(Bloomberg) -- A Russian Su-34 military jet accidentally fired on the city of Belgorod north of the Ukrainian border, the Russian defense ministry said, leaving a massive crater and damaging homes and cars.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, co-host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said additional logistics deliveries are likely to be announced.
The Ramstein meeting comes a day after Stoltenberg made a surprise trip to Kyiv, his first since the start of Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in NATO, he said there. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a “well-deserved political invitation” should be extended to Ukraine to join NATO at the alliance’s summit in Lithuania in July, which the Ukrainian leader plans to attend.
Key Developments
- Ukraine Pitches High Returns in Wartime Fire Sale of State Firms
- US, Ukraine Allies Consider Near-Total Ban on Exports to Russia
- Macron’s Diplomatic Push on Ukraine Threatens Unity, Allies Warn
- Tanker Company Moving Russian Oil Loses Insurance on G-7 Cap
- Russian Arms Sales to India Stall Due to Fears Over US Sanctions
(All times CET)
US Defense Chief Lauds ‘Solidarity’ Around Leaks (10:27 a.m.)
Lloyd Austin told his Ukrainian and allied counterparts he was struck by their solidarity and “commitment to reject efforts to divide us” over the biggest intelligence leak the US has faced in a decade. The leaks have exposed assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as how the US collects intelligence around the world.
“We will not let anything fracture our unity,” Austin told allied ministers, including Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, at the start of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany. “I take this issue very seriously and we will continue to work closely and respectfully with our deeply d allies and partners.”
The US last week charged a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts over the massive disclosure of intelligence secrets.
Read more: Airman Charged Over Leak as Biden Clamps Down on Secrets
Ukraine, EBRD Discuss Danube Ports Capacity Projects (10:20 a.m.)
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister discussed potential Danube River port projects with a delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), headed by President Odile Renaud-Basso, the ministry said.
Ukraine’s Danube region has become important to compensate for restricted ability of major Black Sea ports to ship grain. As a part of a joint pilot project of the EBRD and the Ukrainian ministry, the engineering consulting company Royal HaskoningDHV outlined plans for Ukraine, Moldova and Romania to expand the capacity of Danube ports.
Russian Arms Sales to India Stall on Sanctions Worries (10 a.m.)
Russian deliveries of military supplies to India have ground to a halt as the countries struggle to find a payment mechanism that doesn’t violate US sanctions, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the matter.
Indian payments for weapons amounting to more than $2 billion have been stuck for about a year, and Russia has stopped supplying credit for a pipeline of about $10 billion worth of spare parts as well as two S-400 missile-defense system batteries that have yet to be delivered, according to the officials, who asked not be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Russia is India’s biggest supplier of weapons needed to deter Pakistan and China.
Read more: Russian Arms Sales to India Stall Due to Fears Over US Sanctions
More Logistics Support Set to be Announced: Stoltenberg (9:41 a.m.)
Ukraine’s allies are likely to announce additional logistics deliveries when at today’s gathering in Ramstein, Germany, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The supplies would help sustain weapons systems already sent to Kyiv.
“Sometimes we underestimate all the logistics that have to be in place just to have operational battle tank capabilities,” Stoltenberg said. “Maybe it’s a bit more boring, but logistics is extremely important. This is now a battle of attrition and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics.”
The NATO chief’s trip to Ramstein follows a visit to Kyiv on Thursday, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Stoltenberg said Zelenskiy had accepted his invitation to join the July 11-12 NATO summit in Vilnius , and that they had discussed preparations for the meeting, including plans for allies to agree to a multiyear package to help Ukraine modernize its armed forces.
Russia Accidentally Strikes City Near Ukraine Border (8:30)
A Russian warplane accidentally fired on the city of Belgorod, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, Tass reported, citing the defense ministry.
“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod, there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition,” Tass reported, citing the defense ministry.
An unspecified number of buildings were damaged, the state-run Tass news service reported, citing the ministry. Local authorities reported at least three injuries. The regional governor said on Telegram said the bomb left a 20-meter-wide (66 feet) crater on a main street.
Russian Equipment in ‘Dreadful State’: Germany (8:30 a.m.)
Some of the materiel the Kremlin is resupplying its forces in Ukraine with is in “a dreadful state” and “literally from the stone age,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, citing tanks he said were from the 1950s and 60s.
At the same time, it’s difficult to make an accurate assessment of Russia’s capacity to produce more modern equipment, which makes it all the more important that allies continue to support the government in Kyiv, above all with air-defense systems like the Patriot, Pistorius told public broadcaster ZDF. Germany this week delivered a Patriot to Ukraine and has also supplied the advanced IRIS-T air-defense system.
Mud Season in Ukraine is Slowing Operations on Both Sides, UK Says (8 a.m.)
Soft ground conditions across much of Ukraine “is highly likely slowing operations for both sides of the conflict,” the UK defense ministry said, adding that surface conditions should improve in the next few weeks.
“Russian online outlets are likely exaggerating the overall impact of mud on Ukrainian forces as part of an information operation aimed at raising Russian morale, and undermining Ukraine’s supporters, in light of an anticipated Ukrainian counter offensive,” the ministry said in a Twitter thread.
Ukraine Shoots Down Russian Drones (8 a.m.)
Ukraine’s air defense shot down eight out of 10 Iranian-made loitering “Shahed-136” drones launched by Russia overnight at infrastructure cargoes, its General Staff said.
Drones hit some civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s central Poltava region and air defenses were also working in the Kyiv region, local authorities said on their Telegram channels.
It was a second consecutive night of drone attacks, after 10 of 11 of the UAVs were downed the previous night.
Zelenskiy Says He Expects NATO Invitation at July Summit (12:11 a. m.)
Ukraine wants to get an invitation to join NATO in July, when the military alliance’s summit is held in Lithuania, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Neither the majority of Ukrainians, nor the majority of Europeans, nor the majority of the inhabitants of the entire NATO space, will understand” if a “well-deserved political invitation” isn’t offered in Vilnius, Zelenskiy said late Thursday in his daily video address. “Ukraine did everything to ensure that our application was approved.”
Zelenskiy also repeated a call for Russian athletes to be banned from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. “It is obvious that a terrorist state will do everything to justify itself through sports or to use the international Olympic Movement to support its aggression,” he said.
Ukraine’s Rightful Place Is in NATO, Stoltenberg Says (2:03 p.m.)
Stoltenberg said he discussed NATO’s multi-year support package, which leaders are due to sign off this summer, when he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The initiative aims to help Ukraine’s armed forces transition from Soviet era equipment to those with NATO standards, calling this “a testament to NATO’s long-term commitment to Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy, speaking alongside the NATO chief, stressed Ukraine is “not looking for a compromise,” adding, “we need something more than the current format of relations. We want to understand when Ukraine will join NATO.”
Stoltenberg travels next to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday. “I expect that NATO allies and partners will make new announcements of concrete military support to Ukraine,” he said.
US, Ukraine Allies Consider Near-Total Ban on Exports to Russia (2 p.m.)
Some of Ukraine’s key allies including the US are considering moving closer to an outright ban on most exports to Russia, a potentially significant tightening of economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin over his war.
Group of Seven officials are discussing the idea ahead of a leaders summit in Japan in May, according to people familiar with the matter, and the aim would be to include European Union member states in the crackdown. The proposal is still being debated and could change, the people said.
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