March 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

US President Joe Biden said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's support for Ukraine has "made a world of difference" during the war, as the two leaders met at the White House on Friday.

"You stepped up and provided critical military support and you know, I would argue that beyond your military support, the moral support you gave to Ukrainians has been profound. And you've driven historic changes at home — increase in defense spending and diversifying away from Russian energy sources — I know that has not been easy, very difficult for you," Biden said, noting they had moved in "lockstep" in supporting Kyiv.

Scholz said Germany will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"This is a very, very important year because of the very dangerous threat to peace that comes from Russia invading Ukraine, and it's really important that we acted together, that we organized in lockstep, and that we made it feasible that we can give the necessary support to Ukraine during all this time," said Scholz, who added he felt the transatlantic partnership was in "very good shape."  

Germany and the US were in a standoff earlier this year over sending tanks to Ukraine, but both countries announced plans to send the vehicles after intense pressure on Berlin and prolonged diplomacy between Germany, the United States and other European allies.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top government officials from the Netherlands and Estonia in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv Friday, his office said in a statement.

Zelensky expressed his gratitude for the "significant defense, financial, energy and legal support" provided by both countries since the beginning of Russia's invasion, his office said.

The Netherlands: During his meeting with Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Zelensky outlined the situation on the front line and the needs of Ukraine's military. He emphasized the need for more, swift aid from partners, according to the statement.  

Zelensky also said he was grateful for the Dutch government's decision to establish an international center in The Hauge investigating the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Zelensky also outlined Kyiv's hopes for the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and discussions on Ukraine's accession to the EU "by the end of the year," according to the statement.

Estonia: During the conversation with Urmas Reinsalu, Estonia's minister of foreign affairs, Zelensky said that "bringing to justice all those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide of the Ukrainian people is a fundamental issue for our country," and is a key component of Ukraine's proposed peace formula, according to the statement.

Zelensky noted Estonia's "substantial defense and humanitarian assistance," his office said. 

"Ukraine especially appreciates the medical and rehabilitation assistance to our wounded, the training missions for the Ukrainian military, as well as the support for Ukrainians who left for Estonia because of the war," Zelensky said.

"The parties emphasized the importance of further increasing sanctions pressure on Russia," Zelensky's office added. 

US Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Friday, his second trip to the country since Russia invaded a little more than a year ago.

The trip was not announced for security reasons, according to a Justice Department official.

Garland was invited to Lviv by the Ukrainian prosecutor general, the official said, and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky at the “United for Justice Conference.”

The attorney general “held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” the official said.

The trip comes nearly two weeks after President Joe Biden made his first trip to Ukraine since the war began and is one of several trips made by members of Biden’s Cabinet. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also recently made a trip to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky.

The Justice Department has taken several steps to hold the Russian government and its supporters accountable since the invasion began.

On Wednesday, Garland testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he believed the Russian government was committing crimes against humanity and said the Justice Department supports efforts by The Hague to investigate and prosecute those crimes.

China could still take the escalatory step of providing lethal military aid to Russia, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday. 

On fighter jets for Ukraine: Kirby also said that F-16 fighter jets are not a "key part" of the agenda for US President Joe Biden's meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this afternoon, but the two leaders will speak extensively on what Ukraine will need this spring and summer for the tough fighting ahead. 

About US detainee in Russia: Asked about detained American Paul Whelan, Kirby said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "absolutely" brought it up with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, despite Russian claims otherwise. 

"Paul Whelan needs to be home with his family and with his friends," Kirby said. "We're going to keep working to get him released and get him back home."

Russian forces have continued their efforts to encircle the eastern city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region Friday, the Ukrainian military's General Staff said in an evening update.

The first two communities referenced in the report are small villages located just north of the city.

Elsewhere in Ukraine: Russian forces have also launched artillery fire near Lyman, which is north of Bakhmut, and on additional towns in the Donetsk region, the military said. Further attacks were reported near the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region, and Kreminna and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the General Staff said Russia "is on the defensive, attempting to improve their tactical position to resume the offensive." Moscow shelled 15 settlements with artillery, the Ukrainian military added.

"There are dead and wounded civilians," it said, without elaborating on the specific numbers. 

Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have also carried out strikes on enemy personnel and military equipment, the General Staff said. 

