Finland’s leadership on Thursday announced support for accelerated NATO membership despite dire warnings from the Kremlin of “retaliation measures”.
The decision by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin is strongly supported by lawmakers and citizens of Finland, although there are still a few steps left before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on NATO membership in the coming days.
“NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” the leaders said in a joint statement. “As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.”
They said they expect the application to be filed in the next few days. Finnish European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurinen said Finland’s parliament will vote on the matter early next week. Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia.
“We want to defend our freedom and our equality,” said Tuppurainen. “It’s not just about territories and borders. This war is also about values and ideology.”
Russia would view the move as a violation of international legal obligations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Russia will be forced to take retaliatory measures, both of a military and other nature, in order to reduce the threats that arise to its national security in this regard,” the ministry said in a statement.
Weapons, bomb shelters and anti-radiation drugs: More people in Finland prepare for war with Russia
USA TODAY ON TELEGRAM:Join our Russia-Ukraine war channel to get the latest updates straight to your inbox
Latest developments:
►Up to 12 Russian missiles hit an oil refinery and other infrastructure on Thursday in the Ukrainian industrial center of Kremenchuk, the acting governor said. Dmytro Lunin urged residents to remain in underground shelters, citing the “persistent” threat of airstrikes.
►About 3,000 civilians from Mariupol are being held in prisons controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Donetsk, Ukraine’s human rights chief said. Lyudmyla Denysova said authorities are aware of at least two actual arrests.
►Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said the increased supply of NATO weapons and the training of troops from Ukraine increase the “risk of such a conflict escalating into a full-scale nuclear war, a scenario which will be catastrophic for everyone”.
►Russian forces and affiliated armed groups are responsible for the majority of civilian deaths during the war in Ukraine, said Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Bachelet said the bodies of more than 1,000 civilians were found north of Kiev after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area.
►A Ukrainian human rights activist says LGBTQ people in her country are “on the front lines of resistance” against the Russian invasion and many have joined the Ukrainian army. Olena Shevchenko told a European forum via a video link that Ukraine’s LGBTQ support groups have also banded together to offer humanitarian assistance.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine ‘won’t save Putin’ by giving up territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is open to talking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to find a way to end the war, but he is not willing to give up territory – not even Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. .
“Crimea has always had its autonomy, it has its parliament, but within Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told Italian state TV RAI in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday night. He said Ukraine will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
Asked about a comment by French President Emmanuel Macron warning against humiliating Putin, for whom the war is not going as well as expected, Zelenskyy pointed out that it was the Russians who invaded, and Ukraine wants them out.
“We are not going to save Putin’s face by paying with our territory,” Zelenskyy said. “That would be unfair.”
Anti-Corruption Foundation Navalny praises seizure of alleged Putin mega-yacht
Arrested Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation on Thursday welcomed Italy’s seizure of the $700 million megayacht Scheherazade, saying it would deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin and his alleged lover Alina Kabaeva of one of its biggest advantages.
“In March, we launched an investigation where we proved that Scheherazade belonged to Putin, and since then we have pursued his arrest. So now we can celebrate the victory,” said an email sent to supporters by the foundation. “Thanks to you, Putin and Kabaeva will no longer use the gold-plated jacuzzi and spa.”
The foundation is raising money for Navalny’s release. He is serving two and a half years in a penal colony east of Moscow following his arrest in early 2021 and was sentenced to an additional nine years in a maximum-security prison in March, in a trial that Kremlin critics see as an attempt. to keep Putin’s most ardent opponent. incarcerated as long as possible.
Italian authorities seized the Scheherazade on Friday night as it appeared to be preparing to leave the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara, where it was undergoing maintenance work.
The vessel is detained awaiting a decision from the European Union regarding its latest package of sanctions against Russia, the Italian government said in a statement, adding that an investigation found the yacht was linked to “prominent elements of the Russian government” and others. subject to EU sanctions.
–Josh Meyer
More:Silenced by Poison, Bullets, Prison: Navalny, Nemtsov and More Putin Critics
EU unveils plans to allow Ukraine to export agricultural products
The European Commission on Thursday unveiled plans to establish “solidarity routes” to help Ukraine export its agricultural products and import goods and humanitarian aid. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports has bottled Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products in the country, threatening global food security. EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean said 20 million tonnes of grain are expected to leave Ukraine in less than three months using EU infrastructure.
“This is a huge challenge,” she said, adding that it was essential to coordinate supply chains, establish new routes and “avoid bottlenecks as much as possible.”
Ukraine and Russia supply around 30% of the world’s wheat and barley, a fifth of its corn and more than half of its sunflower oil.
Parts of Africa, the Near East and Central Asia have been hardest hit by price shocks, the UN said. In Somalia, many farmers rely on irrigation powered by diesel engines. High fuel prices combined with drought have experts worried about hunger.
US Ambassador Hearing:Biden’s ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink calls the challenges ‘enormous’
Putin Blames World Hunger Problems on West’s Quest for ‘Global Domination’
The West is to blame for the rapid rise in food, fuel and fertilizer prices sweeping the world, leaving some of the world’s poorest countries vulnerable to food insecurity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. Putin, speaking at a meeting on economic issues, said sanctions imposed on Russia would have consequences elsewhere that would be difficult to reverse.
“The blame for this lies entirely and completely with the elites of Western countries, who in order to preserve their global domination are ready to sacrifice the rest of the world,” Putin said. He said Russia was doing well, with domestic companies supplying goods lost due to sanctions “after unscrupulous partners left”.
War explained:Evacuations, Accusations and Denials: Key Events in Russia’s War on Ukraine in 5 Charts
Ukraine frees cities near Kharkiv
Ukrainian counterattacks have recaptured several towns and villages north of Kharkiv towards the Russian border, the British Defense Ministry said in an assessment on Thursday. The prioritization of Russia’s operations in the eastern Donbas region left elements deployed around Kharkiv vulnerable to the mobile Ukrainian counterattack force and “highly motivated”, the assessment says. Russia besieged Kharkiv in the early stages of the conflict, but reportedly withdrew units from the region to reorganize and resupply elsewhere after heavy losses, the assessment adds.
“The withdrawal of Russian forces from Kharkiv Oblast is a tacit acknowledgment of Russia’s inability to capture key Ukrainian cities where they expected limited population resistance,” the assessment reads.
Russia still wants to take Kiev, Ukrainian general warns
Russia still has plans to take control of Ukraine’s capital, a Ukrainian general said. Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov said at a briefing that Russian troops will attempt to invade Kiev and have plans to take control of southern Mykolaiv and Odesa to build a land corridor to Moldova, home to the breakaway region of Transnistria.
Hromov also said that Russia will try to hold mock elections in captured Ukrainian territories to annex them. Russian-appointed officials have already announced plans to seek annexation of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to capture the capital in the early days of the invasion, but Russian troops have since refocused on the disputed eastern region of Donbass.
Contributing:Deirdre Shesgreen and Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
