NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said all the alliance's members have agreed that Ukraine will eventually become a member. /Heiko Becker/Reuters
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said all the alliance's members have agreed that Ukraine will eventually become a member. /Heiko Becker/Reuters
TOP HEADLINES
• The Kremlin says it is monitoring reports of a possible near-total ban on exports to Russia by The Group of Seven (G7) nations, adding that new sanctions could increase the chances of "a worldwide economic crisis." READ MORE BELOW
• Ukraine is urging its allies to provide long-range weapons, jets and ammunition as the U.S. hosted a meeting at the Ramstein air base in Germany to discuss the West's strengthened support for Kyiv. READ MORE BELOW
• NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said all the alliance's members have agreed that Ukraine will eventually become a member, adding that Kyiv's accession would a priority topic at its July summit.
• Germany's defense minister dismissed any quick decisions on Ukraine's membership, stating that "The door is open a crack, but this is not the time to decide now."
• Ukraine's President Zelenskyy told the NATO chief during his visit to Kyiv that it was time for the alliance to allow his country's accession, a move that under could bring the alliance into a direct military standoff with nuclear-capable Russia.
• The Kremlin reaffirmed its opposition to NATO admitting its neighbor Ukraine.
• Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to avoid criticism of the U.S. and European role in the Ukraine conflict on his visit to Portugal this weekend, according to Brazilian officials.
• Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said almost nothing had been done to address Russia's concerns over the Black Sea grain deal, as Moscow threatens to the pull out of the agreement if Western sanctions that limit its own agricultural exports aren't reconsidered.
• Hungary has banned imports of honey and certain meat products from Ukraine, along with grains, until June 30, as cheap Ukrainian exports exempt from EU customs tax continue to end up in its neighboring states, bringing down the prices of the same products grown within the bloc.
• Romania said it would not unilaterally block Ukrainian grain imports and would wait for the European Commission to push through measures to protect central and eastern European farmers, while Poland has lifted its own short-term unilateral ban on certain Ukrainian foodstuffs.
• Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city had terminated the Russian Embassy's agreement to lease land in the capital and wanted to take the property for the Ukrainian state.
• A Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the Russian city of Belgorod near Ukraine late on Thursday, injuring three people and damaging buildings.
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01:21
IN DETAIL
Russian exports ban, Western military meeting
The Kremlin has said it is looking into reports of a possible ban on exports to Russia by Western countries, stressing that any new sanctions would further damage the global economy.
"We are carefully monitoring this, we are aware that both the U.S. and the EU are actively considering new sanctions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We believe that both the current sanctions against the Russian Federation and the new additional steps that the US and the EU may be thinking about now will, of course, also hit the global economy. Therefore, this may lead to an increase in the trend towards a worldwide economic crisis."
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Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that the Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, citing Japanese government sources.
Bloomberg News also reported such measures were being considered and that officials from G7 nations were discussing the idea before a summit meeting in Japan next month.
Russia has been hit by successive waves of Western sanctions since it launched its assault on Ukraine in February 2022.
The news comes as the U.S. hosted a meeting at the Ramstein air base in Germany to discuss increased support for Kyiv in the conflict.
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting would focus on air defense and ammunition as he opened the latest in a series of arms-pledging conferences ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months.
Despite the West providing Ukraine with billions in military hardware since the conflict's start, Kyiv representatives were expected to use Friday's meeting to push for more powerful weapons.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on this point at a meeting in Kyiv on Thursday, and said it was time for the military alliance to open its doors to Ukrainian membership.
"I have asked Mr. Secretary General to help us overcome our partners' reticence to supply some weapons, namely long-range weapons, modern aviation, artillery and armoured vehicles," Zelenskyy said.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Stoltenberg said NATO allies agreed Ukraine would eventually become a member, but the focus now was to ensure Ukraine prevailed against Russia.
"Maybe it sounds a bit more boring, but...This is now a battle of attrition, and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics," he said.
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Source(s): Reuters