Live updates | German official: Time working against Russia

BERLIN — Germany’s vice chancellor says Russia’s continued income from high fuel prices “hurts” but the Russian economy is collapsing and “time is working against Russia.”

Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy minister and responsible for energy, told parliament Thursday that “the income that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has obtained in recent months because of high prices hurts, and we can only be ashamed that we haven’t yet managed to reduce this dependence more significantly.”

But he argued that looking at Russia’s gas and oil income doesn’t tell the whole story. Habeck said that “Putin is still getting money, but he can hardly spend it any more” because of Western sanctions. He pointed to big drops in exports to Russia, including from Germany.

Habeck said that “time is not working for Russia. It is working against Russia, it is working against the Russian economy.” He added that “no one wants to invest in Russia any more.”

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

— Photo Gallery: 100 days of extraordinary images from Ukraine

— US, Germany agree to supply Ukraine advanced weapons

— Ukraine’s quest to qualify for the World Cup surges on during war

— Ukrainian stabs Ukrainian at New York bar, thinking he’s Russian

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s common defense on July 1.

In a referendum on Wednesday, two-third of voters decided to abandon a 30-year-old waiver that kept the Scandinavian EU country out. With 100% of the votes counted, 66.9% voted in favor of abandoning the 30-year opt-out and 33.1% against.

The move is the latest example of a country in Europe seeking closer defense links with allies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The referendum follows historic bids by fellow Nordic countries Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

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LONDON — Britain says it will send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, in a move coordinated with the United States.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the U.K. will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can send precision-guided rockets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles).

Britain says the decision has been coordinated closely with a U.S. decision to send Ukraine High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. The two missile systems are similar, though the American one has wheels while the British one — also U.S.-built — runs on tracks.

Britain says Ukrainian troops will be trained in the U.K. to use the equipment.

Ukraine has implored its Western allies to send longer-range missiles to help it counter Russian artillery assaults in the eastern Donbas region, the focus of Moscow’s offensive.

The U.S. said Ukraine has promised not to launch the weapons into Russia. But Russia accused Washington of “pouring fuel on the fire” of the conflict.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s emergency officials said Russian shelling overnight set a school in the city of Kharkiv on fire and that a woman died in the blaze.

Another man sustained…