President Biden was in Finland — NATO’s newest member state — for a Wednesday morning summit with Nordic leaders. At a meeting in Helsinki with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, Biden said that “it took me about three seconds to say yes” to Finland joining the military bloc. “The fastest ratification that occurred in modern history,” he said.
In Russia, Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov claimed he was forced to retire after he highlighted problems with the army fighting in Ukraine, according to a voice message published by a Russian lawmaker. “In the name of you and our fallen combat friends, I had no right to lie, so I outlined all the problems existing in the army,” Popov said, citing a lack of artillery and “mass deaths and injuries” of soldiers. Senior officials “sensed danger in me and promptly, in one day, made up an order and got rid of me,” he is heard saying on the voice message, suggesting divisions within the army over the conduct of its war effort. The Washington Post could not independently verify his claims.
In an interview with Russian outlet Kommersant published Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave more insight into the meeting he held with Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin and 35 of his commanders five days after they launched their mutiny.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
Analysis from our correspondents
Zelensky’s ‘guilt-based’ diplomacy leaves its mark on NATO summit: On the first day of this week’s NATO summit, there was dismay and disgruntlement among Ukrainian representatives. On the second day, there was mollification from the West. By the end of the two-day meeting, Zelensky welcomed the West’s promises of more weapons and assurances that Ukraine would probably be admitted to NATO once the war ends.
There is a clear pattern in Zelensky’s behavior, Ishaan Tharoor writes.
Jeremy Shapiro, director of research at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Tharoor that Zelensky “has adopted a guilt-based approach to diplomacy.”
“‘You never write, you never call, you never send F-16s’ has long summarized [Zelensky’s] approach to getting what he wants from the West and the U.S.,” Shapiro said.
Natalia Abbakumova and Robyn Dixon contributed to this report.