The United States is resisting efforts to label Russia as a war aggressor in a Group of Seven statement marking the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing anonymous Western officials familiar with the matter.
Since 2022, the G7 has issued a statement in support of Ukraine every Feb. 24, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion.
“The Americans are blocking that language, but we are still working on it and hopeful of an agreement,” one official told FT.
Washington’s refusal to use the term “aggressor” reflects a broader shift in U.S. policy, which has increasingly referred to the war as the “Ukraine conflict,” according to two FT sources. Recent U.S. foreign policy statements have used similar wording.
“They are not the same,” an anonymous official briefed on the matter said, adding that “there must be a distinction made between Russia and Ukraine.”
The G7 has also not yet decided whether to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to its virtual summit on Monday, officials told FT.
Likewise, the U.S. declined to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity on the war’s third anniversary, according to Reuters.
These disputes come amid growing tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky, as Trump dramatically reshapes Washington’s policy on Russia and the Ukraine war.
Trump has vowed to bring a quick end to the conflict, blaming Ukraine for provoking Russia’s invasion and has pushed for a summit with Putin. European and Ukrainian leaders have voiced concerns that Trump may offer key concessions to Moscow at Kyiv’s expense.
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