Day 81: FM Kuleba: More weapons is on the way to Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday he had met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Berlin and that "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," Kuleba tweeted.

US, European allies rally behind Finland, Sweden in their bid to join NATO

The US and some European governments say they will support Finland and Sweden in their bid to join the NATO military alliance amid the raging war in Ukraine.

Missiles destroy military infrastructure in western Ukraine near Polish border: governor

Four missile strikes hit military infrastructure in the Yavoriv area of western Ukraine, near to the Polish border, early on Sunday, Lviv region's Governor Maxim Kozitsky said.

"The object is completely destroyed," Kozitsky said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Earlier, a regional air command of Ukraine said several missiles had been fired at the Lviv region from the Black Sea in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Over the past three months, Russian forces have made significant military advances in the country despite Kiev receiving massive military aid from the West.

Front lines shift in Donbas as Ukraine mounts counteroffensive

The front lines in the Ukraine war had shifted on Sunday as Russia made some advances in the fiercely contested eastern Donbas region and the Ukrainian military waged a counteroffensive near the strategic Russian-held city of Izium.

In the west of Ukraine near the Polish border, missiles destroyed military infrastructure overnight and were fired at the Lviv region from the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said.

NATO talks for Finland, Sweden on 'good track'

Talks between Turkey with Finland and Sweden over its concerns regarding their membership to the NATO alliance were on the right track following their meeting on Saturday, says Croatia's foreign minister.

"I think the discussion is on the good track and today I hope we will have a final fruitful discussion and a good outcome to show solidarity and to speak with one voice," Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Sunday as he arrived for talks with NATO counterparts in Berlin.

Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, especially Sweden which has a strong Turkish immigrant community, of harboring extremist Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is "not favorable" toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

"We are following developments concerning Sweden and Finland, but we are not of a favorable opinion," Erdogan told reporters.

Finland to announce NATO decision, Sweden holds key meeting

The Finnish government is expected to officially announce its intention to join NATO on Sunday, as Sweden's ruling party holds a decisive meeting that could pave the way for a joint application.

Less than three months after Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the two Nordic neighbors look poised to reverse policies on military non-alignment dating back more than 75 years in Finland and over two centuries in Sweden

"Hopefully we can send our applications next week together with Sweden," Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Saturday.

The countries broke their strict neutralities after the end of the Cold War by joining the EU and becoming partners to NATO in the 1990s, solidifying their affiliation with the West.

Day 80: Russia says to respond if NATO moves nuclear forces near border

Russia says it would take precautionary measures if NATO deployed nuclear forces and infrastructure closer to the country

Germany says ready for quick ratification of Finland, Sweden NATO membership

Germany has taken all preparations for a quick ratification process should Finland and Sweden decide to apply for NATO membership, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday, while underlining both countries’ need for security guarantees.

“Germany has prepared everything to do a quick ratification process,” she told reporters on a second day of talks with her NATO counterparts in Berlin, adding that ministers had agreed at a dinner on Saturday that there should not be grey zone between the time they apply and the time they join.

“If they decide to join they can join quickly...We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear,” she said.

UK military intelligence: Russia lost a third of its forces in Ukraine

Russia has probably lost around a third of the ground forces it deployed to Ukraine and its offensive in the Donbas region “has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule,” British military intelligence said on Sunday.

“Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high levels of attrition,” the British defense ministry said on Twitter.

“Russia has now likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.”

It said Russia was unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days.

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