US says it will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine

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10:45pm: Biden says sending cluster munitions to Ukraine a ‘difficult decision’

US President Joe Biden on Friday said sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was a “difficult decision” but Ukraine needed them as it was running out of ammunition in its war against the Russian invasion.

“It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies,” Biden told CNN. “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”

9:45pm: Zelensky meets Erdogan after securing US cluster bombs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday entered crunch talks with Turkey’s leader after securing a US pledge for cluster munitions that could inflict massive damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.

Washington’s decision to deliver the controversial weapons — banned across a large part of the world but not in Russia or Ukraine — dramatically ups the stakes in the war, which enters its 500th day on Saturday.

Zelensky has been travelling across Europe and working the phones trying to secure bigger and better weapons for his outmatched army, which has launched a long-awaited counteroffensive that is progressing less swiftly than Ukraine’s allies had hoped.

9:05pm: The US will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package

The Biden administration will provide thousands of cluster munitions to Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday, vowing the US will not leave Ukraine defenseless and that Kyiv has promised to use the controversial munitions carefully.

The decision comes on the eve of the NATO summit in Lithuania, where President Joe Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the US would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of alliance members have banned because it has a track record  for causing many civilian casualties.

The munitions — which are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — are seen by the US as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines. US leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before Biden made the final decision this week.

9:04pm: ‘Necessary’ steps for Ukraine to join NATO will be discussed at summit, says White House

While Ukraine will not join NATO following next week’s summit, its members will discuss what steps are necessary for Kyiv to qualify for the military alliance’s membership, the White House said on Friday.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the summit, which will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, will be an important step in the path for Ukraine to join the organization.

7:22pm: UK’s Sunak tells Turkey of hopes Sweden’s NATO accession will happen soon

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday he hoped NATO could proceed with ratifying Sweden’s accession to the alliance as soon as possible, pointing out the “significant benefits” of the country’s membership.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the two spoke on Friday on a range of matters, including Ukraine, their bilateral relationship and tackling illegal immigration.

“He underlined the significant benefits of Sweden joining NATO and the progress they have made in addressing Turkey’s legitimate security concerns and hoped the alliance could proceed with ratifying their accession as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said before a NATO summit next week.

6:22pm: ‘We are moving Ukraine closer to NATO’, says Nato’s Stoltenberg

In interview with FRANCE 24, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “we are moving Ukraine closer to NATO, the final decisions are still to be negotiated and agreed by allies.” He added that he expected important decisions to be made during the NATO summit in Vilnius next week. These include: a programme for ensuring full interoperability between Ukrainian forces and NATO forces, the establishment of NATO-Ukraine council and reaffirming NATO’s committment to UKraine’s membership in the alliance. 

6:17pm: As Black Sea deal deadline looms, UN chief urges focus on global food security

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday described the deals allowing the safe Black Sea export of food and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports and facilitating Russia’s own such exports as playing an “indispensable role” in global food security.

“The secretary-general and his team remain fully committed to building on the progress already made and are in constant contact with a wide range of stakeholders in this regard,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

“The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to prioritize global food security,” Haq said. The Black Sea grain deal is due to expire on July 17.

4:36pm: UK’s Cleverly says Russia must not endanger Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant safety

Russia must not further endanger the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Friday.

“The IAEA must have full access to inspect the plant and ensure nuclear safety and security,” he said on Twitter, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

4:16pm: NATO indecision on Sweden, Ukraine a ‘threat’ to global security, saysb Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called on NATO to resolve the issue of Sweden and Ukraine’s membership bids, saying indecision is threatening the strength of the alliance and global security.

Battling a Russian invasion for more than 16 months, Kyiv has expressed increasing frustration with its Western allies over guarantees that it will one day join the alliance. 

He spoke on a visit to Slovakia before he was due to head to Turkey for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has stalled Stockholm’s membership bid to NATO.

“I think there is not enough unity on this,” Zelensky said during a press conference.

“This is a threat to the strength of the alliance,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding: “This is very important for the security of the whole world.”  

