Biden opposes ‘Nato-isation’ of Ukraine in major blow to Zelensky
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Joe Biden has ruled out Ukraine joining Nato in the aftermath of a ceasefire with Russia in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ahead of Nato’s annual summit on July 9, the US president said Ukraine would have to rely on supplies of Western weapons to ward off a second Russian offensive.
Peace, he said, “doesn’t mean Nato.”
“It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in future,” he told Time magazine.
Mr Zelensky has pushed for Ukraine to be granted swift entry to Nato after the war is over, arguing Vladimir Putin is likely to stage another invasion before long.
Membership of the alliance would compel the US and western nations to come to the defence of Ukraine in the event of any Russian attack, under Article 5 of the Nato treaty.
Mr Biden said: “I am not prepared to support the Nato-isation of Ukraine,” adding he had seen “significant corruption” in Ukraine when he visited as vice president.
However, he warned that the West still has a duty to prevent Kyiv falling to Russia, as it would quickly see Poland and other bordering nations “go down” too.
The possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance has become a major sticking point between Nato members since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
At last year’s summit in Lithuania, member states agreed to a joint communique stating that “Ukraine’s future is in Nato”, but refuse to move forward with an accelerated membership plan supported by some eastern European countries.
A senior Nato diplomat said: “This will no doubt infuriate the Baltic and eastern states.”
Security cooperation
Since January, Ukraine has signed security cooperation with nine countries including the UK, France and Germany, and is in advanced negotiations with several other states.
German and American diplomats have recently expressed concern about moving further along the path to Ukraine’s membership at next month’s meeting in Washington DC.
Russia has recently made advances in the Kharkiv region and is expected to launch a major summer offensive in the near future.
Last week, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said that members would “put in place the bridge to bring Ukraine closer and ultimately into Nato”, but did not give detail on the conditions required for membership or on a time frame.
Mr Biden’s intervention expunges any hope for Ukraine to be offered Nato membership in exchange for ceding territory to Moscow in a peace deal.
In absence of a concrete offer on membership, plans are being drawn up for Nato to take over control of the US-led Ramstein group that has coordinated much of the western military aid for Kyiv.
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, has also proposed a commitment to maintain at least €40 billion (£31.3bn) in annual support for the war-torn capital, as part of the plan to make the country more compatible for a future membership bid.
Diplomats and officials involved in the talks are aware that this will fall short of what Volodymyr Zelensky expects on membership, even though he has been warned he would be “ill-advised” to kick up a fuss at the Washington summit.
Mr Biden has previously spoken of his desire to avoid US soldiers coming into direct conflict with Russia, something that could presage an escalation into nuclear war.
04:12 PM BST
Today’s live coverage has ended
Today’s live coverage has ended. Here’s a roundup of the day’s events:
Joe Biden said he opposed Nato membership for Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end the war.
Russia warned Nato it would target any military advisors sent to Ukraine.
Russian strikes hit multiple regions of Ukraine, killing and wounding several civilians.
A study found that 43% of Ukrainians think democracy has worsened under Zelensky.
Norway’s top general warned that Nato had two to three years before Russia would be in a position to attack the alliance.
03:47 PM BST
Pictured: Dnipro residents remove debris after Russian missile strike
03:36 PM BST
Analysis: Why Biden has ruled out Nato membership for Ukraine
By Joe Barnes in Brussels
Kyiv and its most ardent backers in Eastern Europe see Nato membership for Ukraine and the mutual defence clause that comes with it as the ultimate safeguard against Russia.
But with war still raging, a move at this point would almost instantly involve Nato troops being sent in to combat Vladimir Putin’s forces.
For Biden the prospect of a genuine conflict between Nato and Russia is his greatest concern.
Decisions over deliveries of long-range missiles and the use of American weapons to strike inside Russia were all delayed by these worries.
Given those concerns, it should come as no surprise that Mr Biden is acting as Nato’s chief blocker when it comes to Ukraine’s membership bid.
Last year during a key Nato summit Mr Biden showed his colours by endorsing the removal of the Membership Action Plan - the formal process for joining Nato.Volodymyr Zelensky kicked up a fuss by branding the alliance “absurd” at the time.
