The United States took custody Friday of a Russian national extradited from Estonia and suspected of being an intelligence agent as the Biden administration pursues possible prisoner exchanges for U.S. detainees in Russia. 

Vadim Konoshchenok was arrested in Estonia late last year as he sought to cross the border into Russia carrying semiconductors and U.S.-made ammunition for sniper rifles, according to charges filed against him. 

He is alleged to be a central figure in a seven-person smuggling ring, which included five Russians and two Americans who operated “under the direction of Russian intelligence services” to obtain U.S. electronics and other goods restricted by U.S. export controls. 

U.S. officials said more than 450 kilograms of U.S.-origin ammunition was interdicted or seized from Konoshchenok’s operation. 

He faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy, violation of export controls, smuggling and money laundering.  

Konoshchenok “allegedly provided cutting edge, American-developed technologies and ammunition to Russia for use in their illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” said the Justice Department’s Andrew Adams. 

Konoshchenok’s extradition to the United States comes as Washington seeks to negotiate the return of U.S. citizens held by Moscow. 

They include Paul Whelan, a corporate security official convicted in a Russian court of espionage, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is facing charges of espionage. 

The United States denies either was involved in spying but has been in negotiations to see if they could be swapped for Russians that it holds. 

“I’m serious about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said Thursday in Finland. 

“I’m serious about doing all we can to free Americans who are being illegally held in Russia or anywhere else for that matter. And that process is underway,” he said. 

Last December, the United States traded jailed Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was jailed in Russia months earlier on drug charges. 

In April 2022, Russia released Trevor Reed, a former Marine imprisoned two years earlier for assaulting Russian police officers. 

At the same time, the United States freed a Russian pilot jailed for drug trafficking. 

The U.S. also holds Alexander Vinnik, a Russian money launderer extradited from Greece last year, and Vladimir Dunaev, a malware and ransomware hacker extradited from South Korea in 2021. 

And Washington is seeking the extradition from Brazil of Sergey Cherkasov, an alleged Russian spy who attended graduate school in Washington under deep cover. 
…

LATEST DEVELOPMENT:  

• France has posthumously awarded the Legion of Honor, the country’s highest award, to Arman Soldin, an Agence France-Presse journalist who was killed in Ukraine. 

“Through his strength of character, his journey and his drive,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a letter to AFP, Arman Soldin “embodied your editorial staff’s passion — a passion to convey the truth, tell stories and gather testimonies.”

The British Defense Ministry said Friday in its daily report on Ukraine that Russia’s recent announcement that the nuclear-powered submarines of Russia’s Northern Fleet will not participate in the Navy Day fleet review in St. Petersburg on July 30 is “likely primarily due to” maintenance and availability concerns. 

However, the ministry also said there is also “a realistic possibility that Internal security concerns since Wagner Group’s attempted mutiny have contributed to the decision.” 

Russian attacks killed at least three Ukrainian civilians and wounded another 38, Ukraine’s presidential office reported Thursday. 

The government in Kyiv said Russian forces targeted 13 cities and villages under Russian control in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region with air attacks, missiles and heavy artillery.  

In the Zaporizhzhia region, also partly Russian occupied, Ukraine said 21 people were injured by drone debris on Wednesday and that fires broke out in Kherson after Russian shelling.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said their air defenses shot down 20 Iranian-made drones fired by Russia that targeted the Kyiv region. But they said wreckage from the drones fell on four districts of the capital early Thursday, hospitalizing two people with shrapnel wounds and destroying several homes. 

The interior ministry said firefighters extinguished a blaze in a 16-story apartment building and another fire in a nonresidential building. Debris also smashed into the front of a 25-story apartment building. 

The latest wave was the third consecutive night in which the drones were used in attacks on Kyiv.

Elsewhere, Ukraine said one of its missile strikes killed a senior Russian officer, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, who was leading Moscow’s forces against Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive in southern Ukraine. 

Ukraine said Tsokov was killed when the Ukrainian military struck the city of Berdyansk on Tuesday with British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Russia’s defense ministry has not reported Tsokov’s death.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guest of honor at this year’s Bastille Day celebration Friday in Paris.

Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron will watch the spectacle together as French and Indian soldiers march down the Champs Elysee.

French-manufactured Rafale fighter jets that India purchased a few years ago will also participate in a flyover of the Arc de Triomphe.

Modi’s guest of honor status in the annual event marking France’s national holiday comes after India’s recent approval to purchase 26 Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines from France for India’s military.

