Evening summary
The time in Kyiv is coming up to 9pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines:
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, which is located in southeastern Ukraine and occupied by Russian troops, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims. Citing intelligence reports, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russian troops had placed “objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The objects could be used to “simulate” an attack, he said, meaning a false flag attack, AP reported.
A man who detonated explosives in a court house in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday has died, Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said. Klymenko, in a statement at the site of the explosion at the Shevchenkivskyi court house said the man may have stepped inadvertently on explosives.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, and Ben Wallace, the British defence secretary, joined with their Polish counterparts Zbigniew Rau and Mariusz Blaszczak at a pre-Nato summit meeting in London on Wednesday and followed it up with a press conference. The two countries are ruled by right-leaning parties, and each emphasised their mutual agreement on defence and foreign policy ahead of next week’s Nato meeting where the key topic will be Ukraine’s demand for concrete steps towards membership whenever its war with Russia ends.
The United Nations is making “every effort” to ensure that the Black Sea grain deal and a memorandum of understanding to facilitate access of Russian fertiliser and other products to global markets are extended, UN trade chief Rebeca Grynspan said. “We need both to continue bringing down prices and have stable markets of food and fertilisers in the world,” Grynspan told reporters in Geneva.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that Russian forces had struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, amid conflicting reports about fighting in the area. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield situation. The ministry made no comment in its daily briefing on reports that Russian forces have retreated from the village of Klishchiivka, south-west of Bakhmut, which a Russian-installed official in eastern Ukraine has denied.
Vladimir Rogov, one of the prominent pro-Russian figures in occupied Zaporizhzhia region has reported on his Telegram account that “the houses of local residents, a garage and a car were damaged” in the region due to Ukrainian fire. He said there were no casualties. The claims have not been independently verified.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s former election spokesperson has been appointed to run the state news agency Tass, according to a government order published on Wednesday. The Kremlin has tightened its control over the media since the start of the Ukraine war, forcing the closure of leading independent news outlets and designating many journalists and publications as “foreign agents”, Reuters reported.
Next week’s Nato summit must offer “real security guarantees” to Ukraine, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said today. Speaking in Warsaw alongside the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, Meloni said Italy and Poland were “in perfect agreement” on the issue, Reuters reported.
Russia accused a small US based charity of “sabotaging” the construction of a huge gas pipeline to China and banned it as an “undesirable organisation”. Jennifer Castner, director of the Altai Project, described the accusation as absurd but said it had been only a matter of time. The move followed clamp-downs on many foreign NGOs in Russia, including a similar ban last month on the local arm of the WWF environmental group.
Russia said on Wednesday that one person was killed and another 41 injured, including two children, by Ukrainian fire in the east Ukraine town of Makiivka, which is occupied by Russian forces.
Overnight residential buildings and a medical facility were damaged by a Russian rocket attack on Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions’ governors said, adding that no casualties were reported.
Ukrainian officials said at least 43 people, including 12 children, were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday which an officer said targeted a military funeral in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. The strike hit a parking lot outside a residential building in the town of about 28,000 people.
Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported Wednesday that the website and mobile app of the Russian railways network has been subjected to “a massive hacker attack”.
Yelena Milashina, the prominent journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, who was brutally beaten in Chechnya yesterday, has been moved to a hospital in Moscow.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
A man who detonated explosives in a court house in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday has died, Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Klymenko, in a statement at the site of the explosion at the Shevchenkivskyi court house said the man may have stepped inadvertently on explosives.
Russia accused a small US based charity of “sabotaging” the construction of a huge gas pipeline to China and banned it as an “undesirable organisation”.
Jennifer Castner, director of the Altai Project, described the accusation as absurd but said it had been only a matter of time. The move followed clamp-downs on many foreign NGOs in Russia, including a similar ban last month on the local arm of the WWF environmental group.
The Russian prosecutor general’s office said that while claiming to advocate nature conservation, the Altai Project was meddling in Russia’s internal affairs and could damage its economic security.
“The key direction of the organisation’s work is sabotaging the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline,” it said.