4:06pm: ‘Turkey has been pretty staunchly in support of Ukraine’

“It’s easy to bash Turkey as trying to have it both ways”, said FRANCE 24’s International affairs commentator Douglas Herbert, and for, “trying to balance a [. . .] transactional, mostly business-heavy, economic relationship with Russia with its status as a NATO member with EU aspirations as well, and a putative ally of the West”. Yet geopolitical necessity probably requires Turkey to play this kind of delicate balancing act. Click on the video below for more.

02:15

3:22pm: Slovak president expects clear view on Ukraine’s NATO membership at summit

NATO’s summit next week should give Ukraine a clear view on future membership in the military alliance, Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said on Friday after hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Bratislava.

She told a broadcast news conference alongside Zelenskiy that Ukraine’s membership was a question of “when”, not “if”.

3:13pm: Ukraine’s Zelensky expects unity during NATO summit in Vilnius

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he expected to see unity among NATO member states at the military alliance’s summit in Vilnius next week and that he wanted to see concrete steps on Ukraine’s movement to join the alliance.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the Slovak president, Zelensky said he also expected the NATO summit to discuss more defence packages for Kyiv and security guarantees for Ukraine.

3:10pm: Belarus shows off a military camp to host Russia’s Wagner mercenaries after a failed mutiny

The Belarusian military on Friday showed off a field camp it has offered to Russia’s Wagner military contractor if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended its mutiny.

Maj. Gen. Leonid Kosinsky, an assistant to Belarus’ defence minister, told international reporters that Wagner troops could use the former Belarusian army camp near Tsel, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk.

Journalists were shown rows of empty tents that Kosinsky said could accommodate up to 5,000 troops at the camp in the Asipovichy district that was used by the Belarusian army before it was handed over to the territorial defence forces. 

12:22

2:36pm: NATO to grapple with Ukraine membership push at summit

NATO leaders at a summit next week will underscore a vow that Ukraine will join the alliance in the future, its chief Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to attend the two-day gathering in Lithuania to make the case that his country should join when Russia’s war ends.

“I expect allied leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal,” Stoltenberg said.

NATO’s 31 members are still haggling over the final wording for a communique on how to address Ukraine’s membership.

2:11pm: US to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, say AP sources

President Joe Biden’s administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and is expected to announce later today that the Pentagon will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth up to $800 million for the war effort against Russia, according to people familiar with the decision.

The decision comes despite widespread concerns that the bombs can cause civilian casualties and sparked a call from the United Nations to both Russia and Ukraine to avoid using them. The Pentagon will provide munitions that have a reduced “dud rate,” meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths.

1:45pm: Zelensky arrives in Slovakia ahead of Turkey visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Slovakia, in the latest leg of a tour to push Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and secure more weapons from allies.

“Zelensky arrived this afternoon at the invitation of Slovak President Zuzana Caputova,” spokesman Martin Strizinec told AFP. 

1:19pm: ‘Russia’s agression will not pay’, says NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg

NATO leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of the military alliance and also unite on how to bring Kyiv closer to this goal when they meet in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.

“For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe,” Stoltenberg told reporters in a news conference in Brussels previewing the gathering.

“Our summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russia’s aggression will not pay.”

11:58am: Germany will not supply cluster ammunition to Ukraine

Germany will not supply cluster ammunition to Ukraine as it is a signatory to a convention banning the production and use of that type of weapon, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday in Bern.

“Germany has signed the convention, so it is no option for us,” Pistorius told reporters after meeting his Austrian and Swiss counterparts.

“As for those countries that have not signed the convention – China, Russia, Ukraine and the US – it is not up to me to comment on their actions.”

11:36am: Kremlin to closely follow Zelensky-Erdogan meeting

The Kremlin says it will closely follow the results of today’s meeting in Turkey between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, at which the potential extension of the Black Sea grain deal will be discussed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin may talk with Erdogan soon, but no date has yet been set.

10:43am: Fighting Russia ‘difficult’ without long-range weapons, says Zelensky

Speaking at a press conference in Prague, Czech Republic, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told reporters it is “difficult” to fight Russia without long-range weapons.

