The annual NATO summit opens this Tuesday, July 11 in Vilnius, Lithuania, with good news for Sweden: Turkey has finally released its membership in the Alliance. Westerners can thus show their unity at the start of their meeting, centered on support for Ukraine, nearly 18 months after the start of the Russian offensive.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, re-elected at the end of May for five years, has agreed to send Sweden’s accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible”, rejoiced NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, since Vilnius, Lithuania. “Finalizing Sweden’s membership in NATO is a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer,” he said. he throws.
Ankara had been blocking the integration of Sweden since May 2022, asking for compensation, in particular on the file of Kurdish militants. Hungary too has yet to approve membership, but its Prime Minister Viktor Orban has pledged not to be the last to make the move, hinting he could act quickly.
Drone attack in Kyiv
Russia carried out a night drone strike on kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday before the opening of the NATO summit. “The enemy attacked Kyiv from the air for the second time this month,” Kyiv’s military administration said on its Telegram account, noting that the attack caused minor damage.
The action was carried out with Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from the south, she added, likely from Russia’s Krasnodar region. “All detected air targets moving in the direction of Kiev were destroyed by the forces and means of our air defense,” said the same source without specifying the number of downed drones. For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior indicated that drone debris had been located in the kyiv region. “Windows and outbuildings of particular residences were damaged,” the source added.
Ukraine asks for “a clear signal” on NATO membership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday asked for a “clear signal” from Westerners about his country’s prospects for NATO membership, on the eve of an important Alliance summit in Vilnius. “Ukraine deserves to be part of the Alliance. Not now because now is war, but we need a clear signal and this signal is needed now,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video message. daily on Telegram.
The annual NATO summit opened on July 11 in Lithuania. If Ukraine, like the head of NATO, agrees that membership cannot take place in time of war, Volodymyr Zelensky hopes for a more precise timetable. He believes that being part of the Alliance will deter Moscow from launching new offensives in the future. But the organization has so far refused to give a more precise date for a possible membership.
Seven dead in Ukraine in a Russian strike on a humanitarian center
Seven people were killed in a Russian strike on a humanitarian aid distribution center in Orikhiv, central Ukraine, according to a new report given Monday by the emergency services. “Rescuers dug the bodies of three people without signs of life from the rubble. The death toll has risen to seven people,” the Ukrainian Emergency Service announced on Telegram.
The strike took place around 1:20 p.m. Sunday. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, the strike targeted the center “at a time when civilians were receiving humanitarian aid”. 13 people were injured in the shelling, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general.
Ukraine says it regained ground in Bakhmout
Ukraine claimed on Monday that it had captured key high positions around Bakhmout, in the east of the country, allowing it to threaten Russian troops in the city as Kiev continues its counter-offensive in difficult conditions. “Our troops have taken control of key heights around Bakhmout,” Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on Telegram, adding that this has allowed Ukrainian soldiers to control for several days “entries, exits and movements of the enemy in the city”.
More broadly, the Ukrainian army took back from Russian forces 14 square kilometers in the east and south of the country last week as part of its counter-offensive, said Monday one of its spokespersons, Andriï Kovaliov. “More than 10 km2 of Ukrainian land was liberated in southern Ukraine last week,” he told Ukrainian television, adding that 4 km2 were also liberated “in the Bakhmout sector”, in the East. These figures bring to 193 km2 the total area taken over by Ukraine since the launch of its counter-offensive in early June.
Putin met Prigozhin on June 29, after Wagner’s rebellion
Vladimir Putin met Yevgueni Prigojine, leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, the Russian presidency announced on Monday. The two men spoke in the Kremlin on June 29, days after Wagner’s failed rebellion. The meeting involved 35 people, including “all commanders and leaders” of Wagner’s organization,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“The president gave his assessment of the activities” of Wagner on the Ukrainian front, he continued, as well as “his assessment of the events of June 24”, the date of the Wagner rebellion. Vladimir Putin “listened to the explanations of the commanders (of Wagner) and offered them alternative (solutions) for their future work and employment for military purposes.” Dmitri Peskov also indicated that Wagner’s commanders had delivered “their version of the facts” and that they were ready to “continue to fight for the fatherland”.
Russian Chief of Staff reappears for first time after Wagner Rebellion
Untraceable since the abortive rebellion of Wagner, which targeted him personally, the chief of the Russian general staff Valéri Guérassimov reappeared for the first time in public. A video released Monday by the Ministry of Defense shows him chairing a meeting. During it, he is informed of an attempted strike in Russia by the Ukrainian army. He claims that three Ukrainian S-200 missiles were shot down by air defense. “No casualties, no damage,” he said.
Along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, General Gerasimov was the direct target of the revolt organized from June 23 to 24 by Wagner’s boss, Evgueni Prigojine. Since the failure of this mutiny, rumors, unconfirmed, report reshuffles within the military command.