NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine has a rightful place in the military alliance and that accession and security guarantees for Ukraine will be a priority on the summit agenda in July. During a visit to Kyiv, Zelensky told Stoltenberg that it was time for NATO to offer his country membership and that Ukraine needed more weapons to fight Russia.

Main information about the war in Ukraine, day 422 LIVE TEXT:

07:17Germany: Now is not the time to discuss Ukraine’s accession to NATO

07:11This is Svitlana Maniovichi, the wife of a Russian official and your guide to the world of Russian wartime luxury. “The door is open, but now is not the time to decide,” said Boris Pistorius.

06:44A 1960s gun shoots down Russian drones, but the country that makes the ammunition for it doesn’t want to send more to Ukraine

01:07Zelensky: No one would have understood NATO leaders if they had not given Ukraine a well-deserved political invitation to join the Alliance at the Vilnius Summit

00:26 Su-34 of the Russian Air Force “accidentally hit” the center of the Russian city of Belgorod / funnel with a diameter of 20 meters

00:04 Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor Oleksandr Uss resigned after his son managed to escape from Italy to avoid extradition to the US.

A brief summary of recent events:

• One of Russia’s key goals is to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, the Kremlin said on Thursday
• Foreign Minister Lavrov said little had been done to address Russia’s concerns about the Black Sea grain deal, the latest in a series of disappointing comments from senior officials in Moscow about the deal that allowed Ukraine to resume exports.
• Hungary has banned the import of honey and some meat products from Ukraine, apart from grain, until June 30, increasing pressure to extend the proposed EU measures. Poland has joined calls to ban food imports, including milk.
• The G7 countries are considering an almost complete ban on exports to Russia, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing sources in the Japanese government.
• China does not inflame the situation in Ukraine and advocates peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said.
• During a video conference in front of Mexican lawmakers, Zelensky called on Mexico to help promote his peace plan for Ukraine in Latin America. The Mexican government declared that it wished to remain neutral in the war.
• During a telephone conversation with US President Biden, French President Macron discussed such topics as Ukraine, China and Sudan, his office said.
• Ukraine is preparing to sell off large state-owned companies, including utilities and steel plants, at low prices to shore up its budget.
• The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, criticized the delay in the EU plan for the joint purchase of ammunition for Ukraine.
• The United States has not recognized the Wagner Group, a Russian private army, as a “foreign terrorist organization” despite its ongoing operations in Ukraine.
• According to Forbes, the number of Russia’s richest billionaires increased in 2023 despite Western sanctions to limit funding for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
• Ukraine has charged several of its soldiers with treason after they leaked information to the enemy during an unauthorized mission that allowed Russia to attack a military airport.
• Secret documents leaked online show that Wagner’s mercenary group unsuccessfully asked China for weapons earlier this year.

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• Thursday’s events were broadcast live on HotNews.ro