49 minutes ago
Von der Leyen: Putin ‘didn’t achieve any of his strategic goals’
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on December 21, 2022 in the European Council building in Brussels.
Johannes Thys | AFP | Getty Images
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed Moscow’s war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s performance in the war, a year after the full-blown conflict began.
“One year later, since the start of his brutal war, Putin has not achieved any of his strategic goals,” von der Leyen said during a press conference in Estonia to mark the country’s Independence Day.
“Rather than dividing the European Union, he finds us united and determined to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary. Instead of dominating the global energy market, it has seen its main source of income cut. Instead of wiping Ukraine off the map, he is confronted with a nation stronger than ever.”
Von der Leyen stressed that Europe would stand firmly by Ukraine, but warned that Putin was now pushing for a more intense phase of the war.
“Putin upped the ante. He is sending hundreds of thousands of young Russians into the trenches in Ukraine as cannon fodder…it also poses a real and renewed threat to Ukraine.
The EU leader vowed to continue enforcing sanctions on Russia while providing economic and military support to Ukraine “until the Russians end this war and leave Ukraine.”
— Natasha Turak
56 minutes ago
Putin is preparing for “more war,” not peace, says NATO chief
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his Defender of the Fatherland Day speech in Moscow, Russia, in this photo released February 23, 2023.
Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | via Portal
Russian President Vladimir Putin is only preparing for more war, not for peace, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech in Estonia on Friday.
Putin “has not given up on his goals” and is preparing “not for peace, but for more war,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the Russian leader wants a Europe where his country “can dictate what the neighbors do.” .
The NATO chief spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, where they commemorated the Baltic state’s Independence Day. It also comes a year after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow routinely dismisses NATO’s accusations, instead claiming that NATO and the West started the war in Ukraine even though Russia itself launched a physical military invasion of its neighbor a year ago.
— Natasha Turak
4 hours ago
Ukrainian Zelenskyy Sends Defiant Message On War Anniversary: ’This Is A Year Of Our Invincibility’
“On February 24 millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but a blue and yellow flag. Don’t flee, but surrender. Face the enemy. Resistance and struggle,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on Telegram.
Julien DeRosa | swimming pool | Portal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a defiant message on the day that marked a year after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“On February 24 millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but a blue and yellow flag. Don’t flee, but surrender. Face the enemy. Resistance and struggle,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on Telegram.
“It has been a year of pain, sadness, faith and unity. And this is a year of our invincibility. We know this will be the year of our victory!”
— Natasha Turak
4 hours ago
Turkey, Finland and Sweden resume talks on joining NATO in mid-March
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivers a news conference concluding a two-day meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 15, 2023.
Kenzo Tribouillard | AFP | Getty Images
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday that talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey will resume next month after stalling in January.
Sweden and Finland had already applied to join the defense alliance in May. So far, 28 of NATO’s 30 member states have approved their membership, but Hungary and Turkey have yet to do so. Budapest says it will hold parliamentary debates on the two accessions in the coming weeks, but Ankara’s timetable is a little more vague amid upcoming elections and tensions with Stockholm.
Talks between Turkey, Finland and Sweden were halted in January after far-right activists burned a copy of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Signaling an improvement in ties, Stoltenberg said Friday the three nations will resume talks and meet in Brussels in mid-March.
“We have agreed to resume talks and convene a trilateral meeting between Finland, Sweden and Turkey at NATO headquarters in mid-March,” he told a news conference in Estonia.
“Our aim is for both Sweden and Finland to join as soon as possible,” he added.
At a press conference, also held a year ago since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine began, Stoltenberg said Putin “has not given up on his goals” and that he is “preparing not for peace, but for more war.”
– Silvia Amaro
4 hours ago
Ukrainian refugees could help Germany’s job market, but not for long: They’re ‘ready to go home’
Student Marharyta (l) sits next to her German classmate Milena (r) in geography class in a classroom at the primary and secondary school in Lorup (municipality of Werlte).