As we approach the next Nato summit, this time on the White House’s doorstep in Washington, Mr Biden seems to be setting out his position even earlier.
03:31 PM BST
Russia and Sudan ‘close to 25-year military cooperation deal’
Russia and Sudan are reportedly close to signing a 25-year military cooperation deal, Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq reports.
The deal would see Russia gain access to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, with Moscow providing the Sudanese government with military hardware in return.
Sudan’s military-backed government has fought the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the country since April 2023. Russian Wagner mercenaries are understood to have previously backed the rebel (RSF) faction, so Moscow’s reported deal with the government suggests a shifting relationship between the two countries.
Malik Agar, the deputy head of Sudan’s government, also arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for talks to boost Russia-Sudan relations.
02:52 PM BST
Pictured: Ukrainian troops in action in Donetsk
02:30 PM BST
Russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy kill one, injure another
Russian attacks on a village in the Sumy region and the Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk killed one and wounded another, local authorities said.
In Sumy, Russian artillery hit the village of Seredyna-Buda, killing a 70-year-old man in the garden of his house, the local prosecutor’s office reported.
In Dnipropetrovsk, a Russian missile injured and hospitalised a 69-year-old man, Serhii Lysak, the region’s governor said.
Earlier, Russia hit the regional centre, Dnipro, with a missile strike that injured at least eight civilians, including a one-month-old baby.
02:01 PM BST
Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers decorate memorial to children killed since Russian invasion
01:33 PM BST
Italy to send air defence system to Ukraine
Italy will send a second SAMP/T air defence system to Ukraine, its has foreign minister confirmed.
The move comes following Ukraine’s requests for greater help fending off Russian missile attacks, with Volodymyr Zelensky saying the country urgently needs at least seven more similar systems.
Also known as a MAMBA, the SAMP/T is a Franco-Italian battery that can track and intercept up to 10 targets.
01:12 PM BST
43% of Ukrainians think democracy has worsened under Zelensky, study finds
Around 43% of Ukrainians think that the state of democracy has worsened in their country under President Zelensky, a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology has found.
28% of those who thought democracy had declined blamed it on the authorities directly, while 11% saw the war as the major contributing factor. 3% cited both reasons.
According to the study, more than 90% of Ukrainians want to see their country as a fully functioning democracy.
The survey was conducted between May 16 and 22 and included 1,002 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine, except those occupied by Russia.
12:39 PM BST
Kremlin denies targeting Paris Olympics with disinformation campaign
The Kremlin has branded accusations that it is targeting the upcoming Paris Olympics with a disinformation campaign as “absolute slander”.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, condemned the allegation and stated that it was “blanket criticism that has no basis whatsoever”.
A report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Centre said Russia was waging an intense disinformation drive that aimed to increase fears of violence at this summer’s games.
On Sunday, The Telegraph reported how Russia had used a deepfake Tom Cruise to allude to a potential terror attack at the Paris games. You can read the full story here.
12:18 PM BST
Russian strikes in Kherson region kill one, injure two
Russian strikes in Kherson killed one person and injured two, the regional governor said.
A first attack hit the village of Bilozerka in the morning, Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional governor, reported. He added that an 81-year-old woman suffered blast injuries and a 55-year-old woman suffered a shrapnel wound to the stomach.
Another Russian strike killed an elderly woman in the village of Veletenske at around 12:30pm local time, Mr Prokudin said.
11:21 AM BST
Swiss peace talks ‘pointless and absurd’ without Russia, Kremlin says
Russia has said that upcoming Swiss peace talks on the war in Ukraine are absurd without Moscow’s participation.
The Kremlin said it was understandable that some countries had declined to take part because the summit was marked by “hypocrisy” and lacked clear goals.
“Resolving the Ukrainian issue is impossible without Russia. There are fewer and fewer participants coming to the conference on the Ukrainian crisis in Switzerland,” Vyacheslav Volodin, the Russian state Duma speaker, said in a post on Telegram.
“More and more countries are becoming convinced that Washington and Brussels’ policy is based on hypocrisy and double standards,” he added.
China was invited to the Swiss peace talks, which are scheduled for mid-June, but said last week it would not attend without participation from Russia.
10:26 AM BST
China could play useful role in peace talks, US says
China could play a useful diplomatic role in upcoming Swiss peace talks on the war in Ukraine, the White House said on Monday.
“We have always been clear that China could play a useful diplomatic role in helping resolve this conflict if it wanted to,” Matthew Miller, a US state department spokesman, said in a press briefing.
Mr Miller added that Beijing’s cooperation with Russia would hinder its ability to assist in ending the conflict.
“Right now it’s hard to see how they could play that role given the actions that we’ve seen China take over recent months to rebuild, reconstitute Russia’s defence industrial base.”
China was invited to the Swiss peace talks, which are scheduled for mid-June, but said last week it would not attend without participation from Russia.
09:51 AM BST
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe surge by 39 per cent
Gazprom, Russia’s majority state-owned energy giant, increased the average daily amount of natural gas supplied to Europe via pipeline by 39 per cent in the year to May, according to calculations by Reuters.
The calculations, based on data from Entsog and Gazprom’s reports on gas transits via Ukraine, also showed that supplies delivered to Europe in May rose by 7.3 per cent from April.
Despite the war, Russia continues to transport gas to Europe via Ukraine, with Moscow paying Kyiv transit fees.
In 2023, these fees amounted to $800 million (£630 million), which equates to 0.46 per cent of Ukrainian GDP, according to the Center for European Policy Analysis.
09:19 AM BST
Pictured: Civilians suffer amid shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk
09:05 AM BST
German weapons striking Russia won’t escalate the situation, says chancellor
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, does not think Ukraine’s use of German weapons against Russia will escalate the risks of war between the West and Moscow.
Mr Scholz said limited use of Western weapons in Russia, such as in the defence of cities like Kharkiv, “makes sense to everyone”.
“We are certain that it will not contribute to an escalation, because — as the US president has also described — it is only about being able to defend a major city,” Mr Scholz explained in an interview with German media on Monday.
08:49 AM BST
Survivors detail escape from Vovchansk, Ukraine’s besieged city on Russian border
Reporting from Kharkiv, Ben Farmer details the harrowing ordeals of Ukrainian civilians fleeing the Russian offensive.
‘I cleaned the wound from a Russian bomb with cologne and swigged it to ease the pain,’ Stanislav explained.
You can read the full report here.
08:41 AM BST
Kyiv cancels Pride march in city’s metro system
Kyiv city authorities have cancelled a Pride parade that was due to be held in the city’s metro system, citing security concerns.
“In order not to endanger the participants and passengers, and to avoid possible provocations, the city authorities cannot allow the Equality March to take place in the metro,” Kyiv’s city hall said in a statement.
Organisers had hoped to hold the first Pride march in the Ukrainian capital since the Russian invasion, and had intended to celebrate the occasion with 500 participants in Kyiv’s underground transport system on June 16.
Last year’s Kyiv Pride march was held in Liverpool, while the 2022 parade took place in Warsaw, Poland.
08:24 AM BST
Nato land corridors could rush US troops to front line in event of European war
Nato is developing multiple “land corridors” to rush US troops and armour to the front lines in the event of a major European ground war with Russia, our Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes reports.
It comes amid warnings from the alliance’s top leaders that Western governments must prepare themselves for a conflict with Russia. Norway’s top general said on Monday that Nato had just two to three years to prepare for an attack from Moscow.
You can read how pre-planned logistical routes could help stave off a potential Russian assault in the full report here.
08:19 AM BST
Russian attack on Dnipro injures 7, including 2 children
An overnight Russian strike on Dnipro injured seven people, including a one-month-old baby and a 17-year-old boy, the region’s governor said.
Ukrainian air defence systems successfully downed two missiles over the city, the governor added.
Debris from missiles caused damage to civilian infrastructure and shattered windows in local houses, Ukrainian media reported.
08:11 AM BST
Pictured: Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway’s chief of defence
08:01 AM BST
Pictured: Russian foreign minister on diplomatic mission to Guinea
