Two days after being discharged from the hospital, Pope Francis resumed his cherished Sunday custom of greeting the public in St. Peter’s Square, expressing thanks for the comfort he received after surgery and thanking the crowd shouting “Long live the pope!”

Before launching into prepared remarks, Francis expressed gratitude for “affection, attention and friendship” and the assurance of “the support of prayer” during his hospitalization for June 7 abdominal surgery at a Rome hospital to repair a hernia and remove increasingly painful scarring around his intestines.

“This human and spiritual closeness for me was a great help and comfort,” Francis told some 15,000 people in the square. ”Thanks to all, thanks to you, thanks from the heart.”

The 86-year-old pontiff sounded a bit breathless and hoarse at times, but he gestured frequently with his hands for emphasis, adlibbed at times from the prepared speech, and clearly looked delighted to be back to his routine.

While the thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims who regularly turn out for the weekly noon appearance of the pope at a window of the Apostolic Palace usually applaud when they catch sight of the pope at the window, this time the public’s applause seemed louder than usual. The three-hour surgery under general anesthesia had forced Francis to skip the Sunday appearance on June 11.

While his mood seemed uplifted to see the crowd below, including flag-waving nuns and tourists in sun hats on the hot, humid day, Francis turned somber as he noted that Tuesday marks World Refugee Day, an occasion promoted by the United Nations.

“With great sadness and so much sorrow I think of the victims of the very grave shipwreck that happened in recent days off the coast of Greece,” Francis said. He was referring to the smugglers’ overcrowded fishing boat, filled with hundreds of migrants, that sank in the Mediterranean Sea last week.

“It seems that the sea was calm,” Francis said, seemingly expressing perplexity that such a grave tragedy could happen in those conditions.

“I renew my prayer for all those who lost their life, and I implore that, always, everything possible is done to prevent similar tragedies,” the pontiff said.

Some of the 104 survivors said as many as 750 were aboard, leaving the possibilities that hundreds perished. Greek rescuers recovered 78 bodies. Questions persist whether the Greek coast guard could have intervened in time to prevent the capsizing.

He also prayed for the young students “victims of the brutal attack” on a school in western Uganda. The attack by suspected rebels on a school in Uganda killed 42 people, including 38 students in their dormitories. Several were abducted near the border with Congo.

Francis lamented “this struggle, this war all over the place. Let us pray for peace.”

He also urged people to remember the “martyred people in Ukraine,” following Russia’s invasion last year.

As he wrapped up his remarks and was about to leave the window, cries of “Long live the pope” in Italian rose from the crowd, and the pope quickly responded, “Thanks.”

The pope’s doctors have urged him to take it easy as much as possible even as he resumes his Vatican workload. Francis will receive Brazil’s president on Wednesday afternoon, the Vatican has announced. But to ensure his convalescence can proceed well, Francis won’t conduct the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

In early August, Francis will make a pilgrimage to Portugal for a youth jamboree. At the end of that month, he flies to Mongolia for a visit that will see him be the first pontiff to go to that Asian country.
…

“The long history of my family and the long history of my country is imprinted in every house of this small, sunny, warm and cozy city,” says Ukrainian journalist Yelizaveta Honcharova.

On the first day of the full-scale invasion, she left Bakhmut for Kyiv, realizing that if Russians occupied the city, they would likely arrest her. Honcharova’s family had lived in Bakhmut since the early 20th century.

“Russia uprooted us. We were pulled out like a tree from the ground and thrown away. Bakhmut was a fertile ground for generations to live there.”

More than 300 years of history

Bakhmut is one of the oldest cities in eastern Ukraine. Historians still debate its origin.

According to some, Zaporizhian Cossacks founded it as a fortress in the Zaporizhzhia Sich in the 1680s-90s. Sich was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cossacks, ancestors of modern Ukrainians.

Others believe that Bakhmut was founded as a border fortress in 1571 by the Moscow authorities in the areas populated by Ukrainian ancestors.

“We don’t have competitors here. Nearby Donetsk is only 100 years old,” says Volodymyr Berezin, a local historian and civil activist. He left the region in mid-March 2022 for western Ukraine.

The city grew and developed through the extraction of salt and trade.

“In our area, salt came to the surface. Our Bakhmut River is salty; salt lakes are nearby. We have salt in the air, and below us is a colossal layer of salt,” Berezin says.

Tsarina Catherine II of Russia ordered the destruction of Zaporizhzhyan Sich in 1775, and its territories were incorporated into the Russian Empire.

“The city was a big cultural, spiritual and trade center. We had merchants. We had two Roman Catholic churches. We had a large Jewish center and several synagogues. There was an Orthodox cathedral and a mosque,” Berezin says.

In 1924-2016, the city was called Artemivsk in honor of Bolshevik Fedor Sergeev-Artem, a close friend of Josef Stalin’s. Bakhmutians, like millions of Ukrainians, became the victims of Soviet repression.

“My two great-grandfathers were imprisoned. I lived near the prison, where they were most likely executed,” says Honcharova.

A large Jewish community resided in the city. During WWII, Nazi forces occupied the town.

“Approximately 3,000 residents of Bakhmut were brought to the dolomite mines, mostly Jews but also Gypsies and Red Army soldiers, and walled up alive. We opened the tunnels when the Germans were driven out and saw this horror — how a mother died there with a baby in her arms,” Berezin says.

In Bakhmut, there was also the winery, which produced sparkling wine, known throughout the former Soviet Union.

“Our sparkling wine was the best in the Soviet Union. For many is hard to pick a souvenir, but not for me. I take a bottle of sparkling wine and salt,” says Berezin.

Not a typical Donetsk region town

Former Bakhmut residents who spoke to VOA emphasized how different Bakhmut was from other cities of the Donetsk region, which usually grew from working settlements around mines and metallurgical enterprises.

Sergiy Maslichenko is Kosovo’s European Bank for Reconstruction and Development mission head. He spent his childhood in the 70-80s in Bakhmut.

“It had no heavy industry, metallurgical or chemical plants. It is a city of light industry. There were many bakeries, a sewing factory and well-developed trade. It had a machine-building, non-ferrous metals plant, and mining equipment-building plant,” Maslichenko says.

The city was home to several institutions of higher education and research. Before 2022, the city preserved many old buildings and architectural monuments.

