New developments:

The EU may need to reintroduce tariffs on large, low-priced influx of Ukrainian grain, as a measure to safeguard prices and local output of EU farmers.
Any cease-fire in Russia's war on Ukraine that would involve Russian forces remaining on Ukrainian territory is “totally inadmissible,” Mykhailo Podolyak, senior adviser to President Zelenskyy, said in a tweet.


NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland will formally join NATO “in the coming days.”
U.S. President Joe Biden called on Russia Friday to release detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, charged with spying by Moscow. "Let him go," Biden said as he left the White House for a trip to storm-devastated Mississippi. The Journal said the detention of Gershkovich was based on false allegations.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko threatened Friday that Belarus also could host intercontinental nuclear missiles on its soil in addition to the tactical nuclear weapons Russia has decided to station in Belarus.

In an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscow’s nuclear arms would help protect Belarus, which Lukashenko claimed was under threat from the West.

“I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people,” said Lukashenko, suggesting he could use such nuclear weapons with Russia’s agreement if Belarus was threatened with destruction.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles on Belarusian soil can destroy whole cities from thousands of miles away.

Lukashenko said Belarus had enough conventional weapons to counter threats, “but if we see that behind [the threats] lies the destruction of our country, we will use everything we have.”

“If necessary, Putin and I will decide and bring in strategic weapons — if needed,” he noted.

Lukashenko did not present any proof of such a threat from the West, nor did he provide any indication there were plans to invade Belarus from neighboring Poland, a member of the U.S.-led Western NATO alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at a ceremony in the town of Bucha near Kyiv to commemorate the anniversary of its liberation from Russia’s brutal occupation. Bucha stands as a symbol of atrocities committed by the Russian army since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

The Kremlin’s forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. Ukrainian troops retook the town and found horrific scenes. Hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some children.

In a tweet, a tearful Zelenskyy said, “We will never forget the victims of this war and we will certainly bring all Russian murderers to justice.”

In his daily address Thursday, the Ukrainian leader commemorated Ukraine’s 400th day of resistance. “I want to thank everyone in the world who stands with Ukraine … who has the same strong conviction that we, Ukrainians, have … the conviction that the world should be based on rules, on civilized rules — on the rules of humanity, respect and peace. … We will not leave a single trace of Russia on our land,” he said.

Turkey’s parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s bid to join NATO. Turkey’s parliament is the last to approve lifting the last hurdle of the Nordic country’s accession into the Western military alliance.

“All 30 NATO allies have now ratified the accession protocol,” Stoltenberg said Friday. “Finland will formally join our alliance in the coming days.” In a tweet following Turkey’s vote Thursday, Stoltenberg said Finland’s inclusion in the alliance “will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer.”

Finland and neighboring Sweden each dropped decades of nonalignment with their applications to join the military alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Since their accession bids were ratified at a NATO summit in July, NATO member states have gone through their own processes of giving final approval for Finland and Sweden.

Hungary gave its approval to Finland on Monday, leaving only Turkey remaining in a process that must be unanimous among current NATO members.

Both Finland and Sweden saw their bids slowed as Turkey expressed concerns the countries were too lenient toward groups that Turkey considers terror organizations.

Representatives from the three countries met earlier this month to resolve their outstanding issues, but Turkey has yet to indicate it will ultimately support Sweden’s bid, nor has Hungary.

There is “an ample amount of grievances that need to be addressed” before Sweden’s bid to join NATO is ratified by Hungary, government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said Wednesday.

Sweden and NATO leaders have said Sweden has carried out a series of reforms to overcome Turkey’s concerns. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg has repeatedly said he expected both Finland and Sweden will eventually become NATO members.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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