Macron said Thursday at a dinner for Modi held at the Elysee Palace that India is “a giant in the history of the world that will have a determining role in our future” and “is also a strategic partner and friend.”

Meanwhile, also on Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for “human rights to be integrated into all areas of the EU-India partnership, including in trade.” The resolution called on member states “to systematically and publicly raise human rights concerns” at the highest level.

In addition, an assortment of personalities urged Macron, in a commentary in Le Monde, not to forget Modi’s dismal human rights record and to “encourage Prime Minister Modi to end repression of the civil society, assure freedom of major media (outlets) and protect religious liberty.”

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

Foreign ministers of two dozen countries meet in Indonesia on Friday with U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine and North Korean missiles set to dominate roundtable talks in Southeast Asia’s annual security gathering.

Top diplomats from China, the United States and Russia were among those set to join Friday’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where broad-based agendas are typically hijacked by the week’s geopolitical flare-ups, offering a theater for fierce rebukes, superpower squabbles and occasional walk-outs.

In opening remarks to foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), chairman Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the gathering aimed to seek solutions rather than exacerbate regional and global problems.

“We, the ASEAN members that are developing, need the understanding, wisdom, support from developed countries, from our neighboring countries, to leave the zero sum approach and take a win-win solution approach,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held “candid and constructive” talks with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday in Jakarta, according to the State Department, the latest in a series of interactions it said are aimed at managing differences between the two superpowers.

U.S.-China sparring dominated last year’s ARF, which came a few days after then U.S. house speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, enraging Beijing, which launched live-fire drills around Taiwan and halted numerous channels of dialog with Washington.

Thursday’s meeting was part of ongoing efforts to keep channels of communication open and “responsibly manage competition by reducing the risk of misperception and miscalculation,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Wang told Blinken the key to bringing the relationship back on the right track was adopting “a rational and pragmatic attitude,” China’s foreign ministry said.

On Thursday, Chinese fighter jets monitored a U.S. Navy patrol plane that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, as China carried out military exercises south of the island, which it claims as one of its provinces.

Lavrov: Western ‘domination’

The 10-member ASEAN hosts an East Asia Summit on Friday morning before holding a separate meeting with Blinken.

They will be joined in the afternoon by foreign ministers of Russia, Australia, Japan, Britain, South Korea, and more, for the closed-doors ARF, which is expected to address Pyongyang’s launch this week of its latest Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, which it defended on Thursday at the United Nations Security Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also in Jakarta, where he gave an interview saying the war in Ukraine would not end until the West “gives up its plans to preserve its domination,” including its “obsessive desire” to defeat Russia strategically.

China’s Wang also met with Lavrov, and said the two sides would “strengthen strategic communication and coordination.”

Western nations are also expected to condemn Myanmar’s ruling military for its alleged atrocities against the civilian population, as the junta cracks down on its opponents and deploys fighter jets and heavy artillery to flush out an armed pro-democracy resistance movement.

ASEAN member Myanmar has been barred from the bloc’s meetings over the junta’s failure to honor a two-year-old deal with the grouping to end hostilities and start dialog. ASEAN’s unity has been tested over how to approach the crisis.

The bloc late on Thursday “strongly condemned the continued acts of violence, including air strikes, artillery shelling, and destruction of public facilities” in its customary communique, which was issued more than 30 hours after foreign ministers concluded their meeting, a delay that in previous years has indicated discord over its contents.
…

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered mercenary fighters with the Wagner Group the opportunity to remain serving together in Russia after their revolt, he said in an interview published late Thursday.

Putin, interviewed by the Russian daily Kommersant, said this was one of several offers he made at a meeting with around three dozen fighters and Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, late last month, five days after Wagner staged the abortive revolt against Russia’s military hierarchy.

Under the offer, the fighters would stay under their current commander, who the newspaper identified only by his call sign of “Grey Hair.”

Putin also said it was up to Russia’s government and parliament to work out a legal framework for private military formations.

Kommersant said Putin spoke of meeting 35 Wagner fighters and Prigozhin in the Kremlin and offering them options for the future, including remaining under their commander of 16 months.

“All of them could have gathered in one place and continued their service,” Kommersant quoted the president as saying. “And nothing would have changed. They would have been led by the same person who had been their real commander all that time.”

As Putin is the army’s commander-in-chief, he seemed to be implying that they would remain within the Russian military, although he did not say that explicitly.

“Many of them nodded when I said this,” Kommersant quoted Putin as saying.

However, Prigozhin disagreed, it reported.

