Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing Ukraine’s use of US weapons to strike inside Russia, but said the Biden administration would ‘adapt and adjust’ as the war evolved.
The European Union is aiming to start negotiations as early as 25 June with Ukraine on becoming a member of the bloc to help boost Kyiv’s morale, but has yet to fully overcome objections from Hungary.
The European Union’s executive arm was examining the feasibility of a proposal by one of its member states to sanction Russia’s Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, as part of efforts to choke revenue-generating streams that Moscow needs to finance its war against Ukraine.
Blinken says US to ‘adjust’ as Ukraine moves to strike in Russia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing Ukraine’s use of US weapons to strike inside Russia but said the Biden administration would “adapt and adjust” as the war evolved.
“We haven’t encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to Chisinau, Moldova. But he said that “at every step along the way, we’ve adapted and adjusted as necessary. We’re always making determinations about what’s necessary to make sure that Ukraine can effectively continue to defend itself, and we’ll continue to do that.”
The comments from the top US diplomat came amid increasing calls from Western officials to approve of Ukraine’s increasing use of retaliatory strikes inside Russian territory, a move the US long viewed as a provocative escalation of the war against Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
With Russia’s offensive around Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, it sought to capitalise on the congressional delay in passage of a $61-billion funding package for Ukraine, Blinken said. The delivery of US weapons since the supplemental package cleared Congress in late April had resulted in “stabilisation of the front”, he said.
Blinken spoke alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu during a visit to Chisinau aimed at reaffirming US support for the country’s increased independence from Russia and integration with Europe.
Blinken said the US was pledging a fresh $50-million package for Moldova to aid its path into the European Union and build its resilience to Russian hybrid attacks. The funds would go toward Moldova’s fight against disinformation, cybersecurity and economic support, he said.
“The Moldovan people are on the receiving end of these attacks from Russia, which is trying to undermine Moldova and its democratic institutions,” Blinken said.
The US has provided the former Soviet republic with about $2.5-billion in economic assistance as it seeks to wean itself off Russian energy imports and deliver promised reforms. Moldova, which won EU candidacy status in 2022, aims to start talks next month in an effort to complete accession by the end of the decade.
EU aims to start Ukraine membership talks by end of June
The European Union is aiming to start negotiations as early as 25 June with Ukraine on becoming a member of the bloc to help boost Kyiv’s morale, but has yet to fully overcome objections from Hungary.
Almost all 27 member states were supportive of launching the negotiations around the time of the General Affairs Council meeting taking place in Luxembourg on 25 June, according to people familiar with the matter.
So far, however, issues raised by the Hungarian government have complicated an agreement on the framework that would allow the bloc to start the talks.
Back in March, the European Commission proposed a negotiating framework to establish guidelines and principles for accession negotiations, following the EU leaders’ decision to open membership talks with Ukraine in December.
Belgium, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency until the end of June, was pushing for starting the negotiations during its term. Hungary, which takes over on 1 July, has been dragging its heels on the accession process with Kyiv and blocking key financial and military support for the Ukrainian government.
EU ambassadors on Wednesday discussed the negotiating frameworks for the accession process of Ukraine and Moldova proposed by the European Commission.
Hungary continued to block a decision, citing concerns including the protection of Hungarian minorities in Ukraine, a longstanding demand that Brussels and Kyiv insist has been addressed, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
Budapest also demanded other significant changes to the accession framework, including some related to trade, corruption and agriculture, an EU diplomat said.
Even with a green light from EU member states, the membership negotiations will take years, as the path to membership is lengthy and complicated. Croatia was the last country to join the bloc and its application lasted 10 years before it was formally accepted in 2013.
EU weighs proposal to sanction Russian oil tanker insurer
The European Union’s executive arm was examining the feasibility of a proposal by one of its member states to sanction Russia’s Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, as part of efforts to choke revenue-generating streams that Moscow needs to finance its war against Ukraine.
The proposal, which may require the EU to expand its listing criteria, aims to target one of the main providers of insurance to tankers hauling Russian oil after the Group of Seven introduced price caps on most Russian seaborne crude and fuels in late 2022 and early 2023, according to people familiar with the matter.
Were it to go through, the idea would create sprawling and hard-to-quantify risks and costs — not just for Russia’s oil trade but for wider international commodities shipments that Ingosstrakh provides coverage for.
The evaluation is still at an early stage and Moscow-based Ingosstrakh is currently not included in the latest draft of a new sanctions package the bloc is currently negotiating, the people said on condition of anonymity. Even if the proposal gets a nod from the European Commission, it would still face numerous hurdles given that several member states, including Hungary, have opposed most measures targeting Russia’s energy sector, the people said. EU sanctions require the backing of all member states.
The listing criteria are aimed at people and entities operating in economic sectors that are providing the Russian government with substantial sources of revenue — something that would need to be demonstrated in the case of Ingosstrakh.
