June 1, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that his country is ready to join NATO as he arrived in Moldova for the European Political Community summit.

Dozens of leaders from across Europe are gathering for the meeting, where they will discuss security issues and areas of cooperation across the continent.

Earlier Thursday, NATO's chief said all members of the defense alliance agree "Ukraine will become a member," as NATO foreign ministers meet in Oslo to discuss the war.

Moldovan leader Sandu also expressed support for Kyiv and for Zelensky's proposed peace formula, saying: "Ukraine keeps Moldova safe today, and we're very, very grateful for that."

She also said she supported creating a special international tribunal to handle those "committing crimes of aggression in Ukraine."

The summit: The first meeting of the European Political Community was held in October 2022, with the leaders primarily discussing the war in Ukraine and global energy crisis.

“We are developing a coalition of fighter jets and offering a coalition of Patriots. EU, NATO, peace formula. Everything to protect our future,” Zelensky said Thursday in a Telegram post.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he will send a “clear message” at Thursday’s NATO meeting that Sweden has fulfilled all the commitments needed to join the alliance, with the country's membership so far blocked by opposition from Hungary and Turkey.

Speaking to journalists on his way to the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Billström highlighted new Swedish terrorism legislation which recently came into effect as an example of the commitments met.

When asked if he was disappointed that his Turkish counterpart will not attend Thursday’s meeting, Billström said it was “quite natural” given the recent Turkish elections.

He stressed that the “more important” event will be the trilateral meeting between Finnish, Swedish and Turkish representatives of the joint mechanism established at last year's NATO summit in Madrid.

Billström also played down concerns over the delay in approving Sweden’s membership bid, saying: "This was never a sprint; it’s a marathon and we now see the end of it."

Also on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he would visit Turkey at an unspecified time to discuss Sweden's membership — which Billström said was "something positive."

The war in Ukraine and Sweden's NATO membership will be key topics during informal meetings between NATO foreign ministers this week in Oslo, said UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday. 

The meeting will be chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said on Thursday that all the bloc's allies agree Ukraine will become a member — and that he would travel to Turkey to discuss Sweden's application for membership, which remains in limbo.

All NATO allies agree that "Ukraine will become a member of the alliance," its chief Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

Part of Russia’s premise for its invasion of Ukraine was to fend off NATO from expanding close to its borders.

Even though Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, and NATO has insisted that it is not a party to the conflict, the bloc has played a critical role in supporting Kyiv, donating billions in military aid and other support.

On Thursday, Stoltenberg said NATO's most important task was to ensure that Ukraine prevails in the war against Russia — and to prevent the conflict from spilling over beyond Ukraine's borders.  “That's the reason why we have increased our major presence in Eastern lines on NATO territory,” he said.

New faces at NATO: Finland’s accession to the alliance earlier this month marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe, more than doubling NATO’s frontier with Russia.

Finnish public support for accession snowballed following the invasion of Ukraine, and also reignited calls from Kyiv to join.

Sweden also applied to join the bloc shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion began, with the support of an overwhelming majority of NATO members — but its membership has so far been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Turkey has accused Sweden of harboring members of terrorist groups, which Stockholm denies, while Hungary has claimed Sweden behaved hostilely toward its government.

Stoltenberg said Thursday he would soon travel to the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss Sweden's NATO membership, though did not specify the timing.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with the Ukrainian army, has denied shelling civilians as it claimed its “second phase” inside Russia had begun on Thursday.

In a video message, a fighter from the Russian Volunteer Corps said they were “once again fighting on Russian territory.” 

“Very soon the outskirts of Shebekino will appear," the group said, referring to a village in Russia's border region of Belgorod.

The message comes amid an uptick in cross-border mortar and artillery in Shebekino and other border districts in recent days. Belgorod's governor said five people were injured by shelling early Thursday.

A day earlier, the governor said children will be evacuated from Shebekino and the nearby town of Grayvoron.

The Russian Volunteer Corps on Telegram accused “Putin's army” of hitting “Russian villages and hamlets.”

Anti-Putin Russians: The Russian Volunteer Corps and another anti-Putin Russian group, the Freedom for Russia Legion, last week claimed responsibility for an attack in Belgorod.

The legion also posted a video message Thursday claiming they were “near the border of our homeland.”

Moscow's ambassador to the United States on Wednesday accused Washington of aiming to deliver “strategic defeat on Russia” after the White House announced a new military aid package for Ukraine.

The Biden administration said Wednesday that it will send an estimated $300 million worth of additional weaponry and equipment to Kyiv, focusing the latest military aid package on air defense systems to help Ukraine fend off Russian aerial attacks. 

Moscow drone attack: Antonov also accused the US of being indifferent to a drone attack on the Russian capital on Tuesday, which Moscow has blamed on Kyiv. Ukraine has denied direct involvement.  

The White House reiterated on Wednesday that US officials have told Ukraine they do not support attacks on Russian territory, especially not with US-provided equipment. However, two US officials said there is no evidence right now that the drones used in Moscow were provided by the US. 

The dissident Freedom for Russia Legion, an anti-Putin formation dedicated to ending the war in Ukraine and to toppling President Vladimir Putin, claim they are near the Russian border and will soon advance into the country. 

The legion, which is made up of a few hundred Russian citizens who are fighting in Ukraine under the command of the Ukrainian security forces, last week claimed responsibility for an incursion inside the Russian border region of Belgorod.

Belgorod attacks: When speaking to CNN last week, a spokesperson for the legion codenamed "Caesar" said the dissident fighters used US-made armored vehicles — a claim that provoked minor consternation in Washington, which has insisted that Ukraine not use weapons it receives from members of the NATO security alliance inside Russia.

After the Belgorod attack, Ukrainian officials confirmed it had been carried out "by Russian citizens," but insisted they were acting independently.

Read more here.

A 9-year-old girl and her mother were among three people killed following Russian strikes on Kyiv early Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, as a clearer picture emerged of the victims and the damage.

In an update, Ukraine's national police said the girl, her mother, 34, and a 33-year-old woman died. Twelve others were injured, the police said.

Air defenses destroyed all 10 Russian missiles launched at the Ukrainian capital overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said earlier

Falling debris from the missiles damaged a children's clinic, two schools and a police station, according to the Kyiv city military administration. A residential building was also damaged from the blast wave.

The administration had originally stated that two children were among the three people killed.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the girl's mother's age. She was 34.

At least five people were injured in the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region early Thursday morning by Ukrainian shelling, said Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram. 

Three people have been hospitalized, one woman was treated at the scene, and "there is information about a man who is unconscious with multiple shrapnel wounds," Gladkov said, adding the man was being taken to hospital.

Gladkov earlier reported that two people were injured in the shelling, including a man who was in critical condition after having an arm amputated. 

Residential and administrative buildings were also damaged, according to Gladkov.

Attacks inside Russian: Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, has seen a rise in shelling in recent days following an incursion last week by anti-Putin Russians aligned with the Ukrainian military. Gladkov said Wednesday that children will be evacuated out of Shebekino and the nearby town of Grayvoron. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has called the situation there "alarming."