Melnik: NATO member of Ukraine will reduce the risk of nuclear war

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D.Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk hopes his country can join NATO just like Finland and Sweden. “One thing is clear: we want to join NATO as soon as possible. It could happen as quickly as Sweden or Finland.

“If Ukraine is in an alliance, the risk of a nuclear war will be reduced. Then Putin will know: If Ukraine is attacked by nuclear weapons, he must retaliate with nuclear weapons.

As a result of the war, Finland and Sweden submitted applications on Wednesday to join the Western Defense Alliance. Ideally, both countries could be members by the end of this year. However, there were early delays due to Turkey’s booking.

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Melnik hopes that Ukraine’s EU membership will be possible within the next ten years, he told Funke. “The main thing for us now is to retain the candidate status. Then the negotiation process can begin. This is an important political decision.” He called on the central government to “play a leading role in this historic process.”

All developments in Live Ticker

5:37 am – US Embassy reopens in Kiev

The United States has reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, after a three-month closure. “We are officially resuming work at the US Embassy in Kiev today,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday. The American flag was hoisted again on the embassy building. “The Ukrainian people, with our security support, defended their homeland against the ruthless Russian invasion, and as a result, stars and lines (the American national flag) are flying over the embassy again,” Blinken said.

Washington closed its embassy in Kiev ten days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, temporarily relocating its embassy to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and then to Poland. After Ukrainian forces repulsed the Russian attack on the capital and its territory, Western nations gradually reopened their diplomatic missions in Kiev.

04:29 am The Senate confirms the new US Ambassador to Ukraine

After the United States announced plans to reopen its embassy in Kiev, the Senate confirmed Business Ambassador Bridget Pring as ambassador to Ukraine. The Chamber of Congress approved the staff in Washington on Wednesday (local time). The State Department had earlier announced that the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital, which had been closed by the Russian occupation, would reopen. Two weeks before the outbreak of war, US diplomats left their embassy in Kiev. They went to Poland and were sometimes stopped in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Bring was previously the US ambassador to Slovakia. Previously, he served as Deputy Ambassador to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and to Uzbekistan and Georgia in the State Department in Washington.

10:08 pm Zelenskyj Adviser: 90 more days of martial law honest

Oleksiy Arestovych, Ukraine’s presidential adviser, plans to extend martial law for 90 days until August. Arastovich said on Ukrainian television on Wednesday that the war started by Russia would last until the fall. The Ukrainian people are being misled only if martial law is extended for another 30 days. Honest contact with the community is essential in war, said the adviser, who speaks primarily on military issues.

9:34 pm – Croatian president sets conditions for NATO’s northern expansion

Turkey can count on Croatia’s support as Sweden and Finland oppose joining NATO. “Turkey will negotiate a higher price for its NATO status,” President Joran Milanovic said on Wednesday. Croatia should follow this example.

Socialist Milanovic wants the electoral law in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina to be changed in favor of the Croatians living there, before the Croatian parliament can recognize NATO membership in Sweden and Finland. He disagrees with conservative Prime Minister Andrzej Blenkovich on domestic policy issues. However, Blenkovic’s ruling party has a narrower majority in parliament than the Socialists, so NATO can vote for expansion.

6:32 pm – Zelenskyj wants to extend martial law for 90 days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky wants martial law to be imposed in the wake of the Russian invasion and the ordered mobilization to be extended by three months. The bill was released on Wednesday. Once confirmed by the delegates, it is considered certain that the state of war will apply until August 23. One day later, Ukraine traditionally celebrates its Independence Day.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych justified the extension. Arastovich said on Ukrainian television on Wednesday that the war started by Russia would last until the fall. The Ukrainian people are being misled only if martial law is extended for another 30 days. Honest contact with the community is essential in war, said the adviser, who speaks primarily on military issues. Experts see the duration of the war as an indicator of how long Kiev has been preparing for a possible fight.

Zelenskyi first declared war on February 24 – just hours after Russia’s attack – and then twice extended 30 days. The general mobilization, on the other hand, applied immediately for 90 days. Many experts see the period of the war as an indicator of how long Kyiv is currently preparing for a possible fight.