Joe Biden said “Vladimir Putin’s back is against the wall” in Ukraine as he stepped up his warning that the Russian President could use increasingly reckless war tactics, including indiscriminate bombing and the use of weapons. chemistry.
The US President’s warning comes as Russia nears the end of the first month of fighting in Ukraine without any major population centers under control, the offensive on Kyiv largely stalled, and The port city is devastated of Mariupol was still holding out against a relentless siege.
Biden said Ukraine was “devastating” Russian forces and issued his strongest warning yet that Russia was raising “false flags” to justify the illegal use of weapons in Ukraine.
“They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That’s a clear sign [Putin is] he said.
Warning that Putin is turning to unusual forms of war, Biden also calls on American business leaders prepare for cyber attacks. “The importance of Russia’s cyber capabilities is consequential, and it will come,” he said.
Mr. Biden is preparing to travel to Europe this week for a series of summits with allies that will discuss ways to support Ukraine and squeeze Russia’s economy with sanctions.
With talks continuing with Moscow to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any potential “historic” agreement would have to be put to a referendum, highlighting the challenges facing with looking for any lasting deal.
Negotiators are exploring forms of “neutrality” toward Ukraine, which could include sensitive steps to abandon NATO’s constitutionally guaranteed ambitions in return for security guarantees. to replace. Any deal would need to address Moscow’s calls for Ukraine to recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the independence of two separatist-held territories in the eastern Donbas region.
“I explained to all the negotiating teams: when you talk about all these changes – and they can be historic – we will eventually come to a referendum,” Zelensky said in a statement. an interview on Monday evening with a consortium of European media outlets. “Our people will have to speak and give answers to certain compromise formats.”
Ukraine’s military on Tuesday said Russia had carried out more airstrikes in the past day, while US officials noted increased naval activity around the Black Sea port of Odesa, which has been largely untouched. damage so far during the invasion.
The Pentagon estimates that Russia has launched more than 1,100 missiles since the invasion began, devastating much of Ukraine’s vast urban infrastructure. Monday’s attacks included coordinated shelling of a shopping mall on the outskirts of Kyiv.
But on most fronts, Russia’s forces have made no significant territorial progress, with a British intelligence update showing that Putin’s army “suffered another day of limited progress with most.” All forces were stalled in place.”
Ukraine’s military claims Russia’s stockpile of food and ammunition has been exhausted in places that can last “no more than three days”. Claims could not be independently verified.
When communications were disrupted, few updates emerged from Mariupol, a strategically important port on the Sea of Azov that had been besieged for several weeks. More than 200,000 civilians had their water, electricity and heating systems cut off and struggled to find food. Ukraine rejected Russia’s ultimatum to surrender the city on Monday, and Ukrainian officials said the evacuation of civilians continued early Tuesday.
The Pentagon says Russia’s reliance on destructive long-range fire, artillery and missile strikes reflects frustration at the way its ground campaign has stalled. “They’re looking for an opportunity to gain some momentum, not even regaining momentum because they’ve never really had it,” a senior US defense official said.
“It was very frustrating for them. When you look at the map, you can count on one hand the number of population centers that we assess are currently under Russian control.”
Zelensky also reiterated his call for a meeting with Putin, saying that without such a meeting it would be “impossible to fully understand what they are willing to do to prevent war”.
In recent days, Moscow has slowed down progress in talks brokered by Turkey and Israel, blaming Ukraine’s demands. Senior Western diplomatic officials in Ukraine briefed on the talks said there was a “complete lack of trust” between the parties. Russian officials said any meeting between Zelensky and Putin would be held only after specific proposals were ready to be discussed.
Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky’s senior adviser, told BBC Ukraine early on Tuesday that “any fundamental decision can only be made at the president’s meeting”.
“As the negotiating working groups draw up some preliminary documents and hand them over to the president, they will assess whether this is a ‘roadmap’ to face-to-face discussions. Then this meeting can happen,” he said.
