INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged world powers to do their utmost to help end Russia's invasion by the end of the year,
as G7 leaders planned new sanctions and vowed to support Kyiv "as long as it takes."U.S
President Joe Biden and his peers from the Group of Seven rich nations, meeting in the Bavarian Alps, pledged to tighten the economic screws
24 invasion of its neighbor.The leaders put on a show of unity over Ukraine, even as the fallout from the war intensifies with soaring
energy and food prices driving up global inflation."We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and
stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the G7 said in a statement on the summit's second day.Addressing the gathering via video-link,
continue to increase pressure on (Vladimir) Putin
This war has to come to an end."Among the additional steps being discussed by G7 leaders is a price cap on Russian oil imports and sanctions
targeting Russia's defense sector.NATO boostWashington meanwhile is planning to send Ukraine sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles, U.S
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters, responding to a long-standing request from Zelensky for more advanced weapons.The
immediately be followed by a meeting of NATO countries in Spain, where Ukraine is again expected to dominate the agenda.NATO said on Monday
the military alliance would boost its high readiness force from 40,000 to 300,000 troops and send more heavy weaponry to its eastern flank
following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called it "the biggest overhaul of our collective defense and
deterrence since the Cold War."'Toughest days'Since failing to capture Kyiv early in the war, Russian troops have focused on the eastern
Donbas region, where they have been gaining ground.Two women had been killed by Russian bombardments in the northeastern Kharkiv region over
the past 24 hours, a local official said on Monday.Russian shelling also continued in and around the eastern city of Lysychansk, after
Russian forces at the weekend took full control of its twin city, the industrial hub Severodonetsk, following weeks of fierce
fighting."Lysychansk and nearby villages are living their toughest days
Russians destroy everything on their way," said Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday.Taking Lysychansk would give Russia control of the
entire Lugansk region of the Donbas.Kyiv meanwhile was reeling from the first Russian strikes on the capital in three weeks
A missile struck a residential building early on Sunday, Ukraine said, leaving one person dead.Russia denied it had hit a civilian target,
however, saying its forces had struck a weapons factory in the neighborhood.Zelensky stressed on Monday that "now is not the time for
negotiations" with Russia because Kyiv is still seeking to consolidate its positions, a French official said.Gold, oil, debtSweeping Western
sanctions designed to choke off Moscow's access to the international financial system have pushed Russia closer to its first foreign debt
default in a century.Russia said on Monday two of its debt payments were prevented from reaching creditors after a key deadline expired.But
"there are no grounds to call this situation a default," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.G7 members said they were paving the way for
further sanctions aimed at depleting Putin's war chest, while minimizing the blowback on their own economies.After kicking off their
gathering on Sunday with a plan to ban imports of Russian gold, the G7 had also made progress in talks on a price cap on Russian oil, a
Russian oil in the hope of reining in inflation, the official said.Zelensky has urged the G7 to push through the measure but European
officials fear it will be difficult to implement and say more discussions are needed.To help bring down surging crude prices, France urged
oil-producing nations to raise output in an "exceptional manner."In another effort to punish Russia and help Ukraine, the G7 plans new
measures designed to hamper Russia's ability to resupply its weaponry, a senior U.S
official said.The leaders likewise share the view that money collected from higher trade tariffs imposed on Russian exports should be
funneled as aid to Ukraine "to ensure that Russia pays for the cost of its war," the official added.Food crisisOne of the most worrying
spillover effects of the war has been the threat of food shortages in vulnerable countries, especially in Africa, as Russia's blockade of
key ports holds up vital Ukrainian cereal exports."We urgently call on Russia to ..
enable free passage of agricultural shipping from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea," G7 leaders said.Russia denies being responsible for the
delivery disruptions and says Western sanctions are to blame.Non-G7 countries Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa have
also joined the summit in Elmau Castle, Bavaria.Indonesian President Joko Widodo is slated to host the G20 summit in November and has
shrugged off Western pressure to exclude Putin from the gathering.Scholz on Monday said he was open to still attending the G20.Putin
