<p>After Finland officially announced it will bid for NATO membership, Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party declared it favoured joining the European military alliance.</p>

<p>"Joint Swedish-Finnish NATO bid is the best thing&nbsp;for Sweden's security," Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said.</p>

<p>Both Sweden and Finland have been making strident efforts to join NATO after the Russian invasion began in February fearing for their own security.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-can-win-this-war-aggression-does-not-pay-says-nato-chief-stoltenberg-479177">Also Read:&nbsp;Ukraine can win this war, aggression does not pay, says NATO chief&nbsp;</a></p>

<p>Finland and Sweden had maintained neutral status in European conflicts but in the past two months both nations decided to reverse their policy to join the military alliance amid the Ukraine war.</p>

<p>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed both bids declaring that the Biden administration "would strongly support the NATO application by either Sweden or Finland should they choose to formally apply to the alliance".</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;Will the Russian invasion end this year?</strong></p>

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<p>Russia on Sunday had stopped electricity supply to Finland after the country's energy agency said it was due to payment issues.</p>

<p>NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will "try to speed up that process" as NATO eyes new members. Stoltenberg asserted that the alliance would seek to increase its presence in Europe and provide "security assurances".</p>

<p>The latest development comes even as Russia carried out airstrikes in eastern Ukraine including in Lviv near the Polish border. Russia claimed it has carried out attacks in the Donetsk region.</p>

<p>The Russian military had said earlier it would be concentrating its forces in the eastern region after pulling out of Kyiv. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>(With inputs from Agencies)</p>

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After Finland officially announced it will bid for NATO membership, Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party declared it favoured joining the European military alliance.

After Finland officially announced it will bid for NATO membership, Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party declared it favoured joining the European military alliance. "Joint Swedish-Finnish NATO bid is the best thing for Sweden's security," Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said. Both Sweden and Finland have been making strident efforts to join NATO after the Russian invasion began in February fearing for their own security. Also Read: Ukraine can win this war, aggression does not pay, says NATO chief Finland and Sweden had maintained neutral status in European conflicts but in the past two months both nations decided to reverse their policy to join the military alliance amid the Ukraine war. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed both bids declaring that the Biden administration "would strongly support the NATO application by either Sweden or Finland should they choose to formally apply to the alliance". Watch: Will the Russian invasion end this year? Russia on Sunday had stopped electricity supply to Finland after the country's energy agency said it was due to payment issues. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will "try to speed up that process" as NATO eyes new members. Stoltenberg asserted that the alliance would seek to increase its presence in Europe and provide "security assurances". The latest development comes even as Russia carried out airstrikes in eastern Ukraine including in Lviv near the Polish border. Russia claimed it has carried out attacks in the Donetsk region. The Russian military had said earlier it would be concentrating its forces in the eastern region after pulling out of Kyiv. (With inputs from Agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Sweden's ruling party backs NATO membership

<p><em>Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.</em></p>

<p>Amid the Ukraine war, UK's defence intelligence said Russia has likely suffered losses of one-third&nbsp;of its&nbsp;ground force since February.</p>

<p>"Russian UAVs are vital for tactical awareness and directing artillery, but have been vulnerable to Ukranian anti-air capabilities," the intelligence report said.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-can-win-this-war-aggression-does-not-pay-says-nato-chief-stoltenberg-479177">Also Read:&nbsp;Ukraine can win this war, aggression does not pay, says NATO chief</a></p>

<p>The intelligence report claimed the&nbsp;"Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness".</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 15 May 2022<br />
<br />
Find out more about the UK government's response: <a href="https://t.co/VBPIqyrgA5">https://t.co/VBPIqyrgA5</a><br />
<br />
🇺🇦 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithUkraine</a> 🇺🇦 <a href="https://t.co/n6dBVZHAos">pic.twitter.com/n6dBVZHAos</a></p>
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1525704460214878208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>President Vladimir Putin had declared a "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24 as Russian troops invaded the neighbouring country, however, the invasion force was met with fierce resistance from Ukraine's Army.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;Finland announces historic NATO membership bid</strong></p>

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<p>The British report claimed&nbsp;"Russia's Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule". Russian forces had declared earlier that it was concentrating its forces in the eastern region after its forces pulled back from areas around Kyiv.</p>

<p>"Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month while sustaining consistently high levels of attrition," the report said.</p>

<p>The UK report claimed that "Russian bridging equipment has been in short supply" which has slowed down and restricted the offensive.</p>

<p>"Under the current condictions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days," it said.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
(With inputs from Agencies)</p>

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Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. Amid the Ukraine war, UK's defence intelligence said Russia has likely suffered losses of one-third of its ground force since February. "Russian UAVs are vital for tactical awareness and directing artillery, but have been vulnerable to Ukranian anti-air capabilities," the intelligence report said. Also Read: Ukraine can win this war, aggression does not pay, says NATO chief The intelligence report claimed the "Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness". Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 15 May 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/VBPIqyrgA5 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/n6dBVZHAos — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 15, 2022 × President Vladimir Putin had declared a "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24 as Russian troops invaded the neighbouring country, however, the invasion force was met with fierce resistance from Ukraine's Army. Watch: Finland announces historic NATO membership bid The British report claimed "Russia's Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule". Russian forces had declared earlier that it was concentrating its forces in the eastern region after its forces pulled back from areas around Kyiv. "Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month while sustaining consistently high levels of attrition," the report said. The UK report claimed that "Russian bridging equipment has been in short supply" which has slowed down and restricted the offensive. "Under the current condictions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days," it said. (With inputs from Agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Russia unlikely to accelerate rate of advance in Ukraine next 30 days: UK defence intelligence

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Sweden's ruling party backs NATO membership

Russia unlikely to accelerate rate of advance in Ukraine next 30 days: UK defence intelligence