Putin Set For Major Speech Day After US President Joe Biden's Suprise Visit To Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to make a speech on Tuesday a day after US President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine.
A day after United States (US) President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is all set to make a speech on Tuesday, reported Reuters. The speech is expected to be focused on the aims for the second year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and on the visit of Biden to Kyiv.
The report adds that Putin will update Russia's political and military elite on the Ukraine conflict in a speech to members of both houses of parliament on Tuesday. He is also believed to be giving his analysis of the international situation and outline his vision of Russia's development after the West imposed severe sanctions on it, the Kremlin said, reported Reuters.
The speech is due to begin at 0900 GMT in central Moscow.
US President Biden on Monday walked the streets of Kyiv promising to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.
After his unannounced visit to Ukraine, Biden flew to Poland. According to Reuters, Biden is also set to deliver a speech on Tuesday on how the United States has helped rally the world to support Ukraine and stress American support for NATO's eastern flank.
The developments come at a time when the Russia-Ukraine war is set to complete one year of devastation on February 24.
Biden In Ukraine
During his visit to Ukraine, Biden said that he would stand by Kyiv’s side for as long as it takes. He said, "When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong."
"The cost that Ukraine has had to pay is extraordinarily high. Sacrifices have been far too great. ... We know that there will be difficult days and weeks and years ahead," he added.
As per the Reuters report, reacting to US President’s visit, Ukraine President Zelensky said, "This visit of the US president to Ukraine, the first for 15 years, is the most important visit in the entire history of Ukraine-US relations."
Biden traveled to Ukraine's capital by overnight train from Poland, arriving after roughly 10 hours on Monday, before returning there the same way, according to a White House pool report by a Wall Street Journal reporter, mentioned the Reuters report.
Biden arrived in Warsaw late on Monday, where he is scheduled to meet Poland's President Andrzej Duda, along with other leaders of countries on NATO's eastern flank on Tuesday.
While Biden was in Kyiv, the US State Department announced a further $460 million aid to Ukraine, including $450 million worth of artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems and air defense radars, and $10 million for energy infrastructure, Reuters reported.
The report mentioned citing officials in Washington and Moscow that Russia was informed before Biden's departure to avoid the risk of an attack on Kyiv while he was there.
"Of course for the Kremlin this will be seen as further proof that the United States has bet on Russia's strategic defeat in the war and that the war itself has turned irrevocably into a war between Russia and the West," said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst, as quoted by Reuters.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the bloc would approve more sanctions before the anniversary of the Russian invasion on Feb 24.
As for the war, Russia is trying to secure full control of two eastern provinces forming Ukraine's Donbas industrial region, Reuters added in the report.
China, US On Russia-Ukraine War
Earlier on Monday, China slammed the claims made by the United States that it is considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine. In a statement released by China’s foreign ministry, it termed the claims as “false” and said that Beijing does not accept the United States' finger-pointing on China-Russia relations. "We do not accept the United States' finger-pointing on China-Russia relations, let alone coercion and pressure," Wang Yi said. In the statement, the ministry spokesperson said that Wang Yi stressed over the Ukraine issue and said that China stands by its principles.
China is committed to promoting peace talks and has played a constructive role. The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries, which is within the sovereign right of any two independent states, the statement further read.
The US, as a major country, has every reason to work for a political settlement of the crisis instead of fanning the flames or profiting from it, the spokesperson said.
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