May 16, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Mykola Kulichenko struggles to recount a tale he shouldn’t be alive to tell. But this Ukrainian man believes he was allowed to cheat death so he might speak for all those who cannot.

By the side of a remote road in the northern Chernihiv region of Ukraine, Mykola shows the unmarked grave in which he and his two brothers were buried three-and-a-half weeks after the war began, in land seized by Russian forces. All three had been shot; he was the only one to survive.

“It’s like being resurrected,” Mykola, 33, told CNN.

Read the full story:

Ukraine brother survives shooting

Related article He says he was tortured by Russian soldiers, shot in the face and buried alive. This is one Ukrainian man's tale of survival

In this file photo from April 22, 2016, a worker transports boxes of?therapeutic?food?to be distributed to the malnourished population inside the UNICEF warehouse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Up to 600,000 additional children worldwide could be left without access to life-saving treatment?for severe acute malnutrition due to the rising costs of raw ingredients in part due to increasing fuel prices and the Ukraine war, the United Nations Children’s Fund has warned.

In a news release Sunday, UNICEF said the price of ready-to-use therapeutic food is projected to rise up to 16% over the next six months due to the higher cost of raw ingredients.?Other factors, including pandemic supply chain disruptions and drought, have added to the rising prices, according to the release.

The ready-to-use therapeutic food, known as RUTF, is an energy dense paste made of peanuts, sugar, oil and milk powder. Russia and Ukraine are key agricultural producers and exporters, but the war in Ukraine is blocking supply lines.

UNICEF estimates at least 10 million children affected by severe wasting don’t have access to RUTF.

A wounded service member of Ukrainian forces from the besieged?Azovstal?steel mill in Mariupol is transported on a stretcher out of a bus, which arrived under escort of the pro-Russian militart in Novoazovsk, Ukraine, on Monday, May 16.

It is early morning in Kyiv and a Ukrainian military base not far from the Poland border was targeted in a Russian missile attack.

If you’re just reading in, here’s what you need to know about the latest actions in the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian military base targeted: A Ukrainian military base about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Poland was targeted in a Russian missile attack early Tuesday morning, according to information from Maksym Kozytsky, the head of the Lviv regional military administration. Kozytsky gave no further details in a late-night Telegram post, saying only that further information would be released in the morning.??

Combat mission fulfilled: Ukrainian forces said they have fulfilled their “combat mission” in the besieged city of Mariupol, in a new statement. “The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the statement. “The Supreme Military Command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of their personnel,” the statement read.

The latest on the Azovstal steel plant: More than 260 people have been rescued from the besieged Azovstal plant — including 53 seriously wounded, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said. She said that “53 seriously injured people were evacuated from Azovstal to a medical facility in Novoazovsk [in territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic] for medical care.” “Another 211 people were taken to Olenivka through the humanitarian corridor.?An exchange procedure will be carried out to return them home.”

Sweden and Finland announce efforts to join NATO: The Swedish government said on its website that it has decided to apply for NATO membership. Earlier Monday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Sweden should join NATO together?with neighboring Finland?to “ensure the safety of Swedish people.” Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that he would not approve Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership if they sanction Turkey.?And Russian President Vladimir Putin said Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO will not create a threat to Russia, but the “expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly cause our response.” US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said on Monday that there’s “strong bipartisan support” in the US to help Finland become a member of NATO and that he thinks the US Congress will vote “as rapidly as possible” — likely before the chamber’s August recess —?to support Finland’s application to join the alliance.?

Russian oil ban and sanctions: European Union leaders were unsuccessful?in reaching unanimity on banning Russian oil?during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers, Josep Borrell, high representative of the?EU?for foreign affairs and security policy, said Monday.?Borrell said?“unhappily” it was not possible to reach an agreement on a sixth sanctions package against Russia, telling reporters that “we?are with the same difficulties?about unanimity on the oil ban.” The EU has proposed banning all oil imports from Russia by the end of this year and removing the country’s biggest bank, Sberbank, from the SWIFT international payments network.

EU cuts growth forecasts and raises inflation outlook as impact of Ukraine war continues: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cause European growth to slow and inflation to rise at a faster than expected rate, according to the latest EU Commission economic forecasts. It says that the war has caused commodity prices to rise, disrupted supply chains and increased uncertainty. The EU predicts that eurozone GDP will increase by 2.7% this year and 2.3% in 2023. That compares to previous forecasts of 4% and 2.8%. The EU Commission also says inflation in the eurozone is projected to increase to 6.1% in 2022. It is then predicting the rate to drop off sharply to 2.7% in 2023. In its winter forecasts, the EU was forecasting inflation of 3.5% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2023.

A Ukrainian military base about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Poland was targeted in a Russian missile attack early Tuesday morning, according to information from Maksym Kozytsky, the head of the Lviv regional military administration.

Kozytsky gave no further details in a late-night Telegram post, saying only that further information would be released in the morning.??

A series of explosions were heard in central Lviv around 12:45 a.m. local time (5:45 p.m. ET), shortly after air raid sirens had sounded in the city. A member of CNN’s team in the city saw air defenses lighting up to the northwest — in the direction of the Yavoriv military facility about forty kilometers away.

