NATO to remove one step to Ukraine's alliance accession, Stoltenberg says
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday that the alliance has changed the requirements needed for Ukraine to join the group.
Stoltenberg said allied countries “agreed to remove the requirements for membership action,” which will change Ukraine’s membership path from a “two-step process to a one-step process.”
While he said NATO allies will invite Ukraine to join the military alliance "when conditions are met," Stoltenberg reaffirmed that the country “will become a member of NATO.”
11:30 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Biden and Erdogan are now meeting at NATO summit
US President Joe Biden meets with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are now holding a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Before going into the meeting, Biden thanked Erdogan for his leadership and diplomacy on issues that confronted NATO ahead of this summit, such as approval of Sweden's bid to the US-led alliance.
12:52 p.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell says Biden made the right call on sending cluster munitions to Ukraine
From CNN's Kristin Wilson, Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju
Sen. Mitch McConnell talks to a reporter at the US Capitol on Monday. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that President Joe Biden “made the right call” on his decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
“These munitions will improve Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian forces and compensate for shortfalls in standard artillery rounds. Despite vocal opposition from his own party, the president ultimately made the right call,” he said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “While the risk of unexploded ordinance is not zero, it is fantasy to believe that wars can be found without risk. Here’s the bottom line – it should be up to Ukraine whether to employ these effective weapons on its own soil.”
McConnell admonished members of the Senate who have criticized Biden’s decision, saying they shouldn’t let “virtue signaling get in the way of reality.”
“Ukraine’s war will not be won with yard signs or hollow promises to hold Putin accountable. It will be won with weapons. The same rules apply to future conflicts we hope to deter. Unity is important, but hard power will be decisive,” he said.
Other US senators are divided over Biden’s cluster munitions deal with Ukraine.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine reiterated his concerns over Biden's deal to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, while Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, praised it as “a step in the right direction.”
Kaine told reporters, “This is a full-fledged war, we got to help Ukraine win. I'm just worried that when the leading nation in the world sends the signal that it's okay to use these, we have good reason, other nations might think, ‘well, we have a good reason to use them too,’ and their reasons may not be as good as ours.”
Asked if Biden should change course, Kaine said that is unlikely. “I don't think that's going to happen. I mean, I've expressed my concerns and expressed them to the White House even before the decision and I do view some of the limitations they put in place are responsive to some of the concerns that some of us have raised.”
However, Rounds said, “I think it's the correct decision to make,” noting that the newer models of these weapons have fewer “duds” and that they won’t be used on civilians.
“The fact that the Russians have been using an older version of the same thing, and they've been using it in civilian areas, is different than the way that we would have the Ukrainians employ these cluster bombs. So, I think it's a step in the right direction,” said Rounds. “They'll use them outside of areas in which civilians are found. But on the battlefield, they can be very effective, again, in taking out adversaries. So, I think it's a step in the right direction.”
11:01 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Ukrainian military claims further success against Russian positions around Bakhmut
From CNN's Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych
Ukrainian servicemen fire a rocket at Russian troops near the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk region of Ukraine on Monday. Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters
Ukrainian forces report further progress around the city of Bakhmut, where they claim to have retaken some territory in recent weeks.
The Third Separate Assault Brigade said it had defeated units of the Russian 83rd Air Assault Brigade near Bakhmut and had liberated more than a kilometer of territory.
Part of the Ukrainian drive has been to win the higher ground around Bakhmut, bringing the city within their fire control.
“As a result of the offensive, an enemy platoon was completely eliminated,” the Ukranian brigade said.
The commander of Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, also posted video said to show the elimination of Russian personnel in the area.
Ukrainian officials have indicated that their goal is to trap Russian forces within the city of Bakhmut by aiming to take ground on the southern and northern flanks.
For their part, Russian sources have claimed success further east around the town of Lyman.
The Russia's defense ministry said artillery fire had taken out an M777 howitzer “in the Lyman area in the course of counter-battery operations.”
Neither side has been able to make any meaningful breakthrough along the eastern front lines in recent weeks, with small amounts of territory changing hands.
10:11 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Germany will spend 2% of economic output on defense after NATO sets new target due to Russian aggression
From CNN’s Inke Kappeler in Berlin
Germany will spend 2% of its economic output on defense as early as next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday.
