Russia warns of nuclear build-up if Finland and Sweden join Nato

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned Nato on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in an exclave in the heart of Europe.
 

Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the Nato alliance.
 

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said, “There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic — the balance must be restored”.
 

President Vladimir Putin said  that Moscow would work to redirect its energy exports eastward as Europe tries to reduce its reliance on them, adding that European nations would not be able to ditch Russian gas immediately.
 

Russian officials said Ukrainian helicopters had hit residential buildings and injured seven people in the Bryansk region, the latest of a series of cross-border attacks that Moscow has said may trigger a retaliatory attack on Kyiv. The governor of the Belgorod region said a village there was also attacked, but that no one was injured.
 

Russia said the crew of its Black Sea fleet flagship were evacuated on Thursday and measures were being taken to tow the stricken ship back to port, after an explosion of ammunition on board that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike.
 

Russia’s defence ministry said the fire on the Soviet-era missile cruiser Moskva had been contained but left the ship badly damaged. It did not acknowledge the ship, which had more than 500 sailors on board, had been attacked and said the cause of the fire was under investigation. Ukraine’s southern military command said that it hit the warship with a Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile and that it had started to sink.

Ukraine inflation may exceed 20% in 2022

Ukrainian inflation may exceed 20 per cent this year, the highest since 2015, as Russia’s invasion disrupts production and supply chains, the central bank said. The bank also expects the country’s economy to shrink by at least a third due to decline of consumption as millions of people flee the country, while unemployment is raising amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.   Bloomberg

ECB sticks to plans, keeps options open

The European Central Bank stuck to plans on Thursday to finally end its stimulus programme in the third quarter but gave no further clues on its schedule, stressing uncertainties linked to the war in Ukraine. The non-committal tone of its statement pushed euro zone bond yields and the single currency lower as markets trimmed expectations for the extent of rate hikes later this year.  Reuters