Zelensky in Vilnius: “Ukraine will strengthen NATO”
On the 503rd day of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops continue to hold the neighboring country’s captured settlements. Ukraine’s armed forces reflect aggression. It is not always possible to verify the statements of representatives of both sides from independent sources. DW continues to monitor developments on Tuesday, July 11 (Moscow time).
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Coalition to train Ukrainian pilots The command of the F-16 fighters has been formed, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who is now at the NATO summit in Vilnius, said on Twitter. He indicated that a memorandum had been signed setting out the terms of this agreement and expressed special gratitude to the Netherlands and Denmark “for their leadership in this process”.
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Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Ukraine supporters in Vilnius
president of ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in Vilnius, where the NATO summit opened on July 11, reiterating the call for your country to join the North Atlantic Alliance as soon as possible. “Today I leave here with faith in solutions, faith in partners, faith in a strong NATO. A NATO that does not hesitate, does not waste time and does not look back on any aggressor. And I would like this faith to become trust. Confidence in decisions that we deserve – we all deserve it, and each of our warriors, each of our citizens, each of our mothers, each of our children is waiting. And is that too much desire? ” – quotes the head of the League’s online edition net of the ukrainian state.
Zelensky added that “NATO will give Ukraine security and Ukraine will make NATO stronger.” He also thanked Lithuania for the reliable support it provides to Ukraine, which is defending itself against Russian aggression.
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A man born in 1959 was detained in the Krasnodar Territory, who may have been involved in the murder of the deputy head of the city’s mobilization department, second-rank captain Stanislav Rzhitsky, the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported. According to police, the suspect was armed with a pistol with a silencer. The investigation does not rule out that
murder was committed. Later, a video of the arrest was published on the Investigative Committee’s telegram channel.
According to Ukrainian media, Rzhitsky commanded the Krasnodar submarine, which launched Kalibr missiles into Ukraine.
NATO countries agree on defense spending of at least 2% of GDP
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NATO summit attendees in Vilnius made a decision in the future spend “at least two percent” on military spending of its gross domestic product. NATO member countries have made an “abiding commitment” to achieve this goal, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In the coming year, the number of allied countries fulfilling the task will grow steadily. In 2022, only seven countries – Greece, US, UK, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Croatia – met this criterion.
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NATO countries reach agreement in principle on Ukraine’s membership in a transatlantic alliance after the end of Russia’s war of aggression. This will happen if the allies consider that Kiev met the necessary conditions for this, according to the final declaration of the NATO summit in Vilnius. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the intention to admit Ukraine into the Western military bloc, adding that the formal accession procedure in the case of Ukraine (Action Plan for NATO Membership) would be eliminated.
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PMC “Wagner” mercenaries will be involved in training the Belarusian armed forces, writes the “Belta” agency referring to the country’s Ministry of Defense. The report also says that Russian Federation armed forces units from the regional group of troops are being formed in the country’s training camps. It is expected that “Wagnerites” will be stationed there, who will arrive “to conduct joint exercises and exchange experiences” with the Belarusian armed forces.
Vladimir Zelensky arrived at the NATO summit in Vilnius
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Norwegian military assistance to Ukraine by 2023 it will be $960 million, according to CNN, citing Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. “Ukraine is in urgent need of additional military support and equipment. Therefore, Norway is increasing its military assistance to Ukraine by NOK 2.5 billion (nearly USD 240 million) to a total of NOK 10 billion (nearly USD 960 million) for 2023.” at the NATO summit in Vilnius.
According to a Norwegian government statement, over five years, Norway will provide Ukraine with more than $7.2 billion in civil and military assistance, as well as $144,000 “to support Ukraine’s reform efforts”.
In addition to pledging financial assistance to Ukraine, Norway has also pledged to increase its defense spending to at least 2% of gross domestic product.
Since 2006, NATO has required alliance members to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, but in 2022 only seven allied countries – Greece, the United States, Great Britain, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Croatia – have met this requirement. criterion.
