After meeting Blinken, Ukraine’s chancellor says “more weapons and aid” has been forwarded

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Sunday that he had met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Germany and that “more weapons and other aid is on its way to Ukraine”.

“We agreed to work together to ensure that Ukrainian food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia. Grateful to Secretary Blinken and the US for their leadership and unwavering support,” Kuleba’s tweet read.

met @SecBlinken in Berlin. More weapons and other aid is on the way to Ukraine. We agreed to work closely together to ensure that Ukrainian food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia. Grateful to Secretary Blinken and the US for their leadership and unwavering support. pic.twitter.com/E3oru9jfIJ

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 15, 2022

Kuleba and Blinken met in the German capital Berlin, where NATO foreign ministers are holding an informal meeting over the weekend. Finland made its intention to join NATO official on Sunday, and Sweden is strongly expected to follow suit.

Finland and Sweden in NATO?

The Finnish decision was announced at a joint press conference on Sunday with President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin – who said the measure must be ratified by the country’s parliament before proceeding.

“We hope that parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO membership,” Marin said in Helsinki. “Over the next few days. It will be based on a strong mandate, with the President of the Republic. We have been in close contact with the governments of NATO member states and with NATO itself.”

The move would take the US-led military alliance to Finland’s 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, but could take months to finalize as legislatures of all 30 current members must approve new candidates.

The move also risks provoking the ire of Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö on Saturday that abandoning military neutrality and joining the bloc would be a “mistake”, according to a Kremlin statement. On Saturday, Russia cut off electricity supply to the Nordic country after problems receiving payments.

Attacks in the east, retreat in the north

On Sunday, Ukrainian officials reported missile attacks and shelling in several regions as Russian forces focused their efforts on the front lines in Luhansk – but they claimed more successes in the Kharkiv region. In addition, a rare missile attack was reported in the western region of Lviv.

Serhiy Hayday, head of Luhansk’s regional military administration, said “the Russians are gathering equipment and manpower closer to Severodonetsk and preparing to attack it.”