In his first Telegram statement shortly after the all-clear sounded at 1:15 a.m. local time (6:15 p.m. ET), Kozytsky said only that air defense systems had responded to the attack. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, in a post on his Facebook page, said he could not confirm any information about possible missile strikes in Lviv itself.?

Yavoriv has been targeted at least three times since the start of the war. In the first attack on March 13, more than 30 people were killed.?

Sites in Lviv have also been hit in Russian missiles strikes, including an aircraft parts plant, a fuel depot and several electrical substations.

Buses carrying service members of Ukrainian forces from the besieged Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, which arrived under escort of the pro-Russian military in Novoazovsk, Ukraine on Monday, May 16

Ukrainian forces said they have ended their “combat mission” in the besieged city of Mariupol, in a new statement.

“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the statement.

“The Supreme Military Command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of their personnel,” the statement read.

A wounded service member of Ukrainian forces from the besieged Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol is transported on a stretcher out of a bus, in Novoazovsk, on May 16.

“By concentrating the main forces of the enemy around Mariupol, we had the opportunity to prepare and create defensive lines, where our troops stand ready today to repel the aggressor. It provided us critical time to form reserves, regroup forces, and receive assistance from partners,” the statement continued.

“The most important common task of all Ukraine and the whole world is to save the lives of the defenders of Mariupol. We will fight for you on all fronts as faithfully as you defend the state! #stoprussia,” the statement concluded.

In an earlier video, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister?Hanna Malyar made it clear that some defenders remain at the Azovstal steel plant.

A convoy of pro-Russian troops, which had escorted the buses with evacuated Ukranian service members of Ukrainian forces from the besieged Azovstal steel mill, drives away in Mariupol, Ukraine on May 16.

A series of explosions were heard in central Lviv around 12:45 a.m. local time (5:45 p.m. ET) Tuesday shortly after air raid sirens had sounded in the city.?

One member of CNN’s team in Lviv heard an explosion to the north of the city center.??

Another member of the CNN team saw air defenses lighting up to the northwest of the city; an eyewitness living in the same direction, about 30 kilometers away (18 miles) from the city, told CNN explosions could be heard there.?

The all-clear sounded at 1:15 a.m. local time (6:15 p.m. ET).?

In a short statement on his Telegram channel, Maksym Kozytsky, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said air defense systems had responded to the attack but gave no information about any sites hit.?

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, in a post on his Facebook page, said he could not confirm any information about possible missile strikes in the city. He paid tribute to military personnel operating air defense systems and said further details of the attack would be released in the morning.?

Lviv and the surrounding area has been hit at least seven times since the start of the war.?

In the first such attack on March 13, a large military base at Yavoriv, northwest of Lviv, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Poland, was hit, killing more than 30.?

An aircraft parts plant, a fuel depot and several electrical substations are among other targets hit by Russian missiles in Lviv in recent weeks.?

Buses carrying service members of Ukrainian forces from the besieged?Azovstal?steel mill drive away under escort of the pro-Russian military in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine, Monday, May 16.

More than 260 people have been rescued from the besieged Azovstal plant — including 53 seriously wounded, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said.

In a video statement issued late Monday,?Malyar said that together, the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Service launched an operation to rescue defenders of Mariupol blocked on the territory of the Azovstal plant.

She said that “53 seriously injured people were evacuated from Azovstal to a medical facility in Novoazovsk [in territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic] for medical care.”

“Another 211 people were taken to Olenivka through the humanitarian corridor.?An exchange procedure will be carried out to return them home.”

Olenivka is a town near Donetsk on the front lines of the current fighting, but in Russian-occupied territory.?

Malyar made it clear that some defenders remain at Azovstal.

She added,?“Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, we have gained critical time to form reserves, regroup forces and receive assistance from partners. The defenders of Mariupol fulfilled all the tasks set by the command in full.”

“Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to unblock Azovstal by military means. The most important common task of all Ukraine and the whole world is to save the lives of the defenders of Mariupol,” Malyar said.

A short time after Malyar’s statement was released, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the situation at Azovstal, and also implied that some Ukrainians remained inside the plant.?

“Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military — the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, the negotiating team, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, we hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys.”

“The work continues to bring the boys home, and this work needs delicacy. And time.”

The Azovstal?Iron and Steel Works in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 15.

The Russian Defense Ministry says the evacuation?of wounded Ukrainian forces from the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol has begun.

Russian network RT has shown video of about 10 to 12 buses leaving the plant. The buses appear to be a mixture of hospital and ordinary transport — some are marked with a red cross.

Media outlets in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic showed at least one wounded fighter on a stretcher arriving at a hospital in the region late Monday. The fighter did not speak and there was no way to confirm his identity.

“On May 16th, as a result of negotiations with representatives of Ukrainian servicemen blocked on the territory of the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant in Mariupol, an agreement was reached on the removal of the wounded,” the ministry said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

“Currently, a ceasefire regime has been established in the area of ??the enterprise and a humanitarian corridor has been opened, through which wounded Ukrainian servicemen are being delivered to a medical facility in Novoazovsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, to provide them with all the necessary assistance,” the statement continues.

Novoazovsk is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Mariupol.

In a brief statement late Monday, the Azov regiment — one of the Ukrainian army’s units in Mariupol —?announced that: “In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people.”

“The defenders of Mariupol fulfilled the order, despite all the difficulties, and distracted the overwhelming forces of the enemy for 82 days,” it continued.

