US reports indicate Russia will try to annex the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with ‘sham’ elections; Russia’s demands for fuel payments to be made in roubles would breach EU sanctions, the bloc’s energy policy chief says
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Finland will decide to apply for Nato membership on 12 May, according to a local media report.
Citing anonymous government sources, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reports the decision to join will come in two steps on that day, with the nation’s president Sauli Niinistö first announcing his approval for the Nordic neighbour of Russia to join the western defence alliance, followed by parliamentary groups giving their approval for the application.