Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine
Russia’s Medvedev calls Finland and Sweden new ‘opponents’ if they join NATO
Finland and Sweden will become Russia’s enemies if they join NATO, Russia’s Security Council Vice-President Dmitry Medvedev has said.
The change would give Moscow “more officially registered opponents”, Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
“There can no longer be any question of a nuclear-weapon-free status for the Baltic Sea – the balance must be restored,” he said. “To date, Russia has not taken such measures and will not do so.”
He also claimed that NATO planned to allow the two Nordic states – which have so far been partners with the 30-member military alliance but remained neutral – with “minimal bureaucratic procedures”.
Russia’s response should be taken with “no emotion, with a cold head”, he added.
The comments come a day after the leaders of Finland and Sweden said that their decision on whether to apply for NATO membership would come within a few weeks, and said that their security assessments had changed dramatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
– Natasha Turak
Russia will seek peace or leave the international arena forever: Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on European nations to stop buying Russian oil.
The press service of the Ukrainian President | via Reuters
In his latest evening speechUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted that the Russian leadership will either seek peace or leave the international arena forever.
He also once again demanded an oil embargo from his European counterparts. “The European Union must stop sponsoring Russia’s military machine,” he said in the speech.
-Matt Clinch
The Czech Republic reopens embassy in Kyiv
Support messages to Ukraine outside the Russian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, on Monday, February 28, 2022. The Czech Republic reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, almost two months after it closed on February 24 after Russia’s invasion of Land.
Milan Jaros | Bloomberg | Getty pictures
The Czech Republic has reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, almost two months after it closed on February 24 when the Russian invasion began.
The Foreign Ministry said in a tweet that its diplomats are back in Ukraine and that the Czech flag is once again waving above the embassy.
“This is one of the many steps we are taking to show our support for Ukraine. The Czech Republic will always stand by Ukraine,” the ministry said.
Other countries that have announced that their diplomats will return to Kyiv are Slovenia, Estonia and Turkey.
– Chelsea Ong
The author of “Sapiens” says that the war in Ukraine may mark the most dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis
Israeli author, historian and professor Yuval Noah Harari has often spoken out against President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, adding that creating greater unity between Europe and the United States has had the unintended consequence.
Kristof Van Accom | AFP | Getty pictures
Israeli historian and best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari has told CNBC that the growing risk that Russia could turn to nuclear weapons or other forms of chemical or biological warfare to promote its attack poses an existential threat to humanity.
While acknowledging the current threat of nuclear war is “not very likely”, Harari said everyone – governments and individuals – should be “very concerned”.
“It’s a possibility, a real possibility that we have to consider. And that’s terrible news for all of humanity,” he said.
Read the whole story here.
-Karen Gilchrist
Details of $ 800 million arms package for Ukraine were revealed
Ukraine already refilled US-made spears before Russia invaded. Here, a group of Ukrainian soldiers takes a broadcast spear in early February, when Russia placed troops on the Ukrainian border.
Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty pictures
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday night revealed details of the latest military aid package that the United States will send to Ukraine, which includes 300 armored vehicles, artillery and anti-chemical protection equipment.
A post on his official Twitter account listed 200 M113 armored personnel carriers and 100 other armored, wheeled vehicles. The M113 is an older tracked vehicle that the United States began using before the Vietnam War.
Among the newer weapons in the package are 500 Javelin missiles and 300 Switchblade attack drones. Ukrainian defenders have used spears and other axle-fired weapons to a devastating effect on Russian tanks and other vehicles.
Eight howitzers and 40,000 artillery shots are also part of the latest American arms transport.
The list includes “protective equipment” against chemical, biological and radiological attacks, as well as 30,000 sets of body protection and helmets.
Military observers and others have expressed fears that Vladimir Putin could use weapons of mass destruction against Ukrainian troops and civilians as Russia continues to suffer defeat on the battlefield.
“We continue to stand with the brave Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom,” Austin said. “To this end, this latest support package includes many of the highly effective weapon systems we have already provided along with key new features.”
– Ted Kemp
Ukraine claims to have damaged a Russian warship in the Black Sea
The Russian missile cruiser Moscow was set on fire and evacuated after a Ukrainian attack on the ship. Moscow off the coast of Syria in 2015 is shown here.
Max Delany | AFP | Getty pictures
Ukraine claimed to have damaged a Russian warship, Moscow, stationed in the Black Sea after striking it with Neptune missiles.
“It has been confirmed that the missile cruiser ‘Moscow’ today went exactly where it was sent to by our border guards on the island of Zmiinyi! Neptune missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage to the Russian ship,” Maksym Marchenko, governor of the Odesa region, said in a posts in Telegram.
The Russian state media service TASS, which quotes the Russian Ministry of Defense, confirmed that the ship caught fire after being “seriously injured” and that the entire crew had been evacuated.
According to the Russian Ministry, the fire started after ammunition was detonated on board the warship. “As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moscow missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged. The crew was completely evacuated.” TASS quoted the Russian ministry as said.
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych claimed that 510 Russian crew members were on board the ship during a television interview. During the interview, Arestovych said sarcastically that two sailors must have caused the fire by smoking in the wrong place, or they were just unlucky.
Arestovych also said that Moscow was the same warship that asked Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island (a Ukrainian island on the Black Sea) to surrender at the beginning of the conflict, with the Ukrainian troops telling the navy on the ship to “go f– – yourself. ” Audio recordings of this incident went viral back in February.
Unlike the Russian logistics ship Orsk, which Ukraine destroyed last month, the guided missile cruiser Moscow is an offensive warship designed to attack targets from a distance. Moscow used the ship off the coast of Syria in 2015.
–NBC News, Riya Bhattacharjee, Ted Kemp