zelenskyi visit finland

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy in Finland for summit of Nordic leaders

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HELSINKI (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, for a one-day Nordic summit.

Zelenskyy is expected to meet with four Nordic prime ministers who are gathering at the residency of the Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Wednesday. They will discuss their support to Ukraine.

The Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland — have largely rallied around Ukraine following Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion.

Those attending the meeting at the Finnish Presidential Palace in Helsinki are Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Jonas Gahr Støre, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Iceland’s Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Finnish President Niinistö.

Niinistö said the summit will discuss Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the Nordic countries’ continued support for Ukraine, developments in Ukraine’s relationship with the European Union and NATO and Ukraine’s peace initiative.

“There is still an urgent need for military support to ensure that the Ukrainians stand as strong as possible in the fight against Russia,” Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said in a statement. “We must help rebuild Ukraine and keep alive the hope for a normal everyday life and a just future on the other side of the war.”

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Finland to Meet Nordic Premiers

(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is on a surprise visit to Finland on Wednesday to join Nordic leaders in discussing efforts to help his country against Russian aggression.

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The visit, announced by the office of Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto, comes as Finland is scheduled to host the premiers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland to talk about current security issues, Nordic cooperation and support for Ukraine.

Zelenskiy, who has made rare foreign visits since the start of the war, is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Niinisto and the Nordic prime ministers, followed by a joint summit. The leaders’ talks will include their support for Ukraine as well as the developments in its relationship with the European Union and NATO, and “Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace,” according to a statement from the Finnish president’s office.

Since December, the Nordic nations have increased their aid to Ukraine most notably among the international donors, with Finnish pledges of new aid rising 165% and Norwegian assistance increasing 90%, according to data compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

The gathering in Helsinki follows Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last month, one of the biggest shifts in the European security landscape sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s addition extended NATO’s border with Russia by more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), doubling its eastern flank.

Finland had applied to join the alliance together with Sweden, which was left behind in the process due to objections from Turkey and Hungary, keeping it out of the 31-member bloc as the last Nordic nation. Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstrom, said in April he hopes his country will join NATO before its upcoming Vilnius summit in July.

(Updates with details from statement.)

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy arrives in Finland to meet Nordic leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Finland on Wednesday for talks with Nordic leaders on support for his country's war with Russia and on its relations with Europe, governments of the region said.

Hundreds of people gathered in central Helsinki to see Zelenskyy arrive, cheering to him as he appeared in front of the presidential palace.

The wider summit will include Niinisto as well as the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

"The theme of the summit is Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the Nordic countries' continued support for Ukraine, Ukraine's relationship with the EU and NATO, and Ukraine's initiative for a just peace," Niinisto's office said.

A spokesperson for Zelenskyy said in a statement that the Ukrainian government expected the summit to result in a joint statement.

"The meeting of the leaders of Ukraine and the five countries of Northern Europe is organized for further coordination of military assistance to our state, European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine," the spokesperson wrote.

The Ukrainian president's visit to Finland, one of only a few journeys he has made abroad since Russia's invasion last year, was announced only after his arrival amid tight security in the Finnish capital.

Finland recently joined NATO, becoming its 31st member, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a long border with Russia.

The Kremlin said on April 4 Finland's accession to NATO was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken security in the wider region and force Moscow to take counter-measures.

Echoing this view, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on Wednesday: "As we observe NATO's plans for Finland, we confirm that Russia will be forced to retaliate, both militarily and otherwise, in order to curb threats to our national security."

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy in Finland to meet with Nordic leaders

The ukrainian president's visit to finland, one of only a few journeys he has made abroad since russia's invasion last year, was announced only after his arrival amid tight security arrangements in the finnish capital..

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Finland on Wednesday for talks with Nordic leaders on his country’s war with Russia and its relations with Europe, governments of the region said.

Zelenskiy will hold bilateral talks with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto followed by a news conference before joining a regional summit and a second meeting with media, Niinisto’s office said in a statement.

