Russian warship sinks as Indonesia invites Putin to G-20 meeting next week

Thursday was both sort of a good and bad day for Russia.

The good part happened when Indonesia, which is currently holding the presidency for the G20, said it wasn’t going to exclude Russia from a meeting of G-20 finance chiefs taking place next week. But on the flip side, Russia lost a major warship at sea. Russia said it was because of rough weather, but if you ask Ukraine, they destroyed it.

Meanwhile, the country threatened to strengthen its nuclear power in the Baltic if Finland and Sweden decided to go ahead and join NATO.

Key comments:

“While being towed … towards the destined port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded. Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank," state news agency Tass quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying.

“Indonesia’s position is understood by all G-20 members — some may disagree and others may agree — but all of them understood,” said Wempi Saputra, expert staff at Indonesia’s Finance Ministry. “We have said to the members that it is time, despite the geopolitical tension, to focus on international economic cooperation,” he added.