Maslichenko remembers the parks and sports grounds where he spent his childhood, and the music school, founded in 1903.

“Bakhmut was a musical city. It had a well-developed musical education and a large music school.” The world-famous composer Sergei Prokofiev was born near Bakhmut in 1891.

Svitlana Kravchenko, a local activist, remembers how sunny this city was.

“Bakhmut is a very warm city because many buildings are made of red bricks, the terracotta color, produced in Bakhmut. The city is very sunny because Donetsk region is in the south.”

Kravchenko stayed in Bakhmut until August 2022, when heavy fighting was under way. She currently lives in Dnipro.

Ukrainian Bakhmut

Like the rest of Ukraine, Bakhmut was subjected to systematic forced Russification as a part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union — a change in the ethnic composition of the population due to the arrival of workers from Russia, suppression of political and cultural Ukrainian life and restrictions on the use of the Ukrainian language. However, the city remained Ukrainian.

“My grandfather lived in Bakhmut and spoke Ukrainian. I have preserved my grandfather’s letters to my grandmother. He confessed his love in the Ukrainian language, in calligraphic, beautiful handwriting and refined style,” Kravchenko says.

After the declaration of the short-lived independent Ukrainian People’s Republic in November 1917, the Ukrainian military raised a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag for the first time in the Donetsk region. At the referendum of 1991, the overwhelming majority of Bakhmut residents voted for Ukraine’s independence.

However, in 2014, some in Bakhmut supported the Russian-backed separatist movement.

Kravchenko says that motivated her to start helping the Ukrainian military and to study and popularize local Ukrainian culture. They restored clothes worn in the Donetsk region based on old photos and took their collection on the road.

“I decided that this was my fight. We opened the Donetsk region to the Greater Ukraine,” she says.

The models were ordinary people connected with the Ukrainian army.

“It was always the same when women were getting dressed. Everyone would say, ‘I’m too fat or too thin, or my arms are too long or too short!’ Then, when a woman puts on traditional clothes, everyone says, ‘I feel like a queen. I feel my world and Ukraine are standing behind me,'” she says.

Does Bakhmut have a future?

Kravchenko is confident that her city will be restored, and she will return.

“I will kiss the soil covered with the blood of our best soldiers.”

Maslichenko, who works for the organization that plans to take an active part in the reconstruction of the country, hopes to participate in it professionally and one day bring his children to the city where he grew up.

Berezin is also confident that the city will come back to life and offers ideas for its restoration. One of them is to invite the best artists to create an art center.

“Only artists can artistically recreate today’s events. For some, this city has become the Garden of Gethsemane, a city of betrayal. And for many of our guys who died here, this is Golgotha.”

Honcharova believes that Bakhmut will be restored, but it will be a completely different city. In some sense, she says, it fulfilled its mission.

“The city began as a fortress to protect the borders. So, Bakhmut fulfilled this karmic mission. It became a fortress.”

In 2017, nearly 76,000 people lived in Bakhmut.
…

Latest developments:

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday there seems to be "no chance" of extending the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative that allows Ukraine to export grain safely through Russian-controlled waters.
Two volunteers, a man and a woman, were killed Saturday by a Russian missile strike on the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov on the Telegram messaging app.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will ask entrepreneurs and businesses, at a conference next week, to bolster investment in Ukraine’s private sector and help it rebuild and recover after Russia's invasion.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a peace initiative brought to St. Petersburg on Saturday by a delegation of African leaders hoping to see an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The leaders from seven African countries told Putin war is harming the entire world. The delegation met with Putin a day after they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Both leaders indicated the plan was unworkable.

Putin opened Saturday’s talks with representatives from Comoros, Congo Republic, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia in a palace near St. Petersburg by stressing Russia’s commitment to the continent.

But the Russian president rejected the delegation’s peace plan based on the acceptance of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. He repeated his position that Ukraine and its Western allies were responsible for the conflict long before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin also said the West was responsible for a sharp rise in global food prices early last year that has hit Africa especially hard. He told the delegation that Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports were doing nothing to alleviate Africa’s difficulties with high food prices because they had largely gone to wealthy countries.

Russia has recently indicated it would not renew the Black See Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July. Putin said the West had gone back on its promises to ease Russia’s ability to export its agricultural products.

The delegation’s peace initiative had been rejected a day earlier in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that any peace talks would presuppose the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from occupied Ukrainian territory, something Russia has said is not negotiable.

In his nightly video address Saturday, Zelenskyy thanked Ukraine’s Western allies for the military and humanitarian support they are providing in its fight against Russia’s invasion.  Zelenskyy also thanked everyone who helped Ukraine overcome “the consequences of the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP.”

Zelenskyy also thanked Luxemburg for officially recognizing Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. Luxemburg is the 26th country to officially do so.

He also thanked Poland for supporting Ukraine’s membership to NATO.

President Joe Biden said Saturday his administration would not “make it easy” for Ukraine to join NATO. Last week he had indicated he was open to waiving the requirement that Ukraine make the same military and democratic reforms all candidates must meet before it being considered for NATO membership.

But when he was asked Saturday whether Ukraine’s path to joining the transatlantic alliance would be eased, he said no. “Because they’ve got to meet the same standards. So, we’re not going to make it easy,” he said.

Putin warned Friday that there is a “serious danger” the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made the comment at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he promoted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nuclear weapons

Putin confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has begun, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin emphasized that he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. He said delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the U.S. had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war.  We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

The United States ambassador held a U.S. flag high as he marched in the yearly Pride parade in Warsaw Saturday, a clear message of Washington’s opposition to discrimination in a country where LGBTQ+ people are facing an uphill struggle.

“America embraces equality,” Ambassador Mark Brzezinski said, as he marched with more than 30 members of the U.S. Embassy and alongside representatives from Canada, Austria and other Western countries in the Equality Parade.

In recent years Western governments have been alarmed as the conservative government in Warsaw depicted gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as threats to the nation and its children.

The participation of the U.S. ambassador sent a clear message to the government of Poland, a NATO member on the alliance’s eastern flank where the United States has increased its military presence since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Day of celebration

Poland has for decades considered Washington its key guarantor of security, but the importance of U.S. protection has only grown with the war playing out across its border in Ukraine.

The U.S. is also seen as a guarantor of protection to the LGBTQ+ community, which a few years ago was fighting for the right of same-sex union or marriage, but recently has been more concerned about a climate of hostility from the government and Catholic Church.

