Ukraine updates: West not plotting to attack Russia, Biden says

The EU is close to agreement on a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats say.

Among those the bloc is seeking to target are people involved in the illegal deportations of about 6,000 Ukrainian children.

The sanctions package, worth 11 billion euros ($11.7bn), is also likely to include, for the first time, a ban on all exports to seven Iranian entities believed to be making items used by Russia in the war.

The EU also plans to ban sales to Russia of all dual-use and electronic components used in armed systems, such as drones, missiles and helicopters – basically anything that can be found in Russian weapons on Ukrainian battlefields.

The EU is also likely to cut off more Russian banks – including the private Alfa-Bank, the online Tinkoff bank and the commercial lender Rosbank – from the SWIFT global messaging system.

Biden affirmed support for Moldova’s sovereignty in a meeting with the country’s president President Maia Sandu, the White House has said, days after Chisinau said it foiled a Russian coup attempt.

“President Biden reaffirmed strong US support for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said in a statement.

“He highlighted ongoing US assistance to help Moldova strengthen its political and economic resilience, including its democratic reform agenda and energy security, and to address the effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Sandu said earlier this month the country had intelligence that suggested Russia was plotting a coup to “overthrow” the Moldovan authorities and sow chaos in the small former Soviet republic.

The Kremlin has denied the coup-plotting claims, saying it is acting “responsibly” with regard to peacekeeping forces it has stationed in the breakaway region and warned Moldova against inflaming the situation further.

The head of the International Monetary Fund has hailed Kyiv’s efforts to tackle corruption and praised its “resilient” economy and people.

“The Ukrainian authorities are very open about the corruption problems and very determined to fight it. So is the whole of society,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during her trip to Kyiv this week.

Georgieva said she was “optimistic” that Ukraine can make progress in its fight against corruption and that people “are not going to tolerate” it.

“A war is a breeding ground for corruption,” Georgieva said, adding that she had not heard of attempts to “sugarcoat the issue” or seen a “lack of appetite to work with us”.

She said, however, that Ukraine’s anti-corruption structures needed to be “further improved”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has brushed off criticism from Silvio Berlusconi, saying Italy’s ex-prime minister did not have to live under daily bombardment and blackouts caused by Russian air raids.

Zelenskyy was asked at a news conference with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about Berlusconi’s remarks earlier this month, in which he said he would not want to meet Zelenskyy and blamed him for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I think Mr Berlusconi has not had to get up at three in the morning because of blackouts to start washing clothes, making food for his children two days in advance because there may not be power for the next two to three days because of the great love of the brotherly Russian people,” he said.

Zelenskyy said he thought Berlusconi would benefit from travelling to Ukraine to see with his own eyes the “bloody trail left by the brotherly Russian Federation”.

“Then we can talk at the same level,” he said.

Belgium has launched an investigation after a suspected Russian spy ship was spotted off its North Sea coast, perhaps surveying key energy and communications links, a minister has said.

The boat was spotted in November after being reported in Dutch waters and had turned off its AIS beacon, a compulsory device allowing shipping authorities to identify and track vessels.

Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, who is also Belgium’s minister for the North Sea, said, “We don’t know the exact motives of this Russian ship, but let’s not be naive.

“Especially if it behaves suspiciously near our wind farms, undersea gas pipelines and data cables, and other critical infrastructure,” he added.

A statement from the minister’s office said: “The passage of this vessel should doubtless be seen in the broader context of the war in Ukraine“.

The supply of military planes to Ukraine “is not on the table”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said after talks in Kyiv with Zelenskyy.

Speaking in a news conference alongside Zelenskyy, Meloni said Italy was considering sending more air defence systems beyond the SAMP/T-MAMBA, on which it has worked with France.

Joe Biden said Ukraine will “never be a victory for Russia” as he delivered a speech in Poland before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people’s love of liberty, brutality will never grind down the will of the free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never,” Biden told a crowd gathered outside the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

He said Vladimir Putin thought he was “tough” but then met the “iron will of America”.