The planned pipeline is intended to deliver 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from Russia to China via Mongolia.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, and Ben Wallace, the British defence secretary, joined with their Polish counterparts Zbigniew Rau and Mariusz Blaszczak at a pre-Nato summit meeting in London on Wednesday and followed it up with a press conference.
The two countries are ruled by right-leaning parties, and each emphasised their mutual agreement on defence and foreign policy ahead of next week’s Nato meeting where the key topic will be Ukraine’s demand for concrete steps towards membership whenever its war with Russia ends.
Polish foreign minister Rau said “we have no doubt that at this summit Ukraine will become instituationally closer to Nato” and emphasised that Warsaw would help Ukraine align its political and military structures to alliance standards.
Cleverly was more cautious and said that the way Ukraine had modernised its military during the war will have shortened the eventual timescale by which it can join:
The process by which Sweden and Finland applied was a truncated one. I think we should reflect on that when we discuss what process there will be for Ukraine to join.
Ukrainian police investigate reported explosion in a Kyiv court
Ukrainian police said on Wednesday they were investigating a reported explosion in a district court in the capital Kyiv.
Police said on the Telegram messaging app that officers and other experts were at the site.
It quoted preliminary information that a device had been detonated by a man who had been taken to a court hearing.
Experts from the UN nuclear watchdog based at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine have yet to observe any indications of mines or explosives at the plant, but more access is needed to be sure, the agency said.
“The IAEA experts have requested additional access that is necessary to confirm the absence of mines or explosives,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.
“In particular, access to the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4 is essential, as well as access to parts of the turbine halls and some parts of the cooling system at the plant.”
The UK has signed a new partnership with Poland aimed at deepening foreign policy and defence cooperation.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly and defence secretary Ben Wallace alongside Polish national defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak agreed joint priorities on issues including Belarus and China, PA reported.
The Ministry of Defence said the new 2030 Strategic Partnership signed at Lancaster House on Wednesday builds on the 2017 UK-Poland treaty, which provided a framework for enhanced cooperation between the two Nato allies.
At a meeting before the signing, the ministers discussed support for Ukraine and defence and security in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Cleverly said:
Just as the UK and Poland fought together to preserve freedom in Europe during World War Two, so today the UK and Poland are standing together once more, at the forefront of international support for Ukraine.
Our 2030 Partnership commits the UK and Poland to even greater defence, security and foreign policy cooperation into the future.
Wallace said:
As historic defence partners and Nato Allies, the UK stands with Poland to defend Nato’s Eastern Flank and support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
The 2030 Strategic Partnership strengthens our commitment to develop closer military deployments and exercises and deliver on immediate and long-term capability projects.
Pjotr Sauer and Jason Burke report on the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s business interests in Russia – including the notorious troll farm:
As Wagner mercenaries captured a major Russian military base and began their armed march on Moscow, members of Russia’s federal security services stormed one of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s headquarters in St Petersburg.
Masked men quickly seized computers and documents belonging to the Patriot group, a media holding at the heart of Prigozhin’s information empire that for years promoted the warlord at home while sowing chaos and interfering with elections abroad.
“They barged in, smashing the front door. It felt like they were busting a brothel, and not the workplaces of patriotic journalists,” said a senior staffer at Ria Fan, the flagship Patriot online outlet, who was present during the search.
The incident on 24 June, described to the Guardian by several Patriot members, marked the start of the Kremlin’s efforts to clamp down on Prigozhin’s vast business empire, after a mutiny that presented the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin’s 23 years in power.
Over three decades, Prigozhin built one of the world’s most shadowy and complex corporate structures that stretched far beyond his mercenary activities and included companies in media, logistics, mining, film and catering – for which he earned his nickname as Vladimir Putin’s chef.
Read more here: ‘He lived by the troll, he dies by the troll’ – Putin takes on Prigozhin’s business empire
Vladimir Rogov, one of the prominent pro-Russian figures in occupied Zaporizhzhia region has reported on his Telegram account that “the houses of local residents, a garage and a car were damaged” in the region due to Ukrainian fire. He said there were no casualties.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, spoke by phone with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and discussed the Black Sea grain deal, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Wednesday.
Fidan also discussed Nato enlargement with Blinken, the source told Reuters.