The colorful and joyful parade was a moment of celebration and relief for a community that has been criticized by elected leaders as a threat to the nation’s traditional Catholic identity.

LGBTQ+ members have been especially worried because of elections this fall. The conservative nationalist ruling party, Law and Justice, has openly criticized the community ahead of past elections, in an attempt to mobilize its conservative base.

Brzezinski told The Associated Press that his embassy “has heard disturbing reports of an organized campaign targeting Poland’s LGBTQ+ community with hate, lies, and slander in an attempt to divide Polish society. These attempts to sow divisions only strengthen the hand of those who seek to weaken democracy.”

“We hope these reports are not true. We hope disagreement does not devolve into discrimination or worse,” Brzezinski said. “Words matter. Hate masquerading as morality can play no productive role in our societies.”

Influence with government

Some participants in the parade that numbered many thousands said they were not aware that the ambassador took part. A couple noted that the U.S., which is seeing a backlash against transgender rights in some states, also doesn’t have a perfect record. But a handful interviewed said they appreciated the support.

“The fact that he supports basic human rights — that’s a great thing,” said Aleksandra Jarmolinska, 33. She added that the ambassador is probably one of the few people able to pressure Polish politicians.

As Polish President Andrzej Duda campaigned for reelection in 2020, he called the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights an “ideology” more destructive than communism. The education minister, who oversees schools, was appointed to that job after saying LGBTQ+ members are not equal to “normal people.”

Last summer, the ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, mocked transgender people, saying “we must protect ourselves from madness.”

And this spring, Poland’s commissioner for children’s rights ordered an inspection of schools that were ranked as the most LGBTQ-friendly in the country, saying he wanted to make sure principals were checking their employees against a pedophile registry.
…

Latest developments:

The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is “likely" that Russia has “gained a temporary advantage “in southern Ukraine because of its attack helicopters “employing longer-range missiles against ground targets.” The update said that 20 extra Russian helicopters have been deployed to Berdyansk Airport since the start of Ukraine’s counter offensive in southern Ukraine.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Moscow next week, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the head of Russia's nuclear state company Rosatom. Grossi visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine Thursday, after last week’s collapse of the Kakhovka dam, whose reservoir feeds the nuclear facility's cooling ponds.
Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday it had summoned the Australian ambassador after Canberra canceled the lease of a land plot where a new Russian embassy complex was being built. "The Russian side intends to use all necessary mechanisms to protect its interests, including possible retaliatory measures," the ministry said.

Russia said Saturday it repelled Ukrainian drones overnight over an oil refinery in the southern border region of Bryansk.  

Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Bryansk region, said, “Russian air defense systems repelled an overnight attack by the Ukrainian armed forces on the ‘Druzhba’ oil refinery in the district of Novozybkov.” He said three drones were destroyed.   

A delegation of African leaders is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in St. Petersburg to possibly broker a deal to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The group met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Members of the delegation include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the African Union.

Three other African presidents were set to participate in the peace mission, but instead sent their representatives from Congo, Egypt and Uganda.

Their meeting with Zelenskyy was marred by blaring defense sirens as they began their meeting.

Putin has confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has already happened, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. His move delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine, the Russian leader said.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the United States had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

Putin warned Friday there is a “serious danger” that the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made those comments during a plenary session of Russia’s flagship St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he touted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. Western journalists were banned from the event.

Putin also alleged that Ukraine is running out of its own military equipment, making it totally dependent on military hardware supplied by the West. “Everything on which they fight and everything that they use is brought in from the outside. Well, you can’t fight like that for long,” he said.

Additionally, he asserted that Ukraine had failed to make progress in its counteroffensive, adding its army had “no chance” against Russia’s.

Independent military analysts say Ukraine has outperformed Russia’s much larger army in the nearly 16 months of the war, forcing it to retreat around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war. We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

The European Commission will propose additional funding to support Ukraine in the coming years. This year, the EU is providing $19.8 billion but aims at a longer-term solution to provide Kyiv with financing certainty as it repels Russia’s invasion.

“The EU is ready to provide Ukraine with sustainable and predictable financial support beyond 2023 to maintain both macro-financial stability and support reconstruction,” European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

King Charles III rode on horseback Saturday to take part in his first Trooping the Color ceremony as U.K. monarch, inspecting hundreds of soldiers and horses in a spectacular annual military display at central London’s Horse Guards Parade.

Charles, 74, the colonel in chief, received the royal salute and watched as the most prestigious regiments in the U.K. army paraded to mark his official birthday.

It was the first time in more than 30 years that a U.K. monarch has taken part in the pomp-filled ceremony on horseback.

Earlier, Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, and the king’s siblings, Prince Edward and Princess Anne, also rode on horseback in procession from Buckingham Palace. All the royals were dressed in red and gold tunics and tall black bearskin hats, matching the uniforms worn by many of the 1,400 soldiers taking part.

Others in the royal family, including Queen Camilla, Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her three young children, rode in horse-drawn carriages as thousands of people thronged the Mall, the grand avenue outside Buckingham Palace, to watch the pageantry.

Here are some things to know about the colorful spectacle:

Birthday parade

Trooping the Color is essentially a grand birthday parade to honor the reigning monarch. The annual ceremony is a tradition that dates back more than 260 years.

Huge crowds turn out each June to watch the display, which begins with a procession involving horses, musicians and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniform from Buckingham Palace. The monarch then inspects their troops, including both foot guards and horse guards. Gun salutes and a crowd-pleasing military flyby over the palace typically round out the celebrations.

Charles’ actual birthday is November 14, 1948. But U.K. monarchs have traditionally celebrated two birthdays — their real one and an official one — to ensure that public celebrations can take place in warm summer weather.

Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, always held the Trooping the Color birthday parade in June, while she celebrated her actual April birthday privately with family.

The Color

The central part of the parade features a battle flag — or the “Color” — being displayed and marched past troops and the monarch.

This is a ceremonial reenactment of the way regimental flags were once displayed for soldiers on the battlefield to provide a crucial rallying point if they became disoriented or separated from their unit.

The flags were traditionally described as “Colors” because they displayed the uniform colors and insignia worn by soldiers of different units.

A different flag is trooped each year. This year the “Color” was the King’s Color of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. 

King on horseback

Saturday was the first time a monarch has ridden on horseback at the event since Elizabeth did so in 1986.

