Closing summary
The 74th Nato summit, and this blog, are now coming to a close. Below is a roundup of today’s stories:
Ben Wallace, the British defence secretary said “people want to see a bit of gratitude” and Ukraine needed to put more emphasis on saying thank you for western help when he was asked about President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints on Tuesday that the country had not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato. Wallace said Ukrainians’ haste to get all the help they could meant they did not always say they were grateful for the help received. “Whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude,” the minister said at a briefing in the margins of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, distanced himself from Wallace’s comments, saying Zelenskiy has expressed gratitude for UK support. Sunak addressed reporters and appeared not to support the defence minister’s characterisation. He highlighted that President Zelenskiy had expressed gratitude on multiple occasions, including his address to parliament earlier this year. “I know he and his people are grateful to the UK,” said Sunak.
Zelenskiy said he “didn’t understand” Wallace’s comments. He also said “we could express our words of gratitude personally to the minister”
The G7 signed a declaration outlining support for Ukraine and help towards governance reforms needed for ‘Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The member nations said they would provide security and economic support, including modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea, intelligence sharing and the training of Ukrainian forces in exchange for Ukraine committing to reforms “to underscore its commitments to democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and media freedoms”, “put its economy on a sustainable path” and strengthen “democratic civilian control of the military”.
Nato unveiled a three-part package to bring Ukraine ‘closer’ to the alliance. Speaking on Wednesday morning, Jens Stoltenberg said the plan will establish “a new Nato-Ukraine council, reaffirming that Ukraine will become a member of Nato and removing the requirement for the membership action plans”
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sweden’s Nato accession will not be put to Turkish parliament until autumn when it re-opens. Speaking at a news conference after the Nato summit in Vilnius, Erdogan said that Sweden would provide a roadmap for Turkey regarding the steps to take against purported terrorism before the ratification.
An 81-year-old man was killed after shelling in Kherson. His 82-year-old wife was wounded in shelling of the southern city of Kherson, the region’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram on Wednesday.
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has told CNN that Ukraine joining Nato now “would mean war with Russia” during a media round where he expressed support for the alliance’s caution. Speaking to MSNBC, Sullivan said the US president, Joe Biden, will be “straightforward” with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who are due to meet each other today.
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‘It’s not like you push a button’: Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser explains why Sweden’s Nato membership will likely be delayed until autumn
Akif Cagatay Kilic, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser and former chair of the foreign affairs committee of Turkey’s parliament, recently discussed the issue of Sweden’s accession with Nikkei. He explained why Sweden’s Nato bid is not likely to progress further until after the summer.
Kilic said that the government aimed to expedite the process and send the decision on Sweden’s accession to the Turkish parliament as soon as possible, but poured cold water on the prospect of a swift conclusion on the issue because “there is [still] some work that has to be done”.
Kilic said the decision must be deliberated by the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee and then voted on in the Grand national assembly before Sweden’s new status as a Nato ally is enacted in law, which would not happen before Turkey’s parliament recesses next week. “It’s not like you push a button and the next day everything happens,” he told the financial newspaper.
The foreign policy adviser explained that an extension of the legislative session hinged on the nationalist MHP party, the ruling AKP’s junior coalition partner and was unlikely.
However, Kilic also implied that the delay primarily related to timing rather than any fundamental obstacles between Ankara and Stockholm. He acknowledged that Sweden had fulfilled the requirements outlined in the trilateral agreement, a memorandum between the countries signed at the 2022 Nato summit in Madrid to address Turkey’s security concerns. He also said that Turkey had seen “sincerity” on Sweden’s part, but reiterated that there were still outstanding tasks to be completed.
Erdoğan echoed his adviser at a press conference after the Nato summit, saying that the protocols for Sweden’s accession would be ratified after “parliament is open again” in October, adding that Turkey wanted “it to be done as soon as possible”.
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Biden’s closing speech, which emphasised unity as the key to deterring “unchecked aggression”, has ended.
Biden says “the idea that the US could prosper without a secure Europe is not reasonable”.
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Biden says “we warned the world what Putin was planning. Even some in Ukraine didn’t believe what our intelligence community had found.”
Biden says Nato is “stronger, more energised and more united than ever” and says Putin was betting “Nato would break apart”.
The US president, Joe Biden, is holding a press conference, which has begun now.
We will be bringing you the most important top lines, watch the conference live at the top of the page.
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The US president, Joe Biden, told president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday that he looked forward to the day he could welcome Ukraine to Nato, aiming to take the sting out of recent comments that now was not the time for Ukrainian membership in the military alliance, Reuters reports.