Updated
Situation at Zaporizhzhia 'tense' as Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of planning attack on nuclear plant
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, which is located in southeastern Ukraine and occupied by Russian troops, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims.
Citing intelligence reports, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russian troops had placed “objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The objects could be used to “simulate” an attack, he said, meaning a false flag attack, AP reported.
A statement from the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said the “foreign objects” were placed on the outer roof of the plant’s third and fourth power units.
“Their detonation should not damage power units but may create a picture of shelling from Ukraine,” the statement said.
In Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov raised the spectre of a potentially “catastrophic” provocation by the Ukrainian army at the nuclear plant, which is Europe’s largest but has its six reactors shut down.
“The situation is quite tense. There is a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which can be catastrophic in its consequences,” Peskov said in response to a reporter’s question. He also claimed that Kremlin is taking “all measures” to counter the alleged Ukrainian threat.
Updated
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that Russian forces had struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, amid conflicting reports about fighting in the area.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield situation.
The ministry made no comment in its daily briefing on reports that Russian forces have retreated from the village of Klishchiivka, south-west of Bakhmut, which a Russian-installed official in eastern Ukraine has denied.
Ukraine has said its forces had “partial success” in the Klishchiivka area.
Updated
Former Putin adviser to run Russia's state news agency
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s former election spokesperson has been appointed to run the state news agency Tass, according to a government order published on Wednesday.
The Kremlin has tightened its control over the media since the start of the Ukraine war, forcing the closure of leading independent news outlets and designating many journalists and publications as “foreign agents”, Reuters reported.
The prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, signed an order dismissing Sergei Mikhailov as general director of Tass and appointing Andrei Kondrashov in his place. Mikhailov had served as general director since 2012.
Kondrashov, 50, is a state television journalist who in 2018 worked as the press secretary of Putin’s election headquarters.
Updated
The United Nations is making “every effort” to ensure that the Black Sea grain deal and a memorandum of understanding to facilitate access of Russian fertiliser and other products to global markets are extended, UN trade chief Rebeca Grynspan said.
“We need both to continue bringing down prices and have stable markets of food and fertilisers in the world,” Grynspan told reporters in Geneva.
“The United Nations remains committed to making every effort for the continuation of the agreements.”
Next week’s Nato summit must offer “real security guarantees” to Ukraine, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said today.
Speaking in Warsaw alongside the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, Meloni said Italy and Poland were “in perfect agreement” on the issue, Reuters reported.
Nato leaders are meeting in Vilnius on 11-12 July.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Russia said on Wednesday that one person was killed and another 41 injured, including two children, by Ukrainian fire in the east Ukraine town of Makiivka, which is occupied by Russian forces.
Overnight residential buildings and a medical facility were damaged by a Russian rocket attack on Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions’ governors said, adding that no casualties were reported.
Ukrainian officials said at least 43 people, including 12 children, were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday which an officer said targeted a military funeral in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. The strike hit a parking lot outside a residential building in the town of around 28,000 people.
Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported Wednesday that the website and mobile app of the Russian railways network has been subjected to “a massive hacker attack”.
Yelena Milashina, the prominent journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, who was brutally beaten in Chechnya yesterday, has been moved to a hospital in Moscow.
The Ukraine government accused Russia on Tuesday of planning a “provocation” at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, while Russia claimed that Kyiv was planning to “attack” the facility. Fears over the safety risks for the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, have been constant throughout Russia’s invasion, but increased in early June after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the source of cooling water for its reactors. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that “objects resembling explosives” had been placed on the roof of several power units “perhaps to simulate an attack”. He added: “The world sees – can’t but see – that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else.”
Updated
Russia said on Wednesday that one person was killed and another 41 injured, including two children, by Ukrainian fire in the east Ukraine town of Makiivka, which is occupied by Russian forces.
“Forty-one people have been injured due to the shelling, including two children. One person has died from their wounds,” Vladislav Klyucharov, the Russian-appointed head of the city’s administration said on Russia’s state-run broadcaster Rossiya-24, according to AFP.
Earlier the Russian-installed leader of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Ukrainian forces had launched “fierce attacks” on residential areas and a hospital complex in the city.
