July 11, 2023 6:35 p.m
Minsk: “Wagner will train our military”
The Wagner mercenaries will train the armed forces of Belarus, the country they were forced to withdraw from after the failed coup on June 24, the Defense Ministry said in Minsk. “They will give us explanations on weapons: which ones work better, which ones don’t,” President Alexander Lukashenko said, adding that Yevgeny Prugoshin’s mercenaries will share their experiences in “tactics, weapons, attack and defense.” “Worthless,” commented Lukashenko, who brokered the agreement between the Kremlin and Prigozhin after the failed coup.
July 11, 2023 6:20 p.m
Zelenskyy: “I have faith in NATO, you become trustworthy”
“Today I started my journey here with confidence in decisions, with confidence in partners, with confidence in a strong NATO. In a NATO that doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t waste time and doesn’t look back at an attacker. And I want that belief to turn into trust – trust in the decisions we deserve – which we all deserve and which every warrior, every citizen, every mother, every child expects.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet . “Is it too much to expect? NATO will secure Ukraine. Ukraine will strengthen the alliance. Slavic Ukrainians. I said so in Vilnius to Lithuanians and Ukrainians who gathered for a concert as part of the campaign Raise the flag for Ukraine in NATO,” he concluded.
July 11, 2023 5:59 p.m
Shoigu: “Let’s advance in Lugansk”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian troops repelled an attack by the Ukrainian army in the Karmazinovka area of the Lugansk region of Ukraine and advanced a kilometer and a half deep on a two-kilometer front. This was reported by the Interfax agency. Shoigu also claims that since early June, Ukrainian forces have lost “over 26,000 soldiers and 3,000 weapons” in the counter-offensive. The statements of the Russian minister are not independently verifiable.
July 11, 2023 5:25 p.m
Stoltenberg: “There is no timetable for joining NATO”
“There is no timetable for the NATO accession process, it is based on the fulfillment of conditions, it has always been that way.” This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the end of the first day of the Vilnius summit. “It is the strongest message we have ever sent to Ukraine and in the statement we argue that Ukraine has gone beyond the need for MAP,” he commented on Zelenskyy’s tweet. “The terms are set out in Article 10 of the Atlantic Pact and it is up to the allies to judge whether or not they are being met.”
July 11, 2023 5:20 p.m
Blinken: “Without cluster bombs, Kiev would be defenseless”
Given the global depletion of ammunition arsenals, Ukraine would have been “defenseless” without the supply of cluster bombs. Antony Blinken is defending Washington’s decision to supply Kiev with the controversial “cluster bombs”. “The reserves of single ammunition in the world and in Ukraine are running out,” said the US secretary of state interviewed by NBC. “So the difficult but necessary decision to deliver cluster bombs comes down to this: If we don’t do that. Then they will run out of ammo, and if they run out of ammo they will be defenseless.” Blinken also played the in the opposition expressed in recent days by various NATO allies who signed the convention that bans the manufacture, sale and use of these weapons because the mini-bombs that make them up pose risks to civilians. “Every ally I’ve spoken to has said they understand why we’re doing this,” the US Secretary of State said.
July 11, 2023 5:19 p.m
Stoltenberg: “Ukraine will only be invited to join NATO if the conditions are met”
Leaders agreed that “if the allies agree and the conditions are met, they will invite Ukraine to join the alliance.” This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the end of the first day of the Vilnius summit. “It’s a clear entry path for Kyiv.” “It’s a package that, together with the NATO-Ukraine Council and multi-year support, conveys a strong, positive and unified message for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg added.
July 11, 2023 5:16 p.m
Lithuanian President: “NATO is starting to think about bases on the border with Russia”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in an interview with the Times that NATO should lift its restrictions on creating permanent bases near Russia’s borders, believing the underlying treaty with Moscow was “dead.” According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on alleged “past attempts by NATO to deploy its military infrastructure near Russia’s borders”. “This was one of the reasons that led to the current situation. “It seems that the Europeans don’t realize this mistake,” Peskov said almost a year and a half after Russian troops began invading Ukraine.
July 11, 2023 3:28 p.m
Lavrov: “We will take countermeasures in case of NATO enlargement”
Russia will take “reasonable measures” to ensure its own security in the face of NATO expansion. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the ratification of Finland’s accession and the announcement that Sweden, having lost Turkey’s veto, will also join the alliance. “We will draw conclusions based on how quickly and deeply NATO develops on the territory of Finland and Sweden,” Lavrov said, believing that Helsinki and Stockholm are negotiating the deployment of the alliance’s “infrastructure” near the border with Russia . “I assure you that all legitimate interests in the field of security of the Russian Federation are protected. Appropriate measures are being taken, we know what they are and how to put them into practice,” the foreign minister added at a press conference after meeting his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi. For Lavrov, the neutral position of both Scandinavian countries had in the past given them “advantages”, guaranteed their independence and helped them gain “reputation and authority on the international stage both in Europe and in the rest of the world”.
In conclusion, the foreign minister recalled that Finland and Sweden had unilaterally renounced their advantages in trade and economic relations with Russia, and regretted that Helsinki and Stockholm were moving into a “subordinate position” compared to the US and NATO.
July 11, 2023 3:27 p.m
Sunak: “Ukraine’s place is in NATO”
“The right place for Ukraine is in NATO.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterated this to reporters today at his home in Vilnius, on the sidelines of the Atlantic Alliance summit and a first bilateral meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sunak then reiterated that it was an unattainable goal as long as there was war with Russia, but that new pledges and indications of “tangible progress” needed to come from the summit to reassure Zelenskyy. “We will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary,” he continued, while citing “security guarantees” for Kiev as a “dissuasive message to Putin.”
July 11, 2023 3:19 p.m
Zelenskyi arrived in Vilnius
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Vilnius, where he will take part in the NATO summit.