“Your resilience and your resolve has been a model for the whole world to see,” Biden told Zelenskiy before a bilateral meeting.
Biden said he understood the Ukrainian leader’s frustration about getting the help he needed quickly enough.
“I promise you the US is doing everything we can to get you what you need,” Biden said in the presence of reporters.
“I look forward to the day when we’re having the meeting celebrating your official, official membership in Nato,” Biden said.
Before he left the US for the Nato trip, Biden told CNN in an interview that he thought the time was not yet right for Ukraine to join the Nato alliance. If Ukraine were to become a member now, Biden said then, “we’re in a war with Russia”.
Biden was asked by a reporter on Wednesday how soon after the war he would like Ukraine to join Nato, and responded with irritation, “an hour and 20 minutes”.
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Zelenskiy says if Ukraine wins the war, the country will “definitely have Nato membership … [and] absolute unity that Ukraine will be [an] EU member”.
He added that he believed Ukraine would be taking the “next step” at the next Nato summit, due to be held next July in Washington.
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Zelenskiy says 'we could express our words of gratitude personally to the minister' in response to Wallace comments
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he “didn’t understand” the comments made by Ben Wallace, adding “we could get up in the morning and express our words of gratitude personally to the minister”. He said Ukraine was “always grateful to the UK”.
Zelenskiy said: “I believe that we were always grateful to UK. We were always grateful to the prime minister and to the minister of defence because the people in UK have always supported Ukraine. We are grateful for this.
“How else should I express my words of gratitude? Or we could, you know, get up in the morning and express our words of gratitude personally to the minister. Really, I don’t understand the essence of the question. We are grateful to UK.”
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he hasn’t changed his point of view when asked about the comments he made on Tuesday saying it would be “absurd” if Ukraine was not given Nato membership – and if this could alienate allies who spent a lot of political capital and money in order to help Ukraine.
He said: “I haven’t changed my point of view. What’s most important is that we have common understanding on the conditions on when and under which conditions Ukraine would be in Nato.”
He added that maybe not all the details were communicated and he did not know whether everyone was being frank with him, but Ukraine believed “in our partners that are helping us today to win in this war”.
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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is holding a press conference at the Nato summit.
The first question he is asked is about the conditions Ukraine must meet in order to join Nato and whether, apart from security related ones, which have been more clearly defined, what the conditions are related to political reforms.
In response, Zelenskiy said: “We understand it’s all about the security [conditions].”
He added: “I believe we will be in Nato when the security situation is stabilised, and that means when the war is finished Ukraine will definitely be invited to Nato and we will definitely become a member nation of the alliance. I haven’t heard any other opinion today.”
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Reuters reports that Russian president, Vladimir Putin, currently has no plans to speak to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Kremlin spokesperson.
Earlier, Erdogan, speaking at a news conference after a Nato summit in Vilnius, said Turkey could act as mediator between Moscow and Kyiv to reach a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine if the two parties made such a proposition.
Erdogan said last weekend that he had invited Putin to visit Turkey in August.
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Erdogan: Sweden's Nato accession will not be put to Turkish parliament until autumn
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said that a bill to ratify Sweden’s Nato accession would not be put to parliament until autumn, when it re-opens.
Speaking at a news conference after the Nato summit in Vilnius, Erdogan said that Sweden would provide a roadmap for Turkey regarding the steps to take against purported terrorism before the ratification.
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The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, held a press conference at the same time as UK prime minster, Rishi Sunak.
He was asked if Ukraine risked alienating allies “who spend a lot of political capital and real capital in order to help” after its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Tuesday it would be “absurd” if Ukraine was not offered Nato membership.
Stoltenberg said: “We all understand the extremely difficult situation that Ukraine is in when they’re in the middle of the war”, and noted Zelenskiy’s positive response to the measures announced by Nato on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg was also asked if there was any appetite for Nato to put “boots on the ground” in the form of a peacekeeping mission.
“I think it’s wrong now to speculate exactly on how this will be done in the future after the war ends,” he said.
“The most important thing now is to ensure that the war ends in a just and lasting way.”
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81-year-old man killed after shelling in Kherson
An 81-year-old man has been killed and his 82-year-old wife wounded in shelling of the southern city of Kherson, the region’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram on Wednesday.
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Sunak’s press conference has come to an end.
The Sun asks if Sunak would have said the comments made by Ben Wallace about Ukraine needing to show the west “gratitude”.
Sunak says: “President Zelenskiy has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to me and to the British people and indeed other allies as well. He did it very movingly in parliament when he was in the UK earlier this year.