“Prigozhin … said after listening: ‘No, the boys won’t agree with such a decision,” Kommersant quoted Putin as saying.

Wagner fighters played a key role in the Russian army’s advance into eastern Ukraine and were the driving force in the capture in May of the city of Bakhmut after months of battles.

But Prigozhin constantly accused the military of failing to back his men, and Wagner fighters unhappy with the Defense Ministry’s conduct of the war took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on June 23 and began moving toward Moscow.

They halted their advance the next day after being offered a deal under which they could resettle in Belarus, along with Prigozhin. Any notion of pressing charges against Prigozhin was dropped.

Putin told the newspaper there was no possibility of Wagner remaining in its current form.

“Wagner does not exist,” Putin told Kommersant. “There is no law on private military organizations. It just doesn’t exist.”
…

President Joe Biden wrapped up his European trip in Finland, meeting with NATO’s newest member and other Nordic leaders as conflict in Ukraine casts a pall over the continent’s future. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from Helsinki.
…

A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

Major General Ivan Popov, the commander of the 58th army in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is a focal point in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, said in an audio statement to his troops released Wednesday night that he was dismissed after a meeting with the military brass in what he described as a treacherous stab in the back to Russian forces in Ukraine. 

Popov said the military leadership was angered by his frank talk about challenges faced by his forces, particularly the shortage of radars tracking enemy artillery, which resulted in massive Russian casualties. 

“The top officers apparently saw me as a source of threat and rapidly issued an order to get rid of me, which was signed by the defense minister in just one day,” he said. “The Ukrainian military has failed to break through our army’s defenses, but the top commander hit us in the rear, treacherously and cowardly beheading the army at this most difficult moment.” 

Popov, who uses the call name “Spartacus,” addressed his troops as “my gladiators” in the audio message released by retired Gen. Andrei Gurulev, who commanded the 58th army in the past and currently serves as a lawmaker. The 58th army consists of several divisions and smaller units. 

The 48-year-old Popov, who has risen from platoon commander to lead a large group of forces, has encouraged his soldiers to come directly to him with any problems — an easygoing approach that contrasted sharply with the stiff formal style of command common in the Russian military. Russian military bloggers say he’s widely known for avoiding unnecessary losses — unlike many other commanders who were eager to sacrifice their soldiers to report successes. 

“I faced a difficult situation with the top leadership when I had to either keep silent and act like a coward, saying what they wanted to hear, or call things by their names,” Popov said. “I didn’t have the right to lie for the sake of you and our fallen comrades.” 

Many military bloggers argued that Popov’s dismissal eroded troop morale at a time of relentless Ukrainian attacks. One blogger, Vladislav Shurygin, said it has dealt a “terrible blow to the entire army,” while another, Roman Saponkov, described it as a “monstrous terror attack against the army’s morale.” 

In a sign that many in Russian officialdom share Popov’s criticism of the military leadership, Andrei Turchak, the first deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament and head of the main Kremlin party United Russia, strongly backed the general, saying that “the Motherland can be proud of such commanders.” 

Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who heads the defense affairs committee in the lower house, also said the Defense Ministry should deal with the issues raised by Popov. 

News of Popov’s dismissal added to the blow that Russian troops received when another senior officer, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, was killed Tuesday by a Ukrainian missile strike. 

Popov’s remarks about the need to rotate his exhausted troops that have been fighting the Ukrainian counteroffensive since early June, reportedly angered General Staff chief General Valery Gerasimov, who shrugged them off as panicky and promptly ordered his dismissal. 

Gerasimov was shown meeting with military officers Monday in a video released by the Defense Ministry, the first time he was seen since last month’s abortive rebellion by Prigozhin, who had demanded his ouster. 

Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov noted that Popov’s statement echoed criticism of the top brass by Prigozhin. However, he added that the general’s statement wasn’t a rebellion, but instead a call for intervention by President Vladimir Putin. 

“Such public disputes at the top of the Russian army isn’t a show of force,” he said. 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that talks are underway with Russia to free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held in a Moscow jail for more than 100 days on an espionage charge that he denies.

The Kremlin earlier this month said it was open to another prisoner swap with the U.S., one that would free Gershkovich, possibly in exchange for Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian in U.S. custody on cybercrime charges. But Moscow said the negotiations must be carried out in secret.

Biden, speaking at a news conference in Finland, made clear that the U.S. is interested.

“I’m serious on a prisoner exchange,” the U.S. leader said. “And I’m serious about doing all we can to free Americans being illegally held in Russia or anywhere else for that matter, and that process is underway.”

Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip. A Moscow court recently upheld a ruling to keep him in custody until August 30.

Russia has said an exchange could not occur until the charges against him have been adjudicated, but no trial date has been set.
…

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he and his Polish counterpart had agreed at a summit in Warsaw on Thursday on a plan for Poland to buy additional South Korean weapons. 

The two countries last year reached a $13.7 billion arms deal, Seoul’s biggest ever, which included supplies of South Korean rocket launchers and fighter jets to Poland.  

“We agreed on Poland’s plan to introduce additional South Korean weapons,” Yoon said during a joint news conference, without giving further details. 

At his meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday, Yoon welcomed an expansion of bilateral ties in strategic areas including nuclear power and defense. 

Duda said Poland wants to produce South Korean arms domestically, while Yoon said the two leaders agreed to make defense cooperation develop in a mutually beneficial way. 

“We hope that we will not only buy new defense equipment for our soldiers in South Korea, but that it will also be produced in Poland,” Duda said. 
…

Latest developments: 

Ukraine’s military cites some success in fighting along the front lines to the south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells reporters at recent NATO summit that Ukraine needs long-range weapons.  

Russian attacks killed at least three Ukrainian civilians and wounded another 38 in the last day, Ukraine’s presidential office reported Thursday.

The government in Kyiv said Russian forces targeted 13 cities and villages under Russian control in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region with air attacks, missiles and heavy artillery. 

In the Zaporizhzhia region, also partly Russian occupied, Ukraine said 21 people were injured by drone debris on Wednesday and that fires broke out in Kherson after Russian shelling.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said their air defenses shot down 20 Iranian-made drones fired by Russia that targeted the Kyiv region. But they said wreckage from the drones fell on four districts of the capital early Thursday, hospitalizing two people with shrapnel wounds and destroying several homes.

The interior ministry said firefighters extinguished a blaze in a 16-story apartment building and another fire in a non-residential building. Debris also smashed into the front of a 25-story apartment building.

The latest wave was the third consecutive night in which the drones were used in attacks on Kyiv.

Elsewhere, Ukraine said one of its missile strikes killed a senior Russian officer, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, who was leading Moscow’s forces against Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said Tsokov was killed when the Ukrainian military struck the city of Berdyansk on Tuesday with British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Russia’s defense ministry has not confirmed Tsokov’s death.

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

China’s two-way trade with Russia rose in June to its highest level since the Ukraine war started, Chinese customs data showed on Thursday, at a time that both of the neighbors have described their relations as at a new high. 

Bilateral trade value surged to $20.83 billion in June, the highest since February 2022, according to the data by the General Administration of Customs, despite slowing global demand and rising geopolitical risks. 

China’s imports from Russia rose 15.7% to $11.28 billion, faster than a 10% increase in May. China has been buying discounted Russian oil, coal and some metals. 

Outbound shipments to Russia soared 90.9% last month to a total of $9.55 billion, slower than a 114% growth registered in May.  

The Chinese customs agency did not release a breakdown of the data on Thursday.  

According to analytical agency Autostat, six of the top 10 brands by market share in Russia’s auto industry are Chinese, such as Haval, Chery and Geely, which have filled a vacuum left by departing Western firms. 

China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday pledged to continue working with Russia to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation. 

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a visit by President Vladimir Putin to China was on the agenda, adding that it was a good time to maintain the good relations between their countries.  
…

U.S. President Joe Biden is in Helsinki to meet Thursday with leaders from Nordic countries and praise Finland’s NATO accession. 

Biden’s schedule includes a separate meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto before the larger gathering that includes Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir. 

The agenda for the U.S.-Nordic summit is expected to include discussion of climate change, security cooperation and emerging technologies. 

Finland and Sweden sought NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. 

The alliance admitted Finland in April, but Sweden’s bid was held up by Turkey amid Turkish complaints that Sweden was being too lenient toward groups that Ankara considers terrorist organizations. 

After multiple rounds of talks and Swedish enactment of reforms that include a new counterterrorism law, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week he would drop his opposition and move to recommend Turkish lawmakers give their approval for Sweden to join NATO. 

The other participants in Thursday’s talks are all NATO members. 

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

A Turkish court in Diyarbakir decided on Wednesday to release 14 Kurdish journalists on bail after detaining them for 13 months awaiting trial.

The journalists were initially detained on June 8, 2022, without knowing the charges against them. The indictment was released in March 2023, charging 17 journalists with membership in a terrorist organization in reference to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Three of the journalists were released, pending trial.

