UKRAINE Scores of
Russian rockets on Saturday rained down on military targets in western and
northern Ukraine, Reuters and AFP report. According to the governor of the Lviv
region, six missiles were fired from the Black Sea at the Yavoriv base, with
four hitting the base and two being intercepted and destroyed before hitting
the targets. The governor of the Zhytomyr region in the north of the country
said that strikes on a military objective in the area killed at least one
soldier. In the northern region of Chernihiv, governor Vyacheslav Chaus said
that the town of Desna had come under rocket strikes on Saturday morning.
Ukrainian forces were forced to pull out of Severdonetsk after weeks of heavy
fighting. According to sources with the Ukrainian army, Russia used the
airspace of Belarus to hit targets in Ukraine.
FINA Romanian swimmer Robert Glinta came fourth in the finals of the 50
meters backstroke race of the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
Last night Glinta came sixth in the 100 meter backstroke event. Another
Romanian, David Popvici, double champion in the 100 and 200 meters freestyle
races, is to be awarded by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis the Star of
Romania national order in rank of knight.
SUMMIT Romanian president
Klaus Iohannis has attended the European Council in Brussels during which the
Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have been granted the status of EU-candidate
countries. The European leaders have also tackled the ways in which the EU members
can avoid a major energy crisis in winter. High on the summit agenda was the
situation in Ukraine, the bloc’s relation with the Western Balkans as well as a
series of economic issues. Iohannis has reiterated Romania’s consistent support
for Kiev and presented the efforts to facilitate the exports of Ukrainian
cereals adding that Romania’s ports and transport corridors are functioning at
full capacity. During the Euro summit in Brussels, president Iohannis has
reiterated his conviction for the European future of the countries in the
Western Balkans and the support for the opening as soon as possible of the
talks with North Macedonia and Albania and the identification of solutions for
the process of bringing Bosnia-Herzegovina closer to the union.
ATTACK The alleged
assailant on Friday night in Oslo is a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin who
is known to the intelligence services, a police official said on Saturday. He
didn’t reveal the identity of the suspect, but mentioned the assailant’s previous
brushes with the law for carrying weapons and drug possession. The attack in
downtown Oslo left two dead and 21 wounded, out of whom 10 severely. According
to police sources, the suspect was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted
murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple
locations.
NATO At the NATO summit in
Madrid next week, the Black Sea region will be acknowledged as having a
strategic importance in the collective defence and battle groups in Romania and
other eastern countries could be given the status of brigades. The alliance’s
deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana said the summit would bring good news
for Romania, but also for Ukraine for the transatlantic relation and the
alliance per se. ‘From the military and security viewpoints’, Geoana says ‘and
because Russia is an unpredictable and aggressive player, Romania will have the
same quality in terms of national security as Germany and Belgium. There will
be no difference in what NATO has on the eastern flank and in Western Europe.
Next week we are going to attend the NATO summit in Madrid and we are expecting
historic news for Romania’. The talks in Madrid will also be focusing on the
requests from Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, although no decision is
expected in this respect because of Turkey’s opposition.
FESTIVAL Until July 3rd, the city of Sibiu in central Romania is
seeing the International Theatre Festival currently at its 29th
edition. The festival, which is unfolding under a theme simply entitled
Beauty, includes productions of theatre, dance, circus, film, musical and
opera. Street performances, concerts, book launches and exhibitions have also
been included in the festival’s agenda. For ten days artists of the world stage
are offering the public the possibility of enjoying live performances that have
been acknowledged at international level being also recipients of prestigious
awards.
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