The queen rode her favorite horse, called Burmese, to 18 Trooping the Color ceremonies until the black mare retired in 1986. After that she decided to use a carriage for the event instead.

Charles also rode on horseback for the spectacle last year, when as heir to the throne he inspected the troops on behalf of his mother. Elizabeth died last September at the age of 96.

Bonus military flyby

The birthday parade typically reaches its climax when, at the end of the military procession, the royal family lines up on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to watch a spectacular flyby.

The Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, usually wows the crowds as they fly in formation leaving plumes of red, white and blue vapor trails.

This year, the flyby was even more impressive, because a similar display on Charles’ coronation day in May had to be scaled back because of bad weather. Around 70 aircraft took part Saturday, including Spitfire and Hurricane fighters from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Eighteen Typhoon fighter jets flying in precise formation spelt out “CR” — “Charles Rex” — in the sky as the royal family and thousands of spectators cheered.
…

Latest developments:

The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is “likely" that Russia has “gained a temporary advantage “in southern Ukraine because of its attack helicopters “employing longer-range missiles against ground targets.”  The update said that 20 extra Russian helicopters have been deployed to Berdyansk Airport since the start of Ukraine’s counter offensive in southern Ukraine.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Moscow next week, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the head of Russia's nuclear state company Rosatom. Grossi visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine Thursday, after last week’s collapse of the Kakhovka dam, whose reservoir feeds the nuclear facility's cooling ponds.
Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday it had summoned the Australian ambassador after Canberra canceled the lease of a land plot where a new Russian embassy complex was being built. "The Russian side intends to use all necessary mechanisms to protect its interests, including possible retaliatory measures," the ministry said.

A delegation of African leaders is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in St. Petersburg to possibly broker a deal to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The group met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday.

Members of the delegation include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the African Union.

Three other African presidents were set to participate in the peace mission, but instead sent their representatives from Congo, Egypt and Uganda.

Their meeting with Zelensky was marred by blaring defense sirens as they began their meeting.

Putin has confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has already happened, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. His move delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine, the Russian leader said.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the United States had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

Putin warned Friday there is a “serious danger” that the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made those comments during a plenary session of Russia’s flagship St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he touted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. Western journalists were banned from the event.

Putin also alleged that Ukraine is running out of its own military equipment, making it totally dependent on military hardware supplied by the West. “Everything on which they fight and everything that they use is brought in from the outside. Well, you can’t fight like that for long,” he said.

Additionally, he asserted that Ukraine had failed to make progress in its counteroffensive, adding its army had “no chance” against Russia’s.

Independent military analysts say Ukraine has outperformed Russia’s much larger army in the nearly 16 months of the war, forcing it to retreat around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war.  We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

The European Commission will propose additional funding to support Ukraine in the coming years. This year, the EU is providing $19.8 billion but aims at a longer-term solution to provide Kyiv with financing certainty as it repels Russia’s invasion.

“The EU is ready to provide Ukraine with sustainable and predictable financial support beyond 2023 to maintain both macro-financial stability and support reconstruction,” European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

New harmful illicit drugs are inundating a flourishing market for traffickers amid violence and corruption hurting local communities across Europe, the EU’s agency monitoring drugs and addiction said Friday.

The grim finding was part of the agency’s annual report. It also said that drug users in Europe are now exposed to a wider range of substances of high purity as drug trafficking and use across the region have quickly returned to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels.

Cannabis remains the most-used illicit substance in Europe, the agency found, with some 22.6 million Europeans over the age of 15 having used it in the last year. Cocaine seizures are “historically high” and new synthetic drugs whose effects on health are not well documented are worrying officials.

In 2022, 41 new drugs were reported for the first time by the agency.

“I summarize this with the phrase: ‘everywhere, everything, everyone,'” said European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Director Alexis Goosdeel.

“Established illicit drugs are now widely accessible and potent new substances continue to emerge,” Goosdeel added. “Almost everything with psychoactive properties can appear on the drug market.”

Among the new popular substances, ketamine and nitrous oxide — so-called laughing gas — are raising concern over reported cases of bladder problems, nerve damage and lung injuries associated with users. Alongside the high availability of heroin on the continent, synthetic opioids are on the rise and have been linked to deaths by overdose in Baltic countries.

The report said the opioids situation in Europe is not comparable with the dramatic picture in North America, where overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids have fueled a drug crisis. But the agency warned that this group of drugs is a threat for the future, with a total of 74 new synthetic opioids identified on the market since 2009.

“We must make sure America’s present does not become Europe’s future,” said Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

New cannabis products such as the cannabinoid HHC produce strong psychoactive effects and pose another source of concern, especially since they can be found legally in several countries from the 27-nation bloc due to legislation loopholes. France, for instance, only added it to the list of prohibited substances earlier this week.

Meanwhile, record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe, with 303 tons stopped by EU member countries in 2021. According to the report, 75% of that quantity was seized in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, with the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam now the main gateways for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent.

The EMCDDA said the quantity of cocaine seized in Antwerp, Europe’s second largest seaport, rose to 110 tons from 91 in 2021, according to preliminary data.

In addition, EU countries reported the destruction of 34 cocaine labs as well as large seizures of a precursor necessary to produce cocaine, confirming that “large-scale cocaine production steps take place in the European Union.”

The expansion of the cocaine market has been accompanied by a rise in violence and corruption in the EU, with fierce competition between traffickers leading to a rise in homicides and intimidation.

In Belgium, federal authorities say drug trafficking is penetrating society at quick speed as foreign criminal organizations have built deep roots in the country, bringing along their violent and ruthless operations.

“Criminals use the profits from drug trafficking to buy people, buy police officers, and to buy murder,” Johansson said. “Violence is growing in scale and brutality. In the past, criminals shot people in the leg as a warning, now they shoot them in the head.”

In the Netherlands, killings hit ever more prominent people, while trafficking in Antwerp has led to a surge of violence in recent years, with gun battles and grenade attacks taking place regularly. In Brussels, the justice minister was put under strict protection last year following the arrest of four alleged drug criminals suspected of taking part in a plot to kidnap him.