“He continues to be grateful for our support and our leadership, and the welcome that we’ve extended to many Ukrainian families. I think everyone can see that that’s how he feels.”
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The Daily Express asks if Sunak agrees with comments from a Putin ally that the security packages announced could lead to the third world war.
Sunak says: “I think the only person who’s responsible for this conflict is President Putin. [He] is engaged in an unprovoked – an illegal – invasion of another country violating their territorial integrity and sovereignty, that is a flagrant breach of international law and the UN charter.”
He added: “The person who can quickly end this war is President Putin and by withdrawing his forces [and] recognising what he’s doing is wrong.”
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Bloomberg asks if Sunak sees Ukraine joining Nato within a year of a ceasefire.
Sunak says: “What the summit represents is a very significant moment on the journey towards membership and when conditions allow, membership will happen.
“I think that is very clear from today’s summit that people’s view is Ukraine will and should be a member of Nato. That’s what you’ve heard loud and clear coming out of this summit.”
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Zelenskiy has expressed gratitude for UK support, says Sunak
During a press conference after the Nato summit, Rishi Sunak appeared to distance himself from comments made by defence secretary Ben Wallace who questioned Ukraine’s gratitude to its western partners for arms supplies on more than one occasion during the Nato summit.
Wallace reportedly told Sky News that the UK should not be treated like an online marketplace for arms, saying, “I am not Amazon,” referring to an incident where he said he personally travelled for 11 hours by car to Ukraine to receive a weapons list from government officials.
At a panel earlier in the day he also said the deliveries of equipment to Ukraine had been “huge” and mainly through gifts and donations, adding that Ukraine was able to prepare twelve brigades for its counteroffensive which was larger than most armies. “I don’t have twelve brigades,” he told attendees.
After the Nato summit, Sunak addressed reporters and appeared not to support the defence minister’s characterisation. He highlighted that President Zelenskiy had expressed gratitude on multiple occasions, including his address to parliament earlier this year. “I know he and his people are grateful to the UK,” said Sunak.
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The first question to the UK prime minister is about the earlier comments from the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, about Ukraine “showing gratitude”.
Sunak diplomatically points out that Zelenskiy has expressed his gratitude at this Nato conference, and says the Ukrainian people are facing danger every day.
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From a UK perspective, Sunak said “we are the leading European contributor to Nato”, adding that British people should know how appreciated that is within the alliance as one of the only nations that contributes to every Nato mission.
He lauded the G7 framework for security for Ukraine but said the UK had moved first on several elements in providing for Ukraine, adding that the UK starts training Ukrainian pilots next month. He harked back to the UK being one of the founding members of Nato.
“Nato is more important than ever,” he said. “It has proved to be one of the most important alliances in history and the UK is at its heart.”
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Sunak has described Russia’s war on Ukraine as 500 days of barbarity, but says Ukraine still stands strong and defiant. He said Nato was “more confident and more united than ever” and had “acted decisively to strengthen this alliance”.
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The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is giving a standalone press conference in Vilnius. We will bring you any key lines that emerge. You should be able to watch the video stream on the blog. You may need to refresh the page for the play button to appear.
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The security pledges to Ukraine issued by several countries within a G7 framework are meant to be part of a long-term strategy to support Kyiv, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Wednesday.
“It is about a security partnership that is urgently needed and that will enable the participating countries to specify their contributions (to Kyiv), embedding these contributions in a longer-term strategy that Ukraine can rely on,” Reuters report he told the media.
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It was a short speech from Ukraine’s president. He said the G7 arrangement opened up new security opportunities for Ukraine, and thanked each of the leaders by name. He said it would help give security to Ukraine’s children.
Here are the leaders on stage. Zelenksiy has just said he is grateful for their support.
Biden has described the G7 message on security guarantees for Ukraine as a powerful statement. Volodymyr Zelenskiy is speaking now.
At Vilnius there is now a joint press conference after the first meeting of the new Nato-Ukraine council. US president Joe Biden is speaking.
G7 signs declaration outlining support for Ukraine and help towards governance reforms needed for 'Euro-Atlantic aspirations'
Members of the G7 have signed a joint declaration outlining the long-term security and economic support they plan to provide Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion, as well as support to facilitate a “reform agenda” that will provide Ukraine with “the good governance necessary to advance towards its Euro-Atlantic aspirations”.
The declaration outlines how the G7 will support Ukraine:
Ensuring a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future by providing modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea, intelligence sharing and the training of Ukrainian forces.
Strengthening Ukraine’s economic stability and resilience, including through reconstruction and recovery efforts, to create the conditions conducive to promoting Ukraine’s economic prosperity, including its energy security.
