Zelensky visits NATO candidate Sweden for 1st time since full-scale war with Russia
The Hindu
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Sweden, which has abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Sweden on August 19 — his first visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the Swedish government said.
It said Mr. Zelensky will meet Swedish government officials in Harpsund, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Stockholm. He will also meet Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area.
Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. It also applied for NATO membership but is still waiting to join the alliance.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.
The Kremlin said that Putin listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the commander in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military brass at the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.
The exact timings of his visit were not confirmed, but state media published video footage that appeared to be filmed at night, showing Gerasimov greeting Putin and leading him into a building. The meeting itself was held behind closed doors.
Mr. Putin’s visit was the first since the Wagner mercenary group ’s attempted mutiny in June, which saw the group’s fighters briefly take control of Rostov-on-Don.