Turkey’s parliament voted to approve Finland’s membership in NATO, removing the final hurdle to the accession of Russia’s Nordic neighbor into the defense alliance. The vote seals a major change in European security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s roughly 1,300 kilometer (800 mile) border with Russia will double the length of the alliance’s Russian frontier.
(Bloomberg) — Turkey’s parliament voted to approve Finland’s membership in NATO, removing the final hurdle to the accession of Russia’s Nordic neighbor into the defense alliance. The vote seals a major change in European security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s roughly 1,300 kilometer (800 mile) border with Russia will double the length of the alliance’s Russian frontier.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia for detaining Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on suspicion of espionage. “We are deeply concerned over Russia’s widely reported detention of a US citizen journalist,” Blinken said in a statement. It’s the first time a US reporter has been held on spying charges since the Cold War.
Major Western trading firms are increasingly pulling back from Russia, upending grain trade a year after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and leaving the market more in control of local companies. Russia is poised to end 2022-23 as the world’s top wheat exporter.
Key Developments
- Finland Clears Last Obstacle to NATO Entry With Turkish Nod
- Russia Tightens Grain Trade Grip as Western Firms Pull Back
- Russia Detains US Journalist From WSJ in ‘Dark Turn’ for Ties
- Putin Orders Conscription of 147,000 by July 15, Kremlin Says
- India Turns Optimistic on Forging G-20 Consensus on Russia’s War
(All times CET)
Russia Tightens Grip on Grain Trading (8 a.m.)
The future of major Western grain traders in Russia has been upended this week. Glencore-backed Viterra said Thursday it will stop shipping crops from Russia starting in July and may shed its assets there, a day after Cargill said it would soon stop exporting grain it sources in Russia — although it can continue buying cargoes from other firms at ports.
The back-to-back moves appeared to rattle other companies as well, with Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. now reviewing its stake in a sweetener and starch venture there.
Russian Launches Missiles, Drones Overnight (7 a.m.)
Kremlin forces conducted nine missile launches against civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv overnight, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. A private building and two cars were damaged in strikes, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov wrote on Telegram, saying there had been no casualties. Ukraine was also attacked with UAVs, and downed nine out of 10 Iranian Shahed-136/131 attack drones launched by Russia, according to General Staff.
The drones were sent from Russia’s Bryansk region toward Ukraine’s Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Ukraine’s air defence noted other flying targets, possibly balloons, without elaborating on whether they were intercepted or not.
Finland Clears Last Obstacle to NATO Entry (3:50 a.m.)
Turkey’s Parliament voted to approve Finland’s membership in NATO, removing the final obstacle to the accession of Russia’s Nordic neighbor into the defense alliance as its 31st member.
Lawmakers in Ankara unanimously voted on Thursday to ratify Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the last of current members to approve the expansion after the Hungarian parliament on Monday also backed the move.
The vote seals a major change in the European security architecture after militarily non-aligned Finland and Sweden sought NATO membership in a U-turn following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Read more: How Russia Pushed Finland and Sweden Toward NATO: QuickTake
Putin Orders Draft of 147,000 Conscripts by July 15 (7:19 p.m.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to draft 147,000 conscripts ages 18 to 27 for the army this spring, according to a Kremlin website.
The draftees aren’t supposed to be sent to the war in Ukraine, according to previous statements by authorities. Currently, Russia is seeking to recruit 400,000 professional soldiers, who are more likely to be used in combat. Russia’s defense ministry offers draftees professional contracts at the end of their conscription service, which is currently a year.
EU Capitals Support Extending Tariff-Free Trade With Ukraine (7:16 p.m.)
European Union member states gave preliminary backing to extend a trade liberalization regime with Ukraine for an additional year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The EU temporarily removed all remaining tariffs and quota requirements on Ukrainian exports last year in an effort to bolster the war-torn nation’s economy, including on steel, industrial goods and agricultural products not covered by the bloc’s existing trade arrangements with Kyiv. The current accord expires in June.
US Says Russia ‘Actively Seeking’ More Munitions From North Korea (6:55 p.m.)
“We remain concerned that North Korea will provide further support for Russia’s military operations against Ukraine,” John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters. “And we have new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea.”
He commented after the US Treasury Department said it sanctioned Ashot Mkrtychev, a Slovakian national, for attempting to facilitate arms deals between Russia and North Korea.
Blinken Blasts Russia for Detention of WSJ Reporter (6:23 p.m.)
“We are in contact with the Wall Street Journal on this situation,” Blinken said in his statement. “Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained abroad, we immediately seek consular access, and seek to provide all appropriate support.”
“In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices,” the top US diplomat said.
Gershkovich, 31, “is suspected of espionage in the interests of the American government,” the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service, said Thursday. In a case classified as “top secret,” the New Jersey native has been ordered held until at least May 29. The WSJ confirmed Gershkovich was detained and denied the charges.
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