Providing technical and financial support for Ukraine’s immediate needs stemming from Russia’s war as well as to enable Ukraine to continue implementing the effective reform agenda that will support the good governance necessary to advance towards its Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The declaration also says that in the event of a future Russian armed attack, the G7 will provide Ukraine with swift and sustained security assistance, including modern military equipment, economic assistance and will issue costs to Russia.
The declaration also recognises “the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation of damages, loss or injury caused by Russian aggression”.
In exchange for this support, Ukraine would commit to reforms “to underscore its commitments to democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and media freedoms”, “put its economy on a sustainable path” and strengthen “democratic civilian control of the military”.
Zelenskiy: Ukrainian people 'expect specifics' about conditions to join Nato
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the majority of Ukrainian people “expect specifics” about the conditions Ukraine must meet in order to join Nato, saying they currently perceive them as security conditions.
On Twitter, he said: “I would also like to draw your attention to the wording regarding the “conditions” that we must meet in order to receive an invitation to Nato. The absolute majority of our people expect specifics about these conditions. We perceive them as security conditions. We understand that Ukraine cannot become a member of Nato while the war is ongoing. But then it will be our common strength when Ukraine joins the alliance.”
He also said the Nato-Ukraine council gives Ukraine the institutional certainty it needs and thanked the alliance for its security guarantees and for dropping the requirement for a membership action plan.
We all need certainty - in particular, institutional certainty. And it is very good that the NATO-Ukraine Council can really give us the necessary institutional certainty. It is important for us that the NATO-Ukraine Council will be an instrument of integration, not just… pic.twitter.com/R5RLkxJYxA
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 12, 2023
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US national security adviser: Ukraine joining Nato now 'would mean war with Russia'
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has told CNN that Ukraine joining Nato now “would mean war with Russia” during a media round where he expressed support for the alliance’s caution.
Speaking to MSNBC, Sullivan said the US president, Joe Biden, will be “straightforward” with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who are due to meet each other today.
On Tuesday, Zelenskiy said he had faith but not confidence in Nato decisions and said not offering Ukraine membership to the alliance would be “absurd”.
Sullivan added that Biden will given Zelenskiy the rationale for Nato’s decision on Ukraine’s membership.
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, had an amusing exchange at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, when Zelenskiy was left momentarily confused about whether a question on the delivery of F16s was for him or the Nato chief.
“About the F-16s, did you address to me or to you?” the president said, as he looked across at Stoltenberg. The pair had a quick interaction on who should take the question before Zelenskiy laughed and said: “F16s?! No, no, no answer please.”
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Reuters reports that Gen Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine who has not been since in public since the attempted Wagner mutiny last month, is “currently resting”, a lawmaker from the ruling party said on Wednesday.
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, is heard saying in a video posted on social media: “Surovikin is currently resting. [He is] not available for now.”
There have been unconfirmed reports that Surovikin was detained for questioning.
Jens Stoltenberg has tweeted a picture of himself with Volodymyr Zelenskiy where he says today we meet as “equals” and that he looks forward to the day “we meet as allies”.
An honour to welcome President @ZelenskyyUa to our #NATOSummit for the inaugural meeting of the NATO–Ukraine Council. Our 3-part support package means #Ukraine is closer to #NATO membership than ever before. Today we meet as equals; I look forward to the day we meet as Allies. pic.twitter.com/4w7zruztCb
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 12, 2023
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “Ukraine needs long-range weapons, this deficit is still there” and that he would raise the issue in talks with the US president, Joe Biden.
He also thanked Biden for his decision on cluster munitions, which he acknowledged was a “challenge”.
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Jens Stoltenberg says the “most urgent task now is to ensure Ukraine has enough weapons”.
He also said “Ukraine has the right to choose its own path, it’s not for Moscow to decide” and that Putin winning would be the biggest risk in the war.
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Zelenskiy: 'Understandable' Ukraine cannot join during war but invitation would have been ideal
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it is “understandable that Ukraine cannot join Nato when at war” but it would have been ideal if there had been an invitation for Kyiv to join the alliance.
He added that the results of the Nato summit were good, that recognition that Ukraine did not need to follow a Membership Action Plan was important, and that he had received positive news on defence packages announced during the summit.
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Nato unveils three-part package to bring Ukraine 'closer' to alliance
Jens Stoltenberg has outlined a three-part, multi-year package that will bring “Ukraine closer to Nato”.
The plan will establish “a new Nato-Ukraine council, reaffirming that Ukraine will become a member of Nato and removing the requirement for the membership action plans”.
