- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that joining NATO is the best security guarantee for Ukraine but acknowledged that "it would be impossible" for his country to join the alliance before the war ends. In a joint briefing in Kyiv with Estonian President Alar Karis, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians "will not pull any NATO country into a war."
- The State Department said it is revoking the visas of Russian nuclear inspectors, denying pending applications for new monitors and is canceling standard clearances for Russian aircraft to enter U.S. airspace due to Russia's "ongoing violations" of the last arms control treaty remaining between the two countries.
- Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that the "Akhmat" group of Chechen special forces were waging an offensive near the town of Mariinka, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. The "Akhmat" group along with the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, have been one of the main driving forces behind Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Members of the two groups have openly sparred, while a Chechen commander Thursday cast Prigozhin as a blogger who yells all the time about problems.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that a "just and lasting" peace deal in Ukraine must include the withdrawal of Russian troops for all Ukraine-held territories.
"A cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place and enables Putin to consolidate control over the territory he seized and then rest, rearm and re-attack. That is not a just and lasting peace," Blinken said.
Speaking in the capital of Finland, the NATO alliance's newest member, Blinken said "a cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place" sends Moscow and "other would-be aggressors around the world" the wrong message.
Blinken added the United States will encourage peace efforts by other nations as long as they uphold the United Nations charter and Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
Air strikes – Ukraine shelters
Meanwhile, officials in Ukraine said Friday the military downed more than 30 Russian missiles and drones over Kyiv.
An air force statement said air defenses shot down 15 cruise missiles and 21 drones.
Officials said at least two people were injured from falling debris.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered an inspection of all Ukrainian air raid shelters on Friday after a nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed by falling debris. During the attack, the three victims were locked out on the street after finding a Kyiv shelter shut Thursday morning.
The deaths caused a public outcry and prompted a harsh comment by Zelenskyy directed at Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former world champion boxer who has clashed with the president before.
The first day of June is observed as International Children's Day by many countries, Zelenskyy noted in his daily address Thursday, "But even on this day... the terrorist state took the life of a Ukrainian child."
Zelenskyy said he had ordered Ukraine's strategic industries minister and his interior minister to conduct a "full audit of bomb shelters," adding that shelters "must be kept accessible" and that this was the responsibility of local authorities. In what appeared to be a veiled dig at Klitschko, Zelenskyy said he could deliver a "knockout" blow.
This is not the first spat between Zelenskyy and Klitcho. During a confrontation last November Zelenskyy accused Klitschko of doing a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help people without power and heat.
START Nuclear Treaty
The Biden administration is retaliating after Russia suspended the New START nuclear treaty. The State Department announced Thursday it is revoking the visas of Russian nuclear inspectors, denying pending applications for new monitors and canceling standard clearances for Russian aircraft to enter U.S. airspace.
The State Department said it was taking those steps and others in response to Russia's "ongoing violations" of New START, the last arms control treaty remaining between the two countries.
"The United States is committed to full and mutual implementation of the New START treaty," it said. "Consistent with that commitment, the United States has adopted lawful countermeasures in response to the Russian Federation's ongoing violations of the New START treaty."
Russia suspended its participation in the New START treaty in February in a move that the U.S. said was "legally invalid."
Allowing inspections of weapons sites and providing information on the placement of intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles and their test launches are critical components of New START, which then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed in 2010.
Forum