“Without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission, it is difficult to conduct a defensive operation, to be honest. Very difficult,” Zelensky said.

The decision to supply Kyiv with such weapons “depends only” on the US, he added.

Meanwhile the Czech prime minister Petr Fiala said his country would send combat helicopters to Ukraine and train its pilots on US-made F-16 jet fighters to help it battle the Russian invasion.

10:31am: Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as Zelensky heads to Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to Ankara to meet with his turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, part of his bid for Ukraine to join NATO.

Grain exports are also at the heart of the agenda as the Black Sea grain deal that Turkey helped to broker last year is set to expire on July 17, said FRANCE 24’s Liza Kaminov and Nicolas Chamontin.

Please click on the video player below to watch the report.

01:26

9:32am: Ukraine halts rescue operations in Lviv as death toll rises to 10

Ukraine has halted rescue operations in the western city of Lviv, where the death toll from Thursday’s Russian missile strike on a residential building has risen to 10.

Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said rescuers had worked through the night to clear debris despite heavy rain after a missile hit the building in what he called the biggest attack of the war on civilian infrastructure in Lviv.

The city is only 70 km (43 miles) from the border with Poland, a NATO and European Union member state, and is far for front lines.

“As a result of yesterday’s rocket attack on an apartment building in Lviv, 10 people were killed. One person was found at night and one more this morning,” Kozytskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.

City officials declared two days of mourning in honour of the victims.

9:10am: Turkish support critical to Ukraine’s NATO hopes

Ukraine’s partnership with Turkey is of critical importance to Kyiv, says FRANCE 24’s Kyiv correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze, reporting on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Turkey later today.

“Turkey is the only country to have achieved some sort of diplomatic success when it brokered the Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine,” Chaze explains.

02:15

8:45am: EU strikes deal to bolster ammunition production for Ukraine

The EU will devote €500 million to boosting the production of ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish the stocks of EU member countries, the block has announced.

The European Council and European Parliament representatives struck a provisional agreement overnight and it is expected to enter into force before the end of this month.

Under the deal, subsidies will be given to European arms firms to increase their production capacities and tackle identified bottlenecks.

The scheme is the third part of a broader EU effort to get more ammunition and arms to Ukraine, particularly 155-millimetre artillery shells, which Kyiv is pleading for as the fight against Russia’s invasion has become a war of attrition.

7:42am: IAEA is ‘making progress’ inspecting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says Grossi

The UN nuclear watchdog is “making progress” inspecting several areas of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, after claims it had been mined, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said.

“I think we are making progress,” he said in Tokyo, explaining that officials had visited sites including cooling pools but had not yet been given access to the roof, where Ukraine claims possible explosive devices have been placed.

7:11am: Ukraine requests to join Pacific free trade block, says Japanese minister

Ukraine has submitted its request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to the trade pact’s depositary country New Zealand, Japan’s economy minister Shigeyuki Goto has said.

The CPTPP includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, with the United Kingdom becoming the 12th member state.

Japan, as a CPTPP member, “must carefully assess whether Ukraine fully meets the high level of the agreement” in terms of market access and rules, Goto told a regular press conference.

4:26am: Ukraine’s Zelensky travelling to Istanbul to meet Erdogan

President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to hold talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday on the latest leg of a tour to push Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and secure more weapons from allies.

The talks in Istanbul come on the eve of the 500th day since Russian’s invasion, with Zelensky admitting a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive was progressing slowly.

“But nevertheless, we are advancing, not retreating, like Russians,” Zelensky told reporters. “We now have the initiative.”

The talks with Erdogan – an important broker in the conflict – are due to focus on an expiring deal to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea as well as next week’s NATO summit.

Analysts expect Zelensky to push Erdogan to give a green light for Sweden’s NATO membership ahead of the July 11-12 meet in Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

• Key developments from Thursday, July 6:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a “tangible response” after a Russian strike on the western city of Lviv in the early hours of Thursday left several people dead. Zelensky later travelled to both Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to meet with leaders of the two countries.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was back in Russia after reportedly arriving in Belarus as part of a deal brokered to end the mercenary group’s short-lived mutiny.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)