Zelensky Says Ukraine Ready to Discuss Deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday he was prepared to discuss a commitment from Ukraine not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.“It’s a compromise for everyone: for the West, which doesn’t know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which doesn’t want further NATO expansion,” Zelensky said late Monday in an interview with Ukrainian television channels.
He also repeated his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Unless he meets with Putin, it is impossible to understand whether Russia even wants to stop the war, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that Kyiv will be ready to discuss the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists after a ceasefire and steps toward providing security guarantees.
Russia Halts Japan Peace Treaty Talks Over Sanctions
Russia has withdrawn from peace treaty talks with Japan and frozen joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril islands due to sanctions imposed by Tokyo over Ukraine, setting off an angry reaction from Japan.Zelensky: Russia Shells Humanitarian Corridor
Russian forces shelled along a humanitarian corridor on Monday, wounding four children who were among the civilians being evacuated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nighttime video address to the nation. He said the shelling took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, the initial destination of those fleeing Mariupol.The Ukrainian government said that about 3,000 people from Mariupol were evacuated on Monday.
Zelenskyy said he spoke with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and French President Emmanual Macron to coordinate their positions before Western leaders meet on Thursday.
“Our position will be expressed and will be expressed strongly, believe me,” Zelenskyy said.
US Warns of Potential Cyberattacks From Russia
The United States warned on Monday there was “evolving intelligence” that the Russian government was exploring options for potential cyberattacks, according to a statement from the White House.“I urge our private sector partners to harden your cyber defenses immediately,” President Joe Biden said in the statement, adding everyone needed “to do their part to meet one of the defining threats of our time.”
Pentagon Says It Will Help Gather Evidence of Russian War Crimes in Ukraine
The Pentagon on Monday accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine and said it would help gather evidence of them, as it accused the Kremlin of carrying out indiscriminate attacks as part of an intentional strategy in the conflict.“But there’s investigative processes that are going to go on, and we’re going to let that happen. We’re going to contribute to that investigative process. As for what would come out of that, that’s not a decision that the Pentagon leadership would make.”
Zelensky Says Any Compromises With Russia Will Require a Referendum
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said any compromises agreed with Russia to end the war would need to be voted on by Ukrainians in a referendum.“The people will have to speak up and respond to this or that form of compromise. And what they (the compromises) will be is the subject of our talks and understanding between Ukraine and Russia,” he said in an interview published by Ukrainian public broadcasting company Suspilne.
Issues that could be raised in any referendum could concern territories occupied by Russian forces, including Crimea, or security guarantees offered to Ukraine by countries in lieu of NATO membership, he said.
EU Split on Russia Oil Sanctions, Mulls Other Steps
The European Union’s foreign ministers disagreed on Monday on whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia’s lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to decide an embargo.The EU and allies have already imposed hefty measures against Russia, including freezing its central bank’s assets.
But targeting Russian energy exports, as the United States and Britain have done, is a divisive choice for the 27-nation EU, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of its gas.
One EU diplomat said some hoped that by June the EU would have found enough alternative sources of energy to seriously consider an oil embargo. No date has been agreed though, and other EU states may have different targets in mind.
Germany and the Netherlands said the EU was dependent on Russian oil and gas and could not cut itself off right now.
“The question of an oil embargo is not a question of whether we want or don’t want (it), but a question of how much we depend on oil,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters.
“Germany is importing a lot (of Russian oil), but there are also other member states who can’t stop the oil imports from one day to the other,” she said, adding that the bloc should instead work on reducing its reliance on Moscow for its energy needs.
Defense Secretary to Accompany Biden to NATO, Poland
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will accompany President Joe Biden in Europe this week for talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels and in Poland as allies respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said on Monday.Austin just returned from Europe on Saturday after a week of meetings with NATO allies.
Russia Finds Meta Guilty of ‘Extremist Activity’ but WhatsApp Can Stay
A Moscow court said on Monday that Meta was guilty of “extremist activity,” but the ruling will not affect its WhatsApp messenger service, focusing on the U.S. firm’s already banned Facebook and Instagram social networks.Meta did not respond to requests for comment after Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court said in a press statement that it had upheld a lawsuit filed by state prosecutors on banning the company’s activities on Russian territory.
Meta’s lawyer Victoria Shakina had earlier told the court that the company was not carrying out extremist activities and was against Russophobia, the Interfax news agency reported.
It was not clear whether Meta would appeal the outlawing of the activities of Facebook and Instagram in Russia “on the grounds of realizing extremist activity,” a ban TASS cited judge Olga Solopova as saying would be enforced immediately.
