Summary
It is now approaching 6pm in Kyiv. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits, a minister said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Finland’s parliament should reject a proposed laws that would prevent migrants arriving across the long, forested border with Russia from seeking asylum, the Nordic country’s non-discrimination ombudsman said on Thursday.
Speaking in Prague, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said: “When leaders meet in July, we will take further steps to invest in our security, strengthen ties with partners, and bolster our support to Ukraine.”
Jan Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, has called for a strategic approach to Russia’s meddling. “Constant hybrid warfare. Cyber attacks. Lie-poisoned propaganda. Espionage under diplomatic cover. Russia is sowing seeds of chaos globally,” he said.
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said she welcomes “the important decision of the 77th World Health Assembly to adopt a resolution on mental health in times of war and disasters, initiated by Ukraine and the Netherlands.”
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was finalising a proposal for “retaliatory measures” against the EU over the bloc’s ban on the broadcast of four Russian media outlets on its territory.
France could soon send military trainers to Ukraine despite the concerns of some allies and criticism by Russia, and may announce its decision next week during a visit by the Ukrainian president, three diplomatic sources said.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the US, Nato and some European countries were encouraging Ukraine to continue what it called Kyiv’s “senseless war” with Russia and accused them of escalating tensions in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s grain exports are forecast to fall to around 38-40 million metric tons in the 2024/25 season compared with about 50 million tons in 2023/24, the acting farm minister said on Thursday.
Natalia Komarova, the governor of Siberia’s oil-rich Khanty-Mansiisk region who was last year criticised for remarks she made about the war in Ukraine, announced on Thursday that she was resigning from her post.
Russia is building up forces near the northern part of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where it launched an offensive this month, but it still lacks the troop numbers to stage a major push in the area, Ukraine’s top commander said on Thursday.
Russia may take steps in the area of nuclear deterrence if the US deploys intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe and Asia, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Italy will never send any troops to Ukraine and any weapons it has supplied to Kyiv should not be used on Russian territory, the Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Thursday.
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Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, told the press conference on Thursday his embassy would cooperate with the efforts to stop Sri Lankans travelling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment offers.
Under the new controls, men will have to produce a “no-objection” document from the Sri Lankan defence ministry when they apply for a tourist visa to Russia, state minister for foreign affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, told reporters.
He said:
I get about ten calls a day from people about this issue. We have reports of people being promised pay but it’s not credited to their accounts.
Some people have taken loans to go and aren’t able to pay them back. They are facing many hardships and we want to find a way to bring them back.
Campaigns on social media platform WhatsApp have targeted former members of Sri Lanka’s military, according to the Sri Lanka’s defence ministry.
Families of Sri Lankans who have travelled to Russia have lodged 455 complaints with the Colombo government, and the actual number of people involved could be higher, Balasuriya said.
At least 37 Sri Lankans have been wounded in Ukraine and 16 others are missing, according to foreign ministry data.