Putin names ex-bodyguard to top post, stoking successor talk
President Vladimir Putin appointed Alexey Dyumin to a top Russian state post, prompting speculation that an official who was once his personal bodyguard was being groomed as a potential successor.
Putin named 51-year-old Dyumin as secretary of the State Council, according to a Kremlin statement published on Wednesday. The body responsible for developing “strategic goals and tasks of domestic and foreign policy” draws together Kremlin and government officials with legislators and regional leaders.
Putin has given Dyumin a big promotion and an opportunity to shine on a national stage, said Yevgeny Minchenko, a Moscow political consultant who works with the Kremlin. “It’s clear that Putin is testing him in the role of successor.”
There’s no sign Putin (71) plans to step down any time soon. He gained a fifth term until 2030 with 87% of the vote in March presidential elections in which he faced no serious competition. And he’s eligible to run for a further six years to 2036 after changing the Constitution in 2020 to extend his rule.
Putin appointed Dyumin to the new post after moving him to the Kremlin as a presidential aide from his previous position as governor of Russia’s Tula region in a shuffle this month, following his presidential inauguration.
Dyumin served in Putin’s personal security detail from 1999, rising to become one of his closest bodyguards, and once claimed to have protected the president from a bear. He’s also among an inner circle of officials who play ice hockey with Putin.
He was deputy head of the special operations division of Russia’s GRU military intelligence that was instrumental in Putin’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. A former deputy defence minister, Dyumin is under international sanctions for his role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The State Council had a largely ceremonial role until Putin bolstered its power when he changed the Constitution to allow himself up to two more terms.
Ukraine sees Russia land-grab attempt before more weapons arrive
Russian forces were trying to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible to force Kyiv’s allies to agree to a freeze in fighting before weapons deliveries fill a crucial gap, a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
As the European Union considers letting Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with weapons sent by member states, Kremlin forces have been exploiting their advantage in weaponry and manpower as they opened a new front with an incursion into the northeastern Kharkiv region this month.
Although US weapons had begun to arrive on the battlefield, it would take weeks of gradual increases to reach critical volumes, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.
“At the moment, Russian troops have the absolute advantage in shells, missiles, etc,” Podolyak said in an interview. “They will try to press along the frontline to advance. And then they may try to force the pro-Ukrainian coalition to accept unacceptable terms: ‘Let’s freeze the conflict, we will stay where we are — or otherwise we will continue to kill.’”
Russia’s military has increased missile and glide-bomb attacks against Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and home to 1.5 million before the invasion, from inside its own territory. Kremlin troops were also able to stretch Kyiv’s forces further with the attack on the surrounding region.
Russian forces had launched more than 10,000 glide bombs from positions about 5km back from the Ukrainian border, Podolyak said. One recent such attack on a home-improvement superstore in Kharkiv this month killed at least 18 people.
Podolyak said air power was crucial. Kyiv now needs at least 60 Western fighter jets to cover a frontline that was extended by another 70km from the 1,200km before the Kharkiv incursion, he said. Taking into account the length of the contact line and intensity of the fighting, 100-120 such planes would be “optimal”, Podolyak said.
Ukrainian pilots were in the final stages of training in jets, the presidential aide said, adding that if Kyiv gets everything it seeks, the military would regain the initiative as it did in late 2022, when it forced Russian troops out of occupied territory in Kharkiv and the southern region of Kherson.
“We need to end the dominance of Russian tactical aviation, otherwise this defensive war will be very difficult because Russia will just flood areas close to the battlefield with bombs,” Podolyak said.
Police search EU Parliament office in Russia meddling probe
Belgian investigators conducted searches at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday morning over potential Russian interference.
The federal judicial police searched the office of a parliament employee as well as their home in Brussels, the federal prosecutor’s office said. A search of the employee’s office in the European Parliament in Strasbourg was also carried out at the request of the Belgian examining magistrate.
The searches were part of an investigation that started in April related to possible Russian interference, where members of the European Parliament were approached and paid to promote Russian propaganda via the Voice of Europe “news website,” according to the statement.
“There are indications that the European Parliament employee concerned played a significant role in this,” prosecutor spokesperson Eric Van Duyse said.
Russia plans tax hike on businesses and the rich as war costs mount
Russia said it planned to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy, targeting a relatively small number of people in what could prove a popular move as the invasion of Ukraine continues to put pressure on government finances.
The Finance Ministry plan would introduce a more robust progressive income tax, while the levy on corporate profits would rise to 25% from the current 20%, according to the Interfax news service, which cited a proposal filed to the government.
From 2025, the level of personal income tax for the highest earners would increase to 22% from 15% currently. Levies on the extraction of iron ore, potash and phosphate fertilisers would also rise. The entire package would raise an additional 2.6 trillion roubles ($29.2-billion) in 2025, with more than half of that coming from the higher corporate tax, according to Interfax.
The Finance Ministry said the proposals had been submitted to the Cabinet and could win approval in the lower house of parliament before the summer recess. DM