Top Naija News: Nigerian News, Breaking News Nigeria and World News Top Naija News is a daily news publication in Nigeria, delivering the latest breaking news in Nigeria and around the world.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have occupied about 20 percent of his nation’s territory.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the head of the African Union for talks focused on grain supplies and political cooperation.
- The US has announced new sanctions against Russian officials, oligarchs, and businessmen linked to Putin.
- UN aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Moscow to discuss allowing exports of grain and other food from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, a UN spokesperson has said.
Here are all the latest updates:
Biden meetings NATO’s Stoltenberg in Washington
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington, in a meeting that focused on preparing for the NATO Summit scheduled to be held in Madrid at the end of June, the White House has said in a readout of the meeting.
“The leaders discussed the implications of Russia’s war on Ukraine for Transatlantic security and the importance of strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense, in addition to ensuring NATO is properly resourced to address a wide range of challenges, from cyber to climate change,” according to the document.
US adds 71 new Russian, Belarus companies to trade blacklist
The US has added 71 new Russian and Belarusian entities to its trade blacklist, including aircraft plants and shipbuilding and research institutes.
The export restrictions include the Russian Academy of Sciences. In total, the Commerce Department has now added 322 entities to its economic blacklist for support of Russia’s military since February.
UN aid chief in Moscow to discuss Ukraine grain exports
The United Nations’ aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Moscow to discuss allowing exports of grain and other food from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, a UN spokesperson has said.
Griffiths will meet Russian officials days after another senior UN official, Rebecca Grynspan, had “constructive” talks in Moscow with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on expediting Russian grain and fertilizer exports.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to broker what he calls a “package deal” to resume both Ukrainian food exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports, which were disrupted by the war.
“The situation remains fluid. The secretary-general, and the two main people he has tasked to work on this, Rebecca Grynspan and Martin Griffiths – we will do and go anywhere we need to go to push this project forward,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
Zelenskyy urges more weapons as war enters 100th day
Zelenskyy has urged the country’s Western allies to provide more weapons to help Ukraine reach an “inflection point” and prevail in the war.
Zelenskyy told Luxembourg’s parliament via videolink that Russian forces now occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, as the invasion entered its 100th day on Friday.
During a separate address to a forum in Slovakia, Zelenskyy said more weapons supplies would “ensure an inflection point in this confrontation” in Ukraine’s favour.
US sanctions Russian officials, oligarchs, Putin’s megayachts
The US has announced further sanctions on Russia, targeting an oligarch who heads a major steel producer, a yacht management company, the spokeswoman for the country’s foreign ministry and a cellist.
“Today’s action demonstrates that Treasury can and will go after those responsible for shielding and maintaining these ill-gotten interests,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
“We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves,” Nelson added.
Read more here.
New US ambassador to Ukraine submits credentials to Zelenskyy in Kyiv
The new US ambassador to Ukraine has said she gave her credentials to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the American embassy resumes its work in the capital, Kyiv.
Bridget Brink hailed Zelenskyy as “a symbol of bravery and courage around the world”.
“As I told him, my team and I will do everything we can to help Ukraine defend itself, to hold Russia accountable for atrocities, and to help rebuild Ukraine,” she wrote on Twitter.
Honored to present my credentials to @ZelenskyyUa, who has become a symbol of bravery and courage around the world. As I told him, my team and I will do everything we can to help Ukraine defend itself, to hold Russia accountable for atrocities, and to help rebuild Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/GqwPCyWh3t
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) June 2, 2022
Blinken discusses ‘urgency’ of Ukraine support in talks with UK counterpart
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed “the urgency of continued support to Ukraine” in talks with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss.
That support includes “vital humanitarian and security assistance”, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout of the call between the two leaders.
“The Secretary reconfirmed the importance of transatlantic unity in holding those who support the Kremlin’s war of choice to account, as well as ensuring vital agricultural commodities can leave Ukraine to provide the world critical food supplies,” the statement said.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Read all the updates from Thursday, June 2 here.
