Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guest of honor at this year’s Bastille Day celebration Friday in Paris.

Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron will watch the spectacle together as French and Indian soldiers march down the Champs Elysee.

French-manufactured Rafale fighter jets that India purchased a few years ago will also participate in a flyover of the Arc de Triomphe.

Modi’s guest of honor status in the annual event marking France’s national holiday comes after India’s recent approval to purchase 26 Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines from France for India’s military.

Macron said Thursday at a dinner for Modi held at the Elysee Palace that India is “a giant in the history of the world that will have a determining role in our future” and “is also a strategic partner and friend.”

Meanwhile, also on Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for “human rights to be integrated into all areas of the EU-India partnership, including in trade.” The resolution called on member states “to systematically and publicly raise human rights concerns” at the highest level.

In addition, an assortment of personalities urged Macron, in a commentary in Le Monde, not to forget Modi’s dismal human rights record and to “encourage Prime Minister Modi to end repression of the civil society, assure freedom of major media (outlets) and protect religious liberty.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

Major General Ivan Popov, the commander of the 58th army in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is a focal point in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, said in an audio statement to his troops released Wednesday night that he was dismissed after a meeting with the military brass in what he described as a treacherous stab in the back to Russian forces in Ukraine. 

Popov said the military leadership was angered by his frank talk about challenges faced by his forces, particularly the shortage of radars tracking enemy artillery, which resulted in massive Russian casualties. 

“The top officers apparently saw me as a source of threat and rapidly issued an order to get rid of me, which was signed by the defense minister in just one day,” he said. “The Ukrainian military has failed to break through our army’s defenses, but the top commander hit us in the rear, treacherously and cowardly beheading the army at this most difficult moment.” 

Popov, who uses the call name “Spartacus,” addressed his troops as “my gladiators” in the audio message released by retired Gen. Andrei Gurulev, who commanded the 58th army in the past and currently serves as a lawmaker. The 58th army consists of several divisions and smaller units. 

The 48-year-old Popov, who has risen from platoon commander to lead a large group of forces, has encouraged his soldiers to come directly to him with any problems — an easygoing approach that contrasted sharply with the stiff formal style of command common in the Russian military. Russian military bloggers say he’s widely known for avoiding unnecessary losses — unlike many other commanders who were eager to sacrifice their soldiers to report successes. 

“I faced a difficult situation with the top leadership when I had to either keep silent and act like a coward, saying what they wanted to hear, or call things by their names,” Popov said. “I didn’t have the right to lie for the sake of you and our fallen comrades.” 

Many military bloggers argued that Popov’s dismissal eroded troop morale at a time of relentless Ukrainian attacks. One blogger, Vladislav Shurygin, said it has dealt a “terrible blow to the entire army,” while another, Roman Saponkov, described it as a “monstrous terror attack against the army’s morale.” 

In a sign that many in Russian officialdom share Popov’s criticism of the military leadership, Andrei Turchak, the first deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament and head of the main Kremlin party United Russia, strongly backed the general, saying that “the Motherland can be proud of such commanders.” 

Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who heads the defense affairs committee in the lower house, also said the Defense Ministry should deal with the issues raised by Popov. 

News of Popov’s dismissal added to the blow that Russian troops received when another senior officer, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, was killed Tuesday by a Ukrainian missile strike. 

Popov’s remarks about the need to rotate his exhausted troops that have been fighting the Ukrainian counteroffensive since early June, reportedly angered General Staff chief General Valery Gerasimov, who shrugged them off as panicky and promptly ordered his dismissal. 

Gerasimov was shown meeting with military officers Monday in a video released by the Defense Ministry, the first time he was seen since last month’s abortive rebellion by Prigozhin, who had demanded his ouster. 

Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov noted that Popov’s statement echoed criticism of the top brass by Prigozhin. However, he added that the general’s statement wasn’t a rebellion, but instead a call for intervention by President Vladimir Putin. 

“Such public disputes at the top of the Russian army isn’t a show of force,” he said. 
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Latest developments: 

Ukraine’s military cites some success in fighting along the front lines to the south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells reporters at recent NATO summit that Ukraine needs long-range weapons.  