Updated
Russian state-owned news agency Tass is reporting that the website and mobile app of the Russian railways network has been subjected to “a massive hacker attack”.
Images have been released from Russia that claim to show the damage in the Belgorod region hit by cross-border strikes from Ukraine.
Updated
Air alerts have been declared across most southern and eastern regions of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force has warned of a missile danger in the south of Ukraine, alerting on “probable launches of Kalibr cruise missiles”, according to Suspilne.
More details soon …
Yelena Milashina, the prominent journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, who was brutally beaten in Chechnya yesterday, has been moved to a hospital in Moscow, Reuters reports.
Milashina had her head shaved, fingers broken and green dye thrown over her while on her way to Grozny.
Alexei Venediktov, the former head of the closed Ekho Moskvy radio station, said in a message on Telegram that Milashina and the lawyer Alexander Nemov – who was also attacked – were now in a Moscow hospital.
Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, reports that overnight residential buildings and a medical facility were damaged by a rocket attack on Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.
The claims have not been independently verified.
An air alert has been declared in Kherson region. This is not an uncommon event, as the line of contact in the region runs along the Dnipro River, with Ukraine holding the northern portion of the oblast on the right bank, and Russian forces occupying the southern portion of Kherson on the left bank. Kherson is one of the regions of Ukraine the Russian Federation has claimed to annex despite not fully controlling the territory.
Updated
The UK ambassador to Ukraine has said “things don’t feel calm” in Kyiv despite the capital of Ukraine going without attacks for several days.
In a post to social media, Melinda Simmons said: “In spite of Russia directing their murderous missiles at smaller Ukrainian towns with less air defence leaving Kyiv alone for now, things don’t feel calm.”
Accompanied by a picture of the cathedral through trees, she added: “I walked over to peek at Andriivsky Cathedral through the trees. Never fails to bring balance.”
Updated
Volodymyr Litvinov, head of the Beryslav district administration in Kherson region, has reported that, in the last 24 hours, four settlements in the district came under fire, causing damage to houses and farm buildings. No injuries or casualties were reported.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Woman wounded in attack on Belgorod
A woman has been wounded in the attacks on Belgorod, Reuters reports.
“The attack on the town of Valuyiki lasted for more than an hour,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. A woman suffered shrapnel wounds to her chest.
Gladkov said that Russian defence forces shot down three air objects, including one drone. Ukraine forces also fired 12 times from the Grad rocket launchers, he added. At least eight private houses were damaged in the attacks.
Russian regions under fire from Ukrainian forces, say local governors
Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions’ governors said, adding that no casualties were reported.
“The town of Valuyki is under fire from Ukraine‘s armed forces,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app at 07:36am local time (0436 GMT).
He did not specify whether it was rocket fire, artillery shelling or some other form of attack.
“Air defence system worked, but there is destruction on the ground,” Gladkov said.
Separately, Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, north of Belgorod and also bordering Ukraine, said that a school and a private house were damaged when the village of Tyotkino came fire, again without specifying the form of attack.
Neither the Guardian nor Reuters have independently verified the reports.
Updated
Russia has planted 'objects resembling explosives' on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant roofs, says Zelenskiy
Zelenskiy has again warned Russia may be planning to “simulate an attack” the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, claiming that Russian troops have placed “objects resembling explosives” on the roofs of buildings at the site.
Citing Ukrainian intelligence, Zelenskiy said the objects had been positioned on the roof of several power units of the power plant that is currently held by Russia.
Earlier on Tuesday, Zelenskiy briefed the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Russia’s “dangerous provocations” at the plant in south-eastern Ukraine. He said he and Macron had “agreed keep the situation under maximum control together with the IAEA”, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
Zelenskiy’s warnings echo comments he made last week at a joint news conference in Kyiv with the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. “There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a [radiation] release,” Zelenskiy said at the time.
Ukraine’s military said it had destroyed a Russian “formation” in Russian-controlled Makiivka in the frontline Donetsk region, where Moscow-installed officials and media said one civilian was killed and dozens wounded in attacks by Kyiv.
“As a result of the effective fire impact of the units of the defence forces, another formation of Russian terrorists in the temporarily occupied Makiivka ceased to exist,” Ukraine‘s armed forces said in a statement late Tuesday.
A video accompanying the post showed a huge explosion lighting up the night sky and the silhouette of at least one building.
It did not give further details.
The Russian-installed head of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Ukrainian forces had launched “fierce attacks” on residential areas and a hospital complex in Makiivka, AFP reports.
Counteroffensive ‘particularly fruitful’ in recent days
A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has been “particularly fruitful” in the past few days and Ukraine’s troops are fulfilling their main tasks, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine‘s National Security and Defence Council said on Tuesday.
Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine’s gains.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, also reported gains around the shattered city of Bakhmut despite fierce Russian resistance, Reuters reports. Russian forces had captured it in May after 10 months of battles.
“At this stage of active hostilities, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are fulfilling the number one task: the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defense forces of the Russian army,” Danilov, head of Ukraine‘s National Security and Defence Council, wrote on Twitter.
“The last few days have been particularly fruitful,” he said, without providing any details from the battlefield.
Valeriy Shershen, spokesperson for the Tavria, or southern, military command, said Ukrainian troops had advanced by up to 2 km (1.2 miles) in the Berdiansk direction of southern Ukraine, despite fierce Russian resistance.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has been “particularly fruitful“ in the past few days and Ukraine’s troops are fulfilling their main tasks, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Tuesday.
More on this shortly. Other key recent developments:
Ukrainian officials said at least 43 people, including 12 children, were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday which an officer said targeted a military funeral in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. The strike hit a parking lot outside a residential building in the town of around 28,000 people.
The Ukraine government accused Russia on Tuesday of planning a “provocation” at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, while Russia claimed that Kyiv was planning to “attack” the facility. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that “objects resembling explosives” had been placed on the roof of several power units “perhaps to simulate an attack”.
Russia sees no basis for renewing the Black Sea grain deal, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, less than two weeks before the expiration of the agreement, which has allowed grain to be shipped out of Black Sea ports despite the war in Ukraine. The ministry said in a statement Russia was doing everything so that all ships covered by the deal could leave the Black Sea before it expires on 17 July, Reuters reported.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday that Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Russian capital and its region, temporarily disrupting flight operations at the Vnukovo airport. “At this moment, the attacks have been repelled by air defence forces,” Sobyanin said on Telegram. “All detected drones have been eliminated”. There were no casualties or injured reported.
Vladimir Putin has said that Russia remains “united as never before” in the wake of the failed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group and claimed the country continued to flourish in the face of heavy western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine.
A funeral service has taken place in Kyiv for the celebrated writer Victoria Amelina. A Ukrainian novelist, poet and public intellectual, she died from injuries sustained when a Russian missile attack struck a pizza restaurant in the eastern town of Kramatorsk, killing 12 people in total, including children.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that 185,000 new recruits had joined the Russian army as professional contract soldiers since the start of the year. In a video posted on Telegram, Medvedev, who was earlier this year appointed to a role overseeing Russia’s domestic military production, said that almost 10,000 new recruits had joined up in the last week.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has said it was lending €25m (£21.4m) to the Ukrainian city of Dnipro to help it cope with an influx of people fleeing fighting. It said the loan would help ensure the continuous provision of vital municipal services in the south-eastern city after the arrival of people forced to flee other locations because of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Reuters reported.
US president, Joe Biden, on Tuesday welcomed Nato’s decision to extend secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s term by a further year. “With his steady leadership, experience, and judgment, secretary general Stoltenberg has brought our alliance through the most significant challenges in European security since the second world war,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
The Kremlin has said there were “certain contacts” with the United States over the case of detained Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, but that it did not want to make them public. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the comments in a regular briefing.
Oleksiy Danilov has described recent days of battle as “fruitful” for Ukraine in terms of destroying the resources of the Russian forces. In a post to social media, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council described Ukraine as acting “calmly” and “wisely’ in its counteroffensive.
Switzerland plans to take part in a Europe-wide air defence project initiated in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The country is the second neutral nation after Austria to signal its intention to join the European Sky Shield Initiative launched by Germany last year, Reuters reported.
