Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first public comments on the US presidential election, praising Joe Biden as a more reliable alternative for Russia than Donald Trump.
At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a Ukrainian missile attack on the city of Belgorod near the border between the two countries, Russia said.
If Donald Trump returns to power next year, he is considering scaling back commitments to some NATO allies and encouraging Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zelenskiy meets with French, German leaders to drum up support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to visit Germany and France on Friday, February 16, to meet with Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron as he seeks military support amid funding battle in Washington It is.
Zelenskiy's office confirmed the visit. in a statement Thursday on his website. The president will also address the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, on the sidelines of which he will hold a series of bilateral meetings.
Mr. Scholz and Mr. Zelenskiy are scheduled to sign a bilateral agreement on Germany's long-term security for Ukraine in Berlin, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
The commitments include military and non-military aspects and lay out a framework for broad political cooperation, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Ukraine signed a similar 10-year agreement with Britain last month.
With ammunition supplies dwindling, Zelenskiy will need to press Western leaders for faster military aid to deter Russian aggression. In Munich, he will meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Ukraine appears to be at a disadvantage on the battlefield as ammunition stocks run low and Russia becomes increasingly dependent on supplies from countries such as: north korea For missiles.
Ukraine's air defense forces have shot down half of the 26 missiles fired by Kremlin forces in recent air strikes targeting multiple regions on Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.
Mayor Andriy Sadovy said on Telegram that one of the missiles hit an infrastructure facility in Lviv, shattering the windows of a nearby school and apartment buildings.
Local authorities reported that the attack damaged unspecified infrastructure facilities in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and southeastern Zaporizhia, as well as civilian facilities in the western Khmelnytsky region. There were no major casualties or destruction in Kiev, the city's military junta announced in a telegram.
Putin enters US presidential election supporting 'old-fashioned' Biden against Trump
President Vladimir Putin has made his first public comments on the US presidential election, praising Joe Biden as Russia's more reliable alternative to Donald Trump.
Asked in an interview on state television which of the two leading candidates would be better for Russia, the Russian president said of Biden, “I think he's more experienced, predictable, old-fashioned,” according to a video published by the newspaper. He's a politician.” Kremlin.
His intervention, which emphasized Biden's political longevity and traditionalist approach, came as dubious praise for the US president, who is grappling with the perception that he is too old at home to seek a second term.after biden condemned President Trump on Tuesday made a “shameful” threat to authorize Russia to invade some of its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, but at the same time, the only person strong enough to stand up to Putin is a sitting president. It undermined that claim.
In the interview, the Kremlin leader brushed aside questions about the 81-year-old Biden's mental strength at their last summit in Geneva nearly three years ago, praising his astuteness. President Putin, 71, said, “Even at that time there were rumors that he was incompetent, but I had nothing of the sort.'' “Yes, he saw his notes, and I saw my notes. Nothing.”
read more: Putin seeks revenge on world order he once wanted to be a part of
While President Putin praised Biden, he also said something positive about Trump's stance on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which the Russian government views as a threat.
“From his point of view, it's probably a constant,” he said of the Republican front-runner's comment that the U.S. doesn't want to protect North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies from Russian attack if they don't meet their defense spending commitments. There is a logic to this.”
“Mr. Trump has always been described as an uninstitutional politician,” Putin added. “He has his own views on how the United States should develop its relationships with its allies, and there have been sparks in the past.”
President Putin remained steadfast in his decision to start a war in Ukraine. “He just regrets not acting sooner,” he said.
He reiterated that the United States and its allies should admit that they were unable to defeat Russia. “If you see that you're not seeing results, you need to make changes,” he says. “But it is a matter of the art of politics, the art of compromise.”
President Putin also expressed disappointment in last week's two-hour speech interview With conservative commentator and Trump supporter Tucker Carlson. Putin said he was “grateful” that Western leaders were able to listen to his speech for so long, as he is currently “unable to hold direct dialogue,” but said He said he expected “tough questions.”