The wider summit will include Niinisto as well as the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. “The theme of the summit is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine , the Nordic countries’ continued support for Ukraine, Ukraine’s relationship with the EU and NATO , and Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace,” Niinisto’s office said.

The Ukrainian president’s visit to Finland, one of only a few journeys he has made abroad since Russia’s invasion last year, was announced only after his arrival amid tight security arrangements in the Finnish capital.

Finland recently joined NATO, becoming its 31st member, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finland shares a long border with Russia.

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Nordic nations vow to back Ukraine 'as long as it takes' during Zelenskiy visit

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Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, Terje Solsvik, Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Max Hunder, writing by Olena Harmash, editing by Alexandra Hudson and Gareth Jones

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Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy replaces special operations chief for second time in six months – as it happened

Move comes after deputy prime minister and agriculture minister dismissed by government

• 3d ago Closing summary
• 4d ago Zelenskiy replaces special operations chief for second time in six months
• 4d ago Ukraine says attack drone flew 'record' 1,500km
• 4d ago Cameron: UK must have the 'courage to act'
• 4d ago Afternoon summary
• 4d ago Western military trainers could go to Ukraine, Lithuania minister says
• 4d ago Ukraine agriculture minister Mykola Solsky dismissed by parliament
• 4d ago David Cameron: west has not learned lesson of Ukraine and must get tougher
• 4d ago Putin accuses 'arrogant' west of risking global conflict and says forces are at 'combat readiness'
• 4d ago Ukraine parliament votes to dismiss deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov
• 4d ago Ukraine air attack on Belgorod injures eight, governor says
• 4d ago Russia to mark second world war Victory Day as relations with west spiral towards crisis

Zelenskiy replaces special operations chief for second time in six months

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the commander of his special forces on Thursday, the second time in half a year that he has changed the head of the unit which operates in Moscow-occupied territories.

The dismissal of colonel Serhiy Lupanchuk and appointment of brigadier general Oleksandr Trepak in his place was announced in two decrees on the president’s website that provided no explanation for the move, Reuters reported.

Since 2014, Trepak has been actively participating in defence operations in east Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists. He was engaged in leading the push to repel the Russian assault on Donetsk airport, one of the biggest operations back then.

The Ukrainian military’s chain of command has been changed at different levels since February when Zelenskiy replaced his top commander, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, with then-ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi in a major shake up.

At the time, Zelenskiy said a new military leadership was taking control of the armed forces and promised to “reboot” the system by bringing in experienced commanders who understood the daily needs of the troops.

Closing summary

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the commander of his special forces on Thursday, the second time in half a year that he has changed the head of the unit which operates in Moscow-occupied territories. The dismissal of colonel Serhiy Lupanchuk and appointment of brigadier general Oleksandr Trepak in his place was announced in two decrees on the president’s website that provided no explanation for the move, Reuters reported.

The West needs to undermine and expose “the malign networks that Russia uses to spread its lies,” according to Britain’s foreign secretary, David Cameron. In his first major speech since taking up the role, he said over the last five years Britain had invested in that project by backing free media and supporting independent journalism in places like Georgia and Moldova, “where Russia seeks to bully and manipulate politics.”

A Ukrainian attack drone struck a Russian oil processing plant in the Bashkiria region on Thursday after flying a “record” distance of 1,500 km (932.06 miles) in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Kyiv intelligence source told Reuters. The drone hit a catalytic cracking unit at the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil processing, petrochemical and fertiliser complex, the source said. Russia confirmed the fact of damage at the plant earlier, but said the facility was functioning as usual.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Ukraine could stop Russian forces advancing in the east if allied countries increased the supply of arms. The Ukrainian leader made the comments at a joint news conference in Kyiv with the European Parliament’s visiting president Roberta Metsola, more than two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russian and Belarus’ forces had started joint preparations for tactical nuclear weapons drills , Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday appointed former army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who led Ukraine’s defence in the first two years of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, as Kyiv’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. The decree was published on the presidential website. Zaluzhnyi was earlier named a “Hero of Ukraine”, Reuters reported. Ukraine has not had an ambassador in London since Zelenskiy dismissed former envoy Vadym Prystaiko in July 2023 after he publicly criticised the president.

