Welcoming the two countries' leaders to the White House, Joe Biden said their NATO membership will enhance security. But Turkey has doubled down on its opposition.
The Ukraine war has now entered its 84th day. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed, while millions of Ukrainians have fled their country. Fighting inside the country continues to rage.
See a review of Thursday's updates on the Ukraine war in the blog below.
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Thursday's key points
- President Biden has welcomed the leaders of Sweden and Finland to the White House, hailing their applications to join NATO.
- This comes despite opposition from Turkey. President Erdogan said on Thursday Ankara will reject the Nordic countries' membership claims.
- The US Senate overwhelmingly approved nearly $40 billion (€37.8 billion) in new aid for Ukraine on Thursday, as well as an extra $100 million (€94.5 million) in military equipment.
- G7 finance ministers meeting in Germany agreed on Thursday to provide Ukraine with $18.4 billion (€17.6 billion) to pay its bills.
- Prosecutors asked for a life sentence for Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, during the first war crimes trial in Ukraine. He asked for 'forgiveness' from the widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, the unarmed man he has pleaded guilty to shooting dead.
- Moscow says it will only consider opening Ukraine's Black Sea ports for food exports if sanctions against Russia are reviewed. The UN has warned the Russian blockade threatens to bring mass hunger and famine.
- Russia says 1,730 Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have surrendered since Monday. The Red Cross worked to register the soldiers as prisoners of war.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is not in favour of granting Ukraine a "shortcut" to join the EU, echoing comments by France's President Macron. Kyiv has blasted "second-class treatment" and "strategic ambiguity" that "emboldens Putin".
- European lawmakers have moved to boost Ukraine's war-torn economy by suspending import duties from the country.
- MEPs have also passed a resolution calling for former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to be blacklisted over his refusal to cut ties with Russia.
That's all from our live blog for tonight. Join us again from 0600 CET on Friday for more updates on Russia's war on Ukraine.
'The Russians are running': Meet Ukraine's southern frontline soldiers
Ukrainian officials gave Euronews' international correspondent Anelise Borges permission to take a glimpse at the frontlines.
A battalion of over 500 men trying to retake Kherson after spending three months containing Russia's incursion around the city.
Watch Anelise's report here:
'The Russians are running': Ukraine troops claim success near Kherson
Euronews International Correspondent Anelise Borges met up with a frontline battalion trying to retake the city of Kherson from Russian control.US Senate approves $40 billion in new Ukraine aid
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved nearly $40 billion in new aid for Ukraine on Thursday sending the bill to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law as Washington races to keep military assistance flowing nearly three months after Russia's invasion.
The Senate voted 86-11 in favor of the emergency package of military, economic and humanitarian assistance, by far the largest U.S. aid package for Ukraine to date. All 11 no votes were from Republicans.
The U.S. also announced a shipment of $100 million (€94.5 million) in military equipment to Ukraine, separate from the $40 billion approved Thursday by Congress.
The latest package includes 18 more howitzers as well as anti-artillery radar systems, both of which the U.S. has provided to Ukraine already since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the equipment will be in the hands of Ukrainian forces “very, very soon.”
With this latest shipment, the U.S. has provided nearly $4 billion in military aid since Feb. 24 and $6.6 billion since 2014, when Russia seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
Kirby said the U.S. will consult with Ukraine, as it has frequently since the invasion, about what it needs in terms of equipment.
(Reuters, AP)
Ukrainian troops surrendering at Mariupol registered as POWs
Hundreds more Ukrainian fighters who made their stand inside Mariupol's bombed-out steel plant surrendered, bringing the total to over 1,700, Russia said Thursday, amid international fears about the fate of the prisoners in Moscow's hands.
The Red Cross worked to register the soldiers as prisoners of war in a step toward ensuring their humane treatment under the Geneva Conventions.
Read more here, and watch Euronews' Anelise Borges reporting from Ukraine on the situation on the ground in the video player:
Ukrainian troops surrendering at Mariupol registered as POWs
Ukrainian fighters in the last bastion of resistance continued abandoning the Azovstal steel plant on orders from above to save their lives.Biden meets leaders of NATO aspirants Finland and Sweden
President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed the leaders of Sweden and Finland to the White House, as he hailed the applications of the once-neutral countries to join NATO.
Biden greeted Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House as they met for trilateral conversations on the NATO mutual defense pact as well as broader European security concerns.
His administration has professed optimism for their applications to join the alliance, which would mark a significant embarrassment to Russia, despite continued opposition from Turkey.
“They meet every NATO requirement and then some," he said. “Having two new NATO members in the high north will enhance the security of our alliance.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that the alliance stop expanding toward Russia’s borders.
Several NATO allies, led by the United States and Britain, have signaled that they stand ready to provide security support to Finland and Sweden should the Kremlin try to provoke or destabilize them during the time it takes to become full members.
