Top NATO diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, gathered Sunday in Berlin as Finland announced it would apply to join the Western alliance. Sweden's governing party plans to announce its position on seeking NATO membership later Sunday.
Ukraine, meanwhile, celebrated a morale-boosting victory in the Eurovision Song Contest. The folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra won the glitzy, televised Eurovision contest with its song"Stefania," which has become a popular anthem among Ukrainians during the war. Votes from home viewers across Europe cemented the victory.
"Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days," the ministry said. Ukrainian troops are clearing villages on the outskirts of Kharkiv after pushing the Russians back, and some residents were returning. Russia has targeted rail facilities and other critical infrastructure in western Ukraine a major gateway for NATO-supplied weapons. Western officials have said despite the attacks there has been no appreciable impact on Ukraine's ability to resupply its forces.
In the southern Donbas, the Azov Sea port of Mariupol is now largely under Russian control, except for a few hundred Ukrainian troops who have refused to surrender and remain holed up in the Azovstal steel factory.