“It’s time to realize organized crime is as big a threat towards our society as terrorism,” Johansson said.
…

Russia confirmed Friday that it had started exporting oil to Pakistan and had agreed to accept Chinese currency as payment, clarifying that the South Asian country did not receive any exclusive discounts on the purchase deal. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Sunday that the first “Russian discounted crude oil cargo” had arrived and offloaded at the port in the southern city of Karachi.

Sharif touted the shipment as “the beginning of a new relationship” between Islamabad and Moscow. His petroleum minister later revealed Pakistan had paid in yuan for the first government-to-government Russian crude oil import. 

Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said there was no reduced pricing for Pakistan.

“Oil deliveries to Pakistan have begun. There is no special discount; for Pakistan, it is the same as for other buyers,” Russian state media quoted Shulginov as telling reporters on the sidelines of an international economic conference in St. Petersburg.

His remarks raised questions about official Pakistani assertions that Moscow had agreed to supply oil to Islamabad at a discounted price under a deal the two sides negotiated earlier this year.  

“We agreed that the payment would be made in the currencies of friendly countries,” Shulginov said when asked for a response to Pakistani assertions that the trade is taking place in Chinese currency. He also confirmed that the issue of barter supplies was also discussed, “but no decision has been made yet.”

Cash-strapped Pakistan earlier this month allowed its state and private entities to open barter trade with several countries, including Russia, in an attempt to ease pressure on Islamabad’s rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves.  

Shulginov said that the two countries had not yet reached an understanding on prices for the export of liquefied natural gas to Pakistan. He noted that “the discussion is about long-term contracts, but so far, we are talking about spot supplies, and spot gas prices are now high.” 

Pakistan has purchased 100,000 metric tons of Russian crude oil, of which 45,000 tons arrived earlier this week, said Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik. He told the media on Monday that the payment was made in Chinese yuan and said that there would be a reduction in local oil prices in a few weeks. But Malik did not disclose details such as pricing or the discount Islamabad received, as claimed by Sharif.

However, the deal in yuan marked a significant shift in the U.S. dollar-dominated export payments policy as Pakistan faces a cash crunch and default on external debt.

Energy imports make up the majority of the country’s external payments. The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have dipped to around $4 billion, barely enough to cover a month of controlled imports.
…

Italy’s government said on Friday it had taken steps to limit the influence of Chinese investor Sinochem on tiremaker Pirelli, including a mandatory qualified majority for strategic decisions made by the company’s board. 

Rome’s decision comes after Sinochem, Pirelli’s largest shareholder with a 37% stake, notified the Italian government in March of plans to update an existing shareholder pact with Camfin, the holding company of Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera. 

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration scrutinized the pact under “Golden Power” rules aimed at protecting assets deemed strategic for the country, at a time when relations between China and Western countries have entered a tenser phase. 

Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned conglomerate, was not immediately available for comment, while Pirelli declined to comment. 

Sources had previously told Reuters that the government was concerned about Sinochem’s growing influence on Pirelli, as the proposed pact would have allowed the Chinese group to appoint more board members and potentially choose Pirelli’s future CEOs. 

On Friday, Rome said it had imposed prescriptions aimed at shielding “the autonomy of Pirelli,” including a requirement that “some” strategic decisions by its board of directors should require approval by at least 80% of directors. 

The government, saying it had accepted some proposals made by Sinochem to address its concerns, also mentioned specific measures to protect cyber sensor technology that can be incorporated into Pirelli tires. 

“The relevance of such a technology can be identified in a variety of sectors: industrial automation, machine-to-machine communication, machine learning, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, critical sensor and actuator technologies, Big Data and Analytics,” the government said. 

Founded in 1872, Pirelli is one of Italy’s most storied companies. It specializes in high-end tires for premium carmakers like Ferrari, Porsche and BMW and is the sole supplier for Formula One cars. 

Changes needed 

Meloni’s government refrained from imposing even tougher conditions on Sinochem, including blocking its voting rights in Pirelli. Its requirements will nevertheless force Sinochem and Camfin to amend their shareholders’ pact. 

The Chinese group earlier this year confirmed its plans to remain a long-term investor in Pirelli. 

The Italian company is due to appoint a new board at a shareholders meeting on July 31, with current Deputy CEO Giorgio Bruno set to become the new CEO and Tronchetti Provera staying as executive vice chairman. 

Provera has been in charge of Pirelli since 1992.  

The Italian government’s move to limit Sinochem’s grip on the tiremaker comes ahead of another key decision on whether to renew Rome’s partnership with Beijing on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Italy in 2019 became the first, and so far only, G7 nation to join China’s hugely ambitious BRI initiative, which critics said could enable Beijing to gain control of sensitive technologies and vital infrastructure. 

The BRI envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road with large infrastructure spending to connect China with Europe. 
…

NATO launched a new center Friday for protecting undersea pipelines and cables following the still-unsolved apparent attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and amid concern Russia is mapping vital Western infrastructure for energy and the internet in waters around Europe.

“The threat is developing,” Lt. Gen. Hans-Werner Wiermann, who heads a special cell focused on the challenge, said after NATO defense ministers gave the greenlight for the new center, located in Northwood, northwest London.

“Russian ships have actively mapped our critical undersea infrastructure. There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

NATO was spurred into action after an apparent attack on two Baltic Sea gas pipelines in September.

The suspected attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, are still being investigated. No blame has been officially attributed, but NATO has boosted its presence in the Baltic and North Seas since then, with dozens of ships, supported by maritime patrol aircraft and undersea equipment like drones.

About 8,000 kilometers of oil and gas pipelines crisscross the North Sea alone, and systems, networks and grids are impossible to watch 24/7. About 100 cable cutting incidents are reported every year around the world, and it is often hard to tell whether they are deliberate.

“There’s no way that we can have NATO presence along also these thousands of kilometers of undersea infrastructure,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after chairing the meeting.

“But we can be better at collecting … intelligence, sharing information, connecting the dots, because also in the private sector there is a lot of information” about ship movements and maritime surveillance, he added.

Rather than trying to watch it all, the new center and NATO allies are focusing on high-risk areas. Pipelines in shallow waters that can easily be reached by divers are considerably vulnerable. Potential damage to data cables can be mitigated more easily by simply dropping in more cables.

Whatever the target, NATO believes it’s important to catch saboteurs as they prepare for their attacks.