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Jens Stoltenberg says “Ukraine is now closer to Nato than ever before” and says he “looks forward to the day we meet as allies”.
Stoltenberg added: “We must ensure that when this war ends, there are credible arrangements in place for Ukraine’s security which will help deter any future aggression from Russia”.
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Jens Stoltenberg and Volodymyr Zelenskiy are giving a joint press conference. You can watch it in the blog. You might need to refresh the page for the play button to appear. We will bring you the key lines.
UK defence minister: 'people want to see a bit of gratitude' from Ukraine for weapon supplies
Dan Sabbagh is in Vilnius for the Guardian and reports these words from Ben Wallace:
The British defence secretary suggested Ukraine needed to put more emphasis on saying thank you for western help when he was asked about President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints on Tuesday that the country had not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato.
Ben Wallace said Ukrainians’ haste to get all the help they could meant they did not always say they were grateful for the help received. “Whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude,” the minister said at a briefing in the margins of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
“Sometimes you are asking countries to give up their own stocks” of weapons, he said, adding tha making repeated demands from the west could risk alienating some key constituencies. “Sometimes you have to persuade lawmakers on the [Capitol] Hill in America,” he added.
Wallace revealed that he had travelled to Ukraine last year to be presented with a shopping list of weapons. “You know, we’re not Amazon,” he said. “I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list.”
But he said he understood Zelenskiy was speaking to his own public and that despite his complaint on Tuesday, the final summit deal was a good one for Ukraine. There was an acceptance that “Ukraine belongs at Nato” and that amounted to an effective invitation for membership whenever the conflict died down.
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Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has hailed as “more good news from Vilnius” a bilateral agreement signed between his country and Sweden.
On social media, Reznikov posted “Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement on cooperation in defence procurement. This document provides great opportunities both for our armed forces and for Swedish companies like Saab and others.”
The post followed an earlier one, in which Reznikov confirmed Ukraine and Sweden signed “an agreement on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information”.
He added: “Trust is the cornerstone of a strong partnership. And access to information is the key to success.”
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government will hold talks with its nationalist parliamentary ally on ratifying Sweden’s Nato accession, a senior official said on Wednesday, after the Nationalist Movement party (MHP) appeared to take a negative view on the issue.
Reuters reports the MHP leader, Devlet Bahçeli, said on Tuesday that Sweden had failed to distance itself from terrorism, but added that Erdoğan would make the final call.
Erdoğan’s AK party relies on the MHP for a parliamentary majority, which is required to push through the ratification.
Turkey and Hungary remain the only two members of the Nato alliance yet to ratify Sweden’s membership.
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Reuters has a quick snap to report that the Kremlin said on Wednesday it was misguided and “potentially very dangerous” for the west to give Ukraine security guarantees.
The Kremlin claimed they would infringe on Russia’s own security.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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Andriy Yermak, who is head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office and in Vilnius with the president, has posted to Telegram saying, “We have good agreements on arms with our allies,” shortly after postiing a message with the handshake emoji alongside Canadian, Australian and UK flags.
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The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and Volodymyr Zelenskiy have held a meeting at the Nato summit, Ukraine’s president has confirmed. He posted to Telegram to say:
Meeting with Rishi Sunak. Third meeting and third success for Ukraine at the summit today. Defence, politics, our common security. We thanked for the weapons, in particular long-range weapons and strong support for Ukraine on the way to Nato. And we are preparing security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to Nato. A very good meeting!
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Germany to send additional Patriot launchers and missiles to Ukraine – Zelenskiy
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Germany on his Telegram channel for agreeing to send more Patriot launchers and missiles to Ukraine after speaking with Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Nato summit in Vilnius. In a message, Ukraine’s president posted:
We continued the conversation about security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to Nato with Chancellor Scholz. Thank you for your support!
There is an agreement on additional Patriot launchers and missiles for them from Germany. This is very important for protecting life in Ukraine from Russian terror!
I am grateful for Germany’s readiness for long-term, long-term support of Ukraine and our defence of freedom. Long-term support programmes are the best signal to everyone in the world that our Europe will remain a space of security and peace.
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The Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, reports:
Nato appears to have shelved, at least for now, plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo.
A joint communique published on Tuesday did not mention plans for the office, which had been discussed as part of the alliance’s plans to deepen cooperation with partners in the Asia-Pacific.
For the second year running, heads of state from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea attended the summit, which is increasingly concerned with the threat of China alongside Russia.
France had openly opposed the plans for a Nato liaison office in Tokyo, concerned that it would antagonise China and be interpreted as territorial overreach.
