Russia is being accused of Crimes against humanity by the U.S

The Kyiv Missile Strikes Revisited: Russian President Vladimir Putin, National Security Council, and Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States

The White House statement said that Biden conveyed his sympathies for those killed and injured during the missile strikes in the Ukrainian city of Kyiv. Biden said he would continue giving Ukraine support, including advanced air defense systems.

He said they reserve crimes against humanity for the most egregious crimes. “Today’s determination underlines staggering extent of the human suffering inflicted by Moscow on the Ukrainian civilian population. The United States has a deep commitment to holding the members of Russia’s forces and other Russian officials accountable for the atrocities that they have committed against the people of Ukraine.

And a second senior administration official provided the following summary of air defense aid provided to Ukraine from the US: “We have transferred more than 1,400 Stinger anti-air systems to Ukraine, as well as air surveillance and multi-mission radars. We were able to enable our Allies to transfer their air defense systems to the other side of the world. In August, President Biden announced a new assistance package for Ukraine that included orders for 8 new NASAMS. We will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.”

The US had yet to deliver NASAMS to Ukraine, according to a Department of Defence briefing. At the time, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said two systems were expected to be delivered in the next two months, with the remaining six to arrive at an undetermined date.

Russia launched a total of 84 cruise missiles against targets across Ukraine on Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were a response to what he described as acts of “terrorism” by Kyiv. He blamed the explosion on Saturday on the Ukrainian Special Services and the other alleged crimes on a list of other alleged crimes.

We monitor his nuclear abilities, Kate, best we can. I can tell you that there are no indications that Mr. Putin is about to use weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons. And we’ve seen nothing, Kate, that would give us cause to change our own deterrent posture,” Kirby said.

The deputy head of Russia’s Security Council believes Moscow should dismantle Zelensky’s regime.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said Monday that there will likely be additional support packages for Ukraine announced “in the very near future.”

“It’s clear that he’s feeling the pressure both at home and overseas, and how he reacts to that only he can say,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Last week, Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, invoking the prospect of “Armageddon.” Multiple US officials have said that the comment wasn’t based on new intelligence or changes to Russia’s nuclear posture.

After internal discussions about the war in Ukraine, America’s top general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, have led a push to seek a diplomatic solution.

The result is a growing debate within the administration over whether Ukraine’s recent gains on the battlefield should prompt a renewed effort to seek some sort of negotiated end to the fighting.

Milley wants peace and Ukraine is taking the city of Kherson. Milley praised the Ukrainian army for fighting Russia to a stalemate, but he noted that an overall military victory is out of reach.

The comments left administration officials unsurprised – given Milley’s advocacy for the position internally – but also raised concerned among some about the administration appearing divided in the eyes of the Kremlin.

CNN has learned that most of the top diplomatic and national security officials are reluctant to negotiate with Putin because they don’t want to give him any leverage when it comes to talks.

In internal deliberations, officials said Milley has sought to make it clear that he is not urging a Ukrainian capitulation, but rather that he believes now is an optimal time to drive toward an end to the war before it drags into spring or beyond, leading to more death and destruction without changing the front lines.

It is not a widespread view within the administration. The State Department is located on the other side of the pole from Milley. There is a circumstance where military brass are more in favor of diplomacy than US diplomats.

Milley’s position comes as the US military has dug deep into US weapons stockpiles to support the Ukrainians and is currently scouring the globe for materials to support Ukraine heading into winter – such as heaters and generators – which has raised concerns about how long this war can be sustained, officials said.

The US is going to purchase 100,000 rounds of South Korean weapons for use in the fight against the Russians in Ukraine, a US official said. The US will purchase 100,000 howitzer rounds from the other side of the world and then transfer them to Ukraine.

U.S. Response to the Kiev War and its Implications for Russian Intelligence and Security in the Middle East: A Comment on Washington State Department spokeswoman Ned Price

State Department spokesperson Ned Price would not say Thursday whether the State Department agrees with Milley’s position. Instead, Price deflected to a position that US officials have often made in recent months: the US sides with Zelensky who has said that a diplomatic solution is needed.

Wang called for peace talks after the conference, and said that there weren’t any forces who wanted to see the war end soon. He did not elaborate on who he meant, but the message chimes with claims from Russia that NATO is unwilling to enter into peace talks.

Harris praised the resolve and resilience of the people of Ukraine and pledged the US would support them for as long as it takes.

“I also think no one is asking for a blank check,” Clinton added. “I believe that the Ukrainians have proven that they are a really good investment for the United States. They don’t want us to be there to fight their war. They are fighting it on their own. They’re asking us and our allies for the means to not only defend themselves but to actually win.”

The speech made a connection between the struggle of Ukrainian people and the revolution in our country, and it made us think about all the families in Ukranians who are trapped in the cold as we prepare for Christmas.

She hopes that they will send more than one. She mentioned that the US and NATO have been reluctant in the past to give advanced equipment to the Ukrainian military, but that they know how effective it is.