It did not provide any further details.

CNN’s Taras Zadorozhnyy contributed reporting to this post

Josep Borrell, high representative of the?EU?for foreign affairs and security policy

European Union leaders were unsuccessful?in reaching unanimity on banning Russian oil?during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers, Josep Borrell, high representative of the?EU?for foreign affairs and security policy, said Monday.?

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Borrell said?“unhappily” it was not possible to reach an agreement on a sixth sanctions package against Russia, telling reporters that “we?are with the same difficulties?about unanimity on the oil ban.”

The EU has proposed banning all oil imports from Russia by the end of this year and removing the country’s biggest bank, Sberbank, from the SWIFT international payments network.

On Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Hungary will only vote for EU sanctions on Russian oil if the bloc comes up with solutions to the problems it would create.

Borrell told reporters that the day’s discussion had clarified some issues about the difficulties Hungary is facing.

“It was not even in the agenda to try to get an agreement today, because we knew it was not possible,” Borrell said.

“But we had a very constructive discussion about the reasons why some member states are reluctant — not only about oil ban but other elements of the sanctions package,” he continued.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a welcoming ceremony for his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, May 16.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he would not approve Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership if they sanction Turkey.?

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, Erdogan said Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Turkey to try to convince Turkey to approve the country’s NATO membership.?

Turkey’s foreign minister held “some” meetings with Swedish and Finnish counterparts, Erdogan said, adding that none of the two countries had a clear stance against terror organizations.

“Even if they say ‘we are against them,’ on the contrary they have statements saying that they do not hand over the terrorists that they need to hand over to Turkey,” he said.?

He added that Sweden is a “nest” for terror organizations, saying it allows terrorists to speak in parliaments.?

“They have special invitations to terrorists. They even have pro PKK MPs in their parliaments. How are we going to trust them?”

Erdogan reiterated the same stance last week when he told a news conference in Istanbul that he was not looking at the prospect of Finland and Sweden joining NATO “positively,” accusing both countries of housing Kurdish “terrorist organizations.”

The PKK, or Kurdistan Worker’s Party, which seeks an independent state in Turkey, has been in an armed struggle with Turkey for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have endorsed Sweden and Finland’s plans to seek membership in NATO.

In a joint statement released on Monday, the foreign ministers called the decisions “historic” and said that they will “do what it takes to assist both countries.”?

The ministers added that Sweden and Finland’s membership “will also greatly increase the security of the Baltic Sea region”, as well as “open new perspectives for Nordic-Baltic and other regional cooperation formats in defense and security matters.”

“We are committing ourselves to promote speedy ratification of the accession protocols once they are signed,” the joint statement adds.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Finland's President Sauli Niinist? speak to the press after their meeting in Helsinki on Monday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said on Monday that there’s “strong bipartisan support” in the US to help Finland become a member of NATO and that he thinks the US Congress will vote “as rapidly as possible” — likely before the chamber’s August recess —?to support Finland’s application to join the alliance.?

He added: “The goal of the United States will be able will be to approve that as rapidly as possible.”?

Two-thirds of the Senate is required to support the treaty in order for it to be ratified. McConnell said he expects the size of the vote in the chamber to be “very significant.”

When asked when Congress would vote, the Kentucky Republican said: “I think certainly we hope to achieve it before the August recess when Congress typically goes out of session. Obviously, that would be well before the fall election. With regard to the size of the vote, I think it will be very significant, not unanimous, but very significant.”

McConnell also said on Monday that Republicans are “absolutely” committed to NATO, when asked about reports that former President Trump has expressed wanting to pull the US out of NATO and whether the GOP still strongly support the alliance.

“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s not the majority view in the Republican party. Certainly not the majority view amongst Senate Republicans or House Republicans.”

McConnell led a US congressional delegation to Ukraine over the weekend and met with Ukrainian President?Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv Saturday. McConnell was joined on the unannounced trip by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Barrasso of Wyoming and John Cornyn of Texas.

McConnell and the other senators became the latest US officials to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded the eastern European nation in late February.

Russian forces fired long-range missiles over the last 24 hours that appeared to be targeting the Yavoriv military training facility near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, a senior US defense official said Monday.

The official said there was “minimal damage” as a result of the strikes.

“I don’t have perfect visibility on those strikes. They do appear to have been targeted at that training facility and again, what we what we can see from our perspective is minor damage to a few buildings,” the official said.

The leaders of Denmark, Iceland and Norway have welcomed Finland and Sweden’s decision to apply for membership of NATO.?

“We strongly welcome Finland and Sweden’s decisions to apply for NATO membership,”?the three nations said in a joint statement.

More context: On Monday, the Swedish government announced its decision to apply for NATO membership after determining that membership “is?the best way to protect Sweden’s security in light of the fundamentally changed security environment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Last week, Finnish President?Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin?said Finland must apply for membership “without delay” and will complete the steps it needs to on the national level “in the next couple of days.”

The three nations stressed Monday that Finnish and Swedish security are “a matter of common concern to us all.”??

“Should Finland or Sweden be victim of aggression on their territory before obtaining NATO membership, we will assist Finland and Sweden by all means necessary,” the three nations pledged.?

They also vowed to do their?“utmost to ensure a swift accession process, as Finland and Sweden already live up to the relevant criteria for NATO membership.”