 

Russian attacks killed at least three Ukrainian civilians and wounded another 38 in the last day, Ukraine’s presidential office reported Thursday.

The government in Kyiv said Russian forces targeted 13 cities and villages under Russian control in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region with air attacks, missiles and heavy artillery. 

In the Zaporizhzhia region, also partly Russian occupied, Ukraine said 21 people were injured by drone debris on Wednesday and that fires broke out in Kherson after Russian shelling.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said their air defenses shot down 20 Iranian-made drones fired by Russia that targeted the Kyiv region. But they said wreckage from the drones fell on four districts of the capital early Thursday, hospitalizing two people with shrapnel wounds and destroying several homes.

The interior ministry said firefighters extinguished a blaze in a 16-story apartment building and another fire in a non-residential building. Debris also smashed into the front of a 25-story apartment building.

The latest wave was the third consecutive night in which the drones were used in attacks on Kyiv.

Elsewhere, Ukraine said one of its missile strikes killed a senior Russian officer, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, who was leading Moscow’s forces against Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said Tsokov was killed when the Ukrainian military struck the city of Berdyansk on Tuesday with British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Russia’s defense ministry has not confirmed Tsokov’s death.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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U.S. President Joe Biden is in Helsinki to meet Thursday with leaders from Nordic countries and praise Finland’s NATO accession. 

Biden’s schedule includes a separate meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto before the larger gathering that includes Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir. 

The agenda for the U.S.-Nordic summit is expected to include discussion of climate change, security cooperation and emerging technologies. 

Finland and Sweden sought NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. 

The alliance admitted Finland in April, but Sweden’s bid was held up by Turkey amid Turkish complaints that Sweden was being too lenient toward groups that Ankara considers terrorist organizations. 

After multiple rounds of talks and Swedish enactment of reforms that include a new counterterrorism law, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week he would drop his opposition and move to recommend Turkish lawmakers give their approval for Sweden to join NATO. 

The other participants in Thursday’s talks are all NATO members. 

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposal aimed at satisfying a Russian demand that threatens to shut down the key Black Sea Grain Initiative.

“The secretary-general remains engaged with all relevant parties on this issue and expresses his willingness to further engage on his proposal with the Russian Federation,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday.

Dujarric declined to go into details about the proposal, saying “we are in very delicate times.” 

The initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain from ports Russia blocked during its invasion of Ukraine last year, is due for renewal by July 18. Moscow has said repeatedly during the lead-up to previous extension deadlines that it is not benefiting enough under the initiative and has sent similar signals recently.

A parallel memorandum of understanding between Moscow and the United Nations has sought to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer. While food and fertilizer are not sanctioned by the West, efforts have been made to ease concerns of anxious banks, insurers, shippers and other private sector actors about doing business with Russia. 

One of Russia’s main demands has been for its agriculture bank to be reinstated in the international Swift system of financial transactions.

U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has led the U.N. negotiations with Moscow on the memorandum of understanding, told reporters Wednesday that the U.N. has been able to secure “alternatives” to Swift within the Western sanctions framework, to help the Russian Agriculture Bank expedite its work.

“But it’s true that this is one of the challenges that has not yet fully happened,” she said. “We have not fully found the solution for the Russian Agriculture Bank.”

But she said the U.N.’s proposal could be of significant help for what the bank wants to achieve. She emphasized that it would apply only to food and fertilizer and not to the Russian Agriculture Bank’s other operations.

Since the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, nearly 33 million metric tons of grain and other food stuffs have been exported to global markets, helping to calm food prices, which spiked at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Experts say food prices would certainly spike again if Moscow does not renew the deal.

“How much will be the duration of that spike will depend a lot on how markets will respond to that,” Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told reporters.

His remarks came at the launch of a global food security report, which found that between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, an increase of 122 million people compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. 
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday defended the Biden administration’s decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions, weapons banned by more than 120 countries for their indiscriminate killing capability, saying it will help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression.

“It’s very simple to criticize cluster munitions,” Zelenskyy said to reporters during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. “This decision will help us save us,” he added.

Washington’s decision has created discomfort among some NATO allies, many of whom are signatories of the convention that bans the weapons.

