Ukraine updates: US approves Dutch, Danish F-16 deliveries
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The United States has approved the sending of F-16 fighter planes from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine, both European countries have confirmed.
Although jets won’t have an immediate impact on the war, with pilots still to be trained, the development represents a major gain for Kyiv in its efforts to fend off Russia’s invading forces.
Washington has assured Denmark and the Netherlands that it will expedite the approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Germany for its delivery of air defense equipment.
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Russia sanctions ICC prosecutor, UK ministers
Russia has announced sanctions against the International Criminal Court prosecutor, who is seeking the arrest of President Vladimir Putin, as well as British ministers who have fiercely opposed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The ICC’s Karim Khan, who is British, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March on suspicion of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, insists the warrant against Putin is “void.”
The ICC said in May it was “undeterred” after Russia put prosecutor Khan on a wanted list over his issuance of the arrest warrant.
A total of 54 people have been added to Russia’s sanctions list targeting British citizens, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They include Sports Minister Lucy Frazer “who is actively pushing for the international sporting isolation of Russia, and the British Deputy Defence Minister Annabel Goldie, who is responsible for delivering weapons to Ukraine,” the statement read.
Moscow also added a number of correspondents from the BBC, the Guardian newspaper and the Daily Telegraph to the travel ban list.
Ukraine, Romania sign deal to boost Kyiv’s grain exports
Kyiv and Bucharest have reached an agreement to increase the amount of Ukrainian grain moving through Romanian territory.
Romania has become an important transit point for grain exports from Ukraine since Moscow’s decision last month to withdraw from a deal that had allowed the safe passage of cargo vessels on the Black Sea.
Russia has also targeted Ukrainian ports on the Danube River — now a main route to get grain to Romania — since exiting the deal.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal hailed “important and constructive” talks with his Romanian counterpart, Marcel Ciolacu. He said the countries had signed an accord “ensuring the reliable transit of Ukrainian goods.”
“We plan to open new checkpoints along our common border for road, rail, sea and river traffic,” he added.
Ciolacu, meanwhile, said Romania wanted to double the amount of Ukrainian grain transiting his country.