"Our defenders shot down an enemy Su-34 aircraft and a ZALA UAV," it said, repeating an earlier claim from the Ukrainian Air Force about downing a Russian fighter jet and drone.

CNN is not able to independently verify this claim. Russian state media has reported that a plane has been downed in the area indicated by the Ukrainian Air Force, but does not specify the plane's model and ownership.

The United States announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine on Friday that is valued at up to $400 million.

This is the thirty-third presidential drawdown on US inventories, totaling more than $32 billion, used to aid Ukraine since Russian's full-scale invasion began more than one year ago.

In a drawdown, the Defense Department pulls weapons and equipment from US inventories to send abroad, rather than purchasing new weapons from manufacturers.

CNN reported earlier Friday key details of the package, including that the aid would include Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges for the first time, a system used to launch bridges to cross trenches and narrow water obstacles.

Here's a look at the weapons, munitions and equipment included in the package:

Last week, the US announced $2 billion in aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which contracts with the industry to procure the supplies and takes more time.

Ukrainian officials have also been pushing to obtain US F-16 fighter jets, which President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have opposed so far. 

Ukrainian authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation for vulnerable residents of the eastern city of Kupyansk, located in the Kharkiv region, due to "constant" Russian shelling. 

The city administration said utilities "are operating as usual" and that online classes are being organized for students. 

"The educational process continues in the Kupyansk community. According to the head of the education department, 480 students have already joined the online education program. Classes are being formed," the administration said. 

The Kharkiv region military administration announced the start of the mandatory evacuation on Thursday, saying the decision was made "due to constant shelling of the Kupyansk community by Russian troops." 

As of Thursday, there were 812 children and 724 people with disabilities, including 140 of low mobility, in the city, according to the regional military administration. 

Russian forces occupied the city in the early days of the invasion but Ukraine was able to recapture it in September 2022. 

The city remains close to the hotly contested frontline east of the city, and as close as some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from areas under Russian control, according to the latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the city of Kupyansk is located in southern Ukraine. It is located in eastern Ukraine.

The Biden administration on Friday sanctioned a number of Russian individuals connected to the arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent human rights advocate and Kremlin critic who has been jailed in Moscow for nearly a year after speaking out against the war in Ukraine in an interview with CNN.

The United States has called for Kara-Murza’s “immediate and unconditional release,” but Friday’s actions represent a long-awaited decision on imposing sanctions against Russia for his imprisonment.

Kara-Murza, who has survived two poisonings, has been incredibly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine, and he continues to speak out even as he is detained. 

In March 2022, Kara-Murza spoke before the Arizona House of Representatives and spoke out against the war. In an April 2022 interview with CNN, he called Putin’s government “a regime of murderers.” He was arrested shortly thereafter for “failing to obey the orders of law enforcement,” according to his wife.

The Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions under an expansion of the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets serious human rights abusers, more than five months after the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called on the Biden administration to take action under that law. 

The sanctions target Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya, Andrei Andreevich Zadachin, and Danila Yurievich Mikheev.

Russia could find itself with no money as soon as next year and needs foreign investment, outspoken Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has said.

The remarks from the billionaire — who called for an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine in the early days of the conflict last year — contrast with a more upbeat assessment of Russia’s economic fortunes by President Vladimir Putin last week. Putin praised the resilience of the country’s economy in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions imposed in the past year.

More background: Russia’s economic output shrank 2.1% last year, according to a preliminary estimate from the government. The contraction was more limited than many economists initially predicted.

But cracks are starting to show — Russia is cutting oil production this month — and Western sanctions could escalate further. Ultimately, Russia’s economic prospects are contingent on what happens in Ukraine.

Foreign investors, especially from “friendly” countries, also have a big role to play, Deripaska said. Whether they will come depends on whether Russia can create the right conditions and make its markets attractive, he was quoted as saying.

In a bid to starve Russia of funds for its aggression, Western countries have announced more than 11,300 sanctions since the February 2022 invasion, and frozen some $300 billion of Russia’s foreign reserves.

But China has thrown the Kremlin an economic lifeline by buying Russian energy, replacing Western suppliers of machinery and base metals among other products, and providing an alternative to the US dollar.

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