July 11, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

France has sent some longer-range missiles to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday, as he arrived for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. 

“I think what's important for us today is to send a message of support for Ukraine, of NATO unity, and of determination that Russia cannot and must not win this war,” he added.

A few hours after Macron delivered the announcement at the NATO summit in Vilnius, a spokesperson for the Elysee Palace told CNN that some SCALP missiles — also known as "Storm Shadow" by their UK name — have already been delivered to Ukraine.

The spokesperson also confirmed to CNN that the SCALP missiles will be fired from Ukrainian aircraft.

More about the missiles: Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by French conglomerate Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. The full French name of the missiles is SCALP-EG, which in English stands for "Long Range Autonomous Cruise Missile System – General Purpose."

SCALP or Storm Shadow missiles have a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, which is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has asked for.

The Storm Shadow has the range to strike deep into Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine — a capability that British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said Kyiv has made use of since the UK provided the missiles to Ukraine in May.

What Russia says: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has condemned France's announcement, describing it as a mistake that could have consequences for Kyiv.

“From our point of view, this is an erroneous decision, fraught with consequences for the Ukrainian side, because, naturally, this will force us to take countermeasures,” the Kremlin spokesperson said.

CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.

The NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, is underway. Topping the agenda: Ukraine’s potential accession to the alliance. Ahead of the summit, US President Joe Biden told CNN that Ukraine was not yet ready to join the alliance as Russia's full-scale invasion rages on.

NATO is instead finalizing a communique in which members will “agree on the language” surrounding Ukraine’s future ability to join the alliance. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to arrive in Lithuania later today, voiced his frustration about his country not being involved in that language. He also said that "uncertainty" over Ukraine's membership is motivation for Russia to "continue its terror."

Here are the latest developments:

Here's the latest map of control:

Ukraine will get a robust package of “political and practical” support from NATO allies at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview Tuesday morning on ABC.

“We've got a unified alliance that is going to demonstrate in very practical ways its enduring support for Ukraine, including the fact of membership,” Blinken said.

There will be a clear demonstration of the progress Ukraine has made toward membership, Blinken said in a separate interview on NBC. "That's going to be reflected in what comes out of the summit, as well as work that still needs to be done,” he said.

Blinken’s comments come after the Ukrainian president expressed his concern about what NATO is considering offering Ukraine at the summit, pressing the need for an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance.

Norway will provide $960 million in military aid to Ukraine in 2023, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced Tuesday.

“Ukraine has an urgent need for more military support and equipment. Norway is therefore increasing its military support to Ukraine by 2.5 billion Norwegian Krone (nearly $240 million) to a total of 10 billion Norwegian Krone (nearly $960 million) for 2023,” Støre announced at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

According to the Norwegian government, Norway will be providing more than $7.2 billion in civilian and military support to Ukraine over five years, as well as $144,000 “in support for Ukraine’s reform efforts” over the same time period. 

In addition to pledging financial aid to Ukraine, Norway also committed to increasing its defense spending to a minimum of 2% of its gross domestic product.

NATO has requested that countries within the alliance spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defense spending since 2006, but in 2022, only seven allied countries — Greece, the US, the UK, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Croatia — met that guideline.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to arrive in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the NATO summit on Tuesday. 

"President Zelensky will come. I'm glad to welcome him, both at the dinner tonight and at the inaugural meeting of the NATO Ukraine Council tomorrow," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told journalists Tuesday at the summit. 

As the meeting of the North Atlantic Council began, US President Joe Biden sat beside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as the alliance’s leader welcomed two new faces to the table: Finland President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Stoltenberg offered welcoming words to both before he turned to the matter of Ukraine.

His comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the alliance in a tweet for not offering more substantive accession plans to his country.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia will respond "adequately" to the potential expansion of the NATO military alliance.

Lavrov expressed his surprise at "the speed with which both Finland and Sweden abandoned their neutral status" in his opening remarks during talks with the Foreign Minister of Oman on Tuesday.