Clinton, who met Putin when he was secretary of state, said that the Russian leader was probably impossible to predict at the moment because of the war in his country.

Clinton said that bodies of Russian conscripts would be used for the fight in Ukraine.

The Kremlin was quick to criticize Zelenskyy for securing billions of dollars in U.S. aid and standing ovations in Congress.

Since 2022, the US has provided $30 million to support the investigation of war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, according to a White House fact sheet. The Biden administration is seeking another nearly $30 million from Congress to bolster efforts on this issue.

Dismissing accusations of a proxy war, Sloat says Zelenskyy and Ukraine have made clear that they want a “just peace,” and all the U.S. has been doing is help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.

This is not the first time Russia has accused the West of turning a conflict into a proxy war. (Iran has acknowledged providing military drones to Russia.)

The Russian public buys a lot of that line, according to a Russian history professor.

“You could say that the majority of Russian people, although they are weary of the conflict, they still see this as an existential struggle between Russia and the West in which Ukraine is being played for a pawn,” he tells NPR’s Morning Edition.

She said, “As Russia attempts to destroy the Ukrainian infrastructure and kill Ukrainian civilians, the defense of the country is going to bePatriots.” If Russia wants their missiles to be shot down, they should not send them into Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Vladimir Kuleba: “The United Nations is a good place for the peace summit in Ukraine,” and a “positive vibe” from the Foreign Ministry

A peace summit by the end of February is what the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said on Monday.

Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he said that Moscow would first need to face prosecution for war crimes at an international court.

Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. last week, and he revealed that the U.S. government had made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in less than six months. Usually, the training takes up to a year.

Kuleba said during the interview at the Foreign Ministry that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role.

The United Nations is a good place for the summit because it’s not about making a favor or anything. This is really about getting everyone on board.

At the Group of 20 summit in Bali in November, Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Kuleba said that Guterres has proven himself to be a man of principle and integrity, as evidenced by him being an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator. We’d welcome his active participation.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/26/1145539638/ukraine-russia-peace-summit-foreign-minister

Ukraine’s First Foreign Visit to the U.S. since the First World War II: Moscow, Ukraine, and Crimes against Humanity

He said that the people frequently say that they’re ready for negotiations, but they don’t because everything they do on the battlefield shows the opposite.

Zelenskyy went to the US in his first foreign trip since the beginning of the war. Kuleba praised Washington’s efforts and underlined the significance of the visit.

“This shows how both the United States are important for Ukraine, but also how Ukraine is important for the United States,” said Kuleba, who was part of the delegation to the U.S.

He said that the U.S. government developed a program for the missile battery to complete the training faster than usual “without any damage to the quality of the use of this weapon on the battlefield.”

While Kuleba didn’t mention a specific time frame, he said only that it will be “very much less than six months.” And he added that the training will be done “outside” Ukraine.

During Russia’s ground and air war in Ukraine, Kuleba has been second only to Zelenskyy in carrying Ukraine’s message and needs to an international audience, whether through Twitter posts or meetings with friendly foreign officials.

On Monday, Ukraine called on U.N. member states to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and to exclude it from the world body. Kuleba said they have prepared for this step to uncover fraud and deprive Russia of its status.

The Foreign Ministry says Russian did not go through the legal process to become a member of the Security Council after the demise of the Soviet Union.

“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity,” Harris said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. She added, “To all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in those crimes, you will be held to account.”

“We reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes,” he said. The acts are part of the Kremlin’s widespread and systematic attack against Ukraine’s civilians.

The latest crimes against humanity determination are significant, but they are symbolic for now. The act does not give the US the ability to prosecute Russians for perpetrating crimes against humanity and does not immediately cause any specific consequences. However, it could provide international bodies such as the International Criminal Court, which work to hold perpetrators accountable, with evidence to effectively try to prosecute those crimes.

“Justice must be served”: V. E. Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and Deputy Vice-President of the German Embassy in Munich

She said that she knew the importance of gathering facts and holding them up against the law when she was a prosecutor.

Harris laid out some evidence of Russia’s crimes against humanity in a speech she delivered at the Bayerischer Hof hotel. The vice president outlined specific instances that have peppered news clips and official reports.

“In the face of these indisputable facts, to all of us here in Munich, let us renew our commitment to accountability. She said to let us renew our commitment to rule of law. “As for the United States, we will continue to support the judicial process in Ukraine and international investigations because justice must be served. Let us all agree, on behalf of all the victims, known and unknown: Justice must be served.”

Questions have swirled in recent months about how much more funding the US will provide to Ukraine’s war effort, now that Republicans are in charge of the US House of Repsentatives and have promised no “blank checks.” Harris found out Saturday how many congressional leaders were at the conference. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among the people who were included.

They understand the stakes and are here together. The leadership of the members has been vital to America’s support ofUkraine, and we know that their support will continue,” the vice president said.

