Putin defies the West and Biden says Russia will never win in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin suspended this Tuesday the participation of Russia in a major nuclear disarmament treaty and accused the West of “stir” the conflict in Ukrainewhile his American counterpart, Joe Bidenassured that Moscow “never” will win the war that began almost a year ago.

The United States described asirresponsible” the decision to suspend the treaty new START and France and Britain, two other nuclear powers, called on Moscow to reconsider its “hasty decision” and “show responsibility”.

Despite Putin’s announcement, the Russian Foreign Ministry assured that Moscow “will maintain a responsible approach and will continue to rigorously respect (…) the quantitative limitations of strategic offensive weaponsuntil the expiration of that treaty, in 2026.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 between Russia and the United States, aims to limit the nuclear arsenals of these two countries.

Putin warned that Russia could resume its nuclear tests if the United States did so first.

“No one should feed on illusions, the strategic parity could be altered”he claimed.

Russia had already suspended planned inspections of its military installations in August.

Biden pledges full support for Ukraine

In his one hour and forty-five minute address, Putin accused Western countries of using the conflict in Ukraine to “finish” with Russia.

“The responsibility for fueling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims (…), falls entirely on the Western elites,” Putin declared, on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion, on February 24, 2022.

The Russian president also promised to fulfill “step by step, carefully and systematically” the objectives of that offensive, marked in recent months by a series of humiliating military setbacks for Moscow, but also by some advances in the east.

Biden, in another long-awaited speech from Warsaw, replied to these accusations in the afternoon and promised to maintain unwavering support for Ukraine.

“The West is not conspiring to attack Russia, as Putin said today. Millions of Russian citizens who just want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy.” Biden proclaimed, before a crowd gathered in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

“There must be no doubt: our support for Ukraine will never waver” and “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, never”, he added, the day after his surprise visit to kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

Putin thought he was “tough”, but ran into the “iron will” of the United States, he said.

Bombings in Kherson

During Putin’s speech, Russian forces shelled buildings in Kherson, southern Ukraine, killing at least five civilians, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Russia is “ruthlessly killing the civilian population”declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Images released after the attack showed bodies, one of them covered by a tarpaulin, lying on the ground near a bus stop and a destroyed supermarket.

Chinese peace initiative

In relation to the international sanctions that affect Russia, Putin estimated that Westerners “They have not reached anything and they will not reach anything”.

The Russian economy held up better than experts had anticipated. GDP contracted 2.1% last year, according to official statistics agency Rosstat.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that China was “deeply concerned” over the conflict and offered to mediate, promising a proposal this week a proposal to seek a “political solution” to the crisis in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed cautious interest in such an initiative, but warned that it must respect “the principle of territorial integrity” of his country.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and at the start of the war proclaimed territories of the Donbas mining basin in eastern Ukraine under its sovereignty.

Source: AFP