“To support the center, allies have decided to set up a critical undersea infrastructure network, bringing together NATO, allies and private sector actors. This will help to improve information sharing about evolving risks and threats,” Wiermann said.
…

Flooding caused by Kakhovka dam explosion in Ukraine earlier this month could be felt as far away as the Mykolaiv region some 50 kilometers away. The Inhulets River spilled over and flooded a number of villages, Vasylivka among them. Today, locals are starting to come back to their homes.  Yelyzaveta Krotyk has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
…

More than 1,500 explosives scattered around 10 hectares – this is what Halo Trust mine sweepers found in just a week in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region. This humanitarian NGO whose task is to clear landmines and other explosive devices has been working in Ukraine since 2015. Today, they mainly work in the Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. Video: Pavel Suhodolskiy  
…

Nine people have been arrested in Greece in connection with the sinking of a boat off that country’s southern coast Wednesday that killed 78 people.  The suspects are being held on allegations of people smuggling and participating in a criminal enterprise.

While 104 people were rescued, the trawler, which capsized and sank, was believed to have carried as many as 750 people, according to the International Organization for Migration, the U.N. migration agency.

The Associated Press reports that 27 of those rescued remain hospitalized.

Some of the survivors have been so traumatized by the accident that they still believe that they are on the boat and are going to die, according to a Reuters report. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
…

Latest developments:

Speaking ahead of next week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country "will rebuild everything, restore everything."
Gunfire briefly stopped a convoy headed by the director of the U.N. nuclear watchdog in its visit to the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station 

Air defense sirens blared Friday in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as a delegation of African heads of state met with government leaders with hopes to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on social media that there was an explosion in the central Podil district. “Missiles are still flying towards Kyiv,” he said on the social media platform Telegram.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is part of an African peace delegation set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the first step in its mission to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

The other members of the delegation are Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President  Hakainde Hichilema, and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the African Union.

Three other presidents were set to participate in the peace mission but they will instead send their representatives from the Republic of Congo, Egypt, and Uganda.

The group is expected to meet with Zelenskyy on Friday and then travel to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reuters reports that it has seen of draft of the peace proposals and negotiations the African peace mission has crafted, which includes a Russian troop pullback and suspension of implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting Putin.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the war in Ukraine demonstrates the need to stand with Ukraine and continue to provide support.

Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived at NATO headquarters that after launching its long-expected counteroffensive, Ukraine has made gains and liberated occupied land from Russian forces during fierce fighting.

Later, U.S. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed that assessment, telling reporters in Brussels that Ukraine is “making progress,” while acknowledging, “It’s a very difficult fight. It’s a very bloody fight.”

Milley said Russian troop morale “is not high” and that Moscow’s troop leadership is lacking.

Stoltenberg said Kyiv’s advances are “due to the courage, the bravery, the skills of the Ukrainian soldiers, but it also highlights and demonstrates that the support NATO allies have been giving to Ukraine for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield.”

He noted that the more successful Ukraine is at this stage, the more pressure it will put on Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table and give Ukraine a stronger hand in peace talks.

Stoltenberg said if allies want enduring peace in Ukraine, they must continue providing Ukrainian forces with military support.

Also Thursday, gunfire briefly stopped a U.N. convoy as it returned to Ukrainian-held territory following its visit to the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

The convoy, led by Rafael Grossi, the general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was not in immediate danger, and no one was hurt, a spokesperson for IAEA told Reuters.

The Russian state news outlet Tass cited Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of the Rosenergoatom company, as accusing Ukraine of opening fire on the U.N. convoy. Tass did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

The convoy returned safely to Ukrainian-held territory.

The U.S.-led Ukraine Contact Group held its latest session Thursday in Brussels to discuss military assistance for Ukraine ahead of the meeting of NATO defense chiefs.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the opening of the meeting the fight in Ukraine “is a marathon, and not a sprint.”

“We will continue to provide Ukraine with the urgent capabilities that it needs to meet this moment as well as what it needs to keep itself secure for the long term from Russian aggression,” Austin said.

He highlighted the need to provide Ukrainian forces with air defense systems that are critical in protecting Ukrainian civilians from Russia’s aerial attacks.

“The Kremlin’s imperial ambitions have inflicted unimaginable suffering on the Ukrainian people, yet the Ukrainians continue to inspire us with their resilience, their bravery, and their unwavering commitment to keep their country free and secure,” Austin said.

After the meeting, Austin said, “This will continue to be a tough fight, as we anticipated. We continue to push forward for what Ukraine needs.”

Norway and Denmark announced a joint effort to provide thousands of artillery rounds to Ukraine.

“Ukraine has an urgent need for artillery ammunition. We have therefore decided to join forces with Denmark for a new donation, so that Ukraine receives the ammunition as quickly as possible,” Norway’s defense minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military said Thursday it intercepted a Russian cruise missile as well as 20 explosive drones launched by Russia.

In Russian-controlled Crimea, Russian officials said their side downed nine Ukrainian drones.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
…

Greek rescuers on Friday scanned the Ionian Sea by air and boat for survivors of a migrant boat sinking, as hope faded of finding more people alive two days after the disaster.

On Wednesday, a fishing boat overloaded with migrants capsized and sank, killing at least 78 people, off the Peloponnese. Some 104 people were found alive.

The exact number of people aboard the boat is unknown, with one survivor telling hospital doctors in Kalamata he had seen 100 children in the boat’s hold, broadcaster ERT reported.

“Hopes of finding survivors are fading each minute after this tragic sinking, but the search must continue,” Stella Nanou, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, told AFP.

“According to broadcast images and accounts of some of the survivors, hundreds of people were aboard” she said.

The Greek coast guard said that rescuers scoured the sea through the night.

A helicopter, a frigate and three boats were scanning the waters Friday, a coastguard spokesperson told AFP.

Police on Thursday arrested nine Egyptians on suspicion of people smuggling — one of them the captain of the boat carrying the migrants.

They were detained at the port of Kalamata, where the survivors are being cared for, said Greek news agency ANA.

The survivors, mainly from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan, were being housed in a Kalamata warehouse.

Greece, Italy and Spain are among the main landing points for tens of thousands of people who seek to reach Europe as they flee conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
…

Defense leaders from about 50 nations held another meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Thursday at NATO headquarters to discuss Kyiv’s current needs following the start of its latest counteroffensive. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more from Brussels.
…

Can you pay my bills?

That seems to be what Sweden is asking Beyoncé after the star came to town.

