U.S. seeks clarity after Turkey signals opposition to Sweden, Finland joining NATO

A parliamentary report released Friday, titled “Deterioration of the security environment — implications for Sweden,” refrained from casting judgment on whether Sweden should join NATO but noted that the country’s security would be “adversely impacted” if Finland were to join and leave Sweden as the only nonmember in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

The invasion of Ukraine, which is a NATO partner but not a member, had shown the dangers of remaining outside the alliance’s collective defense structure, the report said.

The report also outlined the dangers of accession to NATO, acknowledging that Russia would “react negatively” to any such step. The most probable response would include “various types of influence activities” against the general public or Swedish decision-makers, it said, underlining the importance of obtaining security assurances from countries within the alliance during any transition period before Sweden gained full membership.

British defense ministry confirmed Friday that Ukraine significantly damaged a Russian convoy as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region.

Aerial photos and videos captured the scene earlier this week when Ukrainian forces bombed pontoon bridges over the Seversky Donets River, where Russian forces were repositioning amid fierce fighting over the eastern front of Ukraine. While the number of soldiers injured or killed was not confirmed, images showed extensive damages, including several burnt-out husks of Russian tanks along the river’s shore.

“Conducting river crossings in a contested environment is a highly risky (maneuver) and speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine,” the British agency shared in a tweet.

The news comes after occupying forces have not made much progress in the Donbas region. Russian forces sought to “consolidate their forces” by crossing the river, but Ukraine’s military has “frustrated” those attempts, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon.

When NATO was founded in 1949, governments in Western Europe and North America viewed it as a means of collective security against the military might of the Soviet Union and its allies. But throughout the Cold War, there were two notable countries that bucked calls to join: Sweden and Finland.

Instead, these countries pursued a different method for ensuring their security: a carefully maintained official policy of nonalignment and neutrality.

Now, almost three-quarters of a century later, the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces has prompted both Swedish and Finnish governments to openly move toward NATO membership after decades without it.

The ascension of Sweden and Finland to NATO would mark one of the biggest changes to the alliance in decades and a stark turnaround for both nations’ position on the international stage.

Ukraine is preparing 41 war crimes cases against Russian soldiers, the country’s prosecutor general said Friday evening.

“We have 41 suspects in cases with which we will be ready to go to court,” Iryna Venediktova announced during a live briefing on Ukrainian TV. “All of them concern Article 438 of the [Ukrainian] criminal code on war crimes, but different types of war crimes. There is the bombing of civilian infrastructure, the killing of civilians, rape and looting.”

The announcement follows the first war crime prosecution of a Russian soldier during the 11-week conflict. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is accused of killing an unarmed civilian in a village in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine during the early days of the conflict.

He faces 10 to 15 years, or life in prison, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

Ukrainian troops appear to have forced a Russian retreat in Kharkiv, but analysts warn that Moscow’s forces are regrouping and preparing for a siege in the east. Meanwhile, shelling across the country continues to claim lives and destroy infrastructure. On Friday, Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, warned of a “new, long phase of the war.”

Here are updates from key battlegrounds:

Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces have mounted an effective counterattack in the area around this northeastern city, pushing Russian forces to withdraw. But shelling continues. In Derhachi, two people died and four were wounded after shelling damaged a humanitarian organization, a registry office, part of a clinic and an ambulance building, Kharkiv’s governor Oleg Synegubov said Friday on Telegram.

Luhansk: West of Severodonetsk, a Russian battalion crossing the Donets river was decimated after Ukrainian forces blew up the river’s pontoon bridges this week, the British defense ministry confirmed Friday. It is not clear how many Russian soldiers died.

Donetsk: Russian strikes killed one civilian and injured a dozen others, the region’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said Friday. In the center of Donetsk, a stronghold for Russian occupying forces, invading forces have shelled the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, the largest coke producer in Ukraine.

Mariupol: In the Russian-seized port city, occupying forces continue bombing the Azovstal steel plant, where the last holdouts from the Ukraine army have sheltered. Ukrainian officials say they are negotiating with the Russians to release more than three dozen wounded fighters.

Ukraine is entering a “new, long phase of the war” as weapons supplies from Western allies gradually increase, the country’s defense minister said Friday.

Oleksii Reznikov said the Kremlin had failed to overthrow the Ukrainian government by Russia’s Victory Day on May 9 and was forced to scale back its goals. Ukraine is anticipating a strategic breakthrough, he said, but it will take time.

“Extremely tough weeks are ahead,” Reznikov wrote on Facebook. “No one can say for sure how many of them there will be.”

Ukraine has recently experienced a “tectonic shift” in Western aid, including the delivery of American howitzers, Reznikov said. He cited an April 26 meeting in Germany of defense ministers from more than 40 countries, saying they set a joint goal of not just stopping, but defeating the Kremlin. More than 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers are training or will soon train on new equipment from Ukraine’s allies as the country also invests in its own weaponry, Reznikov said.

For now, Reznikov said time is passing “unspeakably slowly” as Ukrainians in occupied areas are tortured and killed.

“That is why we are doing everything possible and impossible to speed up the liberation of our land,” he wrote.

The Pentagon is sending 10,500 U.S. troops to Europe in the coming months to replace personnel that are currently deployed — “one to one unit replacements” that will keep the U.S. military footprint in the region unchanged at 100,000 strong, according to spokesman John Kirby.

The planned rotations will “go into the summer,” he added, and involve a number of different units. About 4,200 soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky., will be sent to replace those from the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, currently operating in Poland. Meanwhile, 4,200 soldiers from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Tex., will be sent to Germany to replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division troops who have been stationed there.

Another 500 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell will be deployed to replace members of the 82nd Airborne Division across the area of responsibility for U.S. European Command. Eighteen hundred people from the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade in Fort Bliss, Tex., will also be sent to replace the outgoing 1st Air Cavalry Brigade tasked to Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Kirby stressed that the deployments “are not permanent moves. These moves are designed to respond to the current security environment.”

He acknowledged, however, that “we’re going to have to take a look at the permanent footprint in Europe and make an assessment about that in the future.”

“These forces are not going to fight in Ukraine,” Kirby added. “They are going to support the robust defense of NATO allies.”

Humanitarian advocates discuss the lasting and deadly impact of land mines used by Russia in Ukraine, including anti-personnel mines banned by international law.

See the video