Russia president Vladimir Putin has accused the West of risking a global conflict and said no one would be allowed to threaten the world’s biggest nuclear power as Russia marked the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. As Russian troops advance against Ukraine’s Western-backed forces, Putin accused “arrogant” Western elites of forgetting the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany, and of stoking conflicts across the world, Reuters reported.

A Ukrainian air attack on Russia’s Belgorod region injured eight people and damaged scores of residential buildings and cars, the governor of the region bordering with Ukraine said on Thursday. Among the wounded is an 11-year-old girl who was taken to a hospital, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor said on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters reported. About 34 flats in 19 apartment buildings were damaged, as well as three dozen cars in the city of Belgorod, the region’s administrative centre, Gladkov added.

Drones launched by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck two oil depots near the town of Anapa in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region causing large-scale fires, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters on Thursday. The source said the oil depots were used as transshipment points to supply fuel to Russian troops in the nearby occupied peninsula of Crimea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s parliament has voted to dismiss deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, a key government figure who has overseen the wartime reconstruction effort and championed efforts to set up a vital Black Sea shipping lane, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram. The 41-year-old’s dismissal comes amid plans to break up his powerful ministry into two separate government portfolios.

Ukraine’s parliament has dismissed agriculture minister Mykola Solsky who tendered his resignation in late April as he faces an investigation into alleged involvement in illegal acquisition of state-owned land, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram. Solsky, 44, has denied the allegations, Reuters reported.

Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed 17 out of 20 attack drones that Russia launched targeting Ukraine’s territory, Ukraine’s air force said. The drones were destroyed over the Odesa region in Ukraine’s south, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

Lithuania’s foreign minister has raised the prospect of an ad hoc coalition of western countries sending military training personnel into Ukraine backed by ground-based air defence, days after Russia took an increasingly strident tone against what it sees as the threat of deeper western involvement in the war. Speaking to the Guardian after meeting his British counterpart, David Cameron, in London, Gabrielius Landsbergis also backed the British foreign secretary for saying that Ukraine could use British-made weapons against Russia; remarks that alongside Emmanuel Macron refusing to rule out western troops in Ukraine prompted the Kremlin to threaten UK assets and order a tactical nuclear training exercise.

Ukraine plans to double electricity imports on Thursday after a powerful Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system, the energy ministry said. The imports are expected to rise to 16,699 megawatt hours (Mwh) versus 7,600 Mwh on Wednesday, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters reported. “Today, at Ukraine’s request, emergency electricity supplies have already been made from Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” the ministry said.

South Korea’s position remains it will not supply lethal weapons to any country, president Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday, when asked if Seoul was prepared to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia. Yoon also said his government intended to continue managing relations with Moscow to “pursue economic cooperation and mutual benefits” even though the two countries’ ties have become “uncomfortable” since the start of the war in Ukraine.

That’s it from the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Ukraine could stop Russian forces advancing in the east if allied countries increased the supply of arms.

The Ukrainian leader made the comments at a joint news conference in Kyiv with the European Parliament’s visiting president Roberta Metsola, more than two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russia has been making small but steady territorial gains in the east of the country since the start of the year, with Ukraine’s forces depleted and weapons and ammunition running perilously low.

“We are putting maximum pressure on our partners to increase weapon deliveries,” Zelenskiy said at an open air briefing in the centre of the capital.

“If the delivery of weapons is increased, we will be able to stop (Russian forces) in the east, where they have the initiative.”

As he spoke, air raid sirens started to blare, a reminder of the threat of Russian missile and drone attacks which have intensified across the country, causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday appointed former army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who led Ukraine’s defence in the first two years of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, as Kyiv’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The decree was published on the presidential website. Zaluzhnyi was earlier named a “Hero of Ukraine”, Reuters reported.

