Zelensky’s visit to Washington affirmed the United States is ready for a long confrontation with Russia, and he reminded us about the crisis in Ukraine

She said that Zelensky’s historic address strengthened both Democrats and Republicans who understand what is at stake in the struggle against Russian and Iranian aggression and now with their ally, Iran.

It was connected to the struggle of Ukrainian people to our own revolution, to our own feelings that we want to be warm in our home to celebrate Christmas and to get us to think about the families that are stuck out in the cold while fighting for their freedom.

The United States announced a new aid package to the country that included the first-ever transfer of the air and missile defense system known as the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, which could bring down cruise missiles, short-range missiles and aircraft.

Clinton was US secretary of state when she met Russian President Putin, and said it was unlikely he would be that popular in the US as the war goes on.

A body from Russian conscripts could be thrown into the fight in Ukraine, according to Clinton.

Kyiv and its Western allies are “set for a long confrontation with Russia” following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s momentous visit to Washington, Moscow said as the war in Ukraine approaches 10 months.

The foreign ministry of Russia condemned what it said was the “monstrous crimes” of the regime in Kyiv, after Joe Biden promised more military support to the country at a meeting on Wednesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that no matter how much military support the West provides to the Ukrainian government, “they will achieve nothing.”

Zakharova said the tasks set in the framework of the special military operation will be fulfilled, as the leadership of the country has stated.

Kyiv has repeatedly asked for the US Army’s Patriot – an acronym for Phased Array Tracking Radar for intercept on Target – system, as it is considered one of the most capable long-range air defense systems on the market.

For the first time, the Biden administration will provide a missile defense system for France to assist in the conflict in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, the US has supplied one of the most advanced and expensive defense systems.

Peskov added that “there were no real calls for peace.” But during his address to the US Congress on Wednesday, Zelensky did stress that “we need peace,” reiterating the 10-point plan devised by Ukraine.

The US is in direct fighting with Russia down towards the last Ukrainian, as shown by Wednesday’s meeting, according to Peskov.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned from Washington, D.C. — having secured billions of dollars in U.S. aid and multiple standing ovations in Congress — the Kremlin was quick to criticize the trip.

The Kremlin has been selling the item to the Russian public, according to a professor at the School of Advanced International Studies.

Putin said in his annual address there was a battle against the west in the war in Ukranian. After Biden vowed the US will be with Ukraine for as long as it takes, Putin’s speech underlined just how long that may be, raising the possibility of more years of war that will stretch the commitment of Western governments and populations to the cause.

The U.S. does not support a proxy war, because Zelenskyy and Ukraine want a “just peace,” and they know that the U.S. helps them defend themselves against Russian aggression.

Last week, Moscow said it would see the rumored delivery of missiles to Ukraine as another provocative move by the US.

The Rise and Fall of China: The Last Days and Future of Covid Security in the Context of the 2023 Apocalypse

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. You can sign up here.

After a tumultuous end to a momentous and challenging year, China heads into 2023 with a great deal of uncertainty – and potentially a glimpse of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

Xi had previously staked his political legitimacy on zero-Covid. Now, as his costly strategy gets dismantled in an abrupt U-turn following nationwide protests against it, many are questioning his wisdom. The protests, which in some places saw rare demands for the removal of China’s president, may have ended, but the anger has not dissipated.

Its tightly-sealed borders are gradually opening up, and Chinese tourists are eager to explore the world again, but some countries appear cautious to receive them, imposing new requirements for a negative Covid test before travel. It’s not known how fast global visitors will return to China.

“We have now entered a new phase of Covid response where tough challenges remain,” Xi said in a nationally televised New Year’s Eve speech. The light of hope is right in front of us, and everyone is holding on with great strength. Perseverance and solidarity mean victory, and we have to make more effort to pull through.

Is Xi in or out with Putin? The impact of the September 11 outbreaks on the country’s critical heath system: warnings from China

Is Xi in or out with Putin? Xi seems to want it both ways. He wants the relationship with a country that has invaded its neighbor without provocation, but he’s trying to present himself as a responsible global leader; an alternative to the democratic Western model for other countries to follow.

There was no preparation in place to deal with an explosion of cases caused by the lifting of restrictions last month.

The country’s fragile heath system is scrambling to cope: fever and cold medicines are hard to find, hospitals are overwhelmed, doctors and nurses are stretched to the limit, while crematoriums are struggling to keep up with an influx of bodies.

