Assembling in the Bavarian Alps of south-west Germany, there appeared to be great unity among G7 leaders for ramping up military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia. This was particularly the case between Boris Johnson and French president Emmanuel Macron, where a détente seemed to break out following months, if not years, of tensions over Brexit, Aukus and Channel crossings.
Discussions among the leaders included a cap on the price of Russian oil and steps to bar the import of Russian gold in order to “starve the Putin regime of its funding”, as Johnson put it. Moscow already stands accused of missing payments on some foreign debt, which amounts effectively to a default, as Western sanctions have prevented payments in foreign currency as billions of dollars of assets lie frozen abroad.
Yet the slow, bloody, relentless progress made by Russian forces in the Donbas demonstrates the need to ramp up sanctions — and the urgency as well. A missile strike on an apartment block in Kyiv on Saturday was a reminder not only of Vladimir Putin’s disregard for human life, but his continued ability to threaten the Ukrainian capital. That is why any peace agreement with Russia should be on Ukraine’s terms, lest it serves to reward Putin for his acts of aggression.
Leaders are invited into the G7 club not only for the industrial might of their respective economies, but because they head liberal democracies where power ultimately lies not with dictators or plutocrats but with the people. They must stand firm with our Ukrainian allies.
A Wimbledon feast
If you queued through the night for your golden Wimbledon Centre Court ticket, you could surely not be disappointed by the result: Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray serving up a feast today.
It marks the first time in three years that capacity crowds are returning to the All England Club, after 2020’s cancellation and last year’s reduced numbers. But of course, once the first ball was tossed up, you could still hear a pin drop.
Away from Centre Court, there are a further seven Britons playing their first-round matches — including number one and ninth seed, Cameron Norrie.
There is the odd rain shower forecast — this is Wimbledon, after all — but they should pass quickly and, with retractable roofs on both main show courts, play will not be suspended for long.
The return of thronging Wimbledon crowds serves as a reminder of the things we’ve missed and what makes London the greatest sporting city in the world.
The power of Glasto
Glastonbury, inspired by the counter-culture movement of the Sixties, has always been about more than the music.
On Friday evening, the festival’s youngest-ever headline act, 20-year-old Billie Eilish, railed against the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v Wade, the constitutional right to abortion. Then on Saturday, its oldest, Sir Paul McCartney, who had just turned 80, raised the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine in support of its fight against Vladimir Putin’s war.
From the young to the young at heart, there is still power in protest.