When the singer launched her global tour last month in Stockholm, tens of thousands of fans from around the world swarmed the Swedish capital. But it’s not all fun and games for the host of the kickoff of Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years.

A senior economist at a top Scandinavian bank says Beyoncé had something to do with Sweden’s higher-than-expected inflation rate last month.

Consumer prices rose 9.7% last month in Sweden compared with a year earlier, the country’s statistics agency, Statistics Sweden, said Wednesday. Costs for certain goods and services, including hotels, rose.

That was a drop from 10.5% in April — the first time that inflation in Sweden has fallen below 10% in more than six months — but it was still slightly higher than economists had predicted.

Michael Grahn, chief economist for Sweden at Danske Bank, thinks Beyoncé’s concert may help explain why.

“Beyonce’s start of her world tour in Sweden seems to have coloured May inflation,” he said on Twitter on Wednesday.

“How much is uncertain,” he added, but the concert “probably” contributed to 0.2 of the 0.3 percentage points that restaurant and hotel prices added to the monthly increase in inflation.

An estimated 46,000 people attended each of Beyoncé’s two Stockholm concerts. Fans from around the world took advantage of Sweden’s relatively weaker currency to buy tickets that were cheaper than in other countries, such as the United States.

“The main impact on inflation, however, came from the fact that all fans needed somewhere to stay,” Grahn told The New York Times. The popularity of the concerts meant some fans had to venture up to 40 miles [64 kilometers] away to find a room, he said.

Grahn told the Financial Times that the phenomenon was “quite astonishing.”

But he added on Twitter that he predicts the situation will return to normal in June.

“We expect this upside surprise to be reversed in June as prices on hotels and tickets reverse back to normal,” he said.
…

The Biden administration says it remains “hopeful” about Sweden’s application to join the NATO security alliance, despite tepid words from NATO’s main holdout, Turkey.

But the White House declined to say whether that could happen before a NATO summit scheduled for next month.

With less than a month before alliance members meet July 11 in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the White House was optimistic.

“We are still hopeful that this will get done,” she said, “I don’t have a timeline, certainly. The sooner, the better, as I said, without delay. And so, we’ll continue to be very clear. We’ll continue to communicate that with Turkey.”

Sweden needs unanimous support from all 31 NATO members before it can join. So far, all but Hungary and Turkey have given it, diminishing hopes that Sweden can join by the summit.

Ankara has accused Stockholm of not doing enough to crack down on its branch of a political party that Turkey’s government sees as extremists. And Hungary’s leader objects to Sweden’s criticism of his record on democracy and the rule of law.

Sweden and Finland applied jointly for NATO membership last May, with both Nordic nations citing overwhelming popular support for the idea amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s membership was finalized in April.

On Wednesday, newly reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, “The expectations of Sweden do not mean that we will comply with these expectations. In order for us to comply with these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part.”

Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that his staff had reported that a meeting between Sweden and Turkey “took place in a constructive atmosphere.”

“Some progress has been made,” he said.

F-16 leverage

Stoltenberg cited the recent extradition from Sweden of suspects related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.

“This is good for the fight against terrorism, but also good for Sweden’s efforts to fight organized crime in Sweden, because these groups are very often linked,” he said Wednesday in Brussels.

But Erdogan on Wednesday took a harder line, telling journalists, “What we told [Stoltenberg] was this: ‘If you expect us to respond to Sweden’s expectations, first of all, Sweden must erase what this terrorist organization has done.’ While we were expressing these to Stoltenberg at that particular time, unfortunately, terrorists were demonstrating again in the streets in Sweden.”

Michael Kimmage, a professor at Catholic University and a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA that “there are a few bona fide issues, and then there’s also a little bit of gamesmanship that Ankara is engaging in.”

One thing he pointed to — which Erdogan did not mention Wednesday when speaking to journalists — is that Turkey is seeking to buy 40 American F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits, a purchase that needs congressional approval.

Biden, who called Erdogan in May, has framed the deal for the jets as Washington’s leverage for fast-tracking Turkey’s decision on Sweden.

“He still wants to work on something on the F-16s,” Biden said late last month. “I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that done.”

The Orban obstacle

Washington appears to be taking a harder line with the other holdout, Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has bristled under Western criticism — backed up by prominent rights watchdogs — accusing his administration of violating civil liberties, media freedom, the rule of law and democratic governance.

This week, Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, moved unilaterally to block a $735 million U.S. arms sale to Hungary.

“For some time now, I have directly expressed my concerns to the Hungarian government regarding its refusal to move forward a vote for Sweden to join NATO,” he told U.S. media. “The fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new U.S. military equipment to Hungary will be on hold.”

Analysts say Orban — who has tightened his grip on power — can be unpredictable.

“It is fair to say that he is the loose cannon within NATO and EU,” Jan C. Behrends, a history professor at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt, Germany, said during a discussion with analysts convened by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Europe program.

NATO members agree to come to each other’s defense in the event of an attack. Hungary, a landlocked nation that shares a border with Ukraine, has yet to meet a 2014 pledge to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defense.

And by dragging his feet on letting in two larger, wealthier nations, analysts argue Orban is acting against his own interests.

“Delaying the NATO accession of Finland and further blocking that of Sweden similarly have no justifiable reason and are harmful from a security perspective,” said Zsuzsanna Vegh of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“What’s more, none of these steps can even be explained by the Hungarian national interest [that] Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz [Party] is so adamant to protect,” he said.

VOA’s Mehmet Toroglu contributed to this report.
…

Key African countries stressed the need for grain imports to tackle food insecurity as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to discuss with the continent’s leaders the fate of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of food and fertilizer from Ukraine. 

Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was considering quitting the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July – because its own grain and fertilizer shipments still face obstacles. The pact could expire on July 17. 

A delegation of African leaders is due to visit both Ukraine and Russia soon in a push to end Russia’s 16-month-long war, and Putin has said he plans to raise the Black Sea grain deal. African leaders could also propose to Putin an “unconditional grain and fertilizer deal,” according to a draft framework document Reuters saw Thursday. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he believes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are aligned with him on the “importance of grain deliveries to Africa for the alleviation of food insecurity,” said Ramaphosa spokesperson Vincent Magwenya. 

“We are therefore not aware of any threats to pull out of the grain deal,” Magwenya told Reuters on Wednesday. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow had not yet made a decision on withdrawing. 