And experts warn the worst is yet to come. Less developed cities and rural areas are still bracing for more infections even though some major metropolises have seen the peak of the outbreak.

The outlook is grim. Some studies estimate the death toll could be in excess of a million, if China fails to roll out booster shots and antiviral drugs fast enough.

Many are not willing to take the campaign due to concerns about the side effects. Fighting vaccine hesitancy will require significant time and effort, when the country’s medical workers are already stretched thin.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/china/china-2023-lookahead-intl-hnk-mic/index.html

The Economic Uncertainty of China during the December 26 Christmas Outbreak: China’s Emerging Role in the Development of Human Rights and Industrial Cooperation

Any uptick in China’s growth will provide a vital boost to economies that rely on Chinese demand. There will be more production. But rising demand will also drive up prices of energy and raw materials, putting upward pressure on global inflation.

“In the short run, I believe China’s economy is likely to experience chaos rather than progress for a simple reason: China is poorly prepared to deal with Covid,” said Bo Zhuang, senior sovereign analyst at Loomis, Sayles & Company, an investment firm based in Boston.

The economy is expected to recover after the month of March. HSBC economists predicted a contraction of 0.5% in the first quarter and 5% growth for the rest of the decade.

Despite all this uncertainty, Chinese citizens are celebrating the partial reopening of the border after the end of quarantine for international arrivals and the resumption of outbound travel.

Though some residents voiced concern online about the rapid loosening of restrictions during the outbreak, many more are eagerly planning trips abroad – travel websites recorded massive spikes in traffic within minutes of the announcement on December 26.

Several Chinese nationals overseas told CNN they had been unable to return to China for several years because of the lengthy confinement. Deaths, births, weddings and graduations were missed because of that stretch.

Some countries have invited Chinese travelers back with invitations posted on Chinese social media sites. But others are more cautious, with many countries imposing new testing requirements for travelers coming from China and its territories.

Officials from these countries have pointed to the risk of new variants emerging from China’s outbreak – though numerous health experts have criticized the targeted travel restrictions as scientifically ineffective and alarmist, with the risk of inciting further racism and xenophobia.

Despite the terrible war in Ukraine, China remained close to Russia despite the fact that its human rights record was not good.

The freeze on in-person exchanges among policy advisers and businesses was not helped by the lack of top-level face to face diplomacy.

The communication lines are back open and more high level exchanges are expected this year, with the US Secretary of State, French President, Dutch Prime Minister, and Italian Prime Minister all expected to visit Beijing.

Tensions over Taiwan may Flare in the New Year, as well as China’s Support for Russia, due to which it highlighted during a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 30.

Chinese state media said that both leaders had a message of unity, with the Chinese saying to strengthen strategic coordination and the Australian saying toject more stability into the world.

Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has not been condemned by China. In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that their partnership was more important than ever in the face of “unprecedented pressure” from the West. According to Chinese state media, Xi said that the two countries need to strengthen their strategic coordination andject more stability into the world.

Both leaders have been courting authoritarian regimes. Russia is seeking armaments for its floundering war in Ukraine, and China is hard at work trying to become the center of a new alliance to counter the West. The project has faltered; it is far from a resounding success. It is not complete but a work in progress.

Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat devoted most of his speech to the conflict in Ukranian and warned against the return of a Cold War mentality.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise Europe tour, meeting leaders in London, Paris and Brussels, and reiterating his call for allies to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

Russian forces began their next major offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, attacking Ukrainian defensive lines and making marginal advances, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The analysts from the Atlantic Council said that Russian forces are attempting to encircle the city of Bakhmut.

The State of Ukraine: CNN’s NPR Coverage of the 2014 Ukrainian Airborne Flight MH17 Decay and News from the Middle East

The war in Ukraine received less attention in the address than it did last year and the Ukrainian Ambassador to the US attended.

There’s “strong indication” Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead to supply anti-aircraft weapons to separatists in Ukraine, according to the international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.

You can read past recaps here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

A former producer and correspondent of CNN, Ghitis is also a world affairs columnist. She writes an opinion column for World Politics Review and also writes a column for The Washington Post. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

Moscow and Beijing haven’t stopped acting decisively in the midst of Russia’s war with Ukraine, but it has taken steps toward a new era

The Russian and the Chinese Presidents stood side by side in February of last year. Putin was still denying plans to invade Ukraine, which he would do just after the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In a show of unity, the leaders of the two nuclear powers vowed to have a relationship with “no limits.” It looked like a big turning point in the world’s power dynamics.

