July 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called on Turkey to admit Sweden to NATO “soon,” during a joint news statement Monday with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak.

“With regard to the war in Ukraine, the new situation that we are experiencing, the security situation, forces us to talk about deterrence and defense capability again, and it is important that Sweden becomes a NATO member soon, that Turkey gives up its resistance,“ Pistorius said ahead of a visit to a base in Zamosc, Eastern Poland, where Patriot air defense systems are stationed.

Both Sweden and its neighbor Finland stated their intent to join NATO through its open-door policy in May last year, just weeks after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Finland was finally accepted in April of this year, doubling the defensive alliance’s border with Russia, but Sweden’s accession is currently blocked.

It is generally accepted that Sweden’s armed forces are compatible with NATO. Sweden has a permanent delegation at NATO and is considered a close partner to the alliance, meaning joining should be relatively straightforward.

But Turkey -- a strategically important NATO member due to its geographical location in both the Middle East and Europe, and the alliance’s second-largest military power – has been blocking Sweden’s accession for a number of reasons.

Among them is the claim that Sweden allows members of recognized Kurdish terror groups to operate in the country, most notably the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

Sweden changed its terrorism laws earlier this year, making it a crime to be part of these groups, but it is not clear whether this will convince Turkey to allow the country to join NATO.  

At least one person has been killed in a Russian drone attack on a residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, officials said Monday. 

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the strike on the five-story building on Telegram.

Earlier Monday, the Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 13 of 17 drones fired by Russia early Monday morning.

There were no casualties and the remaining drones did not reach their targets, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the fierce battles being fought by his armed forces against Russia, but also had some encouraging words on Monday. 

"Last week was difficult on the front line. But we are making progress," he said in a statement.

"We are moving forward, step by step! I thank everyone who is defending Ukraine, everyone who is leading this war to Ukraine's victory!"

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has commended the "loyalty" of the Russian Armed Forces for helping to stop an attempted rebellion by private mercenary group Wagner, as the Kremlin praised the security services for their role.

Speaking to the military on Monday, Shoigu said the rebellion was an "attempt to destabilize the situation in Russia," but that it had failed "primarily because the personnel of the Armed Forces showed loyalty to their oath and military duty.”

Russia glimpsed the threat of armed insurrection in late June, with Wagner Group mercenaries marching toward Moscow as President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution – all before a sudden deal seemed to defuse the crisis as rapidly as it had emerged.

In his first comments since the 24-hour mutiny, Shoigu added that “the provocation” had no impact on the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine, where the servicemen “courageously and selflessly continued to fulfil the tasks assigned to them.”

"I thank the (military) personnel for their dedicated service," the minister added.

The Kremlin also praised Russia's security agency for its role in putting down the attempted rebellion.

Speaking to journalists during a conference call Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commended the "effective functioning of the special services and government agencies, including the Federal Security Service (FSB)."

Peskov did not comment on the questions surrounding how and why such a mutiny could take place, but emphasized the effective fulfilment of duties by all services.

“All services, ministries, departments, special services are effectively carrying out their duties,” he said.

He added that Putin had expressed gratitude for the high level of unity and consolidation among the armed forces and special services during these “challenging days.”

The immediate risk of bloodshed appears to have dissipated, but much remains uncertain; experts warn that the rare uprising is still likely to have consequences down the line.

Putin must now navigate the aftermath of the most serious challenge to his authority since he came to power over 20 years ago, which appeared to have him on the back foot for a day and half.

A pioneering investigative center launched on Monday will ensure Russia is held accountable for crimes of aggression in Ukraine, according to the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.

The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in the Hague will comprise a joint investigation team of prosecutors from Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Romania that will probe Russia’s crime of aggression in Ukraine with support from EU criminal justice agency Eurojust, according to a press release.

The United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC) will also support the center, which Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran described as “a unique international cooperation platform without any precedent in legal history.”

The United Nations has defined aggression as "the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.”

The center is set to “coordinate closely” with separate investigations being led by the ICC into Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Under the Rome Statute, the treaty which established the ICC, the court is unable to investigate the crime of aggression if the act of aggression is committed by a state that is not party to the Rome Statute unless the UN Security Council refers the matter to it.

EU parliamentarians have previously warned that Russia, which has not ratified the Rome Statute, would likely exercise its veto in the Security Council if a referral was made in relation to crimes of aggression in Ukraine.

At a press conference Monday, Reynders said he hoped that in the future “it will be possible to amend the Rome Statute to give such a competence to the International Criminal Court.”

Discussions continue regarding the prospect of creating a dedicated tribunal for the crime of aggression, he added.

At the same press conference, Hamran said that “we don't want to wait until the end of the conflict."

"We decided that we will support our partners which started their own national investigations,” he added.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin was present at the launch, and hailed it as a “truly historic moment” when the “civilized world not only voices, but also shows by concrete actions, that accountability is what matters the most.”

The strategic Chonhar bridge linking Crimea to Kherson has been repaired following a Ukrainian missile strike last month, according to a Russian-backed official.

"Transport connections" have been "fully restored," said Andrey Alekseenko in a post on Telegram.

"The shortest and most convenient transport corridor, where the recently repaired section of the federal highway runs, is operating as usual," he said.

The two Chonhar bridges, which are key Russian supply routes as well as rail and road crossings, were hit by missiles on June 22. 

Vladimir Putin's response to the armed Wagner rebellion was "weak" and the Russian president is losing control of his own people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an exclusive interview Sunday.

Putin faced the greatest threat to his authority in two decades last month when the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a short-lived uprising, claiming control of military facilities in two Russian cities and marching toward Moscow before he agreed to stand down.

Some Russians cheered on Wagner fighters as Prigozhin led the unprecedented challenge to Putin's authority. Video geolocated and verified by CNN showed crowds cheering as the Wagner boss' vehicle departed the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24.

Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence reports showed the Kremlin was measuring support for Prigozhin, and he claimed that half of Russia supported the Wagner boss and the paramilitary group's mutiny.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an exclusive interview Sunday that his conversations with the head of the CIA should remain hidden from public view.

On Saturday a US official told CNN that CIA chief Bill Burns had visited Kyiv recently and met with Zelensky and Ukrainian intelligence officials.

Zelensky said he was "surprised" to see his meeting with Burns reported in the media.

Burns, a veteran diplomat, has become a trusted interlocutor in Kyiv, and has made several trips to Ukraine during the war.

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The war in Ukraine will not be over so long as Crimea is occupied by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

While the thrust of Kyiv's efforts have focused on recapturing territory in the south and east of Ukraine, Zelensky told CNN's Erin Burnett that his ultimate goal was to liberate the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law.

Burnett asked Zelensky whether there was any scenario under which there could be peace without Crimea.