Russia has issued a list of demands it wants met, including the resumption of its Black Sea ammonia exports and reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system. 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Thursday that he hoped the talks between Putin and the African leaders led to “a positive outcome in relation to the Black Sea initiative, as well as in relation to the efforts that we are making for the exports of Russian food and fertilizer.”  

‘Devastating toll’ 

While food and fertilizer exports do not fall under the West’s tough sanctions imposed on Russia over the war, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance create barriers. 

Putin also complained that under the deal “almost nothing goes to African countries” and said Moscow is ready to supply grain for free to the world’s poorest countries. 

The United Nations has long said the Black Sea grain deal is a commercial enterprise, but that it benefits poorer countries by helping lower food prices globally. 

Zambian Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo said in a statement Wednesday that the war in Ukraine and conflict in Sudan had “taken a devastating toll on African communities, resulting in the loss of life, and food insecurity, due to the rising costs of grain and fertilizer.” 

According to U.N. data, more than 31 million tons of grain have been exported under the pact, with 43% of that to developing countries. The U.N. World Food Program has shipped more than 625,000 tons of grain for aid operations. 

The Black Sea grain deal was initially brokered for 120 days. Russia has agreed to extend it three times but warned on Wednesday that its “goodwill” cannot last forever. 

Not all African states were worried, though. 

“If it’s true that we would starve if that grain deal is disrupted, why is it that it’s the West crying more than us Africans? They are crying crocodile tears,” Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs, Okello Oryem, told Reuters. 

He added that Uganda would have no qualms about accepting free grain from Russia.
…

Spain must do more to prepare for increasingly virulent wildfires stoked by climate change, a large group of the country’s leading wildfire prevention experts said Thursday. 

A declaration backed by 60 experts and institutions said the “increasingly intense fires … are producing unprecedented ecological and social consequences.” 

The experts concluded that Spanish society must come to terms with the emergencies that it will likely face, given that wildfires in increasingly hot and dry conditions in the Iberian Peninsula are often “beyond the capability [of firefighters] to extinguish” with their own means. 

The declaration was the outcome of a two-day meeting in Madrid in March organized by the Pau Costa Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Barcelona that works for fire prevention awareness. That meeting included wildlife and forestry experts drawn from government, academia, NGOs such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, and firefighting services. 

They urged Spain to increase its management of wooded areas to compensate for the abandonment of traditional forest industries and to quadruple its budget for prevention. 

Only about 78,000 hectares, or 0.3% of Spain’s woods, are currently managed, the foundation estimates. The declaration calls for that to be increased to 1%, or 260,000 hectares, and for Spanish authorities to dedicate the necessary resources. 

The report sets a recommended figure of $1.09 billion that Spain should be spending on forest management, to help compensate for the abandonment of traditional uses of wooded areas by local communities, such as taking timber or firewood. 

The declaration was presented Thursday simultaneously in Barcelona and Madrid. 

“This declaration is born from the need to create a consensus and bring together voices from different regions to send a powerful message and increase awareness so we can act and prepare for the wildfires of the future,” Miriam Pique, head of the Sustainable Forest Management Unit in the Forest Science Center of Catalonia, said in a wooded area near Barcelona. 

In Spain, each region is charged with managing its forests and fighting wildfires. That has led to considerable differences in the firefighting muscle of poorer and less populated regions like Castilla y Leon, where one firefighter died last year in massive blazes, compared with wealthier ones like Madrid’s central region or northeast Catalonia. 

The emergency firefighting brigades of Spain’s army are often deployed to help put out the worst fires. 

Some 267,000 hectares burned last year in Spain, making 2022 its worst year of fire destruction since 1994, government statistics said. The national average for the past decade was 94,000 hectares. According to the European Union’s Copernicus satellite observation service, Spain accounted for 35% of all burned land in European wildfires last year. 

After a record-hot 2022, Spain saw the arrival of forest fires earlier than usual this year. Recent rains have provided some relief despite a record-hot spring, but summer is typically dry, and authorities are on guard for another difficult season.
…

Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles are stepping up their push to dominate the European market. As Amy Guttman reports from London, they are making progress in Britain, where car shoppers are eager to buy the lower-cost electric cars that Chinese automakers are offering.
…

A nonprofit in Washington is helping refugees from around the world learn English. Ksenia Turkova met with some Ukrainians who wound up in the U.S. capital and are learning English. Camera: Bogdan Osyka.
…

Latest developments:

Speaking ahead of next week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country "will rebuild everything, restore everything."
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi postponed a planned trip to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday due to security reasons.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the war in Ukraine demonstrates the need to stand with Ukraine and continue to provide support.

Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived at NATO headquarters that after launching its long-expected counteroffensive, Ukraine has made gains and liberated occupied land from Russian forces during fierce fighting.

“This is due to the courage, the bravery, the skills of the Ukrainian soldiers, but it also highlights and demonstrates that the support NATO allies have been giving to Ukraine for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that the more successful Ukraine is at this stage, the more pressure it will put on Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table and give Ukraine a stronger hand in peace talks.

Stoltenberg said if allies want enduring peace in Ukraine, they have to continue providing Ukrainian forces with military support.

Ahead of the meeting of NATO defense chiefs, the U.S.-led Ukraine Contact Group held its latest session Thursday in Brussels to discuss military assistance for Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the opening of the meeting that the fight in Ukraine “is a marathon, and not a sprint.”

“We will continue to provide Ukraine with the urgent capabilities that it needs to meet this moment as well as what it needs to keep itself secure for the long term from Russian aggression,” Austin said.

He highlighted the need to provide Ukrainian forces with air defense systems that are critical in protecting Ukrainian civilians from Russia’s aerial attacks.

“The Kremlin’s imperial ambitions have inflicted unimaginable suffering on the Ukrainian people, yet the Ukrainians continue to inspire us with their resilience, their bravery, and their unwavering commitment to keep their country free and secure,” Austin said.

Norway and Denmark announced a joint effort to provide thousands of artillery rounds to Ukraine.

“Ukraine has an urgent need for artillery ammunition. We have therefore decided to join forces with Denmark for a new donation, so that Ukraine receives the ammunition as quickly as possible,” Norway’s defense minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military said Thursday it intercepted a Russian cruise missile as well as 20 explosive drones launched by Russia.

In Russian-controlled Crimea, Russian officials said their side downed nine Ukrainian drones.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…