“I spoke to the Mariupol defenders today,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday, praising the southern port city that has been horribly bombarded by Russian forces. “Their determination, heroism and tenacity are amazing,” he said. “If those who have been thinking about how to ditch dozens of jets and tanks for the past 31 days had just one percent of their courage.”
In a separate interview with The Economist, Zelensky claimed some countries drew a red line to send more offensive weapons to Ukraine “because they are afraid of Russia.” And that’s it. And those who say it first are the first to fear.”
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Zelenskyy was responding to a question on French President Emmanuel Macron, who previously said Biden’s comments about Putin during a speech in Poland risked an “escalation of words and deeds.” Macron, who continues to seek to negotiate as a mediator between Russia and Western allies, also said he would “not use such terms” when communicating with Putin.
Zelensky argued that Western nations, which have already imposed historic sanctions on Russia, have not gone far enough in their efforts to cripple the country’s economy because they “have not completed sanctions to disconnect the banking system from SWIFT.” Zelensky referred to it to the international syndicate used to move money between banks. Although Western allies have disconnected some Russian financial institutions from the system, they have not completely blocked Russia’s access.
He called for a full embargo on Russian oil and gas exports rather than what he called “incomplete” sanctions. “We are not guinea pigs.”
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Biden’s comments in Warsaw at the end of his three-day trip to Europe were meant to demonstrate Western resolve, but Zelensky seems to have taken them as an opportunity to question them.
The Ukrainian leader has previously used his global platform to rally nations to defend Ukraine while pressuring them to take more direct action, such as enforcing a no-fly zone. NATO member states have steadfastly resisted this call. This weekend, Zelenskyy reiterated his earlier requests for the West to send him additional planes, tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Western officials claim that they have already provided Ukraine with an extraordinary amount of financial and military support and have promised to continue doing so.
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About two-thirds of NATO members provide lethal aid, Julianne Smith, the US permanent representative to the body, said on Sunday. Since January 2021, the United States has provided $2 billion worth of lethal aid, including Stinger and Javelin missiles, Smith said.
“Every ally makes a contribution. Some provide humanitarian aid. Some offer deadly. Most do both,” she said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Ahead of Biden’s speech on Saturday, Russia escalated its attacks in western Ukraine with two powerful missile strikes on Lviv. The city was a relative haven and meeting place for civil servants, journalists and helpers.
The timing of the attacks was not considered coincidental on the same day as Biden’s visit to Poland, and they drew attention to Russia’s ability to casually escalate the conflict.
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More than 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, while some 10.2 million people – about a quarter of the total population – have been forcibly displaced within the country, according to the United Nations.
Casualty figures for civilians and the armed forces were difficult to ascertain. The latest report released by the United Nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed, although the organization notes the exact numbers “are likely to be much higher and will continue to rise as hostilities rage on”.
NATO estimates that at least 7,000 and up to 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the fighting. Moscow’s official estimates are dramatically lower and are generally not considered credible.
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As the death toll mounted, Zelenskyy accused the West of playing “ping-pong” over a Polish proposal to send MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, which the United States rejects. It has become a symbol of Western divisions over how many and which lethal weapons should be given to Ukrainian forces.
Underlying the Western debate is a fear that Putin might resort to nuclear weapons if he feels cornered or directly threatened by NATO, according to US and European officials, who have said they only reserve weapons for Ukraine’s armed forces provide self-defense.
But as Western anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles pour into Ukraine, the question is whether Putin differentiates those weapons from others that Western leaders have resisted providing.
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Amid this uncertainty, the White House quickly retracted Biden’s comments about Putin, which were initially interpreted as a significant change in US policy. When a reporter asked Biden Sunday after his church visit in Washington if he wanted Putin removed and called for regime change, the president replied “no.”
Government officials reiterated Sunday that the United States had no policy of removing Putin from power, even if it supported his ouster through popular means.
“I think the President, the White House, indicated last night that President Putin simply cannot be authorized to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a news conference in Jerusalem.
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“As you know and as you hear us say repeatedly, we have no strategy for regime change in Russia or anywhere else. In this case, as in any case, it is up to the people of the country concerned. It’s up to the Russians,” said Blinken.
Biden’s comments clouded positions among allies at a moment when analysts say Russia’s attack has stalled and sanctions are hurting the country’s economy.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States said the country is ready to negotiate with Russia but will not give up its territory.
“There should be a solution and pressure and diplomatic pressure to stop Russia,” Oksana Markarova told NBC’s Meet the Press.
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“So no, we are not ready to give up our territories. We are not willing to give up our people. We ask everyone who can put pressure on Putin or help us to bring him to the table to end this war,” Markarova said.
The next round of face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey this week, Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia said on Sunday.
Negotiations continued throughout the conflict, and officials from both countries at times expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of reaching consensus on an end to the war.
With open but fruitless diplomatic channels, the war in Ukraine has reached an uncertain tipping point. Russian forces appeared to be recalibrating their strategy after failing to take the capital Kyiv in a lightning strike as initially planned, US and European analysts said.
The Pentagon reported that Russian forces around Kyiv took up defensive positions and halted their offensive. And Russia says it is turning its attention to fighting in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Kremlin separatist forces have long been at odds with the Ukrainian government.
Russia is also calling in military reinforcements as its combat losses continue to mount, the Pentagon said on Friday, citing its latest intelligence assessments.
While additional Russian forces could bring temporary relief to fighters in Ukraine, military experts say they are unlikely to change the course of the war. They note that Russia cannot move overseas troops in significant numbers without creating vulnerabilities at other hotspots, and its military probably does not have enough qualified personnel in the pipeline to adequately staff those stations.
The chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence said Sunday that Russia was trying to split the country in two – “creating North and South Korea in Ukraine” – with the east being controlled by Moscow.
In a message on Telegram, Kyrylo Budanov said Putin was changing “the main directions of operations” and focusing on efforts to connect Crimea in the southeast with areas he controlled in the east.
In Washington, Republican lawmakers quickly pounced on Biden’s comments about Putin.
Sen. James E. Risch (Idaho), the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday that Biden made a “horrible slip” at the end of a “good speech” in Poland.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Biden’s comment “plays into the hands of Russian propagandists” and is a mistake.
“We are in a crisis. We’re in a war situation,” Portman said on Meet the Press. “That’s why clarity is incredibly important.”
Risch and Portman were among a group of Senate Republicans who signed a letter earlier this month urging Biden to provide more military aid to Ukraine, including fighter jets. However, the government said US intelligence agencies believe such moves would be interpreted by Russia as an escalation that could trigger a larger war.
A new poll showed Americans are concerned about just that. About 82 percent of those polled by NBC News were concerned that the war could eventually involve nuclear weapons, and three-quarters of Americans said they feared US combat troops could fight in Ukraine.
The poll also found little support for Biden’s leadership in the crisis. Only 12 percent expressed “very high” confidence in the President’s ability to handle the crisis, while 44 percent expressed “very little” confidence.
Miriam Berger in Jerusalem; Amy B. Wang, Matt Viser, Paulina Firozi, Brittany Shammas, Brady Dennis, John Hudson, Hannah Knowles and Karoun Demirjian in Washington; Tyler Pager in Warsaw; and Rick Noack in Paris contributed to this report.