If Putin’s conflict with Ukraine had turned into a swift Russian victory, the alliance of autocracies would have made huge strides. Moscow’s stumbling has slowed its progress. As Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman noted, Russia could become an albatross around Beijing’s neck.

Since Russia launched its bloody war against Ukraine, the US has imposed thousands of sanctions against Russian politicians, oligarchs and companies, cut off the Russian central bank from its dollar-denominated reserves as well as the global financial messaging system, undermined Russia’s defense-industrial base and imposed a price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products.

The US should attempt to resist the creation of a united force of aggressive antidemocratic regimes as well as fortifying NATO and strengthening alliances.

It also means deflating Moscow and Beijing, and trying to derail China’s efforts to forge closer bonds with Iran.

Much has changed since that day in Beijing, when Putin smiled for the cameras and predicted a new era would begin. The war didn’t turn out as expected, but it did make it clear that democracies need to push back against belligerent antidemocratic regimes and keep them from joining forces.

But the rule of the strongest doesn’t work when you can’t win, which is how Russia’s plans started to unravel, and China had to rethink its commitment.

Russia has bought shells from North Korea, a dictatorship which does not deny its involvement in a war that is beyond the pale.

The denials changed when Iran claimed it sold weapons before the war started. Now, newly-declassified documents show the drones in Ukraine are identical to those Iran has used in the Middle East.

Iran, whose repressive, interventionist regime has also turned it, like Russia, into a pariah to much of the world, now finds itself being courted by both Moscow and Beijing.

The last Iranian president to visit China in 20 years was Ebrahim Raisi. The two have already signed an accord for a 25-year strategic cooperation pact, but they are going on a trip to implement it.

Such suspicions are compounded by claims by US officials that Beijing is considering stepping up its partnership with Moscow by supplying Russia’s military with “lethal support.”

“As we look forward, one of the centerpieces of our strategy will be to counter attempts to evade our sanctions,” Adeyemo will say in remarks Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, according to excerpts of his speech obtained by CNN. Russia is looking for ways to circumvent the sanctions. The sanctions we have put in place are working, in part, due to Russia’s request of the intelligence services to find ways to get around them.

“A big piece of this is information and intelligence sharing, which is something we started doing even before Russia’s invasion,” Adeyemo said in an interview with CNN. “So, mapping out an evasion network that allows us to look across jurisdictions to share information, and then take action is a big piece of this.”

“Spending the country’s savings can hide the damage for now, but our actions are forcing Russia to mortgage its economic future to save face today. We have more work to do and we will keep doing it until Russia stops its baseless and illegal invasion. Russia’s economy looks more like Iran’s than the G-20, according to Adeyemo.

Russia had a budget deficit of over 50 billion dollars last year. The country has experienced a deficit in post-Soviet times. Industrial production has declined in Russia for 9 straight months, and we are planning to take further actions to further decimate the Kremlin’s industrial base,” Adeyemo will say.

The forthcoming sanctions will also “clamp down on more Russian banks that have been evading sanctions” as well as “the middlemen who are flipping back money to the Russian government” through oil trade.

Chinese actions in the euphorbia of peace and the EU: China’s position on a “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia

The US seen China publicly trying to present itself as a proponent of peace, and Wang said in the weekend that Beijing would be introducing a “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia.

Territorial and sovereignty integrity of all countries will be respected in China’s proposal, Wang said, adding that Beijing will continue to work for peace.

At the weekend, Wang addressed a room of European officials and said that he was proud of China’s commitment to peace while trying to drive a wedge between Europe and the US.

“We need more proof that China isn’t working with Russia, and we aren’t seeing that now,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told CNN Saturday.

China’s top diplomat will also visit Russia this month, according to its foreign ministry, in the first visit to the country from a Chinese official in that role since the war began.

In a clip of an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” released on Saturday, Blinken said the US has been monitoring possible increased support for Russia from China “very closely” and has “made very clear” to Beijing the consequences of providing weapons or ammunition to the Kremlin.

US officials have been concerned enough with the intelligence that they shared it with allies and partners in Munich, according to CNN reporting. The US said in a statement that Blinken warned Wang about the consequences of the issue in a meeting Saturday on the sidelines of the conference.

According to officials, the Secretary of State raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the conference.

