LIVE – War in Ukraine: Zelensky regrets “doubts” over Kiev’s NATO membership

NATO in Turkey

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced in Oslo a visit to Ankara “in the near future” at the invitation of the Turkish president to try to remove the last obstacles to Sweden’s membership.

“I spoke with President Erdogan at the beginning of the week and will go to Ankara soon” to present the membership request, he said, promising that “Sweden will become a member of the alliance as soon as possible.” NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The date of the said visit is yet to be decided.

“Not a single” international condemnation, condemns Moscow

The Kremlin on Thursday condemned the lack of international criticism after Ukrainian attacks on the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, where Russia says it has repelled a major attack. “The international community has every opportunity to read articles describing strikes on residential buildings, to see pictures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There is not a single word of criticism or condemnation of the Kiev regime for this.”

WhatsApp fined in Russia

A Russian court on Thursday fined messaging service WhatsApp, owned by US company Meta, for the first time 3 million rubles (35,000 euros at current rates). Whatsapp, which has been declared “extremist” according to Russian news agencies, has not removed a chat group offering over-the-counter antidepressants, whose trade is strictly controlled in Russia.

After the attack in Ukraine at the end of February 2022, authorities are trying to censor the edges of the Internet and have blocked major American social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) in Russia, which cannot be accessed without a VPN (Virtual Private Network). .

The evacuees were temporarily relocated from the border areas

People fleeing shelling in the town of Sebekhino in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, have started arriving at shelters, the Russian defense minister said on Thursday after an attack on its border had been “prevented”. “The largest municipal temporary accommodation center is gradually filling up, so everyone from Sebekino is being sent to other unmanned centers in an organized manner,” Vyacheslav Klatkov said in a telegram.

V. ZELENSKY expresses “skepticism” about Ukraine’s membership in NATO

“Every doubt we show is a trench that Russia is trying to occupy,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who on Thursday made a forceful plea for Ukraine and Moldova to join NATO. Hosts the European Leaders Summit. “All the European countries that have a border with Russia do not want Russia to get part of their territory, they should be full members of NATO and the European Union,” he said.

“There are only two alternatives: either open war or creeping Russian aggression,” Moldova and Ukraine already have part of their territory under Russian influence. At the next Atlantic Alliance summit in Vilnius in mid-July, he asked, “NATO members will need clear calls and security guarantees throughout the membership process.” “Regarding accession to the EU, a clear and positive decision is needed.”

Moscow says it repelled the attempted land grab

“Motorized infantry of two companies of Ukrainian terrorist groups, reinforced by tanks, attempted to invade Russian territory near the Novaya Davolshanka and Sebekino international road checkpoints,” the Ministry of Defense of Russia said on Thursday. “The attacks, which took place around 3 a.m. Moscow time,” were foiled. “There is no trespassing.”

“Ukraine is ready to join NATO,” says V. ZELENSKY

“Our future lies in the European Union. Ukraine is ready to join NATO. We are ready when NATO is ready,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his visit to Moldova, where he attended a summit of the European Political Community. “Security guarantees are very important not only for Ukraine, but also for our neighbors like Moldova,” he continued with Moldovan President Mia Sandu.

“Make sure history doesn’t repeat itself”

Meeting in Oslo on Thursday, NATO foreign ministers will try to find a compromise ahead of a July summit in Vilnius. Discussions will focus on security guarantees on the path to membership with Ukraine and avoiding a new conflict with Russia.

“We must ensure that history does not repeat itself,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said as the meeting opened. “That is why we need to create a framework for providing security guarantees to Ukraine after the end of the war,” he stressed.

Nintendo is closing its operations in Russia

Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it would end its operations in Russia, where it had already scaled back operations last year, as did other companies in its industry after troops from Moscow invaded Ukraine. The Japanese video game giant was already suspended in March 2022, after the start of the war, its export to Russia, it was announced temporarily.

Its online store has also been unavailable since that day as ruble transactions were suspended by its payment service provider. “As a result, and due to the economic outlook, Nintendo Europe has decided to cease operations of its Russian subsidiary,” a brief statement said.

Thanks to V. ZELENSKY Moldova

“I’m happy to be here,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told cameras as he arrived at the second meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Moldova for a summit with strong symbolic value. He thanked the Moldovan people “for welcoming so many refugees since the first day of the war”. “We are going to reaffirm our support for Ukraine, which resists Russian aggression,” Moldovan President Mia Sandu said.

A review of the last 24 hours

According to Ukrainian authorities, at least three people, including a child, were killed in a new airstrike in Qew in the early hours of Thursday, June 1. On the other side of the front line, Russia has begun evacuating hundreds of children, with the Kremlin deeming the situation “dangerous.” Highlights from the last 24 hours.

V. ZELENSKY visited the Summit of the European Community

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Thursday morning for the summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which brings together fifty European leaders in Moldova, which borders Ukraine. The Ukrainian head of state was the first to be welcomed on the red carpet by Moldovan President Mia Sandu. His presence was not confirmed in advance.

Arms race

“There is a general movement of arms race. Current massive purchases will feed the arsenals for years to come,” assessed Pascal Boniface, IRIS Director of LCI. As for the European meeting in Moldova, the expert believes that Zelensky’s visit will allow him to “get a message of unity from the participants. The fact that he is coming shows that he is not besieged.”

Interview

LCI Pascal Boniface, director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), noted, “We can go further in this expansion phase”. “The coming war is new to Russia. It is new that Russian territory may be affected.” “Ukrainians cannot attack Russia with Western weapons without the agreement of these countries,” says the geopolitical scientist.

LCI in Ukraine

LCI traveled to Ukraine, 7 kilometers from the Russian border. Since the beginning of the invasion, by the end of February 2022, tensions have been constantly re-awakened. On the spot, the citizens must now live in close proximity to the enemy nation.

“Non-stop strikes” in a Russian border town

A town in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, was targeted for several hours by “unrelenting strikes” and five people were injured, local governor Vyacheslav Kladkov said Thursday. “Sebekhino is facing uninterrupted strikes” with rocket launchers, he wrote in a telegram, accusing Ukrainian forces of shelling the local “center and suburbs.”

New attack on cue

Russia launched an airstrike in Qew early Thursday, killing at least three people, including two children, and spreading terror in the Ukrainian capital after a week of strikes. Two children were killed and ten others wounded in Thursday’s attack, which began around 3 a.m. local time, Kyiv’s military administration said.

“According to the first report of rescuers, three people, including two children, died and four were injured” in the Desnianskyi district, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko explained in a telegram. Several Russian missiles were fired in the direction of the Ukrainian capital this week and an unusual daylight attack on the city on Monday led residents to take cover.

welcome

Hello everyone. Welcome to TF1info to follow this live with us this Thursday, June 1, 2023 dedicated to the war in Ukraine.