Ukraine: Russia ‘lost momentum’ in Donbas, says Britain – live updates | News | DW
-
Britain’s intelligence service says Russia is losing momentum in the Donbas
-
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats will decide on NATO membership
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a ban on pro-Russian parties
-
Zelenskyy praises the Kalush Orchestra for winning Eurovision
-
Ukraine says attacks have hit military infrastructure in Lviv
This article was last updated at 10:19 UTC / GMT
Finland officially announces intention to join NATO
The Finnish government has officially announced that it will apply for membership in NATO, after the decision has been approved by the country’s ruling political party. The decision is expected to be highlighted by the Finnish Parliament in the coming days.
Ukraine says more US weapons, aid “on the way”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Berlin, where the latter is attending an informal NATO meeting.
“More weapons and other aid are on the way to Ukraine,” Kuleba said on Twitter.
The top Ukrainian diplomat also said he spoke to Blinken about ways to ensure that Ukraine’s food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia.
Britain’s intelligence service: Russia’s offensive in Donba’s ‘lost momentum’
The British Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian forces had failed to achieve “significant territorial gains in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
“Russia’s Donbas offensive has lost momentum and ended up significantly behind schedule,” said the British Defense Intelligence Agency.
“Under the current circumstances, it is unlikely that Russia will dramatically accelerate its pace of progress over the next 30 days,” it added.
DW correspondent Mathias Bölinger said on Saturday that Russian forces had made “incremental gains” on the Donbas front during heavy fighting, but added that “these gains are not breakthroughs.”
Ukrainian forces seemed to withstand the pressure. They had prevented an attempt at a Russian river crossing in the Donbas region on Friday.
The eastern Ukrainian territory, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, has been a central focus of the war.
Airstrikes hit military infrastructure in Lviv: Ukrainian official
Four missile strikes hit a military infrastructure in Lviv, western Ukraine, said the head of the regional military administration Maxim Kozytsky.
“The object is completely destroyed,” Kozitsky said in a post on the messaging app Telegram.
The Interfax news agency quoted another Ukrainian official as saying that six explosions were heard.
A Ukrainian regional air force said the missiles had been fired at the Lviv region from the Black Sea early Sunday morning.
Lviv, near the Polish border, has been spared most of the heavy fighting reported over Ukraine, although the western city has occasionally been hit by Russian strikes.
Germany wants to accelerate Finland, Sweden NATO membership
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Berlin had prepared for a rapid ratification process if Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO.
The ratification period can usually take as long as one year.
Baerbock said that NATO’s top diplomats agreed that the process should be accelerated to avoid a gray area between the time of application and admission, during which the Nordic countries will not yet be protected by NATO’s collective defense rule.
“If they decide to join, they can join quickly … We must ensure that we will give them security guarantees; there must not be a transition period, a gray area, where their status is unclear,” she told reporters. on the second day of talks with her NATO counterparts in Berlin.
NATO Deputy Chief “safe” consensus to be reached on Finland’s and Sweden’s entry
Mircea Geoana, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, said he was confident that the alliance could accept Sweden’s and Finland’s membership offer if they decided to join.
Sweden’s government party was expected to announce its position on the country’s potential NATO membership this weekend. The Finnish government was also expected to officially announce its intention to join NATO on Sunday.
Turkey, a NATO member, has objected to Finland’s and Sweden’s bids, saying they support “terrorist organizations” such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, both of which are banned in Turkey.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he was ready to discuss the issue with both countries and other NATO nations.
“Turkey is an important ally and expressed concern raised between friends and allies,” Geoana told reporters.
“I am convinced that if these countries decide to apply for NATO membership, we will be able to welcome them to find all the conditions for consensus to be met,” Geoana said.
Geoana spoke to reporters in Berlin ahead of an informal meeting with the alliance’s top diplomats. He also congratulated Kyiv on Ukraine’s victory in Eurovision and said that it showed great support from the public in Europe.
“I would like to congratulate Ukraine on winning the Eurovision Song Contest and this is not something I do lightly because yesterday we saw the huge public support across Europe and Australia for Ukraine’s courage,” he said.
Sweden’s governing party will decide on NATO accession
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats are expected to make a decision this Sunday if you are applying for NATO membership.
The Social Democrats have long been opposed to NATO membership, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a debate in Swedish society about possible membership in the alliance.
Neighboring Finland is also considering joining NATO, despite its historic freedom of military alliance. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto informed Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of Helsinki’s intention to join the alliance on Saturday.
While the possible accession of Sweden and Finland has been welcomed by a number of NATO member countries, Turkey has expressed concern about the possible membership of the two countries. Ankara has accused Sweden and Finland of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey and its associated YPG militia in Syria, both of which are banned in Turkey.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy signs decree banning pro-Russian parties
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill passed by the Ukrainian parliament in early May banning parties that support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ban will affect parties that justify or deny Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March, Ukraine suspended operations of nearly a dozen parties alleged to have maintained ties with Moscow.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy celebrates Eurovision victory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid tribute to the Kalush Orchestra after winning the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe!” Said Zelenskyy in a Facebook post.
The Ukrainian rap group Kalush Orchestra won this year’s Eurovision song contest
“Next year, Ukraine will host Eurovision!” Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would do everything in its power to ensure that Eurovision will one day be held in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Mariupol has been one of the hardest hit by the war and has been under Russian siege since the beginning of the invasion. Hundreds of Ukrainian fighter jets are currently detained at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, while Russian forces control most of the rest of the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with US lawmakers on Saturday
Summary of events in the Ukraine-Russia crisis on Saturday
Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with the Ukrainian-language folk song “Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to a delegation of US senators, urging them to recognize Russia as a “terrorist state”.
Foreign ministers in the group of seven (G7) leading economies called on Russia to end a blockade of Ukrainian grain exports and warned of a global food and energy crisis threatening developing countries.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev rejected the G7’s demand that the integrity of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders be maintained.
Finland’s ruling Social Democrats gave their support to join the NATO alliance. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the country’s plans to join NATO, calling the discussion “direct and uncomplicated”.
The Ukrainian military said Russian troops had withdrawn from Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, after weeks of heavy fighting.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Viktor Andrusiv said on Ukrainian television that Russia’s invasion is entering its “third phase”, indicating that Moscow is planning a “long war”.
According to Andrusiv, Moscow is preparing a defense of territories in the eastern and southern parts of the country that are under its control and plans to use a protracted war to bring Western countries to the negotiating table and pressure Kyiv to grant concessions.
fb, sdi / sri (AP, AFP, dpa. Reuters)