelenskyy said he thanked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership on Saturday in Hiroshima.
He also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others.
European Council President Charles Michel promised Mr Zelenskyy further European Union support in their conversation, a spokesman for Mr Michel said.
Mr Michel told him that "the EU will work with G7 partners to target every pillar of the Russian economy to ensure (President Vladimir) Putin's war machine fails," according to Mr Michel's spokesman, Barend Leyts.