EU Approves Common Defense and Security Plan
The European Union approved on Monday a Strategic Compass—a bloc-wide common defense strategy that “gives the European Union an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU’s security and defence policy by 2030.”Zelensky Aide Says Calls for Violence Against Russians Hurt Ukraine’s Image
Calls for violence against Russian citizens and the castration of prisoners of war ruin Ukraine’s public image as a civilized European country and are not acceptable, Alexey Arestovich, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Facebook on Monday.Russian Military Says It Will Continue Using Hypersonic Missile to Hit Targets in Ukraine
The Russian military says it will continue using its state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to hit particularly important targets in Ukraine.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Monday that the Kinzhal hypersonic missile “has proven its efficiency in destroying heavily fortified special facilities.”
He said that a Kinzhal missile was used Friday to hit a Soviet-era arsenal for storing missiles near the western town of Deliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains, the first time the new weapon was used in combat. It also was used in a strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv over the weekend. Konashenkov noted that Kinzhal was used for these strikes due to its high kinetic energy and its ability to penetrate defenses.
Konashenkov said that Kinzhal missiles were fired at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 620 miles).
Kinzhal, one of an array of hypersonic weapons developed by Russia in recent years, has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and flies at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. It’s carried by specially redesigned MiG-31 fighter jets.
Russian Military Says It Has Hit Shopping Mall
The Russian military says it has hit a shopping mall on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv because it has been used to store rockets.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov charged Monday that the Ukrainian forces were using the shopping mall to reload multiple rocket launchers and store rockets used for shelling Russian troops. He said that a battery of multiple rocket launchers and ammunition for them were destroyed in the strike. The defense ministry spokesman’s claims could not independently verified.
Russia Warns of Diplomatic Breakdown With US
Russia has warned that relations with the U.S. are “on the verge of a breach” and summoned the U.S. ambassador for an official protest against President Joe Biden’s criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.A Russian Foreign Ministry statement Monday referred to “recent unacceptable statements” by Biden about Putin. Biden referred to Putin last week as a “war criminal” in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry says that at the meeting with U.S. ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan “it was emphasized that remarks such as these by the American President, which are unworthy of a state figure of such a high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of a breach.”
Poland Mulls ‘Freeze and Seize’ of Russian-Owed Property
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for Russian-owned properties in Poland to be frozen and confiscated as part of the Western sanctions response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Many countries have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, targeting banks and trade, and seizing assets like Russian oligarchs’ luxury yachts.
Italy has seized property belonging to close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s villa on the island of Sardinia and Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko’s $578 million superyacht.
Nobel Prize Chiefs Reject Exception for Zelensky
Following an open letter from EU politicians, Norwegian Nobel Institute’s director Olav Njølstad has stated that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee will not be able to extend its deadline past Jan. 31 to make the nomination of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky possible.Moscow Bans Facebook and Instagram
A Moscow court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram in Russia as extremist organizations after the platforms’ owner allowed online hate speech against Russian nationals.Moscow Explains Why No Ceasefire Amid Peace Talks With Kyiv
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow would not put on pause its military action against Ukraine amid conducting peace negotiations with Kyiv. He explained any pause would give the Ukrainian military to regroup and to continue their attacks against the Russian military.Russia’s Central Bank Reopens Bond Trading
Russia’s central bank has cautiously reopened bond trading on the Moscow exchange for the first time since the country invaded Ukraine.The price of Russia’s ruble-denominated government debt fell Monday, sending borrowing costs higher. Stock trading has remained closed, with no word on when it might reopen.
The central bank bought bonds to support prices. It has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on financial transactions to try to stabilize markets and combat the severe fallout from Western sanctions that have sent the ruble sharply lower against the U.S. dollar and the euro.
Ratings agencies have downgraded Russia’s bonds to “junk” status. Russia’s finance ministry last week flirted with default by threatening to pay foreign holders of dollar bonds in massively devalued rubles before sending the money in dollars.
Stocks last traded on Feb. 25, the day after the invasion started, and sent the main stock index sharply lower.
Kremlin: More Progress Must Be Made in Talks With Ukraine Before Putin Can Meet Zelensky
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said more progress must be made in talks with Ukraine before Russian President Vladimir Putin can meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.Peskov said that “in order to talk about a meeting of the two presidents, first it’s necessary to do the homework, it’s necessary to hold talks and agree [on] the results.”
He added that “so far significant movement has not been achieved” in the talks and that “there are not any agreements which they could commit to” at a joint meeting.
Ukraine and Russia’s delegations have held several rounds of talks both in-person and more recently via video link. Zelensky has said he would be prepared to meet Putin directly to seek agreements on key issues.