On Wednesday, the Chinese mission to the EU said it was “deeply concerned” about Nato’s “ambition of seeking expansion” and “eastward movement into the Asia-Pacific”.
The joint communique said that China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values” and expressed concern about its “deepening strategic partnership with Russia”.
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Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, has criticised Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, over his comments about Ukraine’s potential membership of Nato, and sarcastically suggested he should attend the distance education programme of the diplomatic academy of the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia.
In a Telegram post, she referred to Kuleba’s comments about unclear next steps in Ukraine joining the alliance. She wrote:
Stupid. You need to learn the rules before the game begins, not after.
So be it, I will tell you. This is the “rules-based world order” invented by westerners. The smartest don’t participate in it, since there are no rules, they are invented on the go and changed if the game does not bring the desired result. The alternative is international law, which is supported by the majority of sane people.
All this is taught at the diplomatic academy of the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia, the distance education programme of which will help even Kuleba figure it out.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to social media to say that he has begun a meeting with Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Ukraine’s president said: “Dialogue will be meaningful as always. We expect good news regarding the protection of the lives of Ukrainians and our defence.”
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The US will soon begin negotiations with Ukraine on providing long-term security assistance after western countries announce on Wednesday a broader international framework to support Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Echoing the statement from the UK government reported earlier [see 8.17 BST], a White House official told reporters “G7 leaders agree to enter bilateral negotiations with Ukraine to provide long-term security assistance and ensure they have a capable fighting force to deter Russian aggression in the future and provide support for Ukraine’s good governance reforms and strengthen Ukraine’s economy.
“The US will begin its negotiations with Ukraine soon,” they added.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has used his social media channels to outline his priorities for the second day of the Nato summit in Vilnius. Ukraine’s president said on Telegram:
We have three priorities on today’s agenda.
The first is new support packages for our army on the battlefield.
The second, I believe, is an invitation to Nato. We need your understanding that we have this invitation for when the security situation allows it.
We want to discuss all these things with our partners.
And thirdly, today we will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to Nato.
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Roman Abramovich on Wednesday will challenge European Union sanctions imposed on him after start of the war in Ukraine, arguing the restrictions were imposed simply because he is a well-known Russian, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters.
His lawyers will argue that the EU sanctions are baseless and were imposed purely because he is a famous Russian businessman
In February last year, Abramovich was vehemently disputing reports suggesting his alleged closeness to Vladimir Putin and Russia, or that he has done anything to merit sanctions being imposed against him. By March 2022 he was attending the initial round of peace talks in Turkey aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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G7 to announce 'international framework for Ukraine’s long-term security arrangements' – UK government
G7 countries are expected to announce an “international framework for Ukraine’s long-term security arrangements” on the margins of the Nato summit in Vilnius on Wednesday, the UK government said in a statement.
Reuters reports the statement matched a similar announcement by the White House.
“The joint declaration, expected to be signed by all members of the G7, will set out how allies will support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war and deter and respond to any future attack,” the UK statement said.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “As Ukraine makes strategic progress in their counteroffensive, and the degradation of Russian forces begins to infect Putin’s frontline, we are stepping up our formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for the long term.”
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Ukrainian forces again claim some progress near city of Bakhmut
Ukraine’s armed forces have this morning claimed some progress near Bakhmut in the fighting in the Donetsk region, and also claim to have shot down 11 drones overnight.
The latest update on Facebook from the general staff reads:
The defence forces of Ukraine continue to conduct offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Melitopol and Berdiansk directions.
In the Bakhmut direction, our troops continue offensive actions north and south of Bakhmut city. In the directions of Bila Hora-Andriivka and Bila Gora-Kurdyumivka there was success. They are entrenched at the achieved boundaries
On the night of 12 July 2023 Russia attacked Ukraine from the north-east direction, from Kursk with suicide drones of the Iranian production type “Shahed”.
A total of 15 kamikaze drones were involved in the strike. 11 of them were destroyed.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The all clear has been given in Nikopol.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region in Russia, has published his daily operational message on Telegram. He lists several areas that have been subject to cross-border shelling by Ukrainian forces, but lists no casualties or significant consequences beyond damage to some power lines.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Here is a reminder of the key lines from yesterday’s Nato communique that relate to Ukraine. Dan Sabbagh reported that the language reflects opposition from Germany and the US that too firm a commitment could prompt an escalation from Russia and, if Ukraine were allowed to join the alliance while the conflict continued, it could ultimately bring Nato into a war against Moscow.
In its communique, Nato said:
Russia bears full responsibility for its illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, which has gravely undermined Euro-Atlantic and global security and for which it must be held fully accountable.
