War in Ukraine: Latest developments

By: 3 years ago

Ukrainian National Guard servicemen and workers walk past the destroyed The Amstor Mall in Kremenchuk, on June 29, 2022, two days after it was hit by a Russian missile strike according to Ukrainian authorities. AFP

KYIV 鈥� Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

聽Nato acts against Russian 鈥榙irect threat鈥�

Nato leaders meeting in Madrid say Russia now poses a 鈥渄irect threat鈥� to the Western alliance and agree to bolster its forces, as its chief Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine can count on support 鈥渁s long as it takes鈥�.

Russia 鈥渋s the most significant and direct threat to allies鈥� security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area鈥�, the 30 allies say in a statement.

The leaders, meeting to agree strategy amid Moscow鈥檚 war in Ukraine, agree to bolster their forces, promising to deploy extra combat-ready troops on the eastern flank.

US President Joe Biden also announces new deployments of US troops, ships and planes.

Nato also invites longstanding non-aligned Nordic countries Sweden and Finland to join the alliance.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomes Nato鈥檚鈥渃lear-eyed stance on Russia, as well as the accession for Finland and Sweden,鈥� on Twitter.

Nato 鈥榙estabilizing鈥� the world: Russia

Moscow says Nato is seeking to contain Russia and that Finland and Sweden鈥檚 Nato bids will have a 鈥渄estabilizing鈥� effect on the world.

鈥淭he summit in Madrid confirms and consolidates this bloc鈥檚 policy of aggressive containment of Russia,鈥� Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov is quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

鈥淲e consider the expansion of the North Atlantic alliance to be a purely destabilizing factor in international affairs,鈥� he adds.

144 Ukrainian soldiers freed鈥揔yiv

Ukraine says that 144 of its soldiers, 95 of whom are former defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port city of Mariupol, have been freed in a prisoner swap with Moscow.

鈥淭his is the largest exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,鈥� the main intelligence directorate of Ukraine鈥檚 defence ministry says on Telegram.

Pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin also says 144 soldiers from Russia and the Donetsk People鈥檚 Republic 鈥� the name of the breakaway region recognized by Moscow 鈥� have 鈥渞eturned home鈥�.

Zelensky wary on G20 summit

Ukraine鈥檚 President Volodymyr Zelensky tells Indonesia鈥檚 President Joko Widodo that he will attend the upcoming G20 summit in Bali depending on who else is attending.

鈥淐ertainly I accept the invitation. Ukraine鈥檚 participation will depend on the security situation in the country and on the composition of the summit鈥檚 participants,鈥� Zelensky says following their talks in Kyiv, in an apparent reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 attendance.

Widodo visited Kyiv before heading to Moscow to meet Putin.

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and has come under Western pressure to exclude Putin from the gathering after announcing in April he had been invited.

Turkey puts Nato enlargement deal to test

Turkey says it will seek the extradition of 33 alleged Kurdish militants and coup plot suspects from Sweden and Finland under a deal to secure its support for the Nordic countries鈥� Nato membership bids.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped weeks of resistance to the membership bids at crunch talks on the eve of the Madrid summit.

At the talks he secured a 10-point agreement under which the two countries vowed to join Turkey鈥檚 fight against banned Kurdish militants and to swiftly extradite suspects.

Turkey subsequently announced that it would seek the extradition of 12 suspects from Finland and 21 from Sweden.

Buses, trains to connect Crimea, south Ukraine

Authorities in Crimea announce the launch of bus and train services between the Moscow-annexed peninsula and Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine.

鈥淪tarting from July 1, regular bus and train services between Crimea and the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be launched for the first time in eight years,鈥� Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Moscow head of Crimea, says.

Russia鈥檚 invasion aimed in part at ending Crimea鈥檚 isolation by seizing control of large parts of southeast Ukraine to create a land bridge between Russia and the peninsula, which was seized by Moscow in 2014.