Finland joins Nato; Wall Street Journal reporter meets with lawyers for first time
Finland has become the 31st member of Nato after its foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, signed an accession document and handed it to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, at a ceremony in Brussels. Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said the accession of Finland increased the risks of wider conflict. US president Joe Biden welcomed Finlands’ ascension and urged Turkey and Hungary to conclude their ratification processes for Sweden to join.
Ukraine hopes to receive two more tranches worth $1.8bn from the International Monetary Fund this year under its newly approved four-year lending program, top Ukrainian central bank officials said on Tuesday. Ukraine this week received the first $2.7bn tranche under the program, which is a part of a bigger $115bn global package of support.
Britain has blocked the UN webcast of an informal Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday, at which Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights is due to speak. The international criminal court wants to arrest the commissioner on war crimes charges. Such meetings are not held in the Security Council chamber and all 15 council members have to agree to allow it to be webcast by the United Nations.
French president Emmanuel Macron and European Union executive head Ursula von der Leyen arrive in China on Wednesday seeking to “reset” ties while broaching thorny issues like Ukraine and trade risks. US President Joe Biden on Tuesday held a call with Macron to discuss the visit, the White House said, adding that they also spoke about maintaining support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
The US is trying to wreck Russia’s planned summit with African countries as part of efforts to isolate Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Tuesday. Moscow is preparing for its second summit with African countries, scheduled for the end of July in St Petersburg.
A Ukrainian soldier pleaded “partly guilty” on Tuesday at Russia’s first trial for war crimes in connection with its military campaign in Ukraine.
Russian investigators formally charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old woman, with terrorism offences over the killing of the pro-war military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in St Petersburg.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested and charged with espionage in Russia last week, met his lawyers for the first time on Tuesday, editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a message to staff. “Evan’s health is good, and he is grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world,” Tucker said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, will travel to Moscow on Wednesday for two days of talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has said.
Lithuania’s parliament decided on Tuesday to ban Russian nationals from purchasing real estate in the Baltic country, citing risks to national security.
Polish farmers are threatening to derail a visit to Warsaw by Volodymyr Zelenskiy over claims that Ukrainian grain is flooding their market, in a move that would provide Russia with valuable evidence of a crack in western solidarity.
Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency has reported that the number of people injured in the St Petersburg cafe explosion that killed the prominent military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky has risen to 40.