“He thought autocrats like himself were tough and leaders of democracy were soft and then he met the iron will of America and nations everywhere that refused to accept a world governed by fear,” Biden said.

Russia will continue to observe limits on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy under the New START treaty despite Moscow’s decision to suspend its participation in the landmark agreement, the Russian foreign ministry has said.

“In order to maintain a sufficient degree of predictability and stability in the sphere of nuclear missiles, Russia intends to adhere to a responsible approach and will continue to strictly observe the quantitative restrictions provided for by the New START treaty within the life cycle of the treaty,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s foreign ministry also said it would continue to notify the US of planned test launches of inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

During his speech, Biden says the US and its partners will announce more sanctions against Russia this week.

He warned of “hard and bitter days” ahead but said the US and its allies will “have Ukraine’s back” for the long haul.

The US president says Russia’s leader believes the West’s staying power may wane as Moscow continues to press ahead with its offensive.

Putin “still doubts our conviction”, Biden said.

But the West’s support for Ukraine “will not waiver”, he added, and Kyiv’s allies “will not tire”.

Biden begins his highly anticipated speech in Poland’s capital, saying NATO is more “united than ever before” almost a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

“Democracy was too strong for Putin,” Biden said.

He added that the Russian leader’s offensive has driven the “NATOisation of Finland and Sweden”.

France’s foreign ministry has called on Russia to “show responsibility” and reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty.

“The New START Treaty is an essential instrument in the international architecture of nuclear arms control and strategic stability”, the ministry said in a statement.

Poland’s president has urged Western leaders to maintain support for Ukraine as Russia’s offensive nears the one-year mark.

“I call on all European states, NATO states, to show solidarity with Ukraine, to provide military support to Ukraine, so that they have something to fight with,” Andrzej Duda said ahead of Biden’s speech in Warsaw. “Do not be afraid to provide this support.”

The United Kingdom has urged Putin to reconsider his decision to suspend Russia’s participation in New START.

“Arms control is vital to the security of our planet and this is another example of Putin jeopardising global security for political gain,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said, describing Putin’s move as “rash”.

Biden’s surprise visit to wartime Kyiv on Monday morning began in the dead of night at a military airport hangar outside Washington, DC.

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G7 foreign ministers have said their countries will continue to impose economic costs on Russia over its offensive in Ukraine.

“We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities – inside and outside of Russia – that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

They also urged the international community to reject what they described as Moscow’s “brutal expansionism”.

The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty is “deeply irresponsible”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.

“The announcement by Russia that it’s suspending participation is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” Blinken told reporters in Athens.

“We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,” he said. “We’ll of course make sure that in any event, we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies.”

US President Joe Biden and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda discussed their “shared efforts to support Ukraine, impose consequences on Russia, and strengthen NATO” during talks in Warsaw, the White House has said.

“In addition, the leaders discussed their countries’ growing cooperation in the energy sector, including civil nuclear energy, our strong bilateral defense relationship, and the importance of the democratic values that underpin the transatlantic alliance,” the White House said in a statement.

Ukraine’s education ministry has told the country’s schools to hold classes remotely starting Wednesday for the remainder of this week because of the risk of Russian missile attacks.

The ministry issued a statement saying it had made the recommendation to schools “to protect the lives and health of all participants in the educational process, as a preventive measure before the anniversary”.

Hundreds of schools have been destroyed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those that are still standing were only allowed to hold in-person classes this academic year if they had a functioning bomb shelter.

The head of Russia’s influential Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has told China’s top diplomat that Moscow and Beijing must stick together against the West, according to reports carried by Russian state news agencies.

Patrushev and Wang Yi held talks in the Russian capital on Tuesday.

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin, Patrushev told Wang that Moscow backed China’s position over Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, according to a statement cited by the RIA Novosti news agency.