A senior State Department official told reporters that the Secretary warned about consequences of China helping Russia with sanctions evasion.

U.S. Response to Russia’s Cold War: Prospects for the Second Security Conference in the War on Crimes-Against-Humanity

This warfare has to stop. We need to think about what efforts we can make to bring this warfare to an end,” Wang said at the conference.

“To date, we have seen Chinese companies – and, of course, in China there is really no distinction between private companies and the state – we have seen them provide non-lethal support to … Russia for use in the Ukraine,” Blinken said.

The concern we have now is based on information we know that they are considering providing lethal support, and we’ve made it very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and our relationship.

The Security Conference is a yearly gathering for heads of state, generals, intelligence chiefs and top diplomats.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine set the tone of the three-day conference by urging Western leaders to act rather than talk, calling via videolink for the speedy deliveries of weapons and warning of dwindling supplies on the battleground.

This year, the U.S. made its presence at the gathering felt with a record number of delegates, including significant bipartisan and bicameral representation from Congress.

But with delegations attending from every continent, beyond Europe and the members of NATO, broader geopolitical issues were at play, both on the conference stage and on the sidelines.

As the war enters its second year, it remains to be seen whether dialogue with President Vladimir Putin will be possible at next year’s conference. But as Vice President Kamala Harris announced Saturday, the U.S. administration is preparing to see Russian leaders stand trial for crimes against humanity.

Harris described how Russian soldiers are deliberately targeting civilians, citing evidence of “widespread and systemic” rape, torture, execution-style killings, beatings, electrocution and deportation, including children who, she said, have been cruelly separated from their parents.

She urged delegates to not look at the other side, and to instead think of the four-year-old girl who was sexually assault by a Russian soldier.

The U.S. Secretary of State said in a statement released at the conference: “We reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes.”

Nuclear Security, the “Balloon-gate” and the “Great-Bang”: Indications for European Armed Forces from the Pentagon and the United States

While Wang Yi called for peace in Ukraine – without elaborating how to achieve it or what peace in the region means – Europe’s leaders committed to investing more in weapons.

Wang insisted that peace in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world is Beijing’s top foreign policy priority, as is respect for the sovereignty of independent nations. He warned against international interference on the issue of Taiwan. Wang said to oppose Taiwanese independence forces if peace across the Taiwan Strait was maintained.

The U.S. remains concerned about Beijing invading Taiwan and about its blossoming relationship with Moscow. The “balloon-gate” events have made the relationship with Washington and Beijing worse.

After much discussion, the leaders of the United States and China sat down together for the first high-level meeting after the U.S. shot down a Chinese balloon.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said that Blinken told Wang that the U.S. is not seeking conflict with China but warned him against Beijing providing any material support to Russia, or helping Moscow evade Western sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said member states must work together with the defense industry to scale up the production of munitions for Ukraine which, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, is using them quicker than Europe can replace them.

Conference host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz firmly asked his European partners to follow up on their pledges to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine without delay. Scholz joked during the Q&A session that he’s now having to encourage others to deliver Leopard tanks quickly to Ukraine after they put pressure on him to do the same in previous weeks.

Boris Pistorius, the new Defense Minister, pushed for more military spending in Europe and NATO. He called on the NATO alliance to agree on 2% as a minimum commitment and went one step further than his boss who had previously pledged to spend 2% of GDP on defense. Germany doesn’t currently meet the 2% target and will not do so for the next couple of years, despite additional money being added to the budget.

Scholz remained tight-lipped about requests from Ukraine to send fighter jets, having publicly said no on several occasions. He warned against hasty decisions and the dangers of escalation while stating that Germany’s support for Kyiv is strong.

The First Battle of the War on the Balkans: John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Policy at the US Embassy in Moscow

Prominent Kremlin critics — including exiled oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chess champion Gary Kasparov, and Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of jailed opposition political Alexey Navalny — were pointedly offered seats instead.

The chair of the conference did not want it to be used as a podium for Russian propaganda because it was known for promoting dialogue between adversaries.

Heusgen – who served as former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s top foreign policy aide – admitted in an interview earlier this week that he left last year’s conference convinced Russia would not invade Ukraine. Four days later, the invasion began.

John J. Sullivan served as US Ambassador to Russia from December of 2019: to October of 2022. He was previously US Deputy Secretary of State. He is now a partner in a law firm and a distinguished fellow at the school of foreign service. His views are not shared in this commentary. Read more opinion on CNN.

