NATO calls for Sweden, Finland, and Baltic joint exercises
Ukraine “Azoustal Survive On Your Own” Mariupol Relinquished
photo = AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to conditionally allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Russia, which waged war on the pretext of preventing NATO’s eastward movement, such as Ukraine’s attempt to join NATO, is analyzed to have helped NATO expand its power as a result. The Ukrainian army, which is fighting against Russia’s invasion of its territory, has decided to abandon the strategically important Mariupol.
○Putin: Sweden and Finland do not care about joining NATO
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 16th (local time), Putin said that “the expansion of NATO poses no direct threat to Russia” and that “There is no problem with Finland or Sweden joining NATO.” He didn’t forget the warning. “However, if NATO establishes military bases or deploys military equipment in both countries, it can be viewed as a threat and can be countered,” Putin said.
Putin also expressed dissatisfaction with NATO. “It all starts with the fact that NATO acts purely in the interests of the United States,” he said. problem,” he criticized.
Prior to Putin’s remarks on the same day, Sweden officially announced its application for NATO membership. The Swedish government announced that it would rush to join NATO, saying, “Until we become NATO members, our security will inevitably be in a weak state.” Sweden and Finland plan to submit applications for NATO membership as early as the end of this week. It is expected to take up to a year to complete the registration. In the future accession process, Turkey, which has publicly expressed its objection to the two countries’ accession, must also negotiate with Turkey to meet some of the requirements.
NATO members Norway and Denmark welcomed that they would provide assistance if “Sweden and Finland are invaded before becoming full NATO members.” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Storre said the two countries’ decision to join will serve as a monumental role for the cooperation between the Nordic countries. Britain has also promised to provide assistance if Finland and Sweden are invaded. Britain has also announced military assistance, especially.
On the same day, NATO called from the Baltic Sea near the Russian border to Sweden and Finland to begin large-scale military exercises. Although the two countries are not yet official member states, they have participated as partners. This exercise is the largest NATO exercise held in the Baltic region since 1991.
photo = EPA
○Ukraine “Abandonment of Mariupol”
The Ukrainian operational staff announced on the same day that the military operation in the southern port city of Mariupol would end. In effect, it is a declaration of a white flag to give up the defense of Mariupol. At the Azoustal Works in Mariupol, the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade and the Azou Regiment are fighting a decisive battle against Russian forces.
The Ukrainian military’s declaration of the end of the mission came after 264 soldiers fighting in Azoustal were transferred to a medical facility in the pro-Russian government of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a region controlled by the Russian army. Mariupol is a strategic point connecting the Crimean Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014 with the eastern Donbas region, and has been a target for Russian troops from the beginning of the invasion.
As the war prolongs, the procession of global companies from Russia is also following. French automaker Renault has transferred 100% of its stake in Renault Russia, an automobile plant in Moscow, Russia to the Moscow municipality. It also sold 68% of its stake in Avtovas, a Russian automaker, to the Russian state-owned Automobile Development Institute. Earlier, McDonald’s announced that it was looking for a business to acquire all 850 local stores in Russia that had been temporarily suspended after the opening of the war.
The Russian ruble stood at 66.05 against the euro, the highest in five years. The ruble per dollar also surged. In the foreign exchange market, it closed at 64 rubles per dollar after soaring to the level of 62 rubles per dollar at one point during the day. Reuters reported, “Although various sanctions from the West are pouring in against Russia that has caused war, the Russian authorities are artificially controlling capital to protect their own financial institutions, ironically making the ruble the most valuable currency this year. There is,” he reported.
Reporter Kim Rian knra@hankyung.com
