Four NATO nations have called for a defensive line along the Russian border. EU countries agree to economic sanctions against Belarus. All information on news blog.
6.40 am: According to a media report, the European Union will reimpose tariffs on sugar and egg imports from Ukraine starting Friday. The amount would be €89 per tonne, the Financial Times reported. The EU had decided on tariff relief to support war-torn Ukrainian agriculture.
However, this led to protests from farmers in the EU. They complained of cheap imports, loss of market share, low revenue and unfair competition. As a result, a kind of emergency brake mechanism was decided for certain agricultural products, which would come into effect if the import limits were breached. According to the Financial Times, this emergency brake is now being pulled like Ukrainian oats.
5 o’clock: According to a report by the Ukrainian online news site Euromaidan, dozens of Russian soldiers surrounded a factory in the city of Vovchansk, Kharkiv province. Oleh Syniehubow, head of the provincial administration, confirmed this. Earlier reports spoke of up to 200 soldiers. Attempts by Russian forces to liberate the region have so far been thwarted by the Ukrainian military. Parts of the city remain under Russian control, but the Ukrainian military has so far prevented it from taking over.
3:10 am: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are calling on the EU to build a security line along the border with Russia and Belarus. “The creation of a defense infrastructure system at the EU’s external borders with Russia and Belarus will take into account the urgent need to protect the EU from military and hybrid threats,” the four leaders’ letter, seen by Reuters, said.
Hybrid threats refer to a combination of military and non-military, covert and overt means, including disinformation, cyber-attacks, economic pressure and pushing migrants across borders. In a letter to the EU president to be discussed at a summit in Brussels starting Thursday, the leaders of the four countries say the plan will require funding from all members. EU diplomats estimate that building such a defense line along the 700-kilometer EU border with Russia and Belarus would cost around 2.5 billion euros.
2.30 am: Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Russian Navy, reported a training maneuver by the Russian guided missile cruiser “Varyak” in the Mediterranean Sea. The naval command said the exercises focused on countering a massive drone strike and included simulated combat with an enemy ship and submarine.
0.25 am: The largest Internet providers in Russian-occupied Crimea fell victim to a cyber attack from Ukraine on Wednesday. Several major service providers in Crimea have been hit by hacker attacks by the military intelligence service HUR, Kyivpost reported. According to the report, HUR cyber experts launched attacks on several Russian ministries in early June. It is not known how much damage the recent attack in Crimea caused.
0.20 am: The EU and Ukraine appear set to sign a defense pact. As shown in a draft of the document seen by Reuters, the EU has pledged to supply Ukraine with weapons and military training for years to come. It is expected to be signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an EU summit on Thursday. Although he was not officially announced as a guest. However, he is expected to participate in diplomatic circles.
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