Russia must immediately stop this illegal war of aggression, cease its use of force against Ukraine, and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces and equipment from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, extending to its territorial waters.
We welcome the strong support in the UN general assembly for efforts to promote a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine. We welcome and support President Zelenskiy’s commitment in setting out the principles for such a peace through his peace formula. We are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace that upholds the principles of the UN charter.
We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their nation, their land, and our shared values.
We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in Nato. We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of Nato, and today we recognise that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the “membership action plan”. Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance, and has made substantial progress on its reform path.
The security of Ukraine is of great importance to allies and the alliance. To support Ukraine’s further integration with Nato, today we have agreed a substantial package of expanded political and practical support.
The continued delivery of urgently needed non-lethal assistance to Ukraine by Nato through the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) remains a priority.
Updated
In the last few moments an air alert that had been in place across some of southern Ukraine has been lifted, however there is still a warning in place about artillery fire in Nikopol.
This is not unusual, as the city lies on the right-bank of the Dnipro, opposite Russian occupied territory near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and occupied city of Enerhodar.
Reuters reports that Joe Biden intends to say “we’re at a high point of allied unity coming out of the summit and how we’ve rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine” at the end of the Nato summit in Vilnius.
It cites a White House official, who said Biden will stress that “it’s important to build on that unity to tackle other important challenges … such as climate change, emerging technologies and threats to the rules-based international order,” the official said.
In an implicit contrast with the former president Donald Trump, Biden has tried to make Washington, by far the largest financial and military contributor to the alliance, a driving force for strengthening the group.
Biden’s speech is seen as an attempt to rally allies and showcase his role on the world stage before his 2024 re-election campaign, which he is expected to focus on healing divisions at home and abroad.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Updated
Nato must protect Ukraine from Russian aggression, and also Ukraine cannot join Nato while it is at war with Russia. That is the conundrum that leaders of the western military alliance grapple with at their annual summit in Vilnius.
Kyiv craves the security of a mutual assistance pact – the ultimate solidarity that treats an attack on one Nato member as an aggression against them all. Nothing short of that guarantee, underwritten by US firepower, will persuade Russia to respect post-Soviet borders.
But Vladimir Putin’s armies have already smudged Ukraine’s border with blood. Nato abhors the violation but draws the line at direct military confrontation with Russia, not least because nuclear weapons could come into play when former cold war adversaries meet in battle.
For President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, it is catch-22: to earn collective protection from the invader he must first fight off the invasion alone. The leaders gathered in Vilnius express maximum support for that endeavour, but membership of their club can be defined only loosely, as a work in progress:
Updated
Russia’s recent strikes on Ukraine were “likely in a demonstrative response to the 2023 Nato summit in Vilnius and to threaten the Black Sea grain deal,” the Institute for the Study of War, a US thinktank, argues in its latest update.
The ISW writes:
Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Captain First Rank Nataliya Humenyuk stated that Russian forces targeted port infrastructure to disrupt the Black Sea Grain deal. Russia’s drone strikes on port infrastructure also coincide with the first day of the Nato summit in Vilnius and are likely intended to discourage Nato members from providing more military aid to Ukraine. Russia may be threatening the Black Sea grain deal to message the deal’s original broker, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that his recent statement of support for Ukraine’s Nato membership and the return of the five Ukrainian Azovstal commanders on 7 July has not gone unnoticed and is not appreciated by the Kremlin.
Updated
Reuters has this report on the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s latest comments as the Nato summit continues:
The armed confrontation in Ukraine will continue until the west gives up plans to dominate and defeat Moscow, Lavrov said in an interview with an Indonesian newspaper published on Wednesday.
The goal of the “US-led collective west” is to strengthen its global hegemony, Lavrov told the Kompas newspaper. Lavrov is due to attend the east Asia summit and Asean regional forum in Jakarta this week, as is the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
“Why doesn’t the armed confrontation in Ukraine come to an end? The answer is very simple: it will continue until the west gives up its plans to preserve its domination and overcome its obsessive desire to inflict on Russia a strategic defeat at the hands of its Kyiv puppets,” according to a transcript of the interview published on Russia’s foreign ministry website.
“For the time being, there are no signs of change in this position.”
Updated
G7 to issue declaration on 'formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for long term'
The G7 group of nations are expected to issue a declaration today on how they will help Kyiv defeat Russia and deter any new aggression in the coming years.
“As Ukraine makes strategic progress in their counteroffensive … we are stepping up our formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for the long term,” the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said in a statement.
“We can never see a repeat of what has happened in Ukraine and this declaration reaffirms our commitment to ensure it is never left vulnerable to the kind of brutality Russia has inflicted on it again.”
