Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if the West sends troops to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has warned. In his annual State of the Nation address on February 29, the Russian dictator said any attempt to deploy Western troops in Ukraine “threatens a conflict with nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization.”
Попри оптимістичні заяви зі Стокгольма та Брюсселя про те, що Угорщина нарешті зняла блокаду зі вступу Швеції до НАТО, реальні зміни виявилися не настільки швидкими. Шведському міністру закордонних справ довелося навіть скасувати вже призначену поїздку до Вашингтона, бо Будапешт не поспішає завершувати процедуру.
In the full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine is critically dependent on international aid – without external funding, Ukraine would have had a financial collapse and would have been defeated. It is clear that Ukrainians are sincerely grateful to everyone who provides this aid and helps Ukraine stand against the Russian Federation.
The US has said it is closely watching the situation in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, after pro-Russian officials in the territory appealed to Moscow for “protection”.
Transnistria, which borders war-stricken Ukraine to the east, has maintained autonomy from Moldova for three decades with support from Russia, which has more than a thousand troops stationed there since a brief war in 1992.
In this war, there is an aggressor and there is a victim. One side is attacking the core principles of the UN Charter; the other fights to defend them.
We will continue to rally countries around the world to support Ukraine’s freedom and independence and to ensure that Russia’s aggression remains a strategic failure.