(AP)
MEPs demand sanctions on Schröder over Russian ties
MEPs have passed a resolution calling for Gerhard Schröder to be blacklisted, in a non-binding but symbolic vote.
The former German Chancellor became deeply linked to Russia's state-owned energy companies after leaving office and his close relationship with Vladimir Putin has also been a source of controversy.
Unlike other politicians he has refused to sever his ties, saying "I don’t do mea culpa".
More from Jorge Liboreiro of Euronews Brussels Bureau:
MEPs demand sanctions on Schröder over his ties with Russian firms
Gerhard Schröder still holds positions at Rosneft, Russia's leading oil company, and Nord Stream AG. #EuropeNewsUkraine FM blasts 'second-class treatment' after Scholz EU comments
This was Dmytro Kuleba's response on Twitter after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz poured cold water on Ukraine being given a "short-cut" to European Union membership.
The German Chancellor said giving Kyiv quicker access would be unfair on countries in the Western Balkans, who have been waiting years to join.
Ukraine says Mariupol evacuation continues but gives no details
A Ukrainian general said on Thursday the evacuation of Ukrainian troops from the city of Mariupol was continuing but provided no details.
"In the Mariupol direction, measures are being taken to evacuate our heroes," Oleksiy Gromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, told an online briefing.
Moscow said on Thursday that 1,730 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol over three days, including 771 in the past 24 hours. If true, this represents a surrender on a far bigger scale than Kyiv has acknowledged.
The Ukrainians face an uncertain fate after Moscow sent them to a penal colony.
(with Reuters)
Prosecutor requests life imprisonment for Russian war crimes soldier
The Ukrainian prosecutor's office on Thursday demanded life imprisonment, the maximum sentence, for the first Russian soldier on trial for war crimes in Kyiv, accused of shooting a civilian in late February.
Speaking on the second day of the trial, the prosecutor asked the court to impose "a life sentence of deprivation of liberty" for 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin, according to an AFP journalist in the courtroom.
Earlier in the day, the soldier "asked for forgiveness" from Kateryna Shelipova, the widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, the 62-year-old man he has admitted killing.
(AFP)
Lithuanian man jailed for saying 'Ukraine should be nuked' on Facebook
A man in Lithuania has been jailed after he heaped praise on Putin over Facebook and called on Russia to attack the Baltics, LRT reports.
The man was sentenced to 60 days of arrest for waxing lyrical about the Russian leader on a Facebook live-stream, as well as advocating dropping nuclear weapons on Ukraine.
He was sentenced for inciting hatred against Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Roma on the social media platform, according to a press release by the Kaunas District Court in Lithuania.
The man, named only as A. D., called for violence against "the people of Lithuania and Ukraine, [...] glorified the aggression of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the killing of people in Ukraine”, adding that “Ukraine should be nuked," the press release read.
He also said he would “shoot half of the Lithuanians himself” and asked Russia "to attack Lithuania and to destroy Lithuanians."
The man has eight previous convictions, including theft and violence against his spouse and partner.
UK freezes Russian airlines assets, preventing multi-million sale
Three Russian airlines have had their assets frozen by the UK, stopping them from selling landing slots at the country's airports worth up to £50 million ($62 million).
The UK's latest sanctions prevent Russia's largest carrier, the state-owned Areoflot, and Ural Airlines from transferring valuable landing rights for their planes.
These pricey plots of land are currently going unused as Russian aircraft are currently banned from flying into the UK.
The UK Foreign Office hopes wide-ranging international sanctions on Russia will pressure President Vladimir Putin into pulling out of Ukraine.
“As long as Putin continues his barbarous assault on Ukraine, we will continue to target the Russian economy,” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. “We’ve already closed our airspace to Russian airlines.
"Today, we’re making sure they can’t cash in their lucrative landing slots at our airports,” she added.
Russia's economy is forecast to shrink this year by as much as 15 per cent, with oil exports - a key source of government income - down by almost 30 per cent in April.
Read more about the economic consequences of sanctions on Russia below.
Russian economy suffers sanctions blow despite Kremlin's denial
Russia will only open Ukraine's ports for much-needed food exports if sanctions are reviewed
Russia's foreign ministry has said it will only consider opening up Ukraine's Black Sea ports - and so alleviate pressure on global food supplies - if sanctions against it are reviewed.
As the Interfax news agency reports, Russian deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, said: "You have to not only appeal to the Russian Federation but also look deeply at the whole complex of reasons that caused the current food crisis.
"In the first instance, these are the sanctions that have been imposed against Russia by the US and the EU that interfere with normal free trade, encompassing food products including wheat, fertilisers and others," he added.