For weeks, I had been telling everyone I could reach that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to launch a war on the continent of Europe, the scale of which had not been seen since World War II.

Although confident in my pre-war assessment, I was disconsolate. For two years, I had worked hard as US ambassador to make even modest progress in the few areas in which any dialogue was possible with the Russians.

I say this with a heavy heart, as a person who was an advocate for continued negotiations with the Russian government even as the downward spiral of our relationship accelerated. I left a comfortable perch on Mahogany Row at the State Department as the Deputy Secretary State to serve as the US ambassador in Moscow and take the lead in those negotiations.

Immediately, our engagement was reduced to the grave Russian threat to Ukraine and the “security guarantees” Russia sought from the United States and NATO. It was obvious to me that the Russians did not intend to negotiate in good faith.

Russian dialoguers wouldn’t engage in real talks if they read from their talking points. The Russian security services monitored all of the calls and meetings. Putin had already decided to launch an invasion, and the Russians were going through a diplomatic ruse to make it easier for him. When was the only question.

The war changed things great and small, from where I lived in Moscow to Russia’s standing in the world. I had to move onto the Embassy compound because the pace of teleconferences with Washington, combined with an eight-hour time difference, meant I had to be immediately available at all hours.

The invasion wreaked havoc in the global economy, including energy and grain markets. It resulted in the slaughter of many innocent people and caused great suffering for millions of Ukrainians, because of a policy choice by Putin.

Russian violence that forced almost 15 million Ukrainians to become refugees or internally displaced has been merciless, but missile strikes on civilian targets and the illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory continue. And all by a country, Russia, that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, whose mission is to preserve and defend world peace.

This is a menacing global problem that will only get worse—the economic toll alone is staggering—until it is stopped and reversed on terms acceptable to Ukraine that will protect its sovereignty and security.

But dismissing Putin’s conspiratorial claims and sense that the West is engaged in a long campaign to topple him would be a mistake. Putin may be able to survive with a long grinding war that will cause great damage to the Ukranian people, cost Western governments billions and increase pressure on the leaders in the US and Europe to withdraw.

That could be the case. But Putin made clear in his speech that there was no prospect of the war ending soon. In telling Russians the conflict was critical to their own nation’s existence and part of an effort by the West to attack Russia, he set the stage for months more bloodshed and narrowed even further already distant avenues for some kind of face-saving exit if Russia does not prevail.

The Russian government will not realize that the goals of the Special Military operation can’t be achieved. Will the Russian government negotiate in good faith if that’s what it takes? Only then will peace return to Europe.

On the Role of China in the Russia-U.S. War on the Cold War: Chinese Prime Minister Receipts China

On his way to Russia, the top diplomat of China was headed in the other direction after US President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine to meet with his counterpart.

The optics of the two trips – taking place just days before the one-year anniversary of the brutal war on Friday – underscores the sharpening of geopolitical fault lines between the world’s two superpowers.

“We do not add fuel to the fire, and we’re against reaping benefits from this crisis,” Wang said in a thinly veiled dig at the US, echoing the propaganda messaging that regularly made China’s nightly prime-time news program – that the US is intentionally prolonging the war because its arms manufacturers are earning fat profits from weapon sales.

He urged officials to think about how they should be involved in the process of bringing lasting peace to Europe.

Responding to the accusations Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry blasted the US for “shoving responsibility, shifting blame and spreading false information.”

Any effort by China to supply arms for the war in Ukraine would be a dangerous development in the US-China rivalry.

“Who is calling for dialogue and peace? And who is handing out knives and encouraging confrontation? The international community can see clearly,” the spokesperson said.

Previously, Beijing had carefully avoided actions that could trigger secondary sanctions, which would deal a devastating blow to an economy hampered by three years of costly zero-Covid policy.

Beijing has strengthened its support for Moscow over the past year, despite its recent softened pro-Russian rhetoric.

Wang told Putin that the two nations often face “crisis and chaos, but there are always opportunities in a crisis and the latter could possibly turn into the former.”

Putin, for example, announced Tuesday that Russia would suspend participation in the New START nuclear treaty with the United States. It was not clear what practical impact this would have since Moscow has stopped fully implementing the deal.

He said that the announcement was disappointing and irresponsible. He suggested the United States would not change its compliance with the treaty regardless of what Russia did.