The journalists worked for several pro-Kurdish media outlets, including the Mesopotamia News Agency, the PEL production company and the Dicle Firat Journalists Association.

The first hearing in their case began on Tuesday, 13 months since the detentions. Experts say prolonged judicial processes, such as pretrial detention and late indictments, are being used as a punishment and deterrent.

“The main purpose of this case is to cease our work [as reporters] and keep us away from the field,” Serdar Altan, one of the arrested journalists and co-chair of the Dicle Firat Journalists Association, said during the hearing.

“We have been arrested for 13 months. Who will be held accountable for restricting our freedom?” Altan added.

The journalists facing trial denied being members of a terrorist organization, and some defended themselves in court in Kurdish.

Resul Temur, one of the lawyers defending the journalists, told the court that at least 30 Kurdish journalists had been arrested in the last 12 months.

“This data alone shows what kind of judicial harassment journalists face,” Temur said.

Temur demanded the journalists’ release, asking the court to consider the length of their pretrial detention.

Veysel Ok, co-director of an Istanbul-based Media and Law Studies Association and a human rights lawyer, argued in court that the case questioned the journalists’ profession by asking about their news sources.

“As we cannot question your judgeship, you cannot question journalism. All journalists here are journalists who do rights journalism and are the voice of the Kurds and the oppressed,” Ok said during his court argument.

The prosecutor asked for continuation of the detention, citing “the nature of charges and evidence showing a strong suspicion of committing the crime.”

The court panel did not accept the prosecutor’s request and released the journalists on bail. The hearing was adjourned until November 9.

“Their release does not mean that they are acquitted. The trial will continue. There are other witnesses to listen,” Ok told VOA.

“In fact, there should have been an acquittal after these defenses. But since there is no legal security in Turkey, we cannot make such predictions for the future,” he added.

Temur said the court’s decision to release the journalists is promising for other press freedom cases.

“This decision made us hope that the court panel had a judgment or thought that the evidence in the indictment was within the scope of journalistic activity,” Temur said.

Turkey has one of the worst records for jailing journalists.

According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 40 were detained in connection with their work as of December 2022. Of those, 15 are facing anti-state charges, and the rest have not had charges released, the data shows.

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.
…

Wrapping up a two-day summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered an address highlighting how Washington and its allies are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values and taking action to address global challenges. VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara reports.
…

The United States is defining the limits of NATO’s outreach in the Indo-Pacific region, saying its focus on challenges posed by China does not signal an intention to invite Asian nations to join the bloc.

Speaking Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told VOA, “We’re not adding members from the Indo-Pacific.”

“We’re breaking down barriers between America’s Atlantic allies and America’s Pacific allies to look at common challenges like cybersecurity, emerging and disruptive technology, maritime security,” she said. “There’s a whole array of issues where we can learn from one another without bringing anyone from the Indo-Pacific formally into the alliance.”

Beijing criticized this week’s joint NATO statement that said China challenges the groups’ interests and security with “coercive policies.” A Chinese diplomat said the communique disregarded facts and misrepresented Beijing’s position.

NATO countries signed on to the joint statement that underscored that “stated ambitions and coercive policies” of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, have “challenged the alliance’s interests, security and values.”

“The PRC employs a broad range of political, economic and military tools to increase its global footprint and project power, while remaining opaque about its strategy, intentions and military buildup,” the group’s leaders said in their communique. 

Beijing quickly rejected the claims. Instead of reflecting on its own responsibilities, NATO “has been making groundless accusations, meddling in affairs beyond its borders and creating confrontation,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union said in a statement Tuesday.

NATO has sent mixed signals about whether to open a liaison office in Japan, the first of its kind in Asia. France has opposed it saying the bloc should keep focused on the North Atlantic, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that it’s still up for discussion.

China has warned NATO against what it has called an “eastward movement into the Asia-Pacific region” and vowed to deliver a “resolute response” to actions that jeopardize its “legitimate rights and interests.”

In a speech in front of thousands of Lithuanians, President Joe Biden made no direct mention of China but alluded to themes commonly used by his administration in describing Beijing’s violation of international rules and norms.

Biden said nations must work together to safeguard rights and freedoms needed to protect “the flow of ideas and commerce” that “have enabled decades of global growth.” He said it was necessary to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty, “but also principles like freedom of navigation, and overflight, keeping our shared seas and skies open so that every nation has equal access to our global common space.”

As NATO committed to work together to address the systemic challenges posed by the PRC to Euro-Atlantic security, the most important action the alliance can take is to stay unified, said Mark Kennedy, director of the Wahba Institute of Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center.