Rudenko's comments follow an appeal by United Nations food chief David Beasley to Vladimir Putin that millions would die around the world because of the Russian blockade of Black Sea ports.
"If you have any heart at all for the rest of the world, regardless of how you feel about Ukraine, you need to open up those ports," said Beasley, addressing the Russian president directly.
The UN World Food Programme feeds approximately 125 million every year and buys 50 per cent of its grain from Ukraine.
Ukraine is among the top five global exporters of several vital agricultural products, including corn, wheat and barley, as well as being a key exporter of sunflower and meal.
UN head, António Guterres, echoed these warning earlier on Thursdat, saying that food shortages caused by the Ukraine conflict could cause global "hunger and famine."
(AP, Reuters)
EU lawmakers move to boost Ukrainian exports
Lawmakers at the European Union (EU) have moved to boost Ukrainian exports by suspending import duties on goods coming from the war-torn country.
The European Parliament voted on Thursday to lift costly tariffs on Ukrainian industrial products, fruits, vegetables and steel imported into the bloc.
"We must support Ukraine at all levels with every tool at our disposal: not only with weapons and sanctions but with our trading power, too,” said Latvian lawmaker Sandra Kalniete.
“Giving Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself does not end on the battlefield; it includes ensuring that Ukraine’s economy remains resilient and competitive.”
More than 40% of Ukraine's total trade is with the EU, making the bloc the country's most important trading partner.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was the EU's 15th most important trading partner, representing around 1.2% of overall EU trade.
In 2016, Ukraine and the EU signed an association agreement, aimed at opening up the country's markets to Europe and deepening ties between the two.
(AP)
Erdogan 'resolved' to keep Finland and Sweden out of NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he is "resolved" on preventing Finland and Sweden from joining NATO.
"We are determined to maintain our position, we have informed our friends that we will say no to Finland and Sweden who want to join NATO, said the Turkish leader on the country's national youth day. "We will persist in this voice."
Erdogan denounced the pair as harbouring "terrorists", and vowed to try and keep them out of the defensive military alliance.
"This Sweden and this Finland are the countries that harbour the terrorists at home, the PKK and the YPG", he said, hammering home a message about the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Iraqi Kurdish allies in the YPG.
While YPG fighters helped defeat ISIS in Syria, the PKK is considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
The PKK has waged a bloody 40 year military campaign against the Turkish state in its struggle for Kurdish autonomy. This has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, alongside Turkish security forces.
"We are very concerned about these two countries, especially about Sweden which is a hotbed of terror, an absolute nest of terrorists," Erdogan said in the address that was broadcast on Turkish television.
Under NATO rules, new members can only be admitted if all the current signatories agree.
Erdogan pointed out this fact in his address, saying "if a country says no, the others cannot accept."
Read more below.
(AFP)
Russia expels Portuguese diplomats
Russia announced on Thursday the expulsion of five Portuguese diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of ten Russians in the wake of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, a day after similar announcements were made concerning dozens of French, Italian and Spanish diplomats.
The Portuguese ambassador to Russia was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry on Thursday, which "strongly protested against the provocative decision of the Portuguese authorities to declare 'persona non grata' ten staff members of the foreign mission in Portugal," Russian diplomacy said in a statement.
"In response, five staff members of the Portuguese embassy in Russia are declared 'persona non grata'," it added, saying they had 14 days to leave the country.
"The Portuguese government protests against this decision by the Russian authorities, which has no other justification than simple retaliation," the Portuguese foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Unlike the Russian diplomats expelled from Portugal, the Portuguese diplomats were carrying out strictly diplomatic activities in full compliance with the Vienna Convention," it said.
On Wednesday, Moscow had already announced the expulsion of 34 French, 27 Spanish and 24 Italian diplomats, in response to similar measures in those countries, decided after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on 24 February.
Many other European countries, such as Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Greece and Croatia, have expelled Russian diplomats en masse. In some cases, these expulsions have been accompanied by accusations of espionage.
Moscow has promised to respond to each of these measures and dozens of Western diplomats have already been expelled from Russia.
(AFP)
Russian war crimes soldier asked for forgiveness
The first Russian soldier to be tried for war crimes in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion "asked for forgiveness" on Thursday from the widow of a slain Ukrainian civilian, an AFP reporter noted during the hearing in a Kyiv court.
"I know you won't be able to forgive me, but I ask for your forgiveness," the 21-year-old non-commissioned officer, Vadim Shishimarin, said in an exchange with Katerina Chelipova, the widow of the 62-year-old man he admits killing in northeastern Ukraine on 28 February.
On Wednesday he pleaded guilty, acknowledging all the charges against him. He had earlier declined a trial by jury.
The case marks a watershed moment as it is the first time a Russian soldier has been accused of war crimes since the invasion began in February.
