Ukraine-Russia war latest: US refuses to sanction Moscow ahead of Trump’s Nato meeting with Zelensky – UK Times

Nato allies have pledged to increase their annual defence spending to a total of 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035 and reaffirmed their commitment to collective defence, stating that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”

In the declaration of their summit in The Hague, Nato leaders said the defence pledge would consist of investments of at least 3.5% of GDP per year in core defence requirements.

They also vowed to spend up to 1.5% of GDP on security-related expenditures, including protection of critical infrastructure and strengthening the alliance’s defence industrial base.

These investments were needed to face “profound security threats”, the leaders said, citing in particular the “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism.”

Progress on the elevated spending targets, up from the current goal of 2% of GDP, will be reviewed in 2029.

Allies reaffirmed their “enduring sovereign commitments” to support Ukraine, but left out references to Ukraine’s possible future membership of the alliance, which had been included in some previous summit declarations.

Article 5 is the foundation stone on which the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) is built.

It states that an armed attack against one or more of the members shall be considered an attack against all members.

It also states that if such an armed attack occurs, each member would take, individually and in concert with others, “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.’’

That security guarantee is the reason previously neutral Finland and Sweden sought to join Nato after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and why Ukraine itself and other countries in Europe also want in.

Article 5 has only been invoked once, in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks on the US, paving the way for Nato’s biggest ever operation in Afghanistan.

But Nato allies have also taken collective defence measures, including joining the US to fight the Islamic State group in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as help keep the peace in the Balkans.

The UK is set to provide 350 air defence missiles to Ukraine as Sir Keir Starmer pushes for Nato to provide Kyiv with further support.

The delivery will be funded by £70 million raised from the interest on seized Russian assets.

Sir Keir said: “Russia, not Ukraine, should pay the price for Putin’s barbaric and illegal war, so it is only right we use the proceeds from seized Russian assets to ensure Ukraine has the air defence it needs.

“The security of Ukraine is vital to the security of the UK and the Euro-Atlantic area, and our support will never waiver.

“My message to President Putin is clear: Russia needs to stop its indiscriminate attacks on innocent Ukrainian people and return to the negotiating table.”

Switzerland has approved a draft cooperation agreement with Ukraine on the reconstruction of the besieged country that would establish a legal basis for the Swiss private sector to become more closely involved.

The agreement is set to be signed at the 2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on 10 July, the government said.

The neutral Alpine state will also enter into exploratory talks with the European Union on a non-binding partnership to take part in arms procurement projects, the government said.

Such partnerships are a prerequisite for non-EU countries to become involved with the bloc’s cooperation projects, the government said, adding that the move was compatible with neutrality and would help strengthen its defence capabilities.

A partnership would allow Switzerland to negotiate better conditions for its industry’s participation in EU defence procurement projects, it said.

“To date, the EU has concluded such partnerships with a number of countries, and further partnerships are in the pipeline,” added the government.

Companies from countries that have signed such a pact with the EU are eligible to apply for the bloc’s 150-billion-euro ($173.99 billion) arms fund, if they meet further conditions.

Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Yalta in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the state-run RIA news agency reported, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Independent could not confirm the battlefield reports.

Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to approve plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the invasion of Ukraine.

The special tribunal will be created through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe. The Ukrainian president is visiting the Strasbourg-based organisation for the first time as part of the announcement.

The special tribunal aims to target senior Russian leaders for the “crime of aggression,” which underpins the countless war crimes Ukraine accuses Russian forces of committing since the start of the war in 2022.

Existing international courts, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague, lack jurisdiction to prosecute Russian nationals for that specific offence.

Since early in the conflict, Kyiv has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal that goes beyond prosecuting war crimes that Ukraine alleged Russian forces committed — including bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape, taking hostages and torture.

Russia denies these claims.

Russia does not extradite its citizens, and whether or not Russian president Vladimir Putin will ever end up in the dock remains to be seen.

Under international law, sitting heads of state and certain other top officials — often referred to as the “troika,” including a country’s head of state, head of government, and foreign minister — enjoy immunity from prosecution. That means any potential indictment of Putin could only move forward if he leaves office.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that the European Union posed a “direct threat” to Russia and that Ukraine’s potential accession to the bloc would be dangerous for Moscow.

Medvedev said the EU had evolved to become a bona fide enemy of Russia, but that bilateral cooperation between Moscow and certain individual EU member states should continue.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that all 32 members of the Nato alliance should do their part in defence spending and commit to the agreed target so that there would be no “free-riding”.

Nato members agreed in principle on Sunday to boost their defence spending target to 5 per cent of gross domestic product, as demanded by Donald Trump, but Spain said it could meet its commitments without spending so much.

“The point of an alliance is to make sure that there is a fair burden-sharing and that there is no sense that certain countries are sort of free-riding on the defence commitment of other countries,” Mr Mitsotakis said.

“So I think it is important to understand that these targets…should be binding and they should be binding for all 32 members of the alliance.”

Greece is now spending about 3 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence – nearly double the average in the EU.

It has asked the European Commission to exempt its 2026 defence spending from the EU’s budget rules as part of the so-called fiscal escape clause as it aims to spend 25 billion euros (£21.3 billion) by 2036 under a multi-year defence plan to modernise its armed forces and as it tries to keep pace with its eastern neighbour and historical rival Turkey.

Mitsotakis says this will help Greece reach the 5% target by 2035.