Ukraine Refuses Russia’s Demands to Lay Down Arms in Mariupol
Ukraine said there is no question of surrendering the city of Mariupol after Russia called on Ukrainian forces on Sunday to lay down arms in the besieged port city.“There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms,” the Ukrainska Pravda news portal cited Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying. “We have already informed the Russian side about this.”
Russia said a “terrible humanitarian catastrophe” was unfolding in Mariupol.
“Lay down your arms,” Col.-Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, said in a briefing distributed by the defense ministry.
“A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed,” Mizintsev said. “All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol.”
Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardments since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped in the city with little if any food, water, and power.
Mizintsev said humanitarian corridors for civilians would be opened eastwards and westwards out of Mariupol at 10 a.m. Moscow time on Monday.
Ukraine has until 5 a.m. Moscow time to respond to the offer on humanitarian corridors and laying down arms, he said.
Vereshchuk said Russia’s actions are “a deliberate manipulation.”
“Instead of spending time on eight pages on letters, just open the corridor,” she said.
Israel PM Says Big Gaps Remain in Bid to End Ukraine–Russia Conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has been trying to mediate an end to the Ukraine–Russia conflict, said on Monday that despite some progress big gaps remained between the sides.“There’s still a long way to go, because ... there are several issues in dispute, some of them fundamental,” he said in a speech, according to a transcript provided by his office.
Bennett added that Israel, “together with other friends in the world, will continue trying to bridge the gap and bring an end to the war.”
UK Says Bulk of Russian Forces More Than 15 Miles From Center of Kyiv
Russian forces advancing on Kyiv from the north-east have stalled and the bulk of its forces remain more than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the center of the city, British military intelligence said on Monday.“Heavy fighting continues north of Kyiv,” the Ministry of Defense said.
Ukraine Claims Russia Shelled Chemical Plant, Russia Denies
Ukraine’s prosecutor general claimed a Russian shell struck a chemical plant outside the city of Sumy a little after 3 a.m. Monday, causing a leak in a 50-ton tank of ammonia that took hours to contain.Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed the leak was a “planned provocation” by Ukrainian forces to falsely accuse Russia of a chemical attack.
Konashenkov also said an overnight cruise missile strike hit a Ukrainian military training center in the Rivne region. He claimed 80 foreign and Ukrainian troops were killed.
Top Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Shot Dead in Ukraine: Report
Andrei Nikolayevich Paliy, a senior commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has reportedly been killed while fighting at a Ukrainian port city, two top officials said in a statement.Biden to Travel to Poland to Discuss Ukraine Crisis With Duda
U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Poland on Friday to discuss the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has sparked a “humanitarian and human rights crisis,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said late Sunday.Chernobyl Staff Rotated Out for First Time Since Site’s Capture: IAEA
Around half the single shift of staff who have been working non-stop at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl since Russian forces seized the site last month have been relieved by other Ukrainian staff, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday.More than three weeks ago Russian forces took control of the waste facilities near the now-defunct power plant that was the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986.
The shift that happened to be working then had been on duty constantly since and unable to rotate out, which the International Atomic Energy Agency had said posed a growing threat to safety as they were exhausted and working under extreme pressure. It has often called for them to be replaced.
“They were there for far too long. I sincerely hope that remaining staff from this shift can also rotate soon,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in an IAEA statement issued on Sunday night.
Israel Manages Its Involvement With Ukraine and Russia “in a Sensitive, Generous and Responsible Way,” PM Says
Israel’s prime minister says the country is managing its involvement with Ukraine and Russia “in a sensitive, generous and responsible way while balancing various and complex considerations” after Ukraine’s president called on Israel to take sides.Naftali Bennett spoke on the tarmac at Israel’s main international airport as an aid delegation was set to depart for Ukraine to set up a field hospital for refugees near the Polish border.
A day earlier Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked Israel in a televised address to Israeli parliament members, saying Israel should provide arms and impose sanctions on Russia.
Israel has good relations with both Ukraine and Russia and has acted as an intermediary between the two sides since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
Bennett said that “Israel has extended its hand in aid in the Ukraine crisis for several weeks, very much from the first moment, through different channels,” pointing to humanitarian aid shipments and taking in Ukrainian refugees and immigrants.
No Plan for Biden to Visit Ukraine While in Europe
President Joe Biden has no plan to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.“The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine,” Psaki wrote on Twitter.
The White House announced Tuesday that Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for the March 24 NATO summit. He is expected to meet with other NATO leaders and “discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies,” Psaki said.
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