The U.S. has officially decided not to label Russia as an "aggressor" in the war against Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.

The United States is opposing the labeling of Russia as an "aggressor" in the G7 countries' statement commemorating the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.

This was reported by Financial Times, citing five Western officials familiar with the situation. A virtual G7 summit is scheduled for Monday, February 24. It remains undecided whether Zelensky will participate, the sources added.

G7 countries traditionally release a statement in support of Ukraine on February 24 – the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

However, the stance of the current U.S. administration may jeopardize the group's unity on this issue, writes the Financial Times.

Sources claim that American representatives opposed the use of the phrase "Russian aggression" and other similar terms, although, as one Western official emphasized, it is crucial to clearly distinguish between Russia and Ukraine in this conflict.

Discussions are still ongoing, and there is hope for a compromise, he added.

The Trump administration insists on replacing "stronger wording" with the term "Ukrainian conflict," sources explain.

Similar expressions have been used in recent statements from the State Department. For instance, in a release about Secretary of State Mark Rubio's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh, the phrase "conflict in Ukraine" is mentioned twice, notes FT.

Today, the U.S. also decided for the first time since the start of the war not to sign a UN General Assembly resolution supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and condemning Russian aggression, Reuters reported.

For the first time since the onset of the full-scale war, the U.S. did not co-sponsor the draft resolution.

Background. Meanwhile, Trump stated that Russia has advantages in negotiations because it has seized a lot of territory. The White House said that Trump’s comment about the "dictator" was a response to Zelensky's claim that the U.S. president lives in a "disinformation space."