Friso Gentsch | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Germany’s job market is under severe pressure, and the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees is unlikely to solve the country’s labor problems in the long term. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce reported in January that more than half of German companies are having difficulties filling vacancies with skilled workers.
Apart from Poland, Germany has taken in more refugees than any other region since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago. The conflict has devastated parts of Ukraine, leaving 8 million people looking for safety.
Over a million of these Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Germany, a country that has given them a warm welcome.
The arrival of these often highly skilled Ukrainians could bring benefits to Germany, particularly when it comes to strengthening its workforce. Sylvain Broyer, chief EMEA economist at S&P Global Ratings, said the presence of refugees is currently “positive” for the German economy.
Read the whole story here.
– Hannah Ward-Glenton
4 hours ago
Ukraine and the West are preparing for the biggest reconstruction since World War II
A year after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure lie in shambles, and the government and its allies are preparing for the biggest reconstruction effort since World War II.
The World Bank estimates that Ukraine’s GDP shrank by 35% in 2022 and forecast in October that the share of the population living below the national poverty line would rise to almost 60% by the end of last year – up from 18% in 2021.
The World Bank has mobilized $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine since the war began so far, including grants, guarantees and related parallel financing from the US, UK, Europe and Japan.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that Ukraine’s economy shrank by 30%, a less severe contraction than previously forecast. Inflation has also started to slow, but ended 2022 at 26.6% yoy, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
In a statement following a visit to Ukraine this week, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she saw “an economy that is functioning despite the enormous challenges” and praised the government’s vision of moving the recovery to a “transitional phase”. of reconstruction and EU accession”.
Read the whole story here.
– Eliot Smith
4 hours ago
After a year of death and destruction, Ukraine is preparing for a major escalation of the war
Destruction from a broken car window in Lyman, Ukraine, on February 20, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
As Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine enters its second year, military analysts believe the capture of the Donbass region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk (regions home to two self-proclaimed, pro-Russian “republics”), is a key Russia remains the target as it launches a new large-scale offensive involving several hundred thousand conscripts, whom Putin drafted last September.
How this offensive goes and how quickly and effectively Ukraine can counter it will be crucial, defense experts warn.
Russia’s “top strategic goal remains the destruction of all of Ukraine,” Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defense minister, told CNBC ahead of the one-year anniversary.
Read the whole story here.
— Holly Ellyatt
8 hours ago
Both Russia and Ukraine face ammunition shortages, Eurasia Group chairman says
The Russo-Ukrainian war has been marked by an ammunition shortage, Eurasia Group chairman Cliff Kupchan told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia.
China, which supplies Russia with the ammunition it lacks, could “swing the war in Russia’s favor,” Kupchan said. “It’s one of the reasons I’m so concerned and focused on China at the moment,” he added.
Meanwhile, the US government’s “principal concern” is to supply Ukrainians with more ammunition, which is running out, Kupchan said.
“I don’t think either side has a structural advantage as they’re both pretty badly injured,” he said.
It is also unlikely that Putin will invade Poland, said Kupchan. Putin “can’t come out with a resounding yes” that Ukraine is a sovereign, independent country, he added.
“I don’t think he thinks of any other country the way he thinks of Ukraine.”
– Audrey Wan
11 hours ago
China reiterates calls for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia
China reiterated its call for peace talks and a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine
“All parties should support Russia and Ukraine to work in the same direction and resume direct dialogue as soon as possible to gradually de-escalate the situation and eventually achieve a comprehensive ceasefire,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement .
China added it supports the International Atomic Energy Agency in playing a “constructive role in promoting the safety of peaceful nuclear facilities.”
China said the international community should “help the parties to the conflict open the door to a political solution as soon as possible and create conditions and platforms for negotiations to resume.” It added that it was ready “to play a constructive role in this regard”.
– Jihye Lee
4 hours ago