U.S. Senate Votes To Add Sweden, Finland To NATO

Ninety-five US senators voted to include Sweden and Finland in NATO, with one senator voting against the accession on Aug. 3, according to the New York Times. The US is the 23rd country out of 30 NATO members to ratify the expansion, Kyiv Independent reported.

Photo Insert: Allies signed the Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden at NATO Headquarters, in the presence of Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) and Canada are buying $40 million worth of grain storage for Ukraine to keep an additional 2.4 million metric tons (MMT) of grain for 2022-2023.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada will finance the purchase of equipment for 15 regions of Ukraine.

Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon's acting spokesman, has denied reports that Russia had destroyed six US-made HIMARS, about half of the number sent to Ukraine. "We are aware of these latest claims by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and they are again patently false," he said.

Sky News has reported that the UK plans to lend $3.6 billion to Ukraine. Nadhim Zahawi, the UK's chancellor of the exchequer, has written a letter to other ministers, supporting a request for a loan from UK Export Finance.

If approved, the funds will be spent mostly on military contracts ($2.8 billion), and the rest will be used to finance reconstruction projects. The Swiss government imposed further sanctions against Russia on Aug. 3, following the EU's latest measures.

"The new measures primarily concern a ban on buying, importing, or transporting gold and gold products from Russia," the statement reads. New sanctions also target the assets of Sberbank, Russia's largest bank.

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