“That was exhibited in the communique,” he told VOA. “The key will be to translate these commitments into reality.”

Indo-Pacific partners

Indo-Pacific partners attended the summit amid concerns about rising tension in the region from increasing Chinese military activities and threats from North Korea. On Wednesday, Pyongyang tested a suspected long-range ballistic missile.

This is the second time the Indo-Pacific partners have participated in the gathering of North Atlantic leaders, after last year’s NATO summit in Madrid. Participating leaders included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Smith pointed to an initiative called the Individually Tailored Partnership Program, or ITPP, that NATO struck with Japan as an example of deepening ties with Indo-Pacific partners.

Collaboration will go beyond traditional security areas and extend to cyber, emerging and disruptive technologies, and strategic communications, Kishida said Wednesday about the deal.

Speaking alongside Stoltenberg, Kishida said the new arrangement is a response to challenges in the international security environment.

“Japan and NATO share the understanding that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion will not be tolerated, regardless of where they occur in the world,” Kishida said.

In May, as he hosted the Group of Seven summit of the world’s wealthiest democracies in Hiroshima, Kishida emphasized that Japan has no plans to become a NATO member.

China–Russia

Beijing pushed back against NATO’s assessment of its “deepening strategic partnership” with Russia, which said the two countries are involved in “mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged NATO to “quit the outdated Cold War mentality” and stop seeking to “sow chaos here in the Asia-Pacific or elsewhere in the world.”

Wang criticized NATO’s condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, saying the alliance is “not a party to the Korean Peninsula issues.” He blamed the West’s military deterrence and “double standards on nuclear nonproliferation” as counterproductive to settling Korean Peninsula issues.

While Beijing has not provided lethal aid to Moscow, observers say its growing trade ties with Moscow have helped sustain the Russian economy, offsetting the effects of international sanctions.

VOA’s Celia Mendoza and Jorge Agobian contributed to this report.
…

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposal aimed at satisfying a Russian demand that threatens to shut down the key Black Sea Grain Initiative.

“The secretary-general remains engaged with all relevant parties on this issue and expresses his willingness to further engage on his proposal with the Russian Federation,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday.

Dujarric declined to go into details about the proposal, saying “we are in very delicate times.” 

The initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain from ports Russia blocked during its invasion of Ukraine last year, is due for renewal by July 18. Moscow has said repeatedly during the lead-up to previous extension deadlines that it is not benefiting enough under the initiative and has sent similar signals recently.

A parallel memorandum of understanding between Moscow and the United Nations has sought to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer. While food and fertilizer are not sanctioned by the West, efforts have been made to ease concerns of anxious banks, insurers, shippers and other private sector actors about doing business with Russia. 

One of Russia’s main demands has been for its agriculture bank to be reinstated in the international Swift system of financial transactions.

U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has led the U.N. negotiations with Moscow on the memorandum of understanding, told reporters Wednesday that the U.N. has been able to secure “alternatives” to Swift within the Western sanctions framework, to help the Russian Agriculture Bank expedite its work.

“But it’s true that this is one of the challenges that has not yet fully happened,” she said. “We have not fully found the solution for the Russian Agriculture Bank.”

But she said the U.N.’s proposal could be of significant help for what the bank wants to achieve. She emphasized that it would apply only to food and fertilizer and not to the Russian Agriculture Bank’s other operations.

Since the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, nearly 33 million metric tons of grain and other food stuffs have been exported to global markets, helping to calm food prices, which spiked at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Experts say food prices would certainly spike again if Moscow does not renew the deal.

“How much will be the duration of that spike will depend a lot on how markets will respond to that,” Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told reporters.

His remarks came at the launch of a global food security report, which found that between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, an increase of 122 million people compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. 
…

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a costly, senseless war that has killed and injured thousands of civilians and violated the human rights of millions. Türk presented an oral update on the current situation in Ukraine and Crimea on Wednesday to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In a no-holds-barred presentation to the council, Türk outlined in grim detail what he calls the horrendous civilian cost of the war in Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he said more than 9,000 civilians, including at least 500 children, have been killed, adding that these figures are likely to be much higher.

He said Russia did not grant U.N. monitors access to places of detention. Nevertheless, from interviews with 178 detainees who had been released, he said monitors have documented more than 900 cases of arbitrary detention, many of them tantamount to enforced disappearances.

“We also documented the summary executions of 77 civilians while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation,” he said. “Over 90% of detainees held by the Russian Federation whom we were able to interview stated that they had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment — including sexual violence, in some cases — by Russian security personnel.” 