The Ukrainian leader noted that Moscow employs cluster munitions in the battlefield. “I didn’t hear some of you countries criticize Russia,” he said.

Biden and Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the alliance’s summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on Wednesday, where NATO leaders closed their two-day gathering with renewed support for Kyiv to join the alliance but stopped short of any specific commitments or timeline that Zelenskyy has sought.

“Today, we meet as equals. I look forward to the day we meet as allies,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

In its written declaration Tuesday, leaders said they “will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree, and conditions are met.”

Kyiv’s NATO membership in the middle of Russia’s invasion would require allies to apply the principle of “an attack on one is an attack on all” enshrined in the bloc’s Article 5 – putting members in direct conflict with Moscow.

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg dismissed new Russian threats on the consequences of supporting Ukraine.

“Of course, guarantees, documents, council meetings are important, but the most urgent task now is to ensure enough weapons for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his armed forces,” Stoltenberg said.

The Kremlin swiftly hit back. “It is more important for the West to kill than to protect,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova via Telegram.

While not extending a fast track to membership, NATO is dropping its requirement for Ukraine to fulfill its so-called Membership Action Plan, a list of political, economic and military goals it must meet before joining the alliance.

A day after blasting NATO’s lack of a clear timetable as “absurd,” Zelenskyy appeared more conciliatory and acknowledged concerns that allies do not want to be dragged into direct conflict with Moscow.

“Even during the full-scale war against Russia, Ukraine continues to conduct reform,” he said. “Therefore, we highly appreciate the recognition that Ukraine will not need an action plan on its way to NATO.”

Wednesday’s agenda also features the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a newly established decision-making body that carries more authority than the previous NATO-Ukraine Commission, which was a consultation-only platform.

G7 declaration on Ukraine

Alongside Zelenskyy, leaders of the Group of Seven wealthiest democracies announced a new framework to provide long-term security and economic support for Ukraine through separate bilateral negotiations.

“Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion are unacceptable anywhere in the world,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who in May hosted a forum to support Ukraine at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

Calling the framework “a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine,” Biden said G7 allies will “help Ukraine build a strong capable defense across land, air, and sea” to become a “force of stability in the region to deter against any and all threats.”

In a briefing to reporters, National Security Council Senior Director for Europe Amanda Sloat said the multilateral declaration will “send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side.”

Biden’s final item before leaving Vilnius is an address “highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values and taking action to address global challenges,” the White House said.

Immediately after his remarks Wednesday evening, Biden is scheduled to depart for Helsinki to meet with leaders of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Now that Sweden will be joining NATO, all five Nordic countries are part of the military alliance.

Misha Komadovsky contributed to this report.

 
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A Romanian man who was part of an international human smuggling ring was sentenced Tuesday to more than 12 years in prison for the deaths of 39 migrants from Vietnam who suffocated in a truck trailer on their way to England in 2019. 

Marius Mihai Draghici was the ringleader’s right-hand man and an “essential cog” in an operation that made huge profits exploiting people desperate to get to the U.K., Justice Neil Garnham said in Central Criminal Court known as the Old Bailey. 

Victims, who paid about 13,000 pounds ($16,770) for so-called VIP service, died after trying in vain to punch a hole in the container with a metal pole as the temperature inside exceeded 100 degrees F (38.5 C). Their desperation as they struggled to breathe was captured in messages they tried to send loved ones and and recordings that showed “a growing recognition they were going to die there,” Garnham said. 

There was no escape and no one could hear their cries, prosecutors said. 

Their final hours “must have entailed unimaginable suffering and anguish,” Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said Tuesday. 

A young mother wrote a message to loved ones that was never sent: “Maybe going to die in the container. Cannot breathe any more.” 

The 28 men, eight women, and three children ranged in age from 15 to 44 and about half hailed from the Nghe An province in north central Vietnam. The victims included a bricklayer, a restaurant worker, a manicure technician, an aspiring beautician and a college graduate. 

A married couple, Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van, were found lying side by side Oct. 23, 2019, in the container that had been shipped by ferry from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Purfleet, England. 

Defendant ‘shocked and horrified’

Draghici, 50, pleaded guilty last month to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. 