He also noted the potential loss of special trade, economic, investment, and other relations that the two countries had with Russia.

The content of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, demonstrates a strong "anti-Russian" attitude among representatives of NATO member countries, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday during a regular conference call with journalists.

Peskov warned that Ukraine's potential accession to NATO would be "highly dangerous for European security," urging those who will be weighing the decision to consider the risks associated with such a step.

On Turkey and Sweden: Addressing Turkey’s approval of Sweden's entry into NATO, Peskov said Russia acknowledges Ankara's obligations as a member of the alliance and added that despite disagreements, there are areas of mutual interest between Russia and Turkey that are significant for both countries.

But he also noted that while Turkey can orient itself toward the West, there remains a reluctance from Europe to accept Turkey as a member. 

“If you call a spade a spade, no one wants to see Turkey in Europe,” Peskov told journalists, adding that Moscow intends to further develop the dialogue with Ankara.

Ukraine should join NATO “as quickly as possible,” but only after the Russian invasion “finishes,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told CNN on Tuesday from the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long asked to join the alliance, but many members have reservations about admitting Ukraine to its ranks while it is still at war. US President Joe Biden told CNN on Sunday that Ukraine is not yet ready to join NATO – a message that Wallace echoed in the interview with CNN.

Wallace said that NATO members should “work together to make sure that Russia fails in its… illegal invasion of Ukraine,” before permitting Ukraine to join the alliance. However, once the conflict finishes, Wallace said that NATO needed to be ready to accept Ukraine as a new member.

“Given we have an open-door policy, it’s important to state that we believe Ukraine does belong in NATO,” Wallace said, adding that Ukraine had taken some of the necessary “steps” to get there, including strengthening its military and eliminating corruption.

The British Defense Secretary also said he was “delighted” by Turkey’s eleventh-hour decision to green-light Sweden’s bid to join NATO on the eve of the Vilnius summit, which he claimed to have been “working quite hard behind the scenes” with other Western officials “to make sure this happens.”

“But it’s also really important for the integrity of the alliance. We have an open-door policy. We say if you meet certain conditions you can join.”

When asked why Turkey finally agreed to approve Sweden’s bid, having obstructed it for months, Wallace claimed that Sweden had taken measures to “deal with the threat” posed by Kurdish terror groups that Turkey felt Sweden had been soft on.

Wallace was asked if any other concessions had been made to Turkey to secure its approval – such as being provided with F16 fighter jets or even having its bid to join the EU accelerated. “I don’t know if there was anything extra,” Wallace said, adding that “Turkey’s a long way from EU membership.”

He claimed that “the international community talked to the Turkish at length” to persuade them that Sweden’s accession to Nato is “in everyone’s favor.”

A senior Russian commander, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, has been killed near the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk in the southern Zaporizhzhia region on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.

"It is reported that today, in the area of Berdiansk, Russian Lieutenant General Tsokov Oleg Yurievich was killed," said Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko. The mayor does not currently reside in Mariupol, which is under Russian control.

"In September 2022, he [Tsokov] was already injured, but he survived," Andriushchenko said, adding that now the Russian commander's death "is completed." 

Another Ukrainian official, Yurii Mysyagin, who is a member of Ukraine's parliament, also commented on the commander's death.

"In the South, in the area of occupied Berdiansk, on July 11, 2023, Russian Lieutenant General Oleg Yurievich Tsokov was killed," Mysyagin said. "The British 'Storm Shadow' [missile] came to visit accurately," he added without elaborating further. In May, the UK delivered the Storm Shadows, long-range cruise missiles with stealth capabilities that were jointly developed by the UK and France.

CNN is unable to independently verify the reports about Tsokov's death. 

The commander, who is among the individuals sanctioned by the United Kingdom over Russia's war in Ukraine, was with Russia's 144th Motorized Rifle Division back in 2022, according to Russian state news outlet TASS.