Finland’s accession to NATO on Tuesday will be a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, adding the alliance would ensure that Sweden also becomes a full-fledged member.

DIPLOMACY

• Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Finland’s accession to NATO and NATO’s move to increase its own combat-readiness increased the risk of conflict.
• China has a moral duty to contribute to the establishment of peace in Ukraine and must not support the aggressor in the war started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union’s top diplomat said on Tuesday.
• Russia’s parliament speaker said on Tuesday that Western leaders have blood on their hands for supporting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and that support has led to the creation of a “terrorist state” in Europe’s centre.
• Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, accused by the International Criminal Court alongside President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, said on Tuesday that the ICC’s allegations were false and unclear.
• The United States and the European Union are exploring ways to further reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

BATTLEFIELD

• Ukrainian defence forces destroyed 14 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched overnight, Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday, with 13 drones destroyed over the Odesa region in the country’s southwest.
• Ukraine’s eastern military command said Russian forces were “very far” from capturing Bakhmut.