He’s the fifth man to be sentenced in the case in the U.K. Four other gang members were imprisoned in 2021 for terms ranging from 13 to 27 years for manslaughter. The stiffest sentence went to ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 46. 

Another 18 people were convicted in Belgium, where the Vietnamese ringleader was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Others got one to 10-year term terms. 

Draghici was “shocked and horrified with what occurred” defense lawyer Gillian Jones said in court. 

But he, like the others involved in the conspiracy, had “immediately abandoned the plan and melted away in the night,” after another man opened the truck container and discovered the dead bodies, Emlyn Jones said. 

Draghici and Nica both fled to Romania, where Draghici was later arrested. 

Social media broke news to families

Family members of the victims who had gone into debt to fund the travel said they were crushed by the loss. 

The parents of Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, who was on his way to live with his parents in the U.K. and wanted to be a hairdresser, were shocked after learning of the tragedy on social media. 

“We did not believe it was the truth until we saw his body with our own eyes,” his father said. “We felt numb and that feeling lasted for many weeks later.” 
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Russia has vetoed the continuation of a U.N. aid operation that is a lifeline to more than four million Syrians living in areas outside of government control and signaled its readiness on Tuesday to completely shutter the nine-year-old aid operation.

“Now Moscow must answer to the international community — and you have to answer to the Syrian people,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after Russia voted against a nine-month extension of the authorization that lets humanitarian aid flow from Turkey into northwest Syria, reaching 2.7 million people each month.

Brazil and Switzerland, which oversee the Syria humanitarian file on the 15-member council, had initially sought a one-year extension of the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. But once it became clear during negotiations that Russia would not go along with it, they sought nine months as a compromise. Some other Russian concerns were also addressed in the compromise text, which received 13 votes in favor. China abstained.

Over the last few years, Russia, with Syrian government backing, has forced the Security Council to shrink the cross-border aid operation and has threatened to totally close it down. Since 2021, Moscow has only agreed to 6-month renewals, instead of the year-long ones the council had approved since the operation was established in 2014, and which humanitarian groups have requested. Moscow and Damascus have also pushed for aid deliveries across conflict front lines from within the country, rather than from outside.

“The cross-border mechanism is an obvious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, which because of circumstances was possible 5 to 7 years ago, but looks completely anachronistic today,” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council.

After casting its veto, Russia put forward its own draft resolution, which offered only a six-month renewal. Humanitarians have repeatedly said this is insufficient for planning and efficiency. It would also mean the operation would come up for renewal again in early January — in the dead of winter.

Nebenzia said the choice was clear: “But let me state already here, if our draft is not supported, then we can just go ahead and close down the cross-border mechanism.”

He added that Moscow is not open to any kind of technical rollover, which is often used for a short amount of time to continue a mission while outstanding issues are worked out.

Tuesday’s votes took place after the mission’s authorization expired at midnight Monday, because the ongoing negotiations delayed plans for an earlier vote.

“Where we are right now is that trucks are not crossing the border at Bab al-Hawa,” Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield told reporters after the votes. “They have been stopped. So needed humanitarian assistance is not getting to the people.”

Following devastating earthquakes in February, the Syrian government did authorize the use of two other crossing points from Turkey. Those are available until August 13. The Assad government has not said publicly whether it plans to extend their use. But the U.N. says on their own they cannot match Bab al-Hawa, which sees about 85% of aid to northwest Syria transit the crossing.

“Bab al-Hawa remains the center of gravity for the U.N.’s cross-border response,” U.N. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. He added that humanitarians pre-positioned supplies in northwest Syria ahead of the vote in order to meet short-term needs.

In the meantime, the Swiss ambassador said she is not giving up.

“The council has a responsibility in renewing the mandate for cross-border aid and we will keep up our work to find common ground and to ensure that we collectively live up to that responsibility,” Pascale Baeriswyl said.

Under a General Assembly resolution adopted in April 2022, Russia will now have to go before the U.N. membership within the next 10 days to explain its veto.
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The killing of a newly qualified teacher who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a man who had only recently been released from jail shocked Spain. 

But a legal case against a journalist who had covered the subsequent investigation and trial has also sent shock waves through the media community. 

