February 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Poland will deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in the “next two or three weeks” once the training of the Ukrainian troops is complete, the country’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Łukasz Jasina, the spokesperson for Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Warsaw supported sending fighter jets to Kyiv but that there was still some way to go in achieving a consensus among NATO countries.

“But we are a member of NATO, and we want to reach agreement in all such issues to participate in this together because the alliance is stronger when we are together,” the spokesman said.

Czech President-elect Petr Pavel on Tuesday called US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv and Warsaw an “extremely strong signal” of Washington’s commitment to Ukraine and its European allies.

The former Czech army chief, who was elected as the country's new leader in January, warned against negotiating with Russia, saying eastern European countries that were part of the Soviet Union-era Warsaw Pact defense treaty were highly aware of Russia’s capabilities. 

“We have no idealistic ideas about where Russia is heading, about the possibility of negotiation with Russia. We all know that Russia understands power,” Pavel told CNN. “For us, power comes from unity. That’s why we are very clear on a united approach of all EU and NATO countries against Russian aggression."

He said the Russians had suffered several “fatal mistakes” in Ukraine but cautioned Moscow shouldn’t be underestimated.

Pavel gave a note of caution on the question of supplying Ukraine with military aircraft, given it takes at least half a year to train pilots and ground and support crews. “It’s much easier to train crews for tanks and artillery."

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Moscow will respect the nuclear weapons caps established under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty after President Vladimir Putin announced the country was suspending participation in it.

The ministry also said in a statement published on its website that the decision to suspend participation in the treaty is "reversible," just hours after Putin's announcement.  

"In addition, the Russian side will continue to participate in the exchange of notifications with the American side on launches of ICBMs and SLBMs on the basis of the relevant agreement between the USSR and the USA in 1988," it said. 

About the nuclear arms treaty: The treaty puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have. It was last extended in early 2021 for five years, meaning the two sides would soon need to begin negotiating on another arms control agreement.

Under the treaty, both the United States and Russia are permitted to conduct inspections of each other’s weapons sites, though inspections had been halted since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

US President Joe Biden met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Warsaw Tuesday.

It comes a few days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has “deep concern” about Russia's efforts to destabilize Moldova's government. Sandu also said last week that Russia was plotting a coup in Moldova.

Some context: Moldova, situated between Ukraine and Romania, was previously part of the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a handful of “frozen conflict” zones in eastern Europe emerged, including a slither of land along Moldova’s border with Ukraine known as Transnistria.

The territory declared itself a Soviet republic in 1990, opposing any attempt by Moldova to become an independent state or to merge with Romania. When Moldova became independent the following year, Russia quickly inserted itself as a so-called “peacekeeping force” in Transnistria, sending troops in to back pro-Moscow separatists there.

In the context of the war today, the Russian-backed separatist enclave at the southwestern edge of the country could now present a potential bookend to any Russian assault westwards from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

In his state of the nation speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin recycled the same lines about his rationale for invading Ukraine nearly one year ago, and he outlined no vision of how the war he launched might end.

But Putin did offer at least one headline, announcing that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty.

Suspending the treaty in some ways continues an uneasy status quo. Under the agreement, the US and Russia are permitted to conduct inspections of each other’s weapons sites to verify compliance, but those inspections had been on hold since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Putin’s speech, then, was nothing new. In his rambling, one-hour-and-45-minute address, he offered some warmed-over options from a menu of complaints about the West and rehashed the same justifications for his full-scale war on Ukraine.

His address, in fact, was reminiscent of the television speech that aired on February 24, 2022, announcing the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s so-called “special military operation.” Putin repeated the same baseless claim that Moscow had no choice but to use force against Ukraine. And he doubled down on blaming the West for the conflict.

Such remarks seem intended for a domestic audience that in many ways has seen their sense of normalcy upended. So Putin also played the reassuring wartime leader, holding a moment of silence for soldiers killed in Ukraine, and promising that Russia will set up a special fund to offer assistance to families of veterans and soldiers killed in Ukraine and bolster social benefits for them.

