Blinken discusses military aid as Finland confirms NATO bid

WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that Finland and Sweden would be “important additions” to NATO as he led a delegation of GOP senators to the region in a show of support against Russia’s aggression.

McConnell, R-Ky., also called on President Joe Biden to designate Russia as state sponsor of terrorism over its invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters from Stockholm, McConnell said Finland and Sweden, unlike some members of the Western alliance, would likely be in positions to pay their NATO obligations and would offer significant military capabilities.

“They will be important additions to NATO, if they choose to join,” he said, adding, “I think the United States ought to be first in line to ratify the treaty for both these countries to join.”

Ukrainian fighters continue to defend the sprawling Azovstal steel plant “despite the extremely difficult conditions” in the southern city of Mariupol, Ukraine’s border guard said Sunday.

Shortly after the Russian invasion, groups of Ukrainian fighters and civilians took over the site — a vast Soviet-era plant founded under Josef Stalin and designed with a labyrinth of bunkers and tunnels to withstand attack.

Civilians have been evacuated from the bunkers, but fighters remain holed up there, despite a near constant pummeling from Russian forces.

During breaks, Ukrainian border guards said the fighter distract themselves by playing chess and reading, the border guard said in a post on its Telegram channel that was translated by NBC News.  

Ukraine “can win this war,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told top diplomats from the 30 member states of the trans-Atlantic military alliance at a meeting in Berlin.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned,” Stoltenberg said, speaking by video, as he is recovering from a Covid-19 infection. “They failed to take Kiev. They are pulling back from around Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives.”

“Ukraine can win this war,” he said, adding that NATO must continue to step up its military support.

Stoltenberg said he was confident the accession process for Finland and Sweden could be expedited in the existing member states. In the meantime, the alliance will increase its presence in the Baltic region to deter Russian threats, he said.

“All allies realize the historic magnitude of the moment,” Stoltenberg added.

Nordic NATO member Norway said it strongly welcomed Finland’s decision to seek membership. Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt described Helsinki’s move as “a turning point” for the Nordic region’s defense and security policies.

“Finnish membership in NATO will be good for Finland, good for the Nordic region, and good for NATO. Finland has Norway’s full support,” Huitfeldt said in comments emailed to The Associated Press.

Huitfeldt said the Norwegian government would facilitate “a swift consent to ratification by the Norwegian Parliament” for Finland’s accession into NATO.

“We are now seeing unprecedented unity in NATO. With the Finnish membership, we will further strengthen the Nordic flank of the military alliance,” she added.

The U.S. Embassy will reopen in Kyiv will resume operations "very soon," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

“American diplomats have returned to Ukraine after several weeks of working out of Poland,” Blinken told top diplomats from the 30 member states of the trans-Atlantic military alliance at a meeting in Berlin.

"We're taking all necessary precautions, but that work is underway, and we will resume operations" he said.

Blinken added that there was support “almost across the board” from existing members of NATO for Finland and Sweden to join the organization.

A couple bring luggage out of their destroyed house in the village of Vilkhivka, near the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday.

Water shortages have become the “No. 1 issue” in the besieged port city of Mariupol, an adviser to the city’s mayor has said.

"The Russians are trying to create the illusion that 'all is well' in the city. But water supply and water shortages remain the No. 1 issue in the city," Petro Andriushchenko said Sunday in a Telegram post that was translated by NBC News.

"The restoration of centralized water supply has, as expected, turned into a farce," he said. "The supply of drinking water is insufficient. There are huge queues at the bottling points, but even here there is not enough water for everyone."

Andriushchenko further warned that "low-mobility and elderly people" in the city faced difficulties in getting access to water.

Russia has now likely lost one-third of the ground combat forces it committed in February and is “increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an intelligence briefing Sunday.

The briefing, posted to Twitter, added that Russia had failed to achieve any substantial territorial gains over the past month and continued to suffer “consistently high levels of attrition.”

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” it said.

Finland announced Sunday that it intends apply for membership in NATO, paving the way for the 30-member Western military alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki.

Finland's Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days, and the result is considered a formality. A formal membership application is likely to be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week.

Russia, which shares an 800-mile border with Finland, has said it would be a mistake for its neighbor to join the transatlantic alliance and that it would harm bilateral ties.

Sweden is also expected to follow suit as public support for membership has grown.