Laura Luelmo, a 26-year-old teacher who had just moved to El Campillo, was killed December 2018 in a village in southern Spain. 

Her death led to questions in the Spanish parliament over the release of convicted killers after it emerged that the suspect, Bernardo Montoya, had served 17 years behind bars for beating an elderly woman to death. 

In 2021, Montoya was found guilty of murder, rape and kidnapping and was jailed for life. He denied any wrongdoing. 

But in the first case of its kind in Spain, a court later handed down a two-year prison sentence to a journalist accused of revealing details from a judicial investigation that had been placed under a secrecy order. 

Judges in the case argued that the journalist, who at the time worked for the regional daily, Huelva Información, reported details that were not in the public interest and had violated the deceased’s right to privacy.

‘Not good for democracy’

The ruling troubles Javier Ronchel, director of Huelva Información.

“We are very worried because this case goes against the fundamental principles of the Spanish constitution, which guarantees the freedom of expression,” he told VOA. 

“It is very dangerous for the profession of journalism. The judges are judging what is news and what is not. This is dangerous. As journalists and professionals, we have this ability to decide what is news,” Ronchel said.

Kathy Kiely, the Lee Hills chair of Free Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism in the U.S., told VOA that this was a classic case of “killing the messenger.”

“We don’t need Spain to be putting a journalist in jail. It is not good for democracy,” she said in a telephone interview.

“Really, what they are doing is punishing a journalist for reporting a terrible crime. The anger should be directed at the person who carried out the crime.  I can understand the family, but the judges should be better than that,” Kiely said.

VOA tried to contact judicial authorities in Huelva and the Spanish Ministry of Justice for comment on the case but did not receive a response to its emails.

Judges covering criminal cases in Spain regularly impose secrecy orders during investigations, but aspects of the case are often leaked to the media. The right to free expression is enshrined in the Spanish constitution and can be used by the media as a defense if challenged. 

Legal right to privacy

In its ruling that was made public last week, the court said the journalist, who requested anonymity, had contravened Luelmo’s right to privacy. Under Spanish law, victims still have a right to privacy even when deceased.

The case against the newspaper was brought by Luelmo’s family as a civil case and the public prosecutor in a rare criminal prosecution. 

Luelmo’s family and the prosecutor argued that the newspaper reported details of injuries and from the post-mortem examination that were not in the public interest.

In the legal judgment, seen by VOA, the family and prosecutor complained about six aspects of the reporting. 

These included reporting on the conflicting versions that Montoya gave to police about the crime, details of injuries, toxicology reports and a CCTV picture of Luelmo before she was kidnapped. 

Three judges ruled that the reports “affected the personal sphere of the deceased and her family, which caused damage without any legitimate interest other than that of offering exclusives and scoops at the expense of illegality.”

The ruling said that for the media to use the defense of freedom of expression, they had to justify that the person concerned was a public figure and merited the attention of media reports.

As part of the sentence, the Huelva Court banned the reporter from working in journalism for two years, fined her $3,510 and ordered her to pay $32,910 in compensation to Luelmo’s parents. Another journalist at Huelva Información was found not guilty. 

The 41-year-old journalist, who has since left the newspaper, told VOA she does not want to be named until the appeals court rules on the case. 

She denies any wrongdoing and is currently free pending appeal. 

She told VOA she didn’t want to comment on the sentence but added via email, ”I have a very clear conscience because I have only done my job, as I always did as a court journalist in my 17 years of experience.” 

In her email, she thanked her colleagues for “the respect and support they have shown me. It’s touching to receive so many expressions of affection.” 

Her case caught the attention of local media association AMI and international watchdog Reporters Without Borders, or RSF.

The AMI, which represents 80 Spanish media outlets, said the ruling was a “serious violation of the right to freedom of information.”

On social media, RSF posted: “Serious! The Huelva Court sentences a journalist to two years for revealing secrets in a summary, something quite common in court journalism.” The watchdog added that it hoped Spain’s Supreme Court would reverse the decision.
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Latest developments:

Ukrainian officials say the country’s forces have recaptured 193 square kilometers of territory since launching a counteroffensive last month.





