The European Parliament voted with a very large majority the resolution condemning the Russian aggression and proximity to Ukraine which also contains the commitment to grant the country the status of candidate country for EU membership. The text obtained 637 votes in favor, 26 abstentions and 13 against. Among the opponents, several MEPs of the La Sinistra group and the former MEP of the League, Francesca Donato.
WAR. After days of bombing and intense fighting, the Russian army allegedly took the center of Kherson: screenshots published on social media and a video reported by CNN show it. The screenshots from a webcam and the video have been geolocated, and their authenticity verified by the television broadcaster. The video shows Russian military vehicles in a roundabout in the north of Kherson while the webcam screenshots show others parked on Svobody square in the center of Kherson, apparently driving unhindered. The Kherson Regional Administration Building is located on Svobody Square.
FOUNDED MURDER ZELENSKY. The head of the National Security and National Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, said a team of elite Chechen forces sent to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky had been eliminated. Danilov, as reported by The Kyiv Independent, said Ukraine had been tipped off by members of the Russian Federal Security Bureau and added that a second team is "under fire". Ramzan Kadyrov, a Chechen leader close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, sent the team of bombers according to what was declared.
Danilov said Ukraine was informed of the team by "representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service who do not want to take part in this bloody war" and that the unit sent to kill President Zelensky was "divided into two groups", whose movements "have been closely followed". “One group has been eliminated near Hostomel, the other is in our sights,” added Danilov. “We will not give our President or our country to anyone. This is our land, get out of here ".
Ramzan Kadyrov a few days ago had reported that the Chechen forces had not yet suffered losses, and that together with the Russian army they would safely take the city of Kiev. "To date, at this moment, we have not a single victim or injured, no man has even had a runny nose - he said - President Putin has made the right decision and we will carry out his orders in all circumstances". Kadyrov then urged the Ukrainian people to rise up against their own government.
Zelensky is in a bunker in Kiev.
NO FLY ZONES. The US reiterates that it does not want to be directly involved in the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. The White House, in fact, excludes a no fly zone in Ukraine because it would require the use of American military force to enforce it. CNN reports it.
NUCLEAR THREAT. The admiral Charles Richard, which oversees US nuclear weapons and capabilities, said he was "satisfied" with the US strategic defensive position in response to the Russian state of alert. Richard spoke at a House Armed Services committee hearing.
BIDEN AND THE STATE OF THE UNION. A one-hour speech was an event in the name of Ukraine right from the start, when the president left the White House to go to the Capitol, crossing a Pennsylvania Avenue painted in the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine. And some democratic representatives were dressed in yellow, while some republicans waved Ukrainian banners. Biden attacked Putin, promised that "will pay a price " recalling that while the Russian president "he was wrong, we were ready ", thanked the European allies for being "compact states"In approving measures that"they will cost the dictator". The president has announced the closure of the American skies to Russian planes, and promised that he will pay for the crimes committed by the Russian oligarchs and the "corrupt leaders" who have "enriched themselves with a violent regime". These messages, underlined by applause, gave shape to the announced "one third" of the speech dedicated to the Ukrainian people, but which soon gave way to "two thirds" destined for internal issues, the real thorn for the White House.
In the first place the problem of inflation and the rush of fuel. "I'll be honest with you - he said - as I always have been - when a dictator invades a country, there are costs all over the world". The president promised to fight inflation, drawing on what was a Trumpian model: the Made in America. He will not lower wages, to "make Americans poorer", but It will “reduce the costs” of production and supply. "We produce more, we make more machines and semi-pipelines - he said - we reduce costs and adjust infrastructures to speed up the movement of goods ". Biden thanked his "republican friends" for having the infrastructure plan approved with a "bipartisan effort". The president has succeeded in the stunt of speaking at length about domestic issues without ever mentioning the 'Build Back Better', the welfare and climate plan on which the Democrats have run aground in the Senate, due to the opposition of moderate Senator Joe Manchin , appeared among the coldest in the Chamber. This is, at the moment, perhaps the most burning defeat for Biden, who was unable to pass the 1750 billion plan, an investment already halved compared to over 3500 billion initial. The president promised, however, that he would "halve the costs of childcare" for most families, called for a tax reform and reiterated that it is time for "corporations and the wealthy to start paying what is ' right". But no more "pennies" in taxes, he recalled, will be asked of the middle class, working-class families and those earning less than $ 400 a year.
In the end, however, the feeling is one White House divided on two fronts: the international one, in which it can boast the success of the newfound unity with NATO and with European leaders, and the internal one, made up of situations that have remained unfulfilled. He was clear and direct about the international measures against Moscow, less about how he will solve the internal problems. Infrastructure will take effect in ten years, but now? In the next months? The fact that 60 million barrels of crude oil will be put on the market to counter the surge in prices is an emergency measure, not a solution. Consumer prices will continue to rise. And this remains a pressing problem. On Ukraine, Biden will be judged by the world. But it is on the second, which will be weighed by the Americans, who are interested in the crisis in Europe but not in such an all-encompassing way. And on the full car that millions of people will value the work of their president. Tomorrow Biden will go to Wisconsin to talk about his infrastructure plan, confirming that it will be internally that the Democrat, and with him the party, will play for the future.
THE DECREE OF PUTIN: Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning bringing more than $ 10.000 worth of foreign currency in cash and "monetary instruments" out of Russia. The move comes in response to the crippling sanctions Western nations have imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Other measures ordered by Putin this week include a requirement for Russian exporters to sell 80% of their foreign currency earnings, a ban on Russian residents from providing non-residents with foreign currency as part of loan agreements and deposit foreign currency in foreign bank accounts.
TURKEY. Turkey has no plans to impose sanctions against Russia in the hope of "keeping open" the channel of dialogue with Moscow. The spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this. "We need an actor who can speak to Russia - underlined Ibrahim Kalin - Who talks to Russia if everyone breaks down the bridges? We are not planning a package of sanctions to keep this channel open ”.
ENI. Eni is considering selling its 50% stake in the Blue Stream pipeline, which it controls in equal parts with the Russian giant Gazprom following the invasion of Moscow in Ukraine. The AFP reports this, citing when a company spokesman would have told him. "Eni intends to sell its stake" in the Blue Stream gas pipeline that connects Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, the spokesman told France presse. Eni is following the example of other oil big names such as the British Shell and BP, which have announced their intention to withdraw from projects in Russia. The company also added that “the current presence in Russia is marginal. The existing joint ventures with Rosneft, linked to exploration licenses in the Arctic area, have already been frozen for years, also due to the international sanctions imposed starting from 2014 ".