Shysimarin, who was brought before the court in a preliminary hearing, faces life imprisonment under charges of war crimes and premeditated murder, if found guilty.
It is alleged that the Russian sergeant, who had been fighting with the Kantemirovskaya tank division in north-east Ukraine, killed the civilian on 28 February in the village of Chupakhivka.
He is accused of shooting the unarmed man in the head from a car window, after being ordered "to kill the civilian so he would not report them to Ukrainian defenders," say the prosecutors.
The elderly man was riding a bicycle and talking on the phone when he was shot, only "dozens of metres" from his house. He was shot with an AK-47 rifle.
(AFP)
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered, says Russian MoD
The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that 1,730 Ukrainian fighters, who were holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, have surrendered since Monday.
"In the last 24 hours, 771 fighters from the nationalist Azov regiment went to the Azovstal steel site in Mariupol," said the ministry in a statement released on Thursday.
"In total since May 16, 1,730 fighters, including 80 wounded, have taken themselves prisoner," it added.
Russia's MoD released a video of the soldiers leaving the steel mill and being checked by Russian soldiers before boarding a bus. Many of them are wounded or walking on crutches.
Fighters in the sprawling Soviet-era Azovstal steel plant became an international symbol of Ukrainian resistance as they held out against Russian forces for weeks.
Ukrainian authorities want to organise an exchange of Russian prisoners of war for the captured fighters.
But Russia has repeatedly indicated that they consider at least some of them not as soldiers but as neo-Nazis.
According to Denis Pouchiline, a pro-Russian separatist leader, it is now up to the "court" to decide the fate of "war criminals" and "nationalists".
(AFP)
French demonstrators explain why they support Ukraine
'It's important to support a nation that suffers', say French and Ukraine demonstrators in Lyon.
Read more about the reasons that brought them out onto the streets in solidarity with Ukraine.
French demonstrators explain why they support Ukraine
Scholz not in favour of giving Ukraine EU shortcut
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that he was not in favour of granting Ukraine a "shortcut" to join the European Union (EU), adding this was "not a matter of a few months or some years".
He said: "The fact that there is no shortcut on the road to EU membership (of Ukraine) is an imperative of fairness towards the six countries of the Western Balkans," which have long sought to join the bloc.
The German leader made the remarks in a speech to the deputies of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament.
French President "Emmanuel Macron is right to stress that the accession process is not a matter of a few months or a few years," he added.
Ukraine's foreign minister responded by blasting "second-class treatment", accusing some EU capitals of "strategic ambiguity" that has "emboldened Putin".
(with AFP)
Read the full story here:
Kyiv slams 'second-class treatment' after Scholz dashes fast EU hopes
euronewsIt comes after Scholz had said there are no shortcuts to Ukraine's EU membership bid. #EuropeNewsRed Cross registers 'hundreds' of Ukrainian POWs
The international Red Cross says it has registered "hundreds" of Ukrainian prisoners of war from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
On Thursday, the international humanitarian organisation said the logging of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), which included wounded soldiers, had begun Tuesday under an agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
It said its specialist team, which has years of experience in dealing with POWs, did not transport them to “the places where they are held."
It did not specify where this was.
The registration process, which was ongoing Thursday, involves noting down personal details like name, date of birth and closest relative.
This is a way for the Red Cross keep in touch with the POW's relatives.
The Red Cross cited rules under the Geneva Conventions which should allow it to interview prisoners of war “without witnesses” and that visits should not be “unduly restricted.”
(AP)
US appoints ambassador to Ukraine
The US confirmed on Wednesday that Bridget Brink will be the country's ambassador to Ukraine.
Filling this post is part of a broader US plan to return its diplomats to Kyiv, who were evacuated at the start of the Russian invasion in February.
The veteran diplomat, who spent a large proportion of her career in the shadow of the USSR, was nominated for the post by President Joe Biden.
She was confirmed by the Senate unanimously.
Brink told the Senate she would work to reopen the US embassy, which was closed three months ago.
(AP)
More acts of Ukrainian resistance overnight, say regional authorities
Authorities in the Melitopol region of Ukraine have reported more acts of resistance against Russian troops on Wednesday.
The military administration said a grenade exploded near a Russian command post, which was followed by an exchange of fire. No casualties were reported.
A Russian armoured train, which was carrying troops and ammunition, also overturned in Melitopol on Wednesday, causing ammunition to go off, the administration said on Telegram.
It said, "with help" from resistance fighters, the train derailed as the Russian military does not maintain tracks and overloads its trains.
On Tuesday, the administration claimed that Ukrainian resistance fighters had killed several high-ranking Russian officers in Melitopol, although this could not be independently verified by Euronews.
Russian forces have occupied the southern city of Melitopol, since the early days of the war.
(AP)
This is Joshua Askew kicking off the Euronews live blog for today.