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president of ukraine Vladimir Zelensky arrived in Vilnius to attend the summit North Atlantic Alliance. Information about the arrival of the Ukrainian leader was confirmed by his press secretary Sergei Nikiforov. The plane was provided to Volodymyr Zelensky by the Polish government. At 18:00 local time, the speech of the President of Ukraine is expected.
Until the last moment, it was not entirely clear whether Zelensky would come to Vilnius. On the eve of the summit, official representatives of Ukraine linked this decision to the NATO summit agenda and the response of participating countries to Ukraine’s request to join the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a dinner with the leaders of the alliance countries on 11 July and on 12 July at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to make a speech at the NATO summit in Vilnius on the evening of July 11, writes the dpa agency, quoting the press secretary of the Ukrainian leader, Sergei Nikiforov. “Yes, there will be a performance,” said Nikiforov. He did not reveal other details.
The German government will send Ukraine a new military aid package
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Ukrainian intelligence denied involvement in the murder of second-rank captain Stanislav Rzhitsky in Krasnodar. “Statements by some media and politicians that the GUR had something to do with the death of Stanislav Rzhitsky<…> are groundless, “says the head of the GUR, Kirill Budanov. “The roots of what happened yesterday in the Russian Federation must be sought in Russia itself, where internal protest against the war in Ukraine is growing,” he guarantees.
The Telegram Shot and Baza channels were the first to report the murder of Rzhitsky, later the information was confirmed by the Krasnodar administration.
Stanislav Rzhitsky was killed by multiple shots in the back and chest. He commanded the submarine “Krasnodar”. Ukrainian media noted that she launched cruise missiles in Ukraine in July 2022.
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Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court confiscated two apartments of Russian designer Artemy Lebedev. In Ukraine, sanctions were imposed against Lebedev. On March 21, the country’s security service accused him in absentia of justifying Russia’s aggression against Ukraine after he visited the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The designer and blogger visited the territories occupied by the Russian Federation and posted “reports” from there.
In Kiev, Artemy Lebedev owned two apartments with an area of \u200b\u200b138 square meters. m and 193 m² m. They were collected in favor of the state at the request of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO’s “indecision” and “weakness” on the issue of his country joining the Western military alliance. This encourages Russian terror against their country, Zelenskiy tweeted. “It seems that there is no desire to invite Ukraine into NATO, no desire to make it a member of the alliance,” he said. In the president’s opinion, the absence of a deadline for Ukraine’s entry into the alliance is “absurd”. “Indecision is weakness,” emphasized Zelensky.
On the 11th and 12th of July, Vilnius hosts the NATO summit. The President of Ukraine is expected to attend as a guest. Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Alliance, announced that Vladimir Zelensky will attend a dinner with the leaders of NATO countries on 11 July.
On the eve of the summit, the Ukrainian leader demanded that the countries participating in the bloc commit to Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Jens Stoltenberg pledged that “a clear and positive message will be sent to Kiev on the way to joining the North Atlantic Alliance”. However, the invitation to join NATO, which is sought by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has not yet received: this is contested, in particular, by the United States and Germany.
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Towards the opening of the NATO summit in Vilnius The German government has announced a new package military equipment and weapons to ukraine. Its cost is “a little less than 700 million euros”, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Germany will send to Kiev another 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Leopard 1 battle tanks and five Bergepanzer 2 armored recovery vehicles, according to the Federal Ministry of Defense, 5 thousand smoke projectiles.
The new package will also include reconnaissance and anti-drone equipment and the Luna reconnaissance drone manufactured by Rheinmetall. In addition, Germany will send sappers and medical equipment and equipment for a field hospital to Ukraine. The list of military equipment and weapons included in the new package consists of 31 items, the German Ministry of Defense noted.
Chronicle of events 11 July 00:00 – 13:59 >>>
Chronicle of events July 10th 14:00 – 23:59 >>>
Source: DW
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