Scholz said this output will be achieved through "the resources of our budget and the special assets," referring to the 100 billion euros ($109.7 billion USD) special funds he pledged for defense days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Germany will ensure that the 2% target is achieved in the future "on a permanent basis from the regular budget resources," even if the special assets have been used up, he added.
This comes after NATO members decided Friday to make the 2% now a minimum target given the ongoing threat from the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.
"It is important for us from the outset that there are security guarantees for Ukraine that can be effective after peace. And to do this we will also make the necessary arrangements that are now relevant to what we are currently providing in terms of support, but also to what is required in a peace situation," Scholz also on arrival to the NATO summit in Vilnius.
10:46 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Swedish prime minister happy with Turkey's agreement to back Sweden's NATO membership bid
From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite in London
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson arrives for a round table meeting of the North Atlantic Council during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday. Mindaugas Kulbis/AP
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday he was "very happy" with Turkey's green light to Sweden's NATO membership bid.
On Monday, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey agreed to back Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance. Previously, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had suggested Sweden could only join the alliance after his country was accepted into the European Union.
Kristersson told reporters before the start of the NATO summit in Lithuania that Sweden "has a lot to bring to the table as well."
"It’s well-known that Sweden, after 200 years of non-alignment, we seek common protection. But I also want all NATO allies to know that we also provide security, provide common security. And we are here for the long term," he said.
9:51 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
Zelensky arrives in Vilnius for NATO summit
From CNN's Tim Lister and Julia Kesaieva
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to attend the NATO summit, a presidential spokesperson confirmed.
The summit of the 31 member states is expected to agree on a path to membership of the alliance for Ukraine.
A motorcade was seen leaving the airport in Vilnius soon after a Polish government aircraft believed to be carrying Zelensky arrived.
9:06 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
White House says Ukraine joining NATO in the immediate future "isn't likely"
From CNN's DJ Judd
Ukraine still has requirements to meet before it can possibly join NATO, according to White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby.
He pushed back against comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday criticizing NATO leaders over discussions on a path to NATO membership.
“We believe that NATO is in Ukraine's future. I mean, that's something that the alliance agreed way back in 2008,” Kirby told CNN. “Now there’s some reforms — good governance, rule of law, political reforms — that Ukraine needs to work on, and we understand it's hard to work on some of those reforms when you are at war. Of course, they are at war right now. So, NATO membership in the immediate future isn't likely because that would put NATO at war with Russia.”
Still, Kirby acknowledged frustration from Zelensky, who tweeted a scathing criticism of discussions over a potential path to NATO membership at this week’s summit in Lithuania on Tuesday, writing “Uncertainty is weakness.”
“Yes, there are frustrations, there are desires to end this war quickly, all of that we understand, Kirby said. “Of course, we share many of those concerns.”
9:01 a.m. ET, July 11, 2023
France sending new longer-range missiles to Ukraine, Macron says
From CNN's Pierre Bairin in Paris and Radina Gigova in London
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the NATO summit, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
France has sent some longer-range missiles to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday, as he arrived for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“In view of the situation and the counter-offensive being led by Ukraine, I have decided to increase deliveries of arms and equipment to give the Ukrainians the capacity to strike further, while maintaining the clarity and coherence of our doctrine, i.e. enabling Ukraine to defend its territory,” Macron said earlier Tuesday.
“I think what's important for us today is to send a message of support for Ukraine, of NATO unity, and of determination that Russia cannot and must not win this war,” he added.
A few hours after Macron delivered the announcement at the NATO summit in Vilnius, a spokesperson for the Elysee Palace told CNN that some SCALP missiles — also known as "Storm Shadow" by their UK name — have already been delivered to Ukraine.
The spokesperson also confirmed to CNN that the SCALP missiles will be fired from Ukrainian aircraft.
More about the missiles: Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by French conglomerate Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. The full French name of the missiles is SCALP-EG, which in English stands for "Long Range Autonomous Cruise Missile System – General Purpose."
SCALP or Storm Shadow missiles have a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, which is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has asked for.
The Storm Shadow has the range to strike deep into Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine — a capability that British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said Kyiv has made use of since the UK provided the missiles to Ukraine in May.
What Russia says: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has condemned France's announcement, describing it as a mistake that could have consequences for Kyiv.
“From our point of view, this is an erroneous decision, fraught with consequences for the Ukrainian side, because, naturally, this will force us to take countermeasures,” the Kremlin spokesperson said.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.