Ukraine has not had an ambassador in London since Zelenskiy dismissed former envoy Vadym Prystaiko in July 2023 after he publicly criticised the president.

Zaluzhnyi is very popular among many Ukrainians for leading the army in the first hours of Russia’s invasion and for planning a counteroffensive that helped liberate significant swathes of territory seized by Moscow.

Ukraine says attack drone flew 'record' 1,500km

A Ukrainian attack drone struck a Russian oil processing plant in the Bashkiria region on Thursday after flying a “record” distance of 1,500 km (932.06 miles) in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Kyiv intelligence source told Reuters.

The drone hit a catalytic cracking unit at the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil processing, petrochemical and fertiliser complex, the source said. Russia confirmed the fact of damage at the plant earlier, but said the facility was functioning as usual.

More images and reports are coming in from Russia’s events to mark victory in the Second World War.

Although the US and UK ambassadors did not attend, AP reports that Vladimir Putin was joined by other dignitaries and presidents of several former Soviet nations along with a few other Moscow allies, including the leaders of Cuba, Guinea-Bissau and Laos.

Many observers see Putin’s focus on World War II as part of his efforts to revive the USSR’s clout and prestige and his reliance on Soviet practices, AP adds. “It’s the continuous self-identification with the USSR as the victor of Nazism and the lack of any other strong legitimacy that forced the Kremlin to declare ‘denazification’ as the goal of the war,” Nikolay Epplee said in a commentary for Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Cameron said Britain had imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and was continuing to call on allies to maintain military support for Ukraine .

“To persuade we need to be active,” he added, referring to trips he had recently undertaken to central Asia, saying that potential partners all over the world needed to be told they could be helped to make a choice to “be more open, more independent”

Cameron also announced a new £1m programme for the British Council to teach English to Ukrainian civil servants, saying that Britain should also not hold back on championing the language around the world.

Some reaction and analysis is coming through from those who eager to pick up on policy nuances from the speech, which happened to go ahed with some embarrassing technical glitche s.

Lord Cameron explicitly linking foreign, immigration, and economic policy in his speech this morning - the whole country needs to share in the benefits of globalisation, foreign policy is about prosperity too pic.twitter.com/drfXjpCy5z — Olivia O'Sullivan (@LivJOSullivan) May 9, 2024

Cameron himself had also tweeted a ‘speed version’ of the speech

Cameron was one of the biggest champions behind overthrowing Gaddafi in Libya, resulting in it becoming a failed state. David Cameron’s foreign policy single handily led to a country reinstating slavery and more than 4 million refugees pouring into Europe. Shut up David. https://t.co/bTdSU4HfbT — Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) May 9, 2024

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Ukraine Says It Foiled Russian Plot to Kill Zelensky

The Ukrainian security services arrested two Ukrainian colonels and accused them of spying for Russia. They said the plot also targeted top Ukrainian intelligence officials.

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By Constant Méheut and Maria Varenikova

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukraine’s security services said on Tuesday that they had foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top military and political figures. Two Ukrainian colonels accused of participating in the plot have been arrested on suspicion of treason.

The Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency, the S.B.U., said in a statement that the plot had involved a network of agents — including the two colonels — that was run by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., the main successor to the K.G.B. According to the S.B.U., the agents working at Russia’s direction were tasked with identifying people close to Mr. Zelensky’s security detail who could take him hostage and later kill him.

The agency’s statement said the other top Ukrainian officials targeted in the plot included Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the S.B.U., and Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. The Ukrainian claims could not be independently verified.

It is not the first time that Ukraine has reported a potential assassination attempt aimed at its top leaders. Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with an Italian television channel earlier this year that his security services had told him of more than 10 such efforts.

Ukraine’s security services offered few details about previous assassination plots. But this time, the agency went to some length in its statement to describe how the Ukrainian officials were to be killed.