Norwegian Prime Minister?Jonas Gahr St?re?pledged in a separate statement to “further develop our Nordic defense cooperation.”??

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson gives a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 16.

The Swedish government has said on its website that it has decided to apply for NATO membership.

The statement said the decision is based on a “security analysis” that the government invited “other Riksdag (parliament) parties to take part in.” Its conclusions were presented in a report on May 13.

Earlier Monday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Sweden should join NATO together with neighboring Finland to “ensure the safety of Swedish people.”

When asked when exactly the country will hand in the application, she said it could it happen this week — either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. She added that it needs to be done in coordination with Finland.

President of the European Council Charles Michel commended Sweden and the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, on deciding to join NATO, calling it a “decision for the benefit of collective security and defense.”

“EU contribution to NATO deterrence is increasingly invaluable,” he added.

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, right, and the Moderate Party's leader Ulf Kristersson address a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 16.

Sweden should join NATO together with neighboring Finland to “ensure the safety of Swedish people,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Monday.?

Speaking during a joint news conference alongside Swedish opposition leader?Ulf Kristersson?in Stockholm Monday, Andersson emphasized that the current situation is “requiring” Sweden to join the military alliance.?

Andersson said the Swedish government had decided to apply to become a member of NATO.?

When asked when exactly the country will hand in the application, she said it could it happen this week — either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. She added that it needs to be done in coordination with Finland.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 16.

President Vladimir Putin said Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO will not create a threat to Russia, but the “expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly cause our response.”

“As for the expansion of NATO, including through new members of the alliance which are Finland, Sweden — Russia has no problems with these states. Therefore, in this sense, expansion at the expense of these countries does not pose a direct threat to Russia,” Putin said while speaking?at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Moscow on Monday.?

According to the Russian leader, the NATO expansion is “artificial” as the alliance goes beyond its geographic purpose and is influencing other regions “not in the best way.”

The Russian president said that CSTO plays a very important stabilizing role in the post-Soviet space and expressed the hope that the possibilities and influence of the organization will only increase in “these difficult times.”

“I hope that the organization, which over the previous years has turned into a full-fledged international structure, will continue to develop. I mean, in these difficult times,” Putin said.?

According to Putin, the leaders of the CSTO member countries on Monday will adopt a joint statement on military cooperation.

Putin added that he will inform the heads of states of the CSTO in detail about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine in the closed part of the summit.

Member states of the CSTO intend to hold a series of joint exercises this autumn, which will take place in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Putin said.

Meanwhile, the?Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday, hours after Sweden formally submitted its bid to join NATO, that Russia “will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop the threats to its national security arising in this regard.”

Russia?has vehemently opposed Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. The statement further added, “Sweden’s entry into NATO will cause significant damage to the security of Northern Europe and the European continent as a whole.”

“NATO membership will not increase the level of Sweden’s security, if only because no one threatens the country, but it will certainly lead to the loss of sovereignty in making foreign policy decisions,” the statement continued.

The Scandinavian country has previously remained neutral and avoided conflict but by if it joins NATO, it will agree to take arms if need be to support other NATO members.

CNN’s Aliza Kassim and Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.

Swedish Defense Minister?Peter Hultqvist?will travel to the United States Monday to meet with his US counterpart, US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin.

According to a statement on the Swedish Government’s website, the meeting will take place on Wednesday after an invitation from the Pentagon.

Discussions will?focus on “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the security situation in Europe, bilateral cooperation and Sweden’s upcoming application to join NATO,” the statement said.?

China’s defense policies and consequences for the US and Sweden?will also be discussed, it adds.

Hultqvist will also meet with a large number of members of the US Congress, according to the statement.

Finland and Sweden are poised to end decades of neutrality by joining NATO, a dramatic evolution in European security and geopolitics sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two Nordic nations had long kept the military alliance at an arm’s length, even while eying Russia to their east with caution.

But Moscow’s assault on Ukraine has sparked renewed security concern across the region, and the leaders of each country have signaled their desire to join the bloc after more than 75 years of military non-alignment.

What’s happened so far? Finnish leaders announced their intentions to join NATO?on Thursday, and formally presented that desire at a press conference on Sunday.

In Sweden on Sunday, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced during a press conference her party’s support for the country to apply to join NATO.

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson gives a press conference after a meeting at the ruling Social Democrat's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 15.

The move must be approved by a vote in parliament in each country, but given the support of the ruling governments, that hurdle is expected to be passed comfortably.

What comes next? NATO has what it calls an “open door policy” on new members – any European country can request to join, so long as they meet certain criteria and all existing members agree.

A country does not technically “apply” to join; Article 10 of its founding treaty states that, once a nation has expressed interest, the existing member states “may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty … to accede.”

NATO diplomats told Reuters that ratification of new members could take a year, as the legislatures of all 30 current members must approve new applicants.

Both Finland and Sweden already meet many of the requirements for membership,?which include?having a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy; treating minority populations fairly; committing to resolve conflicts peacefully; the ability and willingness to make a military contribution to NATO operations; and committing to democratic civil-military relations and institutions.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin gives a news conference to announce that Finland will apply for NATO membership at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on May 15.

The process may not be without hurdles; Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday he was not looking at both countries joining NATO “positively,” accusing them of housing Kurdish “terrorist organizations.”

