Images of a devastated Hiroshima remind Zelensky of present-day Bakhmut

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky concluded his appearance at the Japan Group of 7 summit with a visit to the Hiroshima atomic bomb museum, saying on Sunday he saw echoes of his own country’s pain in images of the 1945 devastation.

Mr Zelensky later told a press conference that the experience left him teary-eyed, referring to the bloody battle for Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city that Russia claimed to have taken earlier on Sunday despite Ukrainian insistence to the contrary.

While it “wouldn’t be fair” to compare the attack on Hiroshima to what happened in his country, Mr. Zelensky said, “the pictures of devastated Hiroshima really do remind me of Bakhmut.”

“There is nothing alive left,” he added.

Mr Zelensky echoed the statements of Ukrainian military officials who have rejected claims that Bakhmut had been captured, saying: “We fight on thanks to the courage of our warriors”, and expressed gratitude for the support shown to his country during the three-day summit of leaders of the world’s richest democracies.

The president declined to give details of military aid pledges he secured at the summit, saying only that “weapons of high quality will be delivered”. But he said he was pleased with the results of his meetings in Japan and hoped countries that have resisted sending deadly weapons would reconsider.

“I would like all states that are able to help us,” Mr Zelensky said, acknowledging that some – including the host country – faced legal or constitutional constraints.

While in Japan, Mr. Zelensky met with the leaders of close allies — including the United States, Britain, France and Germany — as well as countries such as India that have less vocally condemned Moscow’s invasion.

Asked if he was disappointed he had not met in private with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil – who has condemned President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion but also suggested that Mr Zelensky and NATO share the blame before the war – the reaction of the Ukrainian leader provoked laughter.

“I think it disappointed him,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters.