NATO summit focused on Ukraine ends with warnings to Putin

First modification: 06/30/2022 – 16:06

The conflict in Eastern Europe continues with Russian advances on the Donbass region, the priority objective of the Kremlin at this point in the war. Lysychansk, the last remaining town in Lugansk, is the scene of the fighting.

While Russia announced this Thursday that its troops will withdraw from the Snake Island, a strategic territory located in the Black Sea. This will kick off Ukrainian grain exports.

These are the most important news of the war in Ukraine this Thursday, June 30:

• 9:02 (BOG) Macron said he will talk to Putin again “if the situation warrants”

The French head of state spoke at a press conference after the closure of the NATO Summit in Madrid. There he referred to his relationship with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and said that he will speak with him again “if the situation warrants it.

“I do not exclude doing it because I think it is France’s responsibility,” he added.

Another possible scenario for making contact with the Kremlin would be if Ukraine, at some point, decides to resume peace negotiations.

In addition, he highlighted the good result of the summit, where they agreed to maintain political and military support with Ukraine.

• 07:00 (BOG) NATO urges Putin to stop the war immediately

General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg called on the Russian president to “immediately end” this war between Russia and Ukraine. “He should withdraw forces from him and stop the attack on a democratic and sovereign nation,” he said.

The referent of the Transatlantic Alliance described the armed confrontation in Eastern Europe as “brutal” and “absolutely unacceptable”.

“It has ramifications for the whole world because of the increase in food prices,” he added.

The Norwegian responded to the words of Vladimir Putin, who had accused the West of generating the food problem with its sanctions. “This has not been caused by NATO sanctions, but by Putin’s war,” he concluded.

• 06:41 (BOG) Russian soldiers withdraw from Snake Island

The Russian Army has withdrawn to the strategic Ukrainian island that is located in the Black Sea. “As a measure of goodwill, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation completed their assigned tasks and withdrew the garrison stationed there,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

According to Moscow, it is an action to demonstrate to the international community that “it does not interfere with the UN’s efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products.”

“This decision will not allow kyiv to speculate on the issue of an impending food crisis,” he added.

For its part, the Ukrainian Army stressed the importance of the recovery of the Serpent Islands. “I thank the defenders of the Odessa region who took the maximum measures to liberate a strategically important part of our territory,” said Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Army.

• 6:17 (BOG) Russia claims it holds 6,000 Ukrainian POWs

Moscow warned that it is still holding a significant number of local soldiers as prisoners after carrying out an exchange of 144 soldiers, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Ukraine released 144 separatist fighters from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic; while Russia did the same with local militias, including 95 defenders of the Azovstal steel mill, of whom 43 were from the nationalist Azov battalion.

• 06:00 (BOG) New economic shipments from the United States and the United Kingdom

Western countries deepened their collaboration with Ukraine to confront Russian forces. On Wednesday night, from London they made official the launch of 1,000 million pounds (approximately 1,160 million euros) of aid, which includes elements of air defense and drones.

For its part, the US Treasury announced the transfer of 1.3 billion dollars, the first part of the 7.5 billion promised in May.

“With this economic assistance, we reaffirm our strong commitment to the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin’s aggression and work to sustain their economy,” said Secretary Janet Yellen.

• 5:36 (BOG) The first grain ship departs from Berdyansk

With a cargo of 7,000 tons of grain, a merchant ship left the Ukrainian port that is under the command of Russian forces, according to the authorities.

“After several months of pause, the first merchant ship left the commercial sea port of Berdyansk,” said the head of the civil administration in Zaporizhia, Yevgeni Balitski, on his Telegram channel.

While they did not specify where the beans are going, they emphasized that they will go to “friendly countries.”

“The safety of the freighter is guaranteed by ships and boats from the Novorossisk naval base,” he explained.

Balitski reported that the grain reserves that are accumulated in regions under Russian power amount to 1.5 million tons. Some of these will be exported and others to satisfy the internal need.

With EFE, Reuters and AFP