The Russian president also indirectly addressed some of the discontent in the ranks that has filtered back to the Kremlin following a partial mobilization last fall. Mobilization has been beset by morale-sapping logistical difficulties, supply problems and general disorganization, causing major outrage in Russian society. Putin pledged that rotations in Ukraine would be more predictable, and that soldiers would be given much-needed leave.

That statement can be interpreted another way: Russians need to settle in for a long war, so soldiers should expect some R&R.

Read more here.

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that "Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia," as he addressed a large crowd in Warsaw, Poland, marking the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"For free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and you know, this has been an extraordinary year in every sense," Biden said. "Extraordinary brutality of Russian forces and mercenaries. They have committed depravities, crimes against humanity without shame or compunction." 

In pointed terms, the president accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of atrocities and said his attempt to subjugate a sovereign nation wouldn’t succeed.

“President Putin’s craven lust for land and power will fail,” he said, one of the 10 separate times he singled out the Russian leader by name in his address.

His remarks came a day after he made a surprise trip to the Ukrainian capital.

Here are the latest headlines:

US President Joe Biden singled out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name 10 times in his speech from Warsaw, going after the Russian leader directly as he rallied the world behind Ukraine.

By contrast, Putin didn't name Biden once in his lengthy and belligerent address from Moscow earlier in the day.

Biden said Putin had unleashed a "murderous assault," ordered tanks into Ukraine and attempted to starve the world.

"President Putin's craven lust for land and power will fail, and the Ukrainians' love for their country will prevail," he said.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Russia is suspending participation in the New START arms reduction treaty, the US assessment of Russia’s nuclear program remains unchanged, two senior administration officials told CNN.

There remains some uncertainty among US officials as to what Russia plans to do now that it has halted participation in the agreement, the officials said.

But officials in President Joe Biden's administration remain confident that the US will know if Russia begins to build out its nuclear program. 

The official would not detail the tools the US has in its arsenal. Historically, the US has relied on intelligence gathering to monitor Russia’s nuclear program in addition to the information that is gathered as a part of New START. 

The Biden administration’s confidence in monitoring Russia’s nuclear program mirrors the comments from State Department spokesperson Ned Price earlier.

“We haven't seen any reason to change our nuclear posture, our strategic posture just yet, but this is something we monitor every day,” Price said on "CNN This Morning." 

About the nuclear arms treaty: The treaty limits each the US and Russia to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. It also requires on-site inspections as part of compliance checks. Russia has not been in compliance with the treaty for months, because it hasn't allowed inspections that are part of it. The inspections have now not occurred since 2020, because they were halted due to Covid-19 and never resumed. 

As Russia continues with its invasion of Ukraine, Putin is doubling down on his commitment to the war. US officials are wary to say that those efforts would handicap Russia’s ability to build its nuclear program, but some see it as unlikely that they would engage in those efforts while the war in ongoing. 

“I wouldn't want to offer an assessment as whether that has overstretched them to the point that they would be precluded from some way in some way from taking steps to develop their nuclear arsenal but ... they've got a lot of problems on their hands,” an official said. “I think they're going to be careful not to not to bite off more than they can chew.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with a delegation from the US House of Representatives led by Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael McCaul on Tuesday, Zelensky's office said in a statement. 

Zelensky and the US delegation discussed the situation on the frontline and the "crimes committed by Russian invaders," his office said. "I have just been informed that Kherson was shelled once again. People died again. We need weapons to stop these crimes," he said. 

Zelensky also reiterated his gratitude for the strong support from both chambers and parties of Congress, the US President and the American people. 

"We are grateful for all the steps that have been taken, which have been endorsed by the President of the United States and the Congress. For the aid packages for our army, our military on the battlefield. And, of course, for the financial support to overcome all the challenges that have arisen as a result of Russian aggression," he said.

Earlier this month, McCaul spoke to CNN about bipartisan support for Ukraine and was asked if he believes the US is considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, McCaul replied, “I hope so,” and reiterated his concern over a drawn-out conflict between Russia and Ukraine while noting, “I think the momentum is building for this to happen.”