Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the Biden administration to use all its influence to ban Russia’s SWIFT banking network
Ukraine’s foreign minister used a conversation with his US counterpart on Friday to ask the Biden administration for emergency assistance to persuade European nations to support Russia’s ban on using the SWIFT banking network.
Details of the call came amid signs of growing frustration in Kiev that President Joe Biden is no longer doing anything to help Ukraine fight Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Green accused the West of abandoning his country.
And then his foreign minister, Dmitry Kuleba, took to Twitter to say he had asked for help in excluding Russian from international banking systems.
“Another call with my American friend and colleague @SecBlinken about the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries to ban Russia from SWIFT,” he said.
“We also discussed further deliveries of defense weapons to Ukraine.”
A day earlier, the European Union decided not to block Russia from SWIFT’s money transfer system.
Some European countries – especially Germany – are skeptical that banning Russia would be a smart move.
They warn that this would make it impossible to support Russian civil rights groups from abroad or Russian students abroad to send money to help their grandmothers.
US intelligence officials worry the Ukrainian capital could fall for days as forces prepare to defend Kiev
: Members of Territorial Defense Battalion Create Machine Gun and Organize Military Redoubt in Kiev, Ukraine
Protesters urge Russia to ban SWIFT during a rally in Ukraine at the White House on Thursday
Earlier, President Joe Biden met virtually with fellow NATO leaders to agree to send thousands more troops, backed by air and naval support, to protect Allies in Eastern Europe.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30-member organization would send parts of NATO’s response force to the alliance’s eastern flank – for the first time ever.
And US lawmakers are offering a $ 600 million package of “deadly defensive weapons” to Ukraine.
“What we are doing with Ukraine is to ensure that we have humanitarian aid to help the people; that we have deadly defensive weapons entering Ukraine worth $ 600 million so that they can fight their own battle, “she told reporters in San Francisco.
This comes as Russian forces continue to advance.
U.S. intelligence officials are worried that the Ukrainian capital could fall in days, CNN it is reported that Russian forces are 20 miles from its location and residents have been urged to make Molotov cocktails to help protect the city.
Amid reports that the Kremlin is shooting at him, Ukrainian President Vladimir Green criticizes the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone.
“Who is ready to fight with us?” “I don’t see anyone,” he said. “Who is ready to guarantee Ukraine NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.
“We are defending our country on our own. “The world’s most powerful forces are watching this from a distance,” Zelenski said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine, but only under difficult conditions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskov made it clear that Russia expects Ukraine to “denationalize and demilitarize” Ukraine, which means the capitulation of Kiev.
President Joe Biden will meet virtually with other NATO members on Friday morning to reassure the Eastern Allies that they will be protected.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky criticizes the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone
The Ukrainian National Guard formed in the streets of Kiev on Friday as it prepared to defend the city from Russian attack shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard.
A brave Ukrainian citizen was filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tiger-M combat vehicles – similar to American Humvees – from moving on a highway near Crimea in scenes reminiscent of the “tanker” in Tiananmen Square.
Russia’s plans to capture Kiev and forcibly end the war in Ukraine have been uncovered by US intelligence, which says troops and armor will be used to capture airports before a force of 10,000 paratroopers is sent to capture the city. government and force them to sign a peace agreement to regain control of Russia’s country
President Joe Biden (top left) attends the NATO summit
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for virtual summit
General view of a meeting room during a virtual summit convened by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after Russia launches a large-scale military operation against Ukraine in Brussels, Belgium
As fighting continues in Ukraine, Biden will begin his Friday with a virtual meeting with 30 NATO members concerned about Russian aggression on their eastern flank. Some of NATO’s 30 members supply weapons and support to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization does not.
“Make no mistake, we will defend every ally against every attack on every inch of NATO territory,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair the summit, told reporters on Thursday. “An attack on an ally will provoke a response from the whole alliance.”
During the meeting, leaders are likely to consider activating the NATO Response Force, which can number up to 40,000 troops. A rapidly deploying ground brigade, part of the NRF – made up of 5,000 troops and commanded by France along with Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain – is now on high alert.
Some NATO countries are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows.
Lithuania declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed troops to Ukraine. Lithuania borders the Kaliningrad region of Russia to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south.
“We cannot accept the luxury of being a discussion club,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said last night at an extraordinary summit of European Union leaders to impose a “high price” on Russia through sanctions. We need to take action.
The Baltic members said that the West “urgently needs to provide the Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and all other military support to protect themselves, as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.”
NATO began strengthening its defenses in Northeast Europe after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Recently, some members also sent troops, planes and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
In the short term, NATO is activating an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday it was sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed.
Independence Square in the center of Kiev, Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers occupy positions in the center of Kiev
Soldiers of the Ukrainian National Guard occupy positions in the center of Kiev
In addition, pressure on Biden is growing to personally sanction Putin. The United States has already sanctioned several members of Putin’s inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made money from his regime.
Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remains “on the table”, but declined to answer a question about why Putin has not yet been a personal target.
The European Union will freeze Putin’s assets and those of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reports.