Ukraine: Zelenskyy vows boosted defenses on Belarus border

For the latest development's concerning Russia's war in Ukraine, please head to our July 11 live updates.

"Western backers of Ukraine have probably increased their resolve quite a lot," military analyst Justin Crump has told DW. The CEO of the strategic advisory firm Sibylline assesses Ukraine's counteroffensive and discusses the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday it was still possible that Sweden could join the alliance at a summit this week despite Turkey's ongoing concerns over Stockholm's potential membership.

"It is still possible to have a positive decision on Sweden in Vilnius," Stoltenberg told a news conference.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly voiced concerns over Sweden's entry into NATO.

Erdogan has said that Sweden is turning a blind eye to supporters of "terrorist organizations," such as pro-Kurdish groups including the PKK and YPG, which are banned in Turkey, while Stockholm says they are merely expressing their right to protest.

The Turkish president also offered to make way for Sweden's accession to NATO if Turkey was allowed to join the EU.

Russia said Monday that Ukraine joining NATO would have "very negative consequences" for European security.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kyiv's potential membership in the military alliance would represent "an absolute danger and a threat to our country" that would require a "firm" response from Moscow. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he does not expect Ukraine to actually join the military alliance until after the conflict but he hopes a NATO summit this week will give a "clear signal" on the intention to bring Ukraine on board.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly expressed anger over NATO's eastward expansion, citing it as a threat to Russian security.

The president of Germany's National Paralympic Committee (DBS) on Monday called for athletes from Russia and Belarus to be banned from international competition as long as Russia's invasion of Ukraine endures.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is due to vote in September over whether athletes from the two countries will be allowed to compete at events, including next year's Paralympics in Paris.

But DBS president Julius Beucher insisted to the German news agency dpa that as it stands now the ban must continue "without any ifs and buts. It is a question of attitude."

"If the war ends we have a different situation. As long as it is ongoing it is beyond my imagination," Beucher said. He said he would go to the IPC congress "and fight" for the ban to remain in place.

The Russian army chief of staff made his first appearance since the Wagner mercenary group's short-lived mutiny, which took place last month.

In televised footage shared by the ministry of defense, Valery Gerasimov, who was one of the two main targets of the rebellion, is seen talking to officials regarding a supposed Ukrainian attempt to strike Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula. 

General Viktor Afzalov told Gerasimov that Russia's air defense downed three Ukrainian S-200 missiles, while there were "no victims or damage," the official told the army chief of staff.

Ukraine said its forces had recaptured 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) of territory over the course of the last week.

"Over 10 square kilometers of Ukrainian land had been recaptured in the south of Ukraine last week. In the Bakhmut sector last week, the Ukrainian military liberated four square kilometers of territory from the Russian invaders," Kyiv's military spokesman Andriy Kovalyov told state media.

Ukraine also said it has said it recaptured a total of 193 square kilometers since it began its counter-offensive last month.

Four people were killed as Russia launched an airstrike on a humanitarian aid distribution center in the town of Orikhiv in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.

A guided aviation bomb was used in the attack on a school building being used as an aid center, Regional Governor Yuriy Malashko said as reported by Reuters.

Three women and a man, all in their 40s, died and another 13 were left injured in the air strike, Malashko said.

"They hit a humanitarian aid delivery spot in a residential area... Four people died on the spot: women aged 43, 45 and 47 and a 47-year-old man," Malashko said on social media.

After the attack in the city of Orikhiv, which the General Prosecutor's office said took place on Sunday afternoon, it lodged a criminal case into war crimes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan are set to discuss the extension of the Black Sea grain deal, which is set to expire next week, Russia's RIA news agency reported on Monday.

The UN-brokered Black Sea deal between Russia and Turkey aims to prevent a global food crisis by allowing safe export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports.

"Our practice shows that it is the negotiations between the two leaders that are able to change the situation, the current difficult period is no exception," RIA cited a source without naming it.

"Today, this remains the only hope."

On Saturday, Erdogan said that he is pushing Russia to extend the grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by Putin in August.

Moscow, however, said that the talks have not been scheduled and there is no certainty about the two leaders meeting.

Most Germans support their government's plan to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense every year, a recent survey showed. 

The German government's goal will be realized for the first time next year with the help of a special fund worth $101 billion (100 billion euros) which was set up after Ukraine's invasion by Russia.

The survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of German news agency dpa showed that 45% of Germans are satisfied with the level of government spending on defense. 

Only 18% of Germans said that 2% of spending was too much for them. On the other hand, 21% would like to see even higher defense spending.

NATO members have committed themselves to this target.

However, according to NATO estimates German defense spending will reach 1.57% this year.

The polish government said it detained another member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people detained by Poland in an investigation to 15, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Monday.

"The Internal Security Agency has detained another member of the spy network working for Russian intelligence," Kaminski said in a post on Twitter adding, "the suspect kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports. He was systematically paid by the Russians."

Poland said it has become a target for Russian spies and has alleged that Russia intends to fuel political instability in the country.

In March, Poland said it foiled a Russian spying ring and detained nine people who were planning to sabotage rail routes to Ukraine.

The following month Poland announced a 200-meter exclusion zone around its Swinoujscie Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, citing concerns about Russian espionage.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone call with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss this week's NATO summit in Vilnius, Kuleba said late on Sunday.

"With 48 hours left, we are working to make its final decisions a win for all: Ukraine, NATO, and global security," Kuleba said on Twitter.

Blinken said it was "an important call" in the lead-up to the NATO summit.

Ukraine is hoping to receive a clearer roadmap to NATO membership after the summit. US President Joe Biden previously said he believes Ukraine is not ready in its current state to join the military alliance.

A US State Department spokesperson said Blinken and Kuleba also discussed "progress in Ukraine's counteroffensive."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Kyiv has provided written assurances that it would use the cluster munitions set to be delivered by the US "in a very careful way" to minimize the risk to civilians.

Colin Kahl, the US under secretary of defense for policy, said this would mean the bombs would be used away from urban areas that are populated by civilians and that there will be a careful accounting of where they are employed.

Cluster bombs explode mid air to drop numerous smaller "bomblets" around a target area. Not all of these explosives detonate on impact and some can pose risks to civilians years later, similar to land mines.

Some politicians from President Joe Biden's own party have condemned the move.

Democratic Representative Barbara Lee said the US risked loosing its moral leadership.

"Cluster bombs should never be used. That's crossing a line," she told CNN on Sunday.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said he appreciated that Biden grappled with the risks but said he still did not support the outcome.

 "It could give a green light to other nations to do something different as well," Kaine told Fox News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it a priority to boost defenses along Ukraine's northern border with Belarus.

Belarus was used as a staging ground for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Thousands of Russians are still stationed in the eastern European country, including units from the Wagner mercenary group. Russia also begun stationing tactical nuclear weapons inside Belarus earlier this year.

During his Sunday night address, which he delivered from the city of Lutsk, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the frontier, Zelenskyy said he held meetings to assess the border security situation.

"Here in Lutsk, in Lubart's castle, I held a long meeting today on the situation in the region - security, the situation on the border, the situation in the border areas of neighboring Belarus," he said.

"The priority is to reinforce each region, our entire northern border."

Experts believe that a new attack from Belarus is not very likely but the Ukrainian leadership does not trust Minsk.

zc, jsi/jcg (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)