Europe adds 1 billion Euros in aid to Kiev, Budapest states its stance on Kiev's admission at the NATO Summit... are some of the latest news about the situation in Ukraine.
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| Ukraine criticizes Russia for suspending grain deal. Illustration photo. (Source: Reuters) |
The Kremlin said on June 1 that Russians support President Vladimir Putin and the “special military operation” in Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow said its priority in the border area of Belgorod is to help residents and provide temporary resettlement, after its military stopped three cross-border incursions from Ukraine and heavy shelling of the area.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mr. Putin is currently receiving updates on the situation in the town of Shebekino, a hotspot that has just been heavily shelled in Belgorod.
* Meanwhile, writing on Facebook the same day, the Ukrainian Ministry of Reclamation and Infrastructure said on June 1 that the United Nations-brokered grain export agreement in the Black Sea had once again been suspended: “The Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul announced that it was unable to schedule an inspection on June 1 due to the Russian delegation’s unjustified refusal to allow registration of vessels that are coming to participate in this initiative.” Russia has yet to comment on this information.
* Also on June 1, the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted a decision to allocate 1 billion Euros under the European Peace Facility (EFP) to ensure the immediate supply of artillery shells to Ukraine. This measure will allow the EU to reimburse member states that supply ammunition to Ukraine from existing stocks or from rescheduling existing orders between February 9 and May 31, 2023.
“With today’s decision, we implement the first part of the historic agreement reached by the EU leaders to support the immediate delivery of €1 billion worth of artillery shells to the Ukrainian armed forces. There is no better demonstration of the EU’s unity and determination to continue to support Ukraine’s right to self-defence,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
Earlier, the EU adopted a decision to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells in a timely manner. To achieve this goal, EU countries agreed to allocate 1 billion euros from the European Peace Fund to reimburse EU members for the supply of existing ammunition and another 1 billion euros to increase the production capacity of the European defense industry for artillery shells to supply Ukraine and to replenish EU stocks. This decision brings the total amount of financial assistance under the EFP for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine to 4.6 billion euros.
* In related news, on June 1, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Ukraine's accession to NATO cannot be on the agenda of the bloc's summit next July.
Writing on his personal Facebook page , he stated: “We must be clear about this. The accession of a country in conflict to NATO cannot be on this agenda.” The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that the time frame for NATO to admit Ukraine should not be discussed.
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