NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine can win its war against Russia, as long as its allies provide it with “strong and continuous support. “
On the eve of a meeting with foreign ministers in Prague, Stoltenberg added that “the time has come” for NATO countries to “consider some of the weapons restrictions” imposed on Ukraine.
The secretary-general also called on the West to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons against Russia’s goals this week.
Last month, it said its allies were engaged in offering Kyiv 100 billion euros ($85 billion) over the next five years.
France and Germany said they supported Ukraine in its measures on military targets in Russia, but the Italian Foreign Minister ruled out this option later that day (see 8:50 a. m. message). m. ).
Some Western allies have refused to allow Ukraine to use the munitions it has on Russian territory, fearing an escalation of the conflict.
Lord Cameron said earlier this month that Kyiv could simply use British weapons against targets in Russia, in what the Kremlin has called a “direct escalation”.
This morning, Russia said it hoped nuclear deterrence would “make sense” to the West after Belgium promised to send 30 F-16 fighter jets to kyiv over the next 4 years (see 7-hour article).
Robert Woodland, a U. S. citizen arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in Russia, gave that impression today in a Moscow court.
Standing in front of a glass window just five months after his arrest and with a shaved head, Woodland was in court for a hearing.
Woodland was arrested in January, but it’s unclear why he was in Russia at the time.
Russian media reported earlier this year that his call matched that of a man interviewed by Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2020.
The man said in the interview that he was born in the Perm region of the Ural Mountains in 1991 and came to Russia to reunite with his mother.
Russia has accused the United States, NATO and others of escalating tensions with Ukraine and fueling a “senseless war. “
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the West had “engaged in a new escalation in recent days and weeks. “
He added: “They are doing this deliberately. We heard a lot of bellicose statements. . . They are encouraging Ukraine by every conceivable means to continue this senseless war.
“All of this will inevitably have obvious consequences and, in the end, will be very negative for the interests of the countries that have followed the path of escalation. “
Meanwhile, NATO foreign ministers will meet in Prague, under pressure to allow Ukraine to reach targets inside Russia (see 12:10 post).
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, NATO countries have provided millions of dollars worth of military aid to Kyiv, but with strict situations on how it will be used.
Volodymyr Zelensky said it was “unfair” that Ukraine simply did not attack Russia’s hinterland despite receiving long-range missiles from the West.
Russian missiles hit the village of Mala Danylivka today, leaving many ruins.
The city, located just outside Kharkiv, was part of the Russian offensive in the northeast launched this month.
NATO foreign ministers will meet in Prague later in the day, amid growing calls to allow Ukraine to use weapons on Russian territory.
The officials will meet for two days ahead of the NATO summit in July, where a new package for Ukraine is expected to be announced.
Kyiv has urged its Western backers, especially the United States, to allow it to use long-range missiles to hit Russian targets.
France and Germany said they are assisting Ukraine in its efforts to achieve military targets in Russia, but the Italian Foreign Minister ruled out this possibility.
In an interview earlier in the day, Antonio Tajani said that “all weapons coming from Italy will be used in Ukraine” (see the 8:50 a. m. post). m. ).
Ukraine introduced a primary attack on a Russian naval base in occupied Crimea early this morning.
Today at one o’clock in the morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit targets near the Kerch bridge with precision-guided missiles.
A Russian Mangust patrol boat was destroyed in the attack, a Ukrainian military source told Sky News.
The source also showed that Western-supplied weapons were used, adding that they “proved to be incredibly effective against this target of the Russian military despite high concentrations of Russian air defense systems. “
Nikolai Lukashenko, head of Russia-based shipping in Crimea, claimed on Telegram that Ukraine’s overnight attack had two ferries.
The Kerch Bridge, which links Russia and Crimea across the Kerch Strait, is used through Moscow as a logistical platform to resupply its forces. It was built in 2018 after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea four years earlier.
Ukraine has introduced regular attacks on the crossing since the start of the war: in July last year, Kyiv attacked it with two suicide maritime drones, damaging a section of the road bridge.
The explosions killed two civilians and injured one. Ukraine later admitted to launching the attack.
Our military analyst, Sean Bell, answered a reader’s question earlier this month about why Ukraine can’t destroy the bridge; Click here to read more.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said that even if Russian forces were to gather near Kharkiv Oblast, they would be “insufficient” to “break through” Kyiv’s defenses.
Oleksandr Syrskyi notes on Telegram that Russia continues to send more regiments and brigades to its forces on two main lines of attack north of the Kharkiv region.
However, he said, “these forces are ultimately not sufficient for a large-scale offensive and for our defense. “
He added that Ukraine is strengthening its defensive lines and today has already repelled an attack near Starytsia.
As a reminder: the northeastern region of Kharkiv was a battleground in the middle of this month when Moscow’s forces introduced a wonderful cross-border incursion after weeks of speculation.
It opened a second front, parallel to the existing eastern front, and Russia reinforced its forces around the Kharkiv region in May, expanding Ukrainian defenses in an effort to capture the cities of Vovchansk and Lyptsi.
Russia deserves a “demonstrative” nuclear explosion to prevent the West from allowing Ukraine to use weapons on its territory, a Putin-backed think tank has suggested.
The suggestion came from Dmitry Suslov, a senior official at the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
Writing in the economic magazine Provil, he said: “To test the seriousness of Russia’s intentions and to convince our warring parties of Moscow’s willingness to escalate the situation, a demonstrative nuclear explosion is worthwhile.
“The political and mental effect of a mushroom cloud, which will be broadcast live on all the world’s television channels, will remind Western politicians of what has prevented the wars between the wonderful powers since 1945 and which they have now largely avoided. Concern about nuclear war.
Vladimir Putin has already praised the Foreign and Defense Policy Council and participated in the political debates that took place through the tank.
Germany has conducted its largest military exercise in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War.
Exercise Grand Quadriga 2024, a large-scale joint exercise with the German, Lithuanian and Dutch armies, as well as the Franco-German brigade, ended yesterday.
He took up a position in Lithuania, which borders Belarus and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.
Gen. Valdemaras Rupsys: “This is the first time since the end of the Cold War that Germany has carried out such a large-scale divisional deployment on NATO’s eastern flank, Lithuania. “
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ukraine deserves to be allowed to use Western weapons to attack Russia’s internal territory.
The Italian Foreign Minister said that the weapons he sends to Ukraine will not be able to be used on Russian territory.
Unlike France and Germany, which said Kyiv deserves to be allowed to attack Russia with Western-supplied weapons in certain cases, Antonio Tajani also said Italy would never send troops to Ukraine.
“All weapons coming from Italy will have to be used in Ukraine,” he told Italian broadcaster RAI today.
To put it in context: Italian Ukraine has so far refused to let Kiev use Western-supplied weapons to attack Russia.
On Monday, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini strongly rejected calls by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to impose arms restrictions.
Matteo Salvini said at the time: “NATO cannot force us to kill in Russia, nor can it force us to send Italian infantrymen to fight or die in Ukraine.
“If they’re going to come and fight in Ukraine, let Stoltenberg, Emmanuel Macron and all the bombers who make war come. “