“I was not only prepared for this, but I also wanted it, because I answered with an equally sharp answer,” Putin said of his first interview with a Western nation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Because it gives me an opportunity.” “He gave me no reason to do what I was trying to do. That's why, to tell you the truth, I didn't really enjoy that interview.”
Five people killed in missile attack in Ukrainian city
At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a Ukrainian missile attack on the city of Belgorod near the border between the two countries, Russia said.
Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel that stores, several private homes and industrial facilities were also damaged in Thursday's attack. Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defense announced that 14 missiles from multiple rocket artillery were intercepted over the Belgorod region.
Ukraine has not commented or claimed responsibility for the attacks, which it has retaliated against in waves of Russian missile and drone attacks on cities since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Belgorod, about 30 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, is subject to regular attacks. The airstrike was Russia's largest since late December, when a missile attack killed 24 people and injured more than 100. cited the incident Over the next few days, they launched multiple barrages of fire on Ukrainian cities.
The strike in Belgorod came a day after an attack by Ukrainian forces I said it was destroyed A Russian warship off the southern coast of Crimea, the latest in a series of operations targeting Kremlin naval vessels in the Black Sea. At the same time in Ukraine, the battle intensified Near the besieged eastern city of Avdiivka.
Russia considers deploying nuclear weapons in space – US intelligence agency
U.S. intelligence has indicated Russia is discussing the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons in space, according to people familiar with the matter, and the findings come as top House Republicans have raised unspecified national security concerns. This comes after the government publicly warned about the threat.
The threats cited by U.S. intelligence agencies are not yet serious, and Russia has not deployed nuclear weapons in space, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. While the conclusions are important and U.S. officials are taking the matter seriously, there were no immediate causes of public alarm, the people said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the discovery was a “ploy” by the White House to push lawmakers to pass the funding bill, according to state news agency Tass. remain in a stalemate in Congress amid a domestic battle over U.S. border policy.
President Trump focuses on reforming NATO, and if elected, will rush to bring peace to Ukraine
If Donald Trump returns to power next year, he is considering scaling back commitments to some NATO allies and encouraging Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
As a possible move in his second term, Trump allies are discussing what is essentially a two-tier NATO alliance, with a common goal for under-attack member states, according to the people. Article 5, which mandates defense, applies only to countries that meet their defense spending targets. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he cautioned that the policy decision had not yet been finalized. Some countries are reportedly insisting on new tariffs for lagging countries.
Trump's advisers are also discussing bringing Zelensky and Putin to the negotiating table early in a potential second term, the people said.
If the initiative goes ahead, it would upend decades of U.S. policy, tear apart the defense alliance that has shaped European security since the Cold War, and make Asian allies nervous about U.S. efforts to counter China. It will cause you to
One of President Trump's advisers said a promise to cut off U.S. military aid could help bring Ukraine to the negotiating table, while the threat of more U.S. aid could prompt Russia. . Advisers including Larry Kudlow and Robert O'Brien have also publicly called for tougher measures. sanctions The Central Bank of Russia to sway President Putin.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Thursday, when asked about the Bloomberg report, that “Article 5, the promise that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all allies,'' is the core of NATO.” He added: “The idea that we are not there to protect and protect all of our allies is going to make us all less safe and put our soldiers and personnel at risk.” .
Russia faces banana shortage amid conflict with Ecuador over US arms deal
Russia faces a potential banana shortage and soaring prices after imports from Ecuador were partially banned this month. The move follows a political spat over weapons after Ecuador agreed in January to swap old Russian military equipment to the United States in exchange for $200 million worth of new weapons, and Moscow's Foreign Ministry called the decision “reckless.” The United States has encouraged countries with Soviet weapons to send them to Ukraine.
The ban could affect 30% of Russia's annual fruit imports, which total $700 million, according to the Bell News site. The food safety watchdog said earlier this month that it had found pests in a previous shipment from Ecuador, and Russia was seeking alternative supplies from countries such as India.
Russia is Targeted agricultural imports There have been political conflicts, both directly in the case of the ban on tomatoes from Turkey in 2015 and indirectly through health and safety concerns, as in the case of Dutch flowers in 2015. DM
