'Starve Russia's war machine': G7's fresh sanctions ahead of Zelensky arrival in Japan

The measures, announced at a G7 summit in Hiroshima, include restrictions on exports of items “critical to Russia on the battlefield”.

Leaders from the Group of Seven nations agreed to new sanctions on Friday that they said would "starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine".

(Clockwise L to R) France's President Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a working lunch meeting at the start of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023. (AFP)

The move comes after the United States, Britain and the European Union all announced fresh efforts to turn the screws on Moscow, 15 months into Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc, meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, said that they would move to further restrict Russia's access to G7 economies.

"We will broaden our actions to ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia's aggression... are restricted across all our jurisdictions," they said in a statement.

"We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine," added the bloc, which includes Britain, the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the European Union.

The grouping said they would step up efforts to prevent circumvention of their existing sanctions regime, "including targeting entities transporting material to the front".

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London, meanwhile, took aim at Russia's $4-5 billion annual trade in diamonds, announcing a ban on the import of the gems, along with copper, aluminium and nickel.

The G7 statement also pledged to "restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia", including with the use of tracing technologies.

EU member Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with the United Arab Emirates and India, whose prime minister Narendra Modi will join the G7 talks this weekend.