Any peace needs to be consistent with the UN Charter. It is fundamentally against the interests of every other country around the world to wind up with a result that somehow indicates the seizure by force of territory, that validates that,” Blinken said during a discussion panel in Munich with Annalena Baerbock and Dmytro Kuleba, his respective German and Ukrainian counterparts.

“Because if we do that, we will open a Pandora’s box around the world, and every would-be aggressor will conclude that if Russia got away with it, we can get away with it. It’s a recipe for a world of conflict and that’s not in anyone’s interest.

Intelligence sharing with NATO allies has proved essential to support Ukraine against Russia, according to the Director of the CIA.

“It’s a two-way street. We’ve learned a lot from our NATO partners. In a separate panel discussion, Burns said we learn a lot from the Ukrainians. That, he said, “has been the kind of essential cement in the coalition that the president has organized.”

Russia’s aggression in Ukrainian has not been condemned by China. In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that their partnership was more important than ever in the face of “unprecedented pressure” from the West. According to Xinhua, the two countries should strengthen strategic coordination andject more stability into the world, because they shared the same message of unity.

CNN has reported that China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, will visit Russia this month, according to its Foreign Ministry, in the first visit to the country from a Chinese official in that role since Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Territorial and sovereignty of all countries will be respected in the proposal by China, Wang said.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi also dedicated most of his speech to the conflict in Ukraine, stressing he was “deeply worried” about the “long-term effect of this war” and warning against the return of a “Cold War mentality.”

The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, said in a CNN interview on Saturday that they needed more proof that China was not working with Russia.

In September of 2022, Putin conceded that Beijing had questions and concerns about the invasion.

The United States at the Davos of Defense: What Do We Really Need to Know About Russia and How Do We Want to Help China?

Secretary of state Antony Blinken stated that the U.S. would hold those responsible to account while emphasizing the importance of this designation. Blinken is attending the meeting.

Ukraine is not a state party to treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The country has been given the power to accept the court’s jurisdiction over alleged war crimes occurring within its borders. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court decided to investigate war crimes in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.

According to the U.S. State Department, Wang was told that the U.S. didn’t want any conflict with China, but warned him against Beijing providing any material support to Russia.

The relationship between the U.S. and China has deteriorated since the shootdown of a Chinese balloon that traveled across the U.S.

Beijing, however, insists that the balloon was a civilian craft used for scientific research, and that shooting it down was an overreaction and a violation of international practice.

Dubbed the Davos of Defense, the Munich Security Conference attracts heads of state, generals, intelligence chiefs and top diplomats from around the world.

President Zelenskyy urged Western leaders to act rather than talk and to send weapons to the frontline quickly, as the conference got under way.

The United States made its presence felt with a record number of delegates at this year’s gathering.

With delegations from all over the world attending, both on the stage and on the sideline, there were a number of related issues to contend with.

The Secretaries of State of the EU and the Security of the Near-Infrared Central Bank of the Cold War: What has the Secretary of State to Say?

The Secretary of State said in a statement that “We reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes.”

Wang insisted that peace in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world is Beijing’s top foreign policy priority, as is respect for the sovereignty of independent nations. He warned against international interference on the issue of Taiwan. Wang said that the peace across the Taiwan Strait meant opposing Taiwanese independence forces.

While Wang Yi called for peace in Ukraine – without elaborating how to achieve it or what peace in the region means – Europe’s leaders committed to investing more in weapons.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said member states must work together with the defense industry to scale up the production of munitions for Ukraine which, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, is using them quicker than Europe can replace them.

The German Chancellor asked the European partners to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine without delay. During a Q&A session, Scholz quipped it was ironic that he’s now having to urge others to deliver Leopard tanks quickly to Ukraine after they’d put pressure on him to do the same in previous weeks.

Boris Pistorius continued to push for increased military spending within Europe and NATO. He went one step further than the NATO member who promised to meet the target and called on the alliance to increase its commitment to 2% of GDP. Despite the extra funding for the budget, Germany is currently not expected to hit the 2% target for the next couple of years.

Although he said no on several occasions, Scholz remained reticent aboutUkrainian requests for fighter jets. He said Germany’s support for Kyiv was firmly held, but cautioned against hasty decisions and the dangers of escalation.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/19/1158184942/4-takeaways-from-this-years-important-munich-security-conference

Why did the Munich Security Conference last year last year end up as a podium for Russian propagande? An aide to the german chancellor says Ukraine didn’t attack Ukraine

Prominent Kremlin critics — including exiled oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chess champion Gary Kasparov, and Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of jailed opposition political Alexey Navalny — were pointedly offered seats instead.

The Munich Security Conference is known for promoting dialogue, even between adversaries, but MSC Chair Christoph Heusgen says he did not want the conference to serve as a podium for Russian propaganda.

Heusgen, who served as the top foreign policy aide to Germany’s chancellor, said in an interview this week that he left last year’s conference convinced that Russia wouldn’t attack Ukraine. The invasion began four days later.