NATO leaders at a summit in Lithuania subsequent week will “reaffirm” an earlier dedication that Ukraine will be a part of the alliance sooner or later, its chief Jens Stoltenberg advised a news convention on Friday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was resulting from go to Turkey later within the day to carry talks along with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hoping to push Kyiv’s bid to affix NATO and safe extra weapons from allies. Follow our reside weblog for the newest updates on the battle in Ukraine. All instances are Paris time (GMT+2).
1:45pm: Zelensky arrives in Slovakia forward of Turkey go to
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Slovakia, within the newest leg of a tour to push Ukraine’s bid to affix NATO and safe extra weapons from allies.
“Zelensky arrived this afternoon at the invitation of Slovak President Zuzana Caputova,” spokesman Martin Strizinec advised AFP.
1:19pm: ‘Russia’s agression won’t pay’, says NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg
NATO leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will turn into a member of the navy alliance and in addition unite on the best way to convey Kyiv nearer to this aim after they meet in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg mentioned on Friday.
“For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe,” Stoltenberg advised reporters in a news convention in Brussels previewing the gathering.
“Our summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russia’s aggression will not pay.”
11:58am: Germany won’t provide cluster ammunition to Ukraine
Germany won’t provide cluster ammunition to Ukraine as it’s a signatory to a conference banning the manufacturing and use of that kind of weapon, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius mentioned on Friday in Bern.
“Germany has signed the convention, so it is no option for us,” Pistorius advised reporters after assembly his Austrian and Swiss counterparts.
“As for those countries that have not signed the convention – China, Russia, Ukraine and the US – it is not up to me to comment on their actions.”
11:36am: Kremlin to carefully observe Zelensky-Erdogan assembly
The Kremlin says it can carefully observe the outcomes of right this moment’s assembly in Turkey between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, at which the potential extension of the Black Sea grain deal can be mentioned.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Russian President Vladimir Putin might speak with Erdogan quickly, however no date has but been set.
10:43am: Fighting Russia ‘troublesome’ with out long-range weapons, says Zelensky
Speaking at a press convention in Prague, Czech Republic, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has advised reporters it’s “difficult” to struggle Russia with out long-range weapons.
“Without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission, it is difficult to conduct a defensive operation, to be honest. Very difficult,” Zelensky mentioned.
The choice to provide Kyiv with such weapons “depends only” on the US, he added.
Meanwhile the Czech prime minister Petr Fiala mentioned his nation would ship fight helicopters to Ukraine and practice its pilots on US-made F-16 jet fighters to assist it battle the Russian invasion.
10:31am: Ukraine’s bid to affix NATO as Zelensky heads to Turkey
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to Ankara to fulfill along with his turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a part of his bid for Ukraine to affix NATO.
Grain exports are additionally on the coronary heart of the agenda because the Black Sea grain deal that Turkey helped to dealer final 12 months is ready to run out on July 17, mentioned FRANCE 24’s Liza Kaminov and Nicolas Chamontin.
Please click on on the video participant beneath to observe the report.
9:32am: Ukraine halts rescue operations in Lviv as demise toll rises to 10
Ukraine has halted rescue operations within the western metropolis of Lviv, the place the demise toll from Thursday’s Russian missile strike on a residential constructing has risen to 10.
Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi mentioned rescuers had labored via the night time to clear particles regardless of heavy rain after a missile hit the constructing in what he known as the most important assault of the battle on civilian infrastructure in Lviv.
The metropolis is simply 70 km (43 miles) from the border with Poland, a NATO and European Union member state, and is way for entrance traces.
“As a result of yesterday’s rocket attack on an apartment building in Lviv, 10 people were killed. One person was found at night and one more this morning,” Kozytskyi mentioned on the Telegram messaging app.
City officers declared two days of mourning in honour of the victims.
9:10am: Turkish help crucial to Ukraine’s NATO hopes
Ukraine’s partnership with Turkey is of crucial significance to Kyiv, says FRANCE 24’s Kyiv correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze, reporting on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s go to to Turkey later right this moment.
“Turkey is the only country to have achieved some sort of diplomatic success when it brokered the Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine,” Chaze explains.
8:45am: EU strikes deal to bolster ammunition manufacturing for Ukraine
The EU will dedicate €500 million to boosting the manufacturing of ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish the shares of EU member nations, the block has introduced.
The European Council and European Parliament representatives struck a provisional settlement in a single day and it’s anticipated to enter into drive earlier than the tip of this month.
Under the deal, subsidies can be given to European arms companies to extend their manufacturing capacities and sort out recognized bottlenecks.
The scheme is the third a part of a broader EU effort to get extra ammunition and arms to Ukraine, notably 155-millimetre artillery shells, which Kyiv is pleading for because the struggle towards Russia’s invasion has turn into a battle of attrition.
7:42am: IAEA is ‘making progress’ inspecting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says Grossi
The UN nuclear watchdog is “making progress” inspecting a number of areas of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, after claims it had been mined, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has mentioned.
“I think we are making progress,” he mentioned in Tokyo, explaining that officers had visited websites together with cooling swimming pools however had not but been given entry to the roof, the place Ukraine claims potential explosive units have been positioned.
7:11am: Ukraine requests to affix Pacific free commerce block, says Japanese minister
Ukraine has submitted its request to affix the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to the commerce pact’s depositary nation New Zealand, Japan’s financial system minister Shigeyuki Goto has mentioned.
The CPTPP contains Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, with the United Kingdom turning into the twelfth member state.
Japan, as a CPTPP member, “must carefully assess whether Ukraine fully meets the high level of the agreement” by way of market entry and guidelines, Goto advised an everyday press convention.
4:26am: Ukraine’s Zelensky travelling to Istanbul to fulfill Erdogan
President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to carry talks with Turkish chief Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday on the newest leg of a tour to push Ukraine’s bid to affix NATO and safe extra weapons from allies.
The talks in Istanbul come on the eve of the five hundredth day since Russian’s invasion, with Zelensky admitting a broadly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive was progressing slowly.
“But nevertheless, we are advancing, not retreating, like Russians,” Zelensky advised reporters. “We now have the initiative.”
The talks with Erdogan – an essential dealer within the battle – are resulting from deal with an expiring deal to ship Ukrainian grain throughout the Black Sea in addition to subsequent week’s NATO summit.
Analysts count on Zelensky to push Erdogan to offer a inexperienced gentle for Sweden’s NATO membership forward of the July 11-12 meet in Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
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Key developments from Thursday, July 6:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a “tangible response” after a Russian strike on the western metropolis of Lviv within the early hours of Thursday left a number of folks lifeless. Zelensky later travelled to each Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to fulfill with leaders of the 2 nations.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned the top of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was again in Russia after reportedly arriving in Belarus as a part of a deal brokered to finish the mercenary group’s short-lived mutiny.
Read yesterday’s reside weblog to see how all of the day’s occasions unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
Originally revealed on France24