In the meantime, both countries will have to rely on its current allies and partners for security guarantees, rather than Article 5 – the clause which states an attack against one NATO nation is an attack against all, and which triggers a collective response in that event.

Sweden and Finland have received assurances of support from the United States and Germany should they come under attack, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed mutual security agreements with his Finnish and Swedish counterparts last week.

Read the full story here:

A Leopard 2A6 battle tank during the Finnish Army Arrow 22 training exercise, with participating forces from the U.K., Latvia, U.S. and Estonia, in Niinisalo, Finland, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the?NATO defense bloc after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countries' leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment. Photographer: Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Related article What you need to know about Finland, Sweden and NATO | CNN

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cause European growth to slow and inflation to rise at a faster than expected rate, according to the latest EU Commission economic forecasts.

It says that the war has caused commodity prices to rise, disrupted supply chains and increased uncertainty.

The EU predicts that eurozone GDP will increase by 2.7% this year and 2.3% in 2023. That compares to previous forecasts of 4% and 2.8%.

The EU Commission also says inflation in the eurozone is projected to increase to 6.1% in 2022. It is then predicting the rate to drop off sharply to 2.7% in 2023.

In its winter forecasts, the EU was forecasting inflation of 3.5% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2023.

The EU admitted that its forecasts were heavily dependent on the outcome of the war in Ukraine and it warned of further risks to energy prices, food prices and supply chains.

It also says that?Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is leading to an economic decoupling of the EU from Russia, with consequences that are difficult to fully comprehend at this stage.

German Foreign Minister?Annalena?Baerbock?talks to the press ahead of a meeting at the Council for External Relations in Brussels, Belguim, on May 16.

European Union member states are still trying to resolve some outstanding issues, but will likely agree on a sixth sanctions package against Russia in “the coming days,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday.

Speaking?ahead of an EU-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee meeting in Brussels, Baerbock said that “as Germans, we know?that this [an oil embargo] is not an easy step.”

There remained some areas which needed to be resolved and “that will not happen today,” Baerbock added.

The German foreign minister said she was “confident” that EU member states would come to an agreement “in the coming days.”

Some background: The EU has been ratcheting up its economic action against Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.?

Earlier on Monday, the foreign ministers of Austria and Estonia spoke about the prospect of an upcoming sixth EU sanctions package against Russia, with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg saying he is “confident” that the package will be “done in the next days.”

As fighting rages on in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, Ukrainian forces say they are making headway in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and one unit says it has reached the frontier with Russia.

Meanwhile, two Nordic nations may soon be applying to join NATO – ditching longstanding neutrality and ignoring warnings from Moscow. Russia responded to the news with fury.

“They should not have any illusions that we will simply put up with this,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday, according to state news agency TASS.?Ryabkov called the decision from both states, “another serious mistake with far-reaching consequences.”??

Here are the latest developments:

Protesters hold signs under a giant flag during a rally in front of the former Russian embassy, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 12, to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Upon arriving in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, for the first time since the pandemic began, I dropped my bag off at my Airbnb, strolled out and noticed the words “F**k Putin” graffitied in English on my building. A few meters away, a similar sentiment was scrawled in Russian and not far from that, my friend pointed to the same phrase painted on the wall in Georgia’s?distinctive alphabet.

Reminders of the war are everywhere and some Georgians, I was told numbering 3,000,?are fighting?in Ukraine – and at least nine have been killed. A Russian invasion of Georgia of another kind is already under way as thousands of Russians?have fled?to Tbilisi since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Some may be there because of their anti-Putin views, but most of my Georgian contacts told me the Russians were there because they simply wanted to be able to spend their money.

Tensions between Georgians and Russians in Tbilisi are high at times. Georgia, which, like Ukraine,?seeks to join NATO?and the EU, is a country where a real Russian invasion is not an abstract fear, but a very recent reality. In 2008, a brief war solidified Russia’s control over the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. That?war ended?only when Putin decided he’d gotten what he wanted – control of those two regions while demonstrating Russia’s strength to Georgia.

Read the full story here.

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson speaks to the media before the parliamentary debate on Swedish?NATO?membership, in Stockholm,?Sweden, on?May 16.

Sweden’s government has officially informed the country’s King and crown princess about its NATO application process.

“Today, the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs met at the Royal Palace where the government informed about current foreign and security policy issues,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde said Monday said on her verified Twitter account.

Linde also reiterated that the Swedish government’s intent is to seek NATO membership.

Some background: On Sunday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced her party’s support for the country to join NATO, and Finland’s government said that it also intends to join the alliance, ignoring warnings on doing so from Moscow.

On Monday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Finland and Sweden potential membership of NATO a “mistake” with “far-reaching consequences.”

People have a lunch a McDonald's restaurant next to the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on March 10.

McDonald’s announced Monday that it is selling its Russia business, saying the “humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.”

But after temporarily shutting down more than 800 restaurants in Russia, McDonald’s has decided to leave the country altogether, according to?a release.

As part of the decision, the chain is pursuing the sale of its entire portfolio of McDonald’s restaurants in Russia to a local buyer.

These measures include ensuring that employees of McDonald’s Russia continue to be paid, as well as have future employment.

Some background: McDonald’s announced in a statement last month that the closure of restaurants in Russia and Ukraine had cost the company $127 million last quarter.

