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As Western nations tightened an economic noose on Russia, whose invading soldiers blasted Ukrainian cities and appeared prepared for a march on Kyiv, US President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader “had no idea what’s coming.”
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have left the conflict since Putin launched a full-scale invasion nearly a week ago, with a miles-long Russian military convoy preparing to advance on Kyiv.
According to a Russian defence ministry official, Russian forces have taken control of Kherson, a city of almost a quarter million inhabitants just north of Crimea, the peninsula Russia annexed in 2014.
“While he may gain on the battlefield, he will pay a long-term heavy price,” Biden stated in his State of the Union address. “He has no idea what’s coming,” Biden said, departing from the prepared text. He didn’t go into further detail.
As Biden presented his speech to the chamber of the House of Representatives, members stood, cheered, and yelled, many waving Ukrainian flags and sporting the country’s blue and yellow colours.
The invading force’s progress on Kyiv has stopped, according to a senior US defence official, due to logistical issues, such as food and gasoline shortages, and low morale among some battalions.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has urged Russia to halt its bombardment of people and resume negotiations.
In a joint interview with Reuters and CNN in a tightly guarded government compound in Kyiv, he said, “At the the least, stop bombing civilians, simply stop the bombing, and then sit down at the bargaining table.”
Over 450,000 people have fled Ukraine for Poland, with another 113,000 fleeing for Romania.
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly is expected to rebuke Russia and urge that it cease fighting and evacuate its military forces.
Civilians Killed
Last Thursday, Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine in an attempt to disarm the democratic country of 44 million people, catch the “neo-Nazis” in charge, and squash hopes for closer links with the West.
Russia’s assault includes strikes on Kyiv, but the most intense bombing looks to be in the area of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, close the Russian border.
In the previous 24 hours, at least 21 people have been killed and 112 have been injured in shelling in Kharkiv, according to regional governor Oleg Synegubov.
A Russian cruise missile hit the city of Zhytomyr west of Kyiv on Tuesday, killing four people, including a toddler, according to a Ukrainian official.
Authorities in Donetsk, Ukraine’s mostly Russian-speaking city, reported three civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling in area controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
Reuters was unable to confirm any of the casualty reports. According to the UN, at least 136 civilians were murdered in the invasion, but the true number is likely significantly higher.
Ukraine’s air force is still flying and its air defences are still judged effective, despite being vastly outmanned by Russia’s military in terms of sheer numbers and firepower, a reality that military analysts find perplexing.
“Every day, the airspace is intensively disputed,” a senior United States defence official said on condition of anonymity.
Freeze and Take Control
Biden announced a new round of penalties against Russia, joining the European Union and Canada in prohibiting Russian jets from flying over American airspace. He also stated that the Justice Department would seek to take the yachts, luxury homes, and private planes of wealthy Russians linked to Putin.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she would establish a task team “to freeze and take the assets of important Russian elites” after a call with Group of Seven leaders.
Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, has asked the US-led military alliance to impose a no-fly zone over the country, a proposal that Washington has rejected, fearing a direct confrontation between the world’s two most powerful nuclear powers.
Instead, the United States and its allies have transferred armaments to Kyiv.
According to a media report on Wednesday, several dozen Japanese men responded to a Ukrainian request for international volunteers to help combat Russia’s invasion. The president, vice president, and prime minister of Taiwan have all promised to give their salaries to Ukraine rescue efforts.
The West’s major approach for diplomatic isolation is to cut Russia’s economy off from the global financial system, forcing multinational corporations to suspend sales, terminate ties, and dump tens of billions of dollars in investments.
Exxon Mobil joined other major Western energy corporations, notably BP PLC and Shell, in declaring their withdrawal from oil-rich Russia in the wake of the invasion.
Apple Inc. halted iPhone and other product sales in Russia and made improvements to its Maps app to safeguard civilians in Ukraine. Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., has removed Russian state publishers from its news feed, while Ford Motor Company has halted operations in Russia.
Boeing announced that parts, maintenance, and technical assistance for Russian airlines would be suspended.
Russia imposed temporary restrictions on foreigners wanting to sell assets in the country on Tuesday, putting billions of dollars in securities held by foreigners at danger of being stuck.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defied the US-led economic campaign against Russia by declaring that Mexico will not impose any economic penalties. The communist leader then went on to criticise what he called social media corporations’ suppression of Russian state-sponsored media.
