Biden unites NATO China with Russia tensions rise
2023.02.22 09:35
Biden unites NATO China with Russia tensions rise
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – On Wednesday, as U.S. President Joe Biden got ready to meet with leaders of NATO’s eastern flank, China said it would work more with Russia, highlighting the geopolitical tensions ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fearing an increase in Russian missile attacks one year after Moscow’s all-out assault on Feb. 24, which failed to topple the government and has been bogged down for a long time, schools in Ukraine conducted their classes online for the remainder of the week.
Russia has sent a flagship frigate armed with hypersonic cruise missiles of the latest generation to begin military exercises with China on Friday in South Africa. On Wednesday, a Russian officer said that Russia would fire artillery but not missiles because of their speed and difficulty in being shot down.
Wang Li, China’s top diplomat, made the highest-level visit to Russia by a Chinese official since the two countries signed a “no limits” partnership weeks before the invasion. He said that Beijing was ready to improve ties with Russia.
Wang stated that Russia and China needed to “constantly deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership” during a time of crisis.
Putin stated that he was eager for a deeper partnership and the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow.
On Friday, Xi is expected to deliver a “peace speech.” According to Kiev, there can be no peace negotiations with Russian troops in Ukraine.
On the messaging app Telegram, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote, “This unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine, Europe, and the democratic world must end with the cleansing of the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation and solid guarantees of the long-term security for our state, the whole of Europe, and the entire world.”
Putin has answered the absence of progress in Ukraine with subtle provocations to utilize atomic weapons. On Tuesday, he blamed Washington for turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine, suspending a treaty to limit nuclear weapons.
Later, the foreign and defense ministries of Russia stated that Moscow would continue to adhere to the New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) restrictions on the number of nuclear missile carriers and nuclear warheads it could deploy. The treaty’s suspension was approved by Russia’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday.
Inspections under the treaty, which requires the United States and Russia to permit each other to inspect their nuclear arsenals, had already been halted due to tensions over Ukraine.
In a surprise visit to war-ravaged Ukraine on Monday, Biden emphasized his support for Kyiv and rallied NATO allies in Poland, stating that the invasion had tested the world, but Washington and its allies had demonstrated their willingness to defend democracy.
He accused Moscow of crimes against humanity, including rape and targeting civilians, and he refuted Russia’s claim that Western allies were attempting to control or destroy Russia. Russia denies using civilian targets or committing war crimes.
Arms and ammunition worth tens of billions of dollars have been sent to Ukraine by NATO allies and other supporters. They have promised modern battle tanks since the beginning of the year, but they have not yet provided Kyiv with Western fighter jets.
Biden will meet with the Bucharest Nine, NATO’s eastern members who joined the alliance following years of Soviet dominance during the Cold War, on Wednesday. They include many of the most ardent supporters of providing Ukraine with military aid.
China is outraged that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Beijing against supplying weapons to Moscow.
Last year, Russia lost three major battles in Ukraine, but it still controls nearly a fifth of the country. It has launched a massive offensive in the eastern provinces in recent weeks, but despite some of the war’s largest losses, it has only made small gains thus far.
According to the military of Ukraine, 20 other settlements in the area, including Bakhmut city, the focal point of Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk, were shelled.
According to the governor of the neighboring Luhansk region, Ukraine had destroyed several Russian tanks in response to intense attacks near the Kreminna town further north.
Serhiy Haidai, speaking on Ukrainian television, stated, “The breakthrough failed, the situation stabilized.”
Local officials reported that a Russian missile strike on industrial facilities in Kharkhiv, the largest city in eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday wounded two civilians.
Millions of people have been displaced, cities, towns, and villages have been destroyed, and the global economy has been disrupted by the largest land war in Europe since World War II. More than 8,000 civilians have been killed, according to the UN rights office, which calls this number “the tip of the iceberg.”
