Ukraine-Russia War – A Lot Of Developments

Russia’s forces are retreating around Kharkiv and its offensive in the eastern Donbas region is faltering, as Finland and Sweden look to NATO for protection against Russian aggression.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has suffered a humiliating defeat in his bid to seize Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and other cities in northern Ukraine. Now he is also struggling in a scaled-back military campaign to seize more of eastern Ukraine.

NATO foreign ministers met in Berlin, and Turkey is working to free wounded Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

Finland’s government announced on Sunday that it would apply for membership in NATO, ending 200 years of strategic neutrality. The move would make Finland one of the most significant expansions of the Western military alliance in years.

Finland’s Nordic neighbor, Sweden, may also join NATO on Sunday, if its governing Social Democratic Party changes its position. Both countries must still be approved by all 30 current members.

Ukraine is one of the world’s major suppliers of grain. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s coast could worsen global shortages. Already causing bread prices to spike in many countries 200-300%.

After Russian forces retreated, the curfew in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, will begin an hour later and public transportation will operate longer hours.

Turkey has been trying to negotiate an exit for wounded Ukrainian soldiers sheltering in bunkers of a steel plant in the port city of Mariupol with Russia and Ukraine, but both sides keep changing their positions, the spokesman said.

The Azovstal plant has become a powerful symbol for Ukrainians, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is watching it closely.

Turkey has offered to evacuate Ukrainians from Berdyansk by sea, but Russia has not yet approved the plan.

Mr. Kalin, national security adviser to President Erdogan, said that Mr. Erdogan has talked to Mr. Putin five times since the invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey has received more and more appeals to help evacuate Ukrainian soldiers and civilians from Mariupol, including from the United Nations, soldiers’ wives, and some soldiers themselves. Turkey has offered to evacuate about 1,500 soldiers, with 450 wounded.

Turkey has experience negotiating evacuations from war zones, and is supportive of a plan to evacuate wounded soldiers by land to another Ukrainian city. However, the evacuation of soldiers was complicated by the inclusion of members of the Azov battalion, a former far-right militia.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked the example of Ukrainians who helped save Jews during World War II.

President Zelensky discussed support for Ukraine with several Republican senators, including the minority leader. He urged them to designate Russia a terrorist state.

The wives of fighters trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol called on China to help convince President Vladimir V. Putin to accept a Turkish evacuation offer. The wives said their loved ones were in bunkers beneath the sprawling factory complex.

China has called for peace talks recently but has been viewed in large part as siding with Russia in their unprovoked war.

Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive on Russian forces around Izium. The city is key to Russian efforts to broadly encircle Ukraine.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, visited Ukraine on Saturday to meet with President Zelensky and discuss the fight against the Russian invasion. The visit comes as the Senate is working to pass a $40 billion aid package.

The U.S. delegation to Ukraine was led by Senators John Barrasso, John Cornyn, and Susan Collins, and affirmed that the United States would “sustain our support until Ukraine wins this war.”

Mr. McConnell said it is in America’s national interest to help Ukraine achieve victory in its war against Russia.

The Senate failed to pass the $40 billion emergency package for Ukraine on Thursday. Republican senator, Rand Paul, asked for accountability for the aid and expenditure. Rather than the blank check policy that has been the status quo so far.

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