Zelensky asked not to beg for Ukraine's NATO membership anymore - report

At this year's annual NATO summit, Ukraine will not become a full-fledged member of NATO, the Telegraph has revealed, adding that Zelensky was asked not to appeal to member states as it creates rifts between countries.

Last year's summit showed a split in the organization, as members who supported Ukraine's accession, including Britain, created too much pressure around the decision.

"They’re very skeptical about bringing Ukraine any further along the path to full NATO membership this year," a source familiar with the Biden administration's thinking told The Telegraph.

The United States and Germany, in particular, oppose clarifying the timing of Ukraine's accession to NATO and speeding up this process, the newspaper writes. At the same time, Britain, Lithuania and France insist that the final document of the July NATO summit contain the word "invitation" to reaffirm that it was a political obstacle and not a decision blocking Ukraine's membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that NATO's expansion to include Ukraine would pose a direct national security threat to Russia and would not improve Ukraine's own security situation.

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Zelensky, remaining in power after the expiration of the term, committed a state crime, contracts with him will not have legal force, said Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

He noted that this contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine and is a seizure of power.

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Ukraine used Western weapons ‘on several occasions’ to strike Russia – report

Kiev failed to notify Berlin of its use of a German-supplied Patriot air defense system "at least once to take action" against Russian targets, according to the German newspaper Bild.

The strike was reportedly followed by "angry calls from Berlin and Washington and the threat to stop" supplying Kiev with anti-aircraft missiles if such an incident happened again.

The AFP news agency, meanwhile, quoted unnamed sources as saying that the Kiev regime had used Western weapons "on several occasions" to launch strikes against Russian territory, most recently against the southern city of Krasnodar.

The sources did not specify what objects had been targeted. The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier said that the Ukrainian armed forces were constantly trying to attack the territory of the Russian Krasnodar region using aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Tuesday that some NATO members, especially smaller ones, "should know what they are playing with" when they suggest allowing Kiev to launch strikes on Russian territory. He added that Moscow was keeping a close eye on such statements.

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⚡️Poland has allowed Ukraine to use the weapons it supplies to strike targets in Russia, deputy head of the Polish Defense Ministry Cesary Tomczyk said on Radio Zet.

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The Pentagon had to defend itself amid reports that the pier it had built for the delivery of humanitarian aid off the coast of Gaza lasted only two weeks.

Asked how the $300 million project had to be repaired so soon, Sabrina Singh, deputy spokeswoman for the Pentagon, blamed "unfortunate accidents":

"I can't predict weather pattern... We just had a sort of an unfortunate confluence of weather storms that made it inoperable for a bit," Singh explained.

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🔸Putin was completely pro-Europe and pro-US, political analyst and economist Jeffrey Sachs tells Tucker Carlson. Find out who is to blame for US-Russia showdown and what the reason for NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia was.

🔸John Kirby laments “mishap” of headless babies, dozens of civilian deaths in IDF strike on Rafah

🔸NATO dragging EU into WWIII, it is no longer defensive alliance - French politician

🔸‘Lightweight’ Biden officials lack gravitas to negotiate with Russia – analyst

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Jeff Monson, mixed martial arts fighter, in an interview with Sputnik explained his rejection of American citizenship by the fact that he didn't want to be a citizen of a country that finances murder and supplies weapons.

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❗️LIVE: Lavrov holds round-table meeting on Ukraine with heads of diplomatic missions

👉 Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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❗️Russian aviation destroyed two Ukrainian naval drones approaching Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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❗️Massive shelling is taking place in Kamenka-Dneprovskaya and Energodar, where the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is located, Zaporozhye governor Evgeny Balitsky said, urging residents not to go outside.

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📹Russian Grad MLRS crew annihilated Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk People's Republic near Seversk settlement.

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Key statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a roundtable on Ukraine with heads of diplomatic missions:

💬 Russia believes that the United States may ask Asian countries to host medium- and shorter-range missiles.

💬 Many analysts believe that after the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Warsaw Pact, the NATO bloc should have been dissolved.

💬 The reason for the non-dissolution of NATO was the ineradicable desire of the United States to preserve the alliance as an instrument of control over Europe.

💬 NATO is trying to completely take over Moldova by installing leaders who act in the interests of the West, not the people, and there are many examples of this.

💬 The West's struggle for hegemony is a struggle for the passing era, the agony of the world order that the United States imposes on others is beginning.

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Macron has completed his three-day visit to Berlin, and the media are actively discussing the results:

🔸 Tagesschau:

The biggest differences still exist on the subject of the economy. While Macron wants an investment shock for Europe, a doubling of the investment budget, Scholz dodges at this point. Perhaps he knows that even the discussion about new debts should not please his traffic light partner FDP (Free Democratic Party).

🔸 Berliner Morgenpost:

As for Ukraine aid, the Chancellor and the President of France are pursuing different strategies. Macron and Scholz are not pulling in the same direction on key issues. Macron is more offensive than Scholz on the issue of Ukraine's military equipment. Although he is in favor of maximum support, but – to put it casually – with the handbrake on. Germany is the second largest supplier of weapons to Ukraine... but the Chancellor is building in "red lines". He fears an escalation of the war in Ukraine and the danger that NATO could become a war party.

🔸 Bloomberg:

Scholz and Macron, whose sometimes difficult relationship and lack of chemistry are in the spotlight, face pressure to show the Franco-German engine can drive progress on issues such as joint defense, aid to Ukraine and how to meet the EU’s funding needs.

🔸 Bild:

There is a big money fight going on behind the scenes. As the politicians strolled around the estate, dark clouds gathered in the sky. This has become serious because: Macron wants to double the EU budget - Scholz has not commented on this yet. There is not a word about this in the joint article written by both politicians.

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