Blinken: Top US diplomat says Russia’s decision on New START is ‘deeply unfortunate and irresponsible’
Top US diplomat says Russia’s decision on New START is “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible”
From CNN’s Andrea Cambron
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty is “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.”
The Biden administration remains ready to talk about the nuclear arms treaty “at any time with Russia, irrespective of anything else going on in the world,” he said.
“We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,” he added, saying the US will ensure that it is “posturing appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies.”
“I think it matters that we continue to act responsibly in this area, it’s also something the rest of the world expect of us,” Blinken said.
Russian shelling kills 6 in city of Kherson, Ukrainian military says
From CNN’s Mariya Knight in Atlanta and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Russian shelling has killed at least six people in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South said in a Facebook post.
“A local market and a public transport stop were shelled. Civilians of Kherson were injured and killed right in the middle of the street, in their own homes and workplaces,” according to the post. “As of now, there are about 6 dead and 12 wounded.”
In the city, Russian shelling hit residential areas, infrastructure, a kindergarten and a hospital, according to the military.
“Several buildings were heavily damaged, and several apartments in apartment buildings are on fire as a result of direct hits,” it said.
According to Operational Command, the port infrastructure of the city of Ochakiv was also hit with multiple rocket launchers, injuring one person.
China’s top diplomat arrives in Moscow for meeting with Russian foreign minister
From CNN’s Beijing bureau, Anna Chernova and Uliana Pavlova
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has arrived in Moscow and will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday.
This would be the first visit to the country from China’s top diplomat since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wang, who was named Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser last month, is making the visit during an eight-day international tour.
Neither Russia nor China has specified whether Wang would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we do not exclude a meeting” between Wang and Putin.
“Russian-Chinese relations are very multifaceted and allied in nature, the agenda is clear and very extensive, so there are things to talk about,” Peskov told reporters.
China’s Foreign Ministry said the visit to Moscow will provide an opportunity for China and Russia to continue to develop their strategic partnership and “exchange views” on “international and regional hotspot issues of shared interest.”
For context: Though China claimed impartiality in the Ukraine conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it has refused to condemn Moscow and parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.
And while Beijing’s pro-Russian rhetoric appears to have softened in recent months, its support for Moscow – when measured by its annual trade, diplomatic engagements and schedule of joint military exercises – has bolstered over the past year.
Wang said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that China is ready to present its peace proposition for Ukraine in a rare remark that referred to the Ukraine conflict as “warfare.” But European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told CNN on Saturday that “we need more proof that China isn’t working with Russia, and we aren’t seeing that now.”
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that the visit is the first of any Chinese official to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. It is the first visit of China’s top diplomat since the Russian invasion.
It’s mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know
From CNN staff
Russian President Vladimir Putin used an address to the country’s Federal Assembly to repeat his justifications for the invasion of Ukraine, blaming the conflict on the West and the expansion of the NATO military alliance.
He added that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, the only agreement left regulating the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is preparing to make a speech from the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, following his surprise trip to Ukraine on Monday.
Here are the latest headlines:
- Putin plays the hits: The president used his state of the nation address to repeat his claims that Moscow had no choice but to launch an invasion of Ukraine.
- Key nuclear treaty: Russia is suspending its participation in the New START treaty, Putin also said. The agreement limits the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have.
- Railing against the West: Putin warned that Russians face an existential threat from what he described as corrupt Western values, adding that a family “is the union of a man and a woman.”
- Russian commentator slams Putin address: Prominent military blogger Igor Girkin criticized Putin’s speech for failing to address some of the perceived failings of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine.
- Biden prepares for Warsaw speech: The US president’s speech in Warsaw shortly will act as an “affirmative statement of values” rather than a direct rebuttal to Putin’s address earlier.
- Russia makes small gains in eastern Ukraine: Russian forces have made incremental gains around the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region and Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests.
- Russian strike “an apparent war crime”: A Russian cluster munition attack that killed more than 50 people at a crowded train station in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk last April was “in violation of the laws of war, and was an apparent war crime,” according to a report by Human Rights Watch and SITU Research.
- Italy “unlikely” to send fighter jets: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said it is “unlikely” Italy will donate fighter jets to Ukraine in an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa.
- China voices concerns: China is “deeply worried” about the conflict in Ukraine “spiraling out of control,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday.
“Coordination” needed to deliver weapons to Ukraine, foreign minister says
From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that “coordination” was needed to deliver weapons and ammunition to the battlefield amid Russia’s war.
“The capacity to produce is there. The capacity to deliver is there. So we need coordination — coordination to deliver. And this is what we discussed today,” Kuleba told reporters at a joint news conference with the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Kuleba’s comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on the war in Ukraine in his state of the nation speech. He rolled out a familiar list of justifications for his unprovoked invasion, including NATO expansion.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Putin was not able to declare victory or speak at length about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of the country’s military which has been fighting back Moscow’s troops.
“Today’s speech by the Russian dictator was in part written by #UAarmy. It is thanks to our soldiers who are fighting near Svatove, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Vuhledar, Orikhiv that there was no place for a “special military operation” in his annual address,” the ministry said in a tweet on Tuesday. “Because there are no victories.”
CNN’s Victoria Butenko and Vasco Cotovio contributed to this post.
NATO secretary general says Putin is “preparing for more war”
From CNN’s Jessie Gretener
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Vladimir Putin is “preparing for more war” in response to the Russian president’s state of the nation address on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg also noted that the alliance is “increasingly concerned” that China is planning support for Russia.
“It is President Putin who started this imperial war of conquest. It is Putin who keeps escalating this way,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels Tuesday alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “One year since he launched the invasion, we see no sign that President Putin is preparing for peace. On the contrary, as he made clear today, he’s preparing for more war.”
“Russia is launching new offensives, mobilizing more troops, and reaching out to North Korea and Iran,” Stoltenberg said. “We are also increasingly concerned that China might be planning lethal support for Russia’s war.”
Stoltenberg echoed previous comments about support for Ukraine, welcoming “recent announcements by allies on new tanks, heavy weaponry, and training for Ukraine troops,” stating that it is “urgent to deliver on all these pledges.”
“We must give Ukraine what they need to win and prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe,” Stoltenberg added. “Key capabilities must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the momentum.”
Stoltenberg said that he, Kuleba and Borrell discussed ramping up production to continue supporting Ukraine during Tuesday’s talks.
“Upon Ukraine’s request, we have agreed that NATO should assist Ukraine to develop a procurement system that is effective, transparent, and accountable. We have also agreed today to convene a meeting of NATO, EU and Ukrainian experts to see what more we can do together to ensure Ukraine has the weapons it needs,” he added.
NOW: President Biden meets Polish President Duda
US President Joe Biden is meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.
Biden’s visit to Poland comes a day after his secret trip to Kyiv.
He is set to give an address later today.
Russia summons American ambassador over US involvement in Ukraine “hostilities”
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, on Tuesday, saying it was “in connection with the growing involvement of the United States in hostilities on the side of the Kyiv regime.”
The ministry said in a statement: “The note of protest handed over to the ambassador emphasizes that the pumping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons, as well as giving target designations for strikes against Russian military and civilian infrastructure, clearly prove the inconsistency and falsity of the statements of the American side that the United States is not a part of the conflict.”
“In this regard, the ambassador was told that the current aggressive course of the United States to deepen confrontation with Russia in all areas is counterproductive,” it continued.
The statement added that Washington “must take steps that involve the withdrawal of US-NATO military and equipment, as well as the cessation of hostile anti-Russian activity.”
Ukrainian railway boss apologizes for dip in punctuality to a mere 90% due to Biden’s train
The head of Ukrainian Railways made a tongue-in-cheek apology for train delays caused by US President Joe Biden’s visit to the country on Monday.
In a Twitter thread, Alexander Kamyshin described Biden’s long train trip aboard what he dubbed ‘Rail Force One’ as a “historic moment.”
“I don’t actually remember how we got from Putin’s idea to ‘take Kyiv in 3 days’ to President Biden walking across Kyiv together with my President Zelensky on the 362nd day of the war,” he tweeted.
“So, it was an honor and a privilege for me and the whole #IronTeam of [Ukrainian Railways] to deal with this visit. I must say, it was complicated. But we did it. That’s how #RailForceOne appeared,” said Kamyshin.
Kamyshin added that in 24 hours, Biden spent 20 hours on the train and only four hours in Kyiv.
“That’s why it was important for us to care about him in a proper way. And we did,” he said.
I also want to apologize for breaking our OTP (On Time Performance) yesterday. We had to delay some of our trains to give a way to #RailForceOne,” said Kamyshin.
“It was painful for me and my team, but I had to do that. So only 90% of our trains arrived on time yesterday. I apologize,” he added.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-2-21-23/h_03a47bdbe6c2b8959e17019ce32c4441
