Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lands in Japan on Saturday afternoon with a key objective: to speak in person with leaders from countries like Brazil and India who have taken a more neutral stance over Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy is making the nearly 5,600-mile journey to Hiroshima on a French military jet from Saudi Arabia, where he attended an Arab League meeting. While he’s joining a Group of Seven summit, he’s more eager to see other invited leaders who hail from what is often called the Global South.
Zelenskyy is particularly keen to sit down with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, according to G-7 and Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian leader is set to meet Saturday with Modi, whose country has stepped up purchases of Russian energy and continues to seek weapons from Moscow.