“The announcement will provide a framework under which individual nations will later agree bilateral deals with Kyiv detailing the weapons they will give,” AFP reports.
Updated
Russia strikes Kyiv for second night in a row
Russia launched a wave of kamikaze drone attacks on Kyiv and its region for a second night in row, Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday, hours before Zelenskiy was due to meet Nato leaders at a summit that has backed Ukraine’s independence.
According to preliminary information from Ukrainian military, there were no immediate reports of casualties or major destruction. All drones were intercepted before hitting their targets.
“The 504th day of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. The enemy launched another air attack on the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters witnesses in Kyiv heard blasts resembling the sound of air defence systems intercepting aerial objects. It was not immediately known how many of the Iranian Shahed drones Russia launched and how many were intercepted.
Air alerts were issued for more than two hours over Kyiv and across Ukraine and fighting continued as Nato leaders gathered for a summit which the Kremlin criticised, warning that Moscow would respond to protect its own security.
A night earlier, Russia launched 28 drones on Kyiv and the southern port of Odesa, with Ukraine’s air defence shooting down 26 of the Shahed drones.
Updated
The Russian news agency Tass reports that a number of houses are on fire in a village near Moscow.
“The village of Kryvtsovo is burning in Solnechnogorsk near Moscow, the fire area is 3.2 thousand sq meters, the Ministry of Emergencies informed us,” the agency wrote on Telegram.
The Guardian has not verified this claim independently.
Updated
Zelenskiy set to meet key Nato leaders
Zelenskiy will hold a series of bilateral meetings with Nato leaders today, after they declared his country’s future lay inside the alliance but rebuffed his call for a timeline to membership.
Zelenskiy will join the Nato leaders on the second day of their summit in Vilnius for an inaugural session of the Nato-Ukraine council, a body established to upgrade relations between Kyiv and the 31-member transatlantic military alliance.
He will also meet separately with the US president, Joe Biden, as he seeks more arms and ammunition from the United States and other Nato nations to fight the war triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
The US, Britain, France and Germany are expected to issue assurances to Kyiv of long-term security support in the form of advanced weaponry, training and other military aid, possibly soon after the summit ends, according to officials.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan.
Russia launched a wave of kamikaze drone attacks on Kyiv and its region for a second night in row, Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday, hours before president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due to hold bilateral meetings today with the leaders of America, Canada, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Japan and other partners.
The meeting at the Nato summit in Vilnius comes after Zelenskiy failed in a last-ditch effort to secure an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato. Nato has said in an ascension plan that “Ukraine’s future” is in the alliance and the country will join when “allies agree and conditions are met”.
The decision not to issue an invitation or provide a firm timeline prompted Zelenskiy to say he has “faith” but not confidence in the alliance’s decisions.
In other key developments:
Germany found traces of subsea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that it suspects “may have been used to transport the explosives” to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, it told the UN security council in a letter with Sweden and Denmark. A series of unexplained explosions hit the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea last September in the exclusive economic zones of Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
A senior Russian draft officer and former submarine commander accused by Ukraine of deadly strikes on its territory has been shot dead while jogging in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, was killed on Monday by an unidentified gunman during a morning run in a park, police said. Russian FSB security services said on Tuesday that a 64-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack.
A woman was killed by Russian shelling in the village of Sofiyivka in the Kherson region, the governor said on Telegram. Oleksandr Prokudin also claimed residential quarters in the region had been set on fire by “Russian terrorists” and left two people injured, one of whom was in serious condition.
The British government said on Tuesday it would provide a £50m ($64.65m) support package for equipment repair and establishment of a military rehabilitation centre in Ukraine. Under the new tranche of support, which will be discussed at this week’s Nato summit in Vilnius, Luthuania, the UK and G7 members will provide thousands of additional rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition and more than 70 combat and logistics vehicles.
France will start supplying Ukraine with long-range Scalp missiles that will allow Kyiv’s forces to defend themselves, President Emmanuel Macron has said. “I have decided to increase deliveries of weapons and equipment to enable the Ukrainians to have the capacity to strike deeply while keeping our doctrine to allow Ukraine to defend its territory,” he said on Tuesday.
Nato says it has not seen a change in Russia’s nuclear posture despite its announcement that it is stationing nuclear weapons in Belarus. However, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg cautioned that “the nuclear rhetoric of Russia is reckless and dangerous” and that Nato allies were closely monitoring what Russia was doing. “So far we haven’t seen any changes in the Russian nuclear deployment posture that requires a change from us, but we will remain vigilant,” he said.
