On Tuesday, fighting raged in and around the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine as Russian forces attempted to consolidate recent battlefield victories as NATO moved forward with Finland and Sweden’s historic membership applications. The war is already well into its fifth month, and on Tuesday, Kyiv’s partners vowed to support Ukraine during what is sure to be a protracted and expensive recovery. They also agreed that extensive reforms are required to increase transparency and combat corruption. Rebuilding the war-torn nation is expected to cost at least $750 billion, according to estimates made during the two days of discussions in the Swiss city of Lugano.
Additionally, Russia declared that it was looking into allegations of torture against Russian servicemen who had recently been exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners.
The start of the admission processes for Sweden and Finland, which would bring the size of the military alliance to 32, was hailed as “historic” by the foreign ministers of those nations and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. After the necessary protocols were signed to begin the ratification process, Finland’s Pekka Haavisto said, “The membership of both Finland and Sweden would not only contribute to our personal security, but to the collective security of the alliance.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Sweden and Finland have declared their determination to end decades of military non-alignment and join NATO. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Sweden and Finland have declared their determination to end decades of military non-alignment and join NATO.
Following stiff Ukrainian opposition, Russia changed its initial war objective of conquering Kyiv, and has subsequently concentrated its efforts on gaining control of the Donbas. Despite Moscow’s claims that its forces were now in complete control of the province after taking the vital city of Lysychansk, close to the Donetsk-Russian border.
