KYIV, Ukraine - Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faced a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and a defending country buoyed by its win in a hugely popular pan-European music competition Sunday.Finland announced it would apply to join NATO, as top diplomats from the Western alliance, including U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, gathered Sunday in Berlin to discuss the war. Sweden's governing party plans to announce its position on seeking NATO membership later Sunday.The two nonaligned Nordic nations becoming part of the alliance would pose an affront to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has cited NATO’s post-Cold War expansion in Eastern Europe as a threat to Russia.
NATO says it is a purely defensive alliance.(first row, from L) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pose for an official photo at the Informal Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affair on Ukraine in B Ukraine said it was holding off Russian offensives Sunday in the country's east.
Western military officials said the campaign Moscow launched there after its forces failed to seize Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, had slowed to a snail's pace."The brutal invasion (by) Russia is losing momentum," NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said. "We know that with the bravery of the Ukrainian people and army, and with our help, Ukraine can win this war."RELATED: Why a Finland, Sweden NATO membership would be a big dealUkraine, meanwhile, celebrated a morale-boosting victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.