![]() In May, both nations began the formal process of applying to the NATO alliance. "My aim is to find a common way forward so that both countries can join our alliance as soon as possible," he said, adding that the addition of Sweden and Finland will "make them safer, NATO stronger and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure." And addressing Turkey's security concerns, including in the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said during a discussion hosted by Politico. "We are now working actively on the next steps in the accession process of both Finland and Sweden. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will address Turkey's concerns about Finland and Sweden's applications to join NATO next week in Madrid. Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom blamed a missing part sent to Canada for repairs as it cut flows by 60% through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline running under the Baltic Sea to Germany - Europe's major natural gas pipeline. Russia last week reduced natural gas to Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia just as European Union countries are scrambling to refill storage of the fuel used to generate electricity, power industry and heat homes in the winter. "Even if we can't feel it yet - we are in a gas crisis," Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck said. Industrial customers are being asked to reduce the amount of natural gas they use, and Germany and other countries are turning back to coal as a replacement, threatening climate goals in Europe as energy tensions escalate between Russia and the West. The government said the decision follows cuts Russia made to natural gas flows starting last week and surging energy prices stoked by the war in Ukraine. Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies, warning that Europe's biggest economy faces a "crisis" and storage targets for the winter are at risk after Russia reduced energy deliveries to several countries. Russia has warned of "serious" consequences against what it has called "hostile actions" of Lithuania, while NATO members have reiterated their support for the country. Tensions remain high between Russia and Lithuania after the latter, a NATO member, banned the rail transfer of all EU sanctioned goods (such as metals, coal, construction materials and high-technology products) coming from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea. Several cities, towns and villages in the Luhansk region have been the focus of severe fighting for several weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in street battles while Russian artillery fire destroys infrastructure and homes in the region. Meanwhile, Ukraine took a major step on its long road toward European Union membership, as leaders of the bloc accepted it as a candidate to join. "The goal of the occupiers in this direction remains the same - they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step" he said in his nightly address. ![]() Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Donbas region of east Ukraine is continuing to see what he called "massive air and artillery strikes."
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