The Russian Ukraine war continues on for the third month since Russia invaded February 24, 2022.

Since the initial invasion, Ukraine has suffered a reported 3,778 civilian deaths and 4,186 injuries. Ukraine has reported that Russia has lost 27,900 soldiers in the same amount of time.

A captured Russian soldier pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian May 18. It is the first war crimes trial since the initial invasion. The trial is likely to be short. More prosecutions are being readied against 41 Russian soldiers for crimes including bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape and looting. 

Finland and Sweden applied for membership in NATO over concerns of the Russia Ukraine war. The applications are required to be reviewed by the 30 member countries before being approved. The approval process is expected to take around two weeks, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has objected to the applications. If his concerns are dealt with, the process could take only a few months to accept the new countries as members. 

“I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners,” said Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO does not expect major gains for either country in the near future. Momentum has shifted largely in favor of Ukraine, and the coming efforts will be to retake captured Ukraine territory.