McDonald’s had continued to pay its 62,000 staff in Russia despite ceasing operations. Those staff costs, plus payments for leases and supplies, cost the company $27 million.

The other $100 million was from food and other items it will have to get rid of.

Read more here:

BELAYA DACHA, RUSSIA - APRIL 14: (RUSSIA OUT) A U.S.-based McDonald's restaurant is shown closed due to the military invasion of Ukraine, April 14, 2022 in Belaya Dacha, outside of Moscow, Russia. President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference April 12 that Russia has withstood the Western blitz of sanctions, insisting the measures will backfire. (Photo by Getty Images)

Related article McDonald's is leaving Russia altogether | CNN

Emergency management specialists remove debris around a residential building destroyed in the Russian invasion of Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 11.

Russian “occupying forces” are moving quickly to clear debris from areas they bombed during the weeks-long offensive against Mariupol, according to Ukrainian officials.

Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the city’s mayor, said the Russians had begun?“dismantling the debris” in hospital No. 3, which was heavily bombed in March. Video of the aftermath of the bombing showed heavily pregnant women being taken from the hospital; at least one later died.

The adviser said the Russians were also trying to clear and reopen the port, but that a sunken ship still blocked the entrance to the new port.

Like other Ukrainian officials, Andriushchenko is not in Mariupol but says he receives information and video from residents.

Not enough water: He said many basements were still flooded in the city because of damage to the water pipes and drinking water is mostly inaccessible. At the weekend, Andriushchenko posted video of a long line of people waiting for water from tankers. “There are huge queues at the bottling points, but there is not enough water for everyone,” he said.??

Local residents gather near a tanker to collect potable water in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 11.

He said efforts to reconnect the electricity supply had resulted in short-circuits and fires.

Andriushchenko said there was still a high mortality rate in Mariupol even though, beyond the besieged Azovstal plant, the Mariupol area is quiet.

The new Russian-backed administration in the city has said little about its plans for reviving the city, where thousands of buildings have been destroyed and damaged, and where 100,000 people still live.

Civilian casualties “in the thousands”: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last week said her office continues to investigate allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine, “many of which may amount to war crimes.”

Speaking from Vienna during a?Human Rights Council special session on Ukraine,?Bachelet said her office estimates “the civilian death toll in Mariupol to lay in the thousands” and that only with time “the true scale” of alleged atrocities will become clear. She said in areas of intense hostilities, such as Mariupol, it has been difficult for her team to get access and collect information.

Some background: Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russia?continues massive artillery and air strikes to block and destroy units trapped at?the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Several hundred wounded soldiers are trapped at the plant.

In his daily video message late Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government continues “very complicated and delicate negotiations to save our people from Mariupol, from Azovstal.”

Ukraine’s State Border Service says Russian troops opened fire across the frontier in the Sumy region on Monday, adding that “border guards fought enemy saboteurs” who tried to enter Ukrainian territory from the village of Lokot.

Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine lies 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the border with Russia, and Sumy was?one of the first cities?to be attacked in the Russian invasion.?

The State Border Service claimed the Russians had “fired mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and automatic rifles. Border guards fought the saboteurs and forced them to retreat beyond the state border.”

After several weeks of quiet, the border villages of Sumy have come under fire in recent days, and local authorities say the Russians have used both air strikes and artillery.

Some background: Analysts say the Russian attacks on Sumy and also across the international border into the Chernihiv region are likely intended to tie down Ukrainian units that might otherwise be deployed to the main front lines in Donbas.

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, and President of Finland Sauli Niinist?, right, speak to the press after their meeting at the President's official residence Mantyniemi in Helsinki, Finland, on May 16,

There is “strong bipartisan support” for Finnish accession to NATO, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a visit to Finland on Monday.

Speaking during a joint press conference with Finnish President?Sauli Niinist? in Helsinki, McConnell called Monday’s Finnish parliament debate on potential NATO membership a “historic day” for the country.

Some background: Finland is on the cusp of joining NATO while Sweden is on the verge of following suit. While other Nordic countries like Norway, Denmark and Iceland were original members of the alliance, Sweden and Finland did not join the pact for historic and geopolitical reasons. Finland, which declared independence from Russia in 1917 after the Bolshevik revolution, shares a 830-mile border with Russia.

“Finland brings a lot to the alliance. Frankly, their participation strengthens the alliance significantly and it’s a great honor to have to be here on the day when your request for admission is official,” the Minority Senate Leader continued.

The Finnish president told McConnell that his visit was a “very important moment for Finland,” adding that the two officials had already “a very good discussion.”

“We had a very interesting discussion not only dealing with Finnish membership in NATO, but also Ukraine,” Niinist? said.

McConnell added that he expects the US Senate to approve a bipartisan package of $40 billion in aid for Ukraine this week.

Read more:

A Leopard 2A6 battle tank during the Finnish Army Arrow 22 training exercise, with participating forces from the U.K., Latvia, U.S. and Estonia, in Niinisalo, Finland, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the?NATO defense bloc after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countries' leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment. Photographer: Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Related article What you need to know about Finland, Sweden and NATO | CNN

The Renault automobile plant in Moscow, Russia, on April 26.

French carmaker Renault has announced the sale of its assets in Russia as it formally leaves the country following the invasion of Ukraine. The assets are worth 2.195 billion euros ($2.29 billion), according to Renault.