Poland, which serves as a hub for military aid to Ukraine, says it detained a 15th member of a Russian spy network. Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said the person “kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports.”

 

The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and several Wagner commanders days after Prigozhin led a brief mutiny.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three-hour meeting included Putin giving his assessment “of the events of June 24,” the date of the rebellion, and listening to the commanders giving their account of what happened.

Peskov said the commanders pledged to continue to fight for Russia.

Wagner has taken part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Prigozhin had criticized Russia’s military leadership ahead of the mutiny, in which Wagner forces briefly seized control of the headquarters for Russia’s southern military command.

The rebellion ended with a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, allowing Prigozhin and his fighters to move to Belarus.

The mutiny prompted speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin would reshuffle his military leadership.

Russia’s defense ministry shared a video Monday showing Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the country’s most senior general, in his first public appearance since the mutiny.

The video shows Gerasimov receiving a report and giving directions to Russia’s aerospace forces and the military’s intelligence service.

Gerasimov was one of the main targets of Prigozhin’s criticism, along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Still absent from public view is Gerasimov’s deputy, General Sergei Surovikin, who has longtime links to Prigozhin.

NATO summit

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday his country could support Sweden joining NATO if the European Union opens the way for Turkey’s long-sought accession to the EU.

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members not to give final approval to Sweden’s bid, with Turkey expressing opposition to what it says is a lack of action by Sweden against groups that Turkey considers terrorists.

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,” Erdogan said ahead of the NATO summit this week in Lithuania. “I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years.”

The EU and Turkey launched membership negotiations in 2005. The process has been stalled since 2016 due to concerns about democracy and human rights.

Sweden applied to join NATO along with Finland last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland was admitted in April. Swedish officials say they have lived up to an agreement with Turkey to institute reforms, including enacting a new anti-terror law.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was due to hold talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Monday.

Stoltenberg said leaders at the Vilnius summit this week in Lithuania will agree on a “multi-year package of support” for Ukraine.

This package will help Ukraine rebuild its defense and security sector, so that it can defend against further aggression,” Stoltenberg said in a Foreign Affairs article published Monday. “It will ensure that the Ukrainian armed forces are fully interoperable with NATO forces.”

The NATO chief said the alliance will host the first meeting of a new NATO-Ukraine council that will serve as “a platform for decisions and crisis consultation, where NATO allies and Ukraine will sit as equals to tackle shared security concerns.”

Stoltenberg has reiterated that NATO members agree Ukraine will one day join the alliance, while cautioning that adding Ukraine while Russia’s invasion is ongoing is not on the agenda.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday that if Ukraine were to become a NATO member before the war’s end, it would drag the whole alliance into the conflict against Russia. Biden also said that before Ukraine is considered for NATO membership, it will take time to meet all the qualifications required “from democratization to a whole range of other issues.”

Orikhiv attack

Officials in southern Ukraine said Monday that Russian shelling hit a humanitarian aid hub, killing at least four people and injuring 11 others.

The attack happened in the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Yuriy Malashko, the regional governor, said on Telegram that Russia forces used a guided bomb to strike the site in a residential neighborhood and that all four of those killed died at the scene of the attack.

Russia has been accused of striking numerous civilian targets during its invasion that began in February 2022, while denying it targets civilian sites.

Azov release

Zelenskyy tweeted a note of thanks to Turkey on Monday along with a video from his trip that included bringing home five commanders from Ukraine’s Azov unit who were involved in the defense of the city of Mariupol.

The commanders were taken to Turkey as part of a September prisoner swap and were supposed to stay there until the end of the war under the conditions of the deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement and that Russia was not informed in advance that the commanders would be released back to Ukraine.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Latest developments:

Ukrainian officials say the country's forces have recaptured 193 square kilometers of territory since launching a counteroffensive last month.





Poland, which serves as a hub for military aid to Ukraine, says it detained a 15th member of a Russian spy network. Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said the person "kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports."

 

Officials in southern Ukraine said Monday that Russian shelling hit a humanitarian aid hub, killing at least four people and injuring 11 others.