But he made clear that the United States would not be inspecting Russian nuclear sites, a central element of verifying compliance with the treaty. And more broadly, he sounded like a leader who was done with arms control at a time of escalating confrontation with the United States and NATO.

The one thing certain is that whoever is in the Oval Office after a few hundred days, will face a world like the one of a half-century ago.

Iran isn’t interested in the nuclear mission: The case of the U.S., Russia, Italy, the Ukraine and the other two powers

He said he wasn’t about to allow inspectors to survey those facilities, because they could pass their findings on to the Ukrainians to launch further attacks. “This is a theater of the absurd,” he said. “We know that the West is directly involved in the attempts of the Kyiv regime to strike at the bases.”

None of this changes the status quo very much. When inspectors from both sides couldn’t get to Russia or the US during the Covid crisis, nuclear inspections were suspended. But over the past year, as travel restrictions lifted, Russians came up with reasons to deny inspections — and charged, as Mr. Putin did again on Tuesday, that the United States was not living up to its inspection requirements either.

There are many reasons. First, there is virtually no communication between the two countries. The “strategic stability talks” that Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin agreed upon in June 2021, at their only face-to-face meeting as presidents, were suspended after the invasion of Ukraine.

Nuclear experts no longer like the idea of another treaty between Moscow and Washington. The Pentagon now estimates that China, which is rapidly expanding its arsenal, could deploy 1,500 weapons in the next dozen years, matching the American and Russian arsenals. An arms control treaty that didn’t include one of the three major powers would be useless. And so far, China has showed no interest in joining negotiations — if there were any.

The Rise of Putin in the 2024 Ukraine: A New Foreign Policy Problem For American Diplomats and U.S. Repulsive President Biden Overshadows Putin

In terms of presidential stagecraft, Biden overshadows Putin this week, with his overnight train journey into the Ukrainian capital and his speech in the Polish capital, chosen for NATO’s frontline. Putin used his speech to the Russian parliament to once again warn about the dangers of nuclear weapons and his theories about the West.

Putin welcomed Wang and he told him that relations between Moscow and Beijing were reaching new heights.

The idea of a global contest between democracies and autocracies seemed theoretical and intangible when Biden voiced it while running for president. Now it is all too real.

And this new and complicated foreign policy picture is not just a problem for American diplomats. Rising challenges abroad as well, as the depletion of US and Western weapons stocks as arms are sent to Ukraine, pose questions about military capacity and whether current defense spending is sufficient. As Biden tries to position Democrats as protectors of working Americans as the 2024 campaign dawns, Republicans accuse him of snubbing voters who are facing economic and other problems.

And Biden vowed, “President Putin’s craven lust for land and power will fail, and the Ukrainian people’s love for their country will prevail,” he added.

To Western ears, Putin seems to be living in an alternative reality. And Biden contradicted his claims of Western imperialism, saying, “I speak once more to the people of Russia. The nations of Europe and the United States don’t want to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today.”

The Russian leader will watch the rising opposition to the war in the US. On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the future of Ukraine wouldn’t be important if Biden were to win the White House.

On Fox, DeSantis said that the fear of Russia going into NATO countries has not even come close to happening. “I think they have shown themselves to be a third-rate military power.”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/21/politics/president-biden-vladmir-putin-china-ukraine/index.html

U.S.-Russia Relations after the Biden War: a Cold War thaw and the Russian-Russian Correspondence

The estrangement between the US and Russia is almost complete, demonstrated by Biden’s trip.

Given that its economy is struggling, and its conventional forces are under extreme pressure, Russia also lacks resources to ignite a new nuclear arms race with Washington. But the collapse of one of the last building blocks of a post-Cold War thaw between Russia and the US exemplifies the almost total lack of communication between the rivals.

The Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington was willing to discuss the nuclear situation with Russia even if other things did not go well.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that such a step would cross a US red line but did not specify what consequences could result.

A long-dragging conflict can lead to a separation between the US and Europe. And it could further incite political dissent in Washington, weakening Biden’s capacity to fulfill his foreign policy goals on the global stage.

The Biden administration on Friday will be putting “constraints” on Chinese companies believed to be “active in evading sanctions” related to the war in Ukraine, a top US State Department official said Thursday.

Victoria Nuland said the United States would be putting other constraints on entities, Chinese-based or Chinese-subs of entities in Europe, which are active in evading sanctions, with a sanctions package that will be announced on Friday.