The services said the two colonels accused in the plot belonged to the State Security Administration, which protects top officials. They had been recruited before the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the statement, which identified three F.S.B. members — Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin and Oleksiy Kornev — as running the operation from Moscow. The two Ukrainian colonels were not named.

In a video released by the security services , a man identified as one of the colonels, his face blurred, describes details of the apparent plot that involved blocking Mr. Zelensky as he entered or left a building. The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed.

As for the assassination attempt aimed at General Budanov, the services said it was planned to take place before Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated on May 5. The F.S.B.’s network of agents in Ukraine was tasked with observing and passing on information about General Budanov’s whereabouts, the Ukrainian security services said.

Once his location had been confirmed and communicated, he would have been targeted in a multilayered attack involving a rocket strike, followed by a drone attack to kill people who were fleeing and then a second rocket strike, the security services said.

Weapons for the attack were provided to one of the colonels, including attack drones, ammunition for a rocket launcher and anti-personnel mines, according to the security services and Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The colonel was to pass the weapons to other agents to carry out the assault, the Ukrainian statement said.

Russia made no immediate comment about the Tuesday accusations.

The apparent assassination plot is just the latest in a series of attempted or successful attacks on Ukrainian figures.

General Budanov’s wife was poisoned late last year , according to the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, in an incident that led to widespread speculation that Russia was stepping up efforts to target Ukraine’s senior leadership. General Budanov said in February that it was difficult to say if the poisoning was an attempt to murder him, but he hinted that Russia was behind it.

Mr. Zelensky has also been the target of numerous assassination attempts, according to Ukraine’s security services. As recently as last month, the S.B.U. reported that it had arrested, in cooperation with Polish security services, a Polish man who it said had offered to spy for Russia as part of a plot to assassinate Mr. Zelensky.

Ukraine is also believed to have been involved in the killing of several pro-Kremlin voices in Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies believe that parts of the Ukrainian government authorized a car bombing that in 2022 killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist. And in December, a former Ukrainian lawmaker living near Moscow was assassinated by Ukrainian security service agents, according to a report by The Financial Times that cited two Ukrainian officials with direct knowledge of the incident.

Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people. More about Constant Méheut

Maria Varenikova covers Ukraine and its war with Russia. More about Maria Varenikova

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Ukraine arrests two officials for treason over alleged russian plot to kill zelensky.

Ukraine has detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky, which Kyiv’s state security service (SBU) said it foiled.

Two colonels in Ukraine’s government protection unit were accused of carrying out “subversive activities against Ukraine in exchange for financial compensation,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said Tuesday.

Both colonels were charged with treason; one was also charged with preparing a terrorist act.

The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

The SBU said it had “foiled” the “actively developing plans” to assassinate Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials, including the head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, and the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov.

“One of the tasks of the FSB’s agent network was to find perpetrators among the military close to the President’s security who could take the Head of State hostage and then kill him,” the SBU said.

Zelensky has reportedly faced several attempts on his life since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A woman from the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv was arrested in August 2023 in connection to a plot to assassinate Zelensky. She was accused of gathering intelligence about Zelensky’s planned visit to Mykolaiv in order to plan a Russian airstrike to kill him. The SBU said it caught the woman “red-handed” as she tried “to pass intelligence to the invaders.”

In April, a Polish man was accused of assisting another alleged Russian assassination plot against Zelensky. He was charged with “readiness to act for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland,” an offense which carries up to eight years in prison.

Prosecutors said the man agreed to provide information to Russian spies about security at Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, which Zelensky is known to use when leaving on foreign trips. The plot was uncovered by Ukrainian authorities and the man was later detained and charged in Poland.

Aside from assassination plots, Zelensky has experienced a number of close shaves during his many visits to the front lines and cities under Russian bombardment.

During a visit to the coastal city of Odesa in March, a Russian missile exploded close to a convoy carrying Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The group felt the impact of the strike, which landed around 500 meters away from the convoy, and saw a “mushroom cloud” of smoke. Five people were killed in the strike, although neither Zelensky nor Mitsotakis were injured.

This story has been updated.

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