Türk also expressed concern about human rights violations committed by Ukraine. He said the U.N., which had unimpeded access to places of detention under Ukrainian control, documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention. He added that monitors found Ukrainian personnel in unofficial places of detention, to a much lesser extent, also engaged in torture or ill-treatment, including sexual violence.

Türk said a report submitted to the Human Rights Council by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres describes widespread, systematic human rights violations committed by Russian forces in Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, as well as other areas occupied by Russia.

Türk said his team has documented 60 arbitrary arrests, as well as enforced disappearances and torture in these areas. He said 2,500 men have been forcibly conscripted in Crimea. He said he is deeply concerned about population transfers of civilians.

“During the reporting period, my office collected information about 23 residents who were arrested by Russian security forces and transferred across the administrative boundary line to Crimea, reportedly handcuffed and blindfolded,” he said. “In parallel, the Russian authorities have continued transferring Ukrainian citizens whom they consider so-called foreigners out of Crimea.” 

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, categorically rejected the high commissioner’s report, calling it flawed and one-sided. He said the report does not adequately reflect the crimes committed by Ukraine.

The Russian envoy said there is a multitude of video evidence on the internet of Ukrainian security forces executing suspected collaborators in regions vacated by Russian troops. He called on the high commissioner’s office to pay attention to these actions by Kyiv and to address them publicly.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday defended the Biden administration’s decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions, weapons banned by more than 120 countries for their indiscriminate killing capability, saying it will help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression.

“It’s very simple to criticize cluster munitions,” Zelenskyy said to reporters during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. “This decision will help us save us,” he added.

Washington’s decision has created discomfort among some NATO allies, many of whom are signatories of the convention that bans the weapons.

The Ukrainian leader noted that Moscow employs cluster munitions in the battlefield. “I didn’t hear some of you countries criticize Russia,” he said.

Biden and Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the alliance’s summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on Wednesday, where NATO leaders closed their two-day gathering with renewed support for Kyiv to join the alliance but stopped short of any specific commitments or timeline that Zelenskyy has sought.

“Today, we meet as equals. I look forward to the day we meet as allies,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

In its written declaration Tuesday, leaders said they “will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree, and conditions are met.”

Kyiv’s NATO membership in the middle of Russia’s invasion would require allies to apply the principle of “an attack on one is an attack on all” enshrined in the bloc’s Article 5 – putting members in direct conflict with Moscow.

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg dismissed new Russian threats on the consequences of supporting Ukraine.

“Of course, guarantees, documents, council meetings are important, but the most urgent task now is to ensure enough weapons for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his armed forces,” Stoltenberg said.

The Kremlin swiftly hit back. “It is more important for the West to kill than to protect,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova via Telegram.

While not extending a fast track to membership, NATO is dropping its requirement for Ukraine to fulfill its so-called Membership Action Plan, a list of political, economic and military goals it must meet before joining the alliance.   

A day after blasting NATO’s lack of a clear timetable as “absurd,” Zelenskyy appeared more conciliatory and acknowledged concerns that allies do not want to be dragged into direct conflict with Moscow. 

“Even during the full-scale war against Russia, Ukraine continues to conduct reform,” he said. “Therefore, we highly appreciate the recognition that Ukraine will not need an action plan on its way to NATO.”

Wednesday’s agenda also features the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a newly established decision-making body that carries more authority than the previous NATO-Ukraine Commission, which was a consultation-only platform.

G7 declaration on Ukraine

Alongside Zelenskyy, leaders of the Group of Seven wealthiest democracies announced a new framework to provide long-term security and economic support for Ukraine through separate bilateral negotiations.

“Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion are unacceptable anywhere in the world,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who in May hosted a forum to support Ukraine at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

Calling the framework “a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine,” Biden said G7 allies will “help Ukraine build a strong capable defense across land, air, and sea” to become a “force of stability in the region to deter against any and all threats.”

In a briefing to reporters, National Security Council Senior Director for Europe Amanda Sloat said the multilateral declaration will “send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side.”

Biden’s final item before leaving Vilnius is an address “highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values and taking action to address global challenges,” the White House said.

Immediately after his remarks Wednesday evening, Biden is scheduled to depart for Helsinki to meet with leaders of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Now that Sweden will be joining NATO, all five Nordic countries are part of the military alliance.

Misha Komadovsky contributed to this report.

 
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NATO leaders met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Lithuania’s capital as they close a summit that has included emphasis on supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion and discussion of Ukraine’s future within the alliance.

Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that he understands some allies do not want to consider Ukraine joining the alliance at this time due to fears of a world war, and that it is clear Ukraine cannot join while the conflict with Russia is ongoing.

NATO leaders said in a written declaration Tuesday that the bloc “will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” reiterating their position supporting Ukraine’s membership but stopping short of any specific commitments or timeline that Zelenskyy has sought.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday he understands the statement to mean the conditions will be met when Ukraine’s territory is secure.

Stoltenberg highlighted a three-part package of more closely integrating Ukraine with NATO, including work on interoperability between Ukrainian and NATO forces, a new NATO-Ukraine council that held its first meeting Wednesday and removing a requirement for Ukraine to complete a membership action plan on its path to becoming a member.

“Today we meet as equals,” Stoltenberg said. “I look forward to the day we meet as allies.”

Russia has issued several statements during the summit stating that security assistance for Ukraine and NATO expansion represent a threat to Russia.

Asked about potentially inflaming the situation, Stoltenberg said there is already a “full-fledged war going on in Europe” and there is no risk-free option. He said the “biggest risk is if President [Vladimir] Putin wins.”

Stoltenberg repeated NATO’s position that it is only for Ukraine and NATO allies to decide if Ukraine will join the alliance and that “Moscow doesn’t have a veto.”

Britain said members of the Group of Seven, or G7, leading industrialized nations planned to announce a new framework for allies providing long-term security support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy welcomed the move, saying that while the best security guarantee for Ukraine would be NATO membership, the G7 action would be a concrete step in support of Ukraine’s security. He added that Ukraine has already spoken to nations outside of the G7 that are interested in joining as well.

Stoltenberg said that while guarantees, documents and meetings are important, the most urgent task for allies is to provide Ukraine with enough weapons.

Zelenskyy was also set to hold separate talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

The U.S. leader is scheduled to deliver an address “highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values, and taking action to address global challenges,” the White House said.

Following the two-day summit, Biden heads to Helsinki on Thursday to meet with leaders of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Once Sweden has joined NATO, all five Nordic countries will be members of the military alliance.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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NATO leaders are set to meet Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they close a summit in Lithuania’s capital that has included emphasis on supporting Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion and discussion of Ukraine’s future within the alliance. 

“We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” NATO leaders said in a written declaration, reiterating their position supporting Ukraine’s membership but stopping short of any specific commitments or timeline that Zelenskyy has sought. 

Wednesday’s agenda features the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and Zelenskyy is also set to hold separate talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. 

The U.S. leader is scheduled to deliver an address “highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values, and taking action to address global challenges,” the White House said. 

Britain said members of the G-7 group of nations planned to announce a new framework for allies providing long-term security support for Ukraine. 

Alliance expansion 

Biden said Tuesday the NATO summit represents a “historic moment,” as the security bloc prepares to enlarge while tackling issues around the grinding war in Ukraine.   

“Adding Finland and Sweden to NATO is consequential,” Biden said to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.  “And your leadership really matters. And we agree on the language that you propose, relative to the future of Ukraine being able to join NATO.”  

Stoltenberg said Tuesday he is “absolutely confident” that Turkey’s parliament will admit a new member, Sweden.  

At the same time, Zelenskyy continues to push for his nation’s inclusion in the security alliance – a step that NATO members seem unlikely to take at this high-stakes summit in Lithuania’s capital.   

“NATO will give Ukraine security,” tweeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Ukraine will make the alliance stronger.”  

Membership in the middle of a war would require NATO to apply the principle of “an attack on one is an attack on all” enshrined in the bloc’s Article 5 – putting the U.S. and Western nations in direct conflict with Moscow.   

Zelenskyy has said he accepts that situation, but shortly before leaders gathered for their meeting Tuesday, he tweeted complaints about what he said were “signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine.”   

Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Vilnius that he had put forth a package during an informal NATO foreign ministers meeting in May that included removing the requirement for a membership action plan in Ukraine’s bid.     

Defense spending   

Another key issue at the summit is whether the members can agree on — and then meet — a commitment to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. Currently, only seven members fulfill that target.      

Several alliance members used the summit to announce new military aid for Ukraine, including a $770 million package from Germany including Patriot missile launchers, battle tanks and ammunition.  French President Emmanuel Macron said his government will supply long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Following the two-day summit, Biden heads to Helsinki on Thursday to meet with leaders of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. Once Sweden has joined NATO, all five Nordic countries will be members of the military alliance.     

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