The company’s directors unanimously agreed the sale of Renault Russia to the city of Moscow and its majority interest in Russia carmaker AVTOVAZ to NAMI (the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute), according to a statement Monday.

The sale of its stake in AVTOVAZ provides the option for Renault to buy back its interest within six years, per the statement.

Writing on his blog, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the city had decided to take over ownership of the plant and would “resume production of passenger cars under the historical Moskvich brand.”

“We will try to keep most of the team directly working at the plant and with its subcontractors,” Sobyanin wrote, promising a future move to the production of electric cars.

Moskvich was a Soviet-era carmaker of everyday passenger vehicles.

Russia was a key piece in Renault’s global empire before the war broke out.

With 482,264 cars sold in 2021, Russia was the second most important market for Renault, ranking only behind the carmaker’s home base France in terms of sales volumes, according to the group’s 2021 sales results.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg addresses the media during a press conference at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna, Austria, on May 11.

The foreign ministers of Austria and Estonia have spoken about the prospect of an upcoming sixth EU sanctions package against Russia, with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg “confident” that the package will be “done in the next days.”

The EU has been ratcheting up its economic action against Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.?

Speaking ahead of an EU-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee meeting in Brussels, Schallenberg said that the sixth sanctions package would be “very substantial,” but there was still “a certain need for discussion.” The whole Russian military complex would be targeted in the upcoming sanctions, he added.?

Liimets added that the EU “must continue to support Ukraine, we must continue to give to Ukraine humanitarian aid, also defensive military aid, but also to discuss with Ukrainians how we can support them to reconstruct their country.”

Finland's Prime Minister?Sanna?Marin?and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto attend a joint news conference on Finland's security policy decisions at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on May 15.

Finland and Sweden joining NATO would be a “mistake” with “far-reaching consequences” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday, according to state news agency TASS.?

On Sunday, Finland’s government signaled its intention to join NATO, leaving behind decades of neutrality and ignoring Russian threats of retaliation, as the Nordic country attempts to strengthen its security amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.?

Sweden’s ruling party later said it will also support joining the alliance.

Finland’s accession to NATO — which will likely take months to finalize — would bring the US-military alliance to Russia’s doorstep, as the two nations share an 830-mile (1,335- kilometer) border.?

Ukraine has reported another missile strike against the Black Sea coastal region of Odesa, causing damage to infrastructure and resulting in a fire.

It said Russia continued to strike the already heavily damaged bridge across the Dniester estuary south of Odesa. Two people were injured.

Some context: Last week, a shopping mall and two hotels were hit by Russian military strikes on Odesa.

Three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were fired from a plane and and hit a “tourist infrastructure target” a Ukrainian official said.

A Ukrainian soldier sits on an anti-aircraft missile system near Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine, on May 11.

In Luhansk and Donetsk regions, fighting continues along front lines that stretch for several hundred kilometers. The Ukrainians also report continued fighting in areas in the east, where Russian forces are trying to break through.?

The heaviest combat appears to be in two locations: around industrial towns in Luhansk, and in rural areas north of the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk.?

The Russians have reinforced their presence around Izium in an effort to push further south, and heavy fighting was reported in the area over the weekend.

The General Staff said that in three frontline areas — Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv —Russian forces continued to advance and fighting continued. But it also claimed that in another area, Avdiivka, Russian units had retreated.

Russian forces continue to bombard Severodonetsk, according to local officials.

Serhii Hayday, head of the military administration in Luhansk, said that two people in the city had been killed in the most recent shelling. He said there had been heavy bombardment of several towns and villages in the area but Russian forces had been forced to retreat near the town of Borivske to the south of Severodonetsk.

Speaking on Ukrainian television Monday, Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said the key area in the Russians’ offensive now was around?Severodonetsk.?

CNN has geolocated satellite imagery showing that three bridges west of Russian supply lines to Izium have been destroyed in the past week.

Mariupol: In the south, the General Staff said Russia?continues massive artillery and air strikes to block and destroy units trapped at?the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Several hundred wounded soldiers are trapped at the plant.

In his daily video message late Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government continues “very complicated and delicate negotiations to save our people from Mariupol, from Azovstal.”

Ukrainian troops stand at the Ukraine-Russia border in what was said to be the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this screen grab obtained from a video released on May 15.

A Ukrainian unit fighting north of Kharkiv says it has reached the Russian border, with the message:?“Mr. President, we made it!”

Video released by the unit shows a small group carrying a blue and yellow stake to the border line.

Some context: Over the past few days, Ukrainian forces advanced toward the border in several places north and east of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city before the?invasion began, as Russian forces have withdrawn.

Ukrainian officials said last week they were liberating villages on the outskirts of the city. Their advances threaten the symbolic embarrassment of expelling the Kremlin’s forces back to their own border while posing the strategic threat of cutting Russia’s supply lines into Ukraine and its forces further south in the?Donbas region.

A damaged playground is seen next to the Barvinok kindergarten building in Makariv, Ukraine, on April 19.

When masked Russian soldiers ransacked Nina’s home in northeastern Ukraine at 6 a.m. one day in late April, they were not searching for weapons. Instead, they were looking for her Ukrainian textbooks.

The troops held her husband and daughter at gunpoint, but the 48-year-old told CNN she knew it was her they’d come for. As a school principal, she believes they saw her as the enemy.

