Ukraine Update: “For those who were shot during the Prague Spring of 1968!” appears on a Ukrainian fighter missile

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has criticized what he called a lack of NATO support since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine three months ago. “The EU has proven to be an organization capable of acting as a united front and taking powerful, important and difficult decisions unlike NATO,” the minister said Thursday evening during a national telethon intended to collect funds for the country. The EU will donate 680 million Czech crowns to the Czech Republic to fight the wave of refugees, Germany donates 15 tanks to the Czech Republic.

The rapid entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO has been suspended, due to opposition from Turkey, which has blocked the opening of the debate. All existing members must agree to accept new members. German Chancellor Olaf Schulz told the German parliament that the war in Ukraine was a “turning point in history” and that Germany would not accept any terms for an end to the fighting that Russia would like to dictate. He added that NATO cannot get involved in war. The EU must already start preparing to help rebuild Ukraine, which will cost billions of euros, he said.

The government approved stricter rules for Ukrainian refugees called Lex Ukraine II. The amendment was put in place so that the government could handle the Ukrainian crisis without a state of emergency, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said. The new amendment implements the following measures:

Neutrals throughout the Cold War, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO on Wednesday at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, beginning a membership process that could reshape transatlantic security, as attacks continued in western Ukraine – not far from the border of the military alliance in Poland. .

About 10 buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers left the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine, Reuters news agency reported. Ukrainian commander Denys Prokopenko said his men had accomplished their mission and he wanted to keep his subordinates alive. He did not characterize the withdrawal as a surrender. The Ukrainian army said it was trying to evacuate all remaining troops from Mariupol. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said the evacuees would be subject to a possible prisoner swap with Russia.

Russia has called Finland’s and Sweden’s moves to join NATO a ‘mistake’ which could have ‘profound consequences’ – with the two Nordic countries having sent troops to take part in large-scale NATO exercises military alliance. NATO member and partner countries will hold large-scale exercises in Estonia and Lithuania. Meanwhile, Prague struggles to accommodate Ukrainian refugees as the tent city of Troja reaches capacity. Demonstrators in Prague’s Old Town Square show their support for the evacuation of soldiers trapped in the Azovstal from Mariupol.