The attack happened in the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Yuriy Malashko, the regional governor, said on Telegram that Russia forces used a guided bomb to strike the site in a residential neighborhood and that all four of those killed died at the scene of the attack.

Russia has been accused of striking numerous civilian targets during its invasion that began in February 2022, while denying it targets civilian sites.

NATO summit

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said leaders at a summit this week in Lithuania will agree on a “multi-year package of support” for Ukraine.

“This package will help Ukraine rebuild its defense and security sector, so that it can defend against further aggression,” Stoltenberg said in a Foreign Affairs article published Monday. “It will ensure that the Ukrainian armed forces are fully interoperable with NATO forces.”

The NATO chief said the alliance will host the first meeting of a new NATO-Ukraine council that will serve as “a platform for decisions and crisis consultation, where NATO allies and Ukraine will sit as equals to tackle shared security concerns.”

Stoltenberg has reiterated that NATO members agree Ukraine will one day join the alliance, while cautioning that adding Ukraine while Russia’s invasion is ongoing is not on the agenda.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday that if Ukraine were to become a NATO member before the war’s end, it would drag the whole alliance into the conflict against Russia.

The U.S. president also said that before Ukraine is considered for NATO membership, it will take time to meet all the qualifications required “from democratization to a whole range of other issues.” In the meantime, he expressed the U.S. commitment to provide Ukraine “the weaponry they need, the capacity to defend themselves.”

Biden said there is no unanimity in NATO on whether to bring Ukraine into the alliance in the middle of the war, emphasizing that “holding NATO together is really critical.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” that during the summit, he hopes to “do whatever he can to… expedite solutions for an agreement with our partners.”

Cluster bombs

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, both Democrats, expressed concerns Sunday over the White House decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion.

Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode upon contact with the ground then pose a danger for decades. They are banned by more than 100 entities, though not the U.S., Russia and Ukraine.

Kaine, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he had “some real qualms” about the U.S. decision because it could inspire other countries to bypass the international convention barring the munitions.

“It could give a green light to other nations to do something different as well,” Kaine said on “Fox News Sunday.” However, he said that he “appreciates the Biden administration has grappled with the risks.” Kaine also affirmed that Ukraine had given assurances that they were not going to use these munitions against Russian civilians.

Republican U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told “CNN Sunday,” Ukraine’s counteroffensive was going slowly and that cluster bombs could be a “game changer” for the Ukrainians, adding that he’s pleased the administration has finally agreed to do this.”

However, Lee urged the Biden administration to reconsider the move.

“Cluster bombs should never be used. That’s crossing a line,” she told CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding the United States risked losing its “moral leadership” by delivering cluster bombs to Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby defended the U.S. decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, saying Sunday that it will keep the country “in the fight,” as Ukrainian forces are running out of regular artillery ammunition.

Canada, Britain, Spain, Germany and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres all expressed opposition to the U.S. decision.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed the U.S. announcement and promised the cluster munitions would be used only in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and not in Russia.

Moscow described the U.S. decision as another egregious example of Washington’s anti-Russian course.

Wagner mutiny      

Russia’s defense ministry shared a video Monday showing Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the country’s most senior general, in his first public appearance since a brief mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. 

The video shows Gerasimov receiving a report and giving directions to Russia’s aerospace forces and the military’s intelligence service. 

Gerasimov was one of the main targets of criticism, along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led his forces in the takeover of the headquarters of Russia’s southern military command late last month.   

The rebellion prompted speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin would reshuffle his military leadership. 

Still absent from public view is Gerasimov’s deputy, General Sergei Surovikin, who has longtime links to Prigozhin. 

Azov release

Zelenskyy tweeted a note of thanks to Turkey on Monday along with a video from his trip that included bringing home five commanders from Ukraine’s Azov unit who were involved in the defense of the city of Mariupol.

The commanders were taken to Turkey as part of a September prisoner swap and were supposed to stay there until the end of the war under the conditions of the deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement and that Russia was not informed in advance that the commanders would be released back to Ukraine.

VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara, VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information for this article was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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As NATO members prepare for their upcoming summit in Vilnius, the U.S. has again justified its decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. The chances of Kyiv joining NATO anytime soon, however, are almost nil, as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.
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