Nina is not alone. Ukrainian officials say educators in newly Russian-occupied areas of the country have reported increasing cases of intimidation, threats and pressure to adapt school programs to align with pro-Russian rhetoric.

As the war rips through Ukraine, education has become a victim of the conflict — and a potential battlefield in the fight for control of the country.

Before Russian troops invaded on February 24, around 4.23 million students were enrolled in schools across the country, according to data compiled by Ukraine’s Institute of Educational Analytics, a state agency. Now, millions of school-age children have been?internally displaced?or forced to flee abroad with their families.

Read more:

This picture shows a destroyed classroom in a school hit by Russian rockets in the southern Ukraine village of Zelenyi Hai between Kherson and Mykolaiv, less than 5km from the front line on April 1, 2022, as NATO says it is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects "additional offensive actions", alliance chief warns. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article This is what the 'Russification' of Ukraine's education system looks like in occupied areas

A Ukrainian serviceman walks past a damaged Russian APC near Kutuzivka, north of Kharkiv, east Ukraine on Sunday.?

As fighting continues in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, Ukrainian forces say they are making headway in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, two Nordic nations may soon be applying to join NATO — ditching longstanding neutrality.

Here are the latest developments:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Capitol Hill, on May 11.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday “reiterated the unwavering US support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and security assistance efforts” with the country’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, and provided an update of his call with their Russian counterpart, according to the US Department of Defense.

Austin spoke with Reznikov “to discuss the situation on the battlefield and Ukraine’s capability needs,” according to?a department readout.

Austin relayed to Reznikov his correspondence with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday “in which (Austin) urged an immediate end to the conflict in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication.”

Forensic workers transport the bodies of Russian soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 13.

The Ukrainian military has claimed that Russian units have “suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment” as they try to advance westwards to the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, according to a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

The ruins of Popasna fell to Russian forces earlier this month but they appear to have taken little ground in the area since.

The Russians have also been trying to push south from Izium for several weeks, and the general staff said Sunday that they were trying unsuccessfully to conduct offensive and assault operations towards two villages south of the town

The military also said that Russian forces north and east of the city of Kharkiv were trying to defend their positions to?“prevent the advance of our troops to the State Border of Ukraine,” while continuing to shell towns and villages recently recaptured by Ukraine.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conducts a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 27.

Swedish Prime Minister?Magdalena Andersson announced her party’s support for the country to apply to join NATO.

Andersson noted this decision reverses a stance the country has taken for 200 years, leaving “a political line of security policies that we have had in different shapes and forms.”

The prime minister said the country must “adapt to reality” and make decisions based on the current climate.

“It is very clear that there is a before and after the 24th of February 2022. Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people are living in a new, dangerous reality. The European security order that Sweden has based its security policies on for centuries, that is now under attack,” Andersson said.

This expected announcement follows suit after Finland announced Sunday its decision to apply to join NATO, after both countries have previously refrained from joining for historic and geopolitical reasons.

Earlier on Sunday, Sweden’s Social Democratic Party had released a statement on its website saying it has decided the country should work toward a Swedish application to join NATO.

The statement continues to say that the party should, in case the application is granted by NATO, work to state unilateral conditions against the placement of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde called it “a historic decision”?in a tweet.

Earlier Sunday,?NATO?Secretary General?Jens Stoltenberg?said that “NATO’s door is open” to?Sweden?and Finland.

Finland’s government said Sunday it intends to join NATO,?ditching decades?of neutrality and ignoring Russian threats of possible retaliation as the Nordic country attempts to strengthen its security following the onset of the war in Ukraine. Sweden’s ruling party later said it will also support joining the alliance.

The decision was announced at a joint press conference by President Sauli Niinist? and Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who said the move must be ratified by the country’s parliament?before Finland can formally seek membership of the alliance.

The move would bring the US-led military alliance up to Finland’s 830-mile border with Russia, but could take months to finalize as the legislatures of all 30 current NATO members must approve new applicants.

It also risks provoking the ire of Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, told his Finnish counterpart Niinist? on Saturday that abandoning military neutrality and joining the bloc would be a “mistake,” according to a Kremlin statement. On Saturday, Russia cut its electricity supply to the Nordic country?following problems?in receiving payments.

Read more:

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin (L) and Finland's President Sauli Niinist? give a press conference to announce that Finland will apply for NATO membership at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland on May 15, 2022. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has swung political and public opinion in Finland and neighbouring Sweden in favour of NATO membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

Related article Finland will apply to join NATO, ditching decades of neutrality despite Russia's threats of retaliation

Ukraine’s folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra has won this year’s?Eurovision Song Contest, surfing a wave of goodwill from European nations to clinch the country’s third win at the glitzy event.

The band’s song “Stefania,” written about the frontman’s mother, beat competition from main rivals the United Kingdom and Spain at the competition in the Italian city of?Turin.

The event marked the first major cultural event in which Ukrainians have taken part since Russia invaded in February, and many in the audience waved Ukraine’s blue and yellow national flag during the evening.

Read more:

Members of the band "Kalush Orchestra" perform on behalf of Ukraine during the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song contest 2022 on May 10, 2022 at the Palalpitour venue in Turin.

Related article Ukraine wins Eurovision Song Contest in wave of goodwill following invasion by Russia