- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address US Congress
- US President Joe Biden is set to announce $800 billion in security assistance to Ukraine
- Bilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine to reconvene later
- Polish, Czech and Slovenian leaders visited Kyiv on Tuesday
- Poland’s deputy prime minister appealed for a ‘peacekeeping’ force in Ukraine, suggesting NATO could send one
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against a direct NATO military confrontation with Russia
- Some 20,000 civilians were able to flee the besieged port of Mariupol on Tuesday amid continued efforts to secure safe passage
This article was last updated at 03:30 UTC/GMT
China: Taiwan ‘taking advantage’ of Ukraine war
The Chinese government criticized Taiwan’s aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
China accused Taiwan of “taking advantage of other’s difficulties” by providing aid and imposing sanctions.
A spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, said Taiwan’s government was using the issue for its own purposes.
“The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are using the Ukraine issue to validate their existence and piggy back on a hot issue, taking advantage of other’s difficulties,” she said. The Taiwanese nationalist and center-left Democratic Progressive Party has been in power since 2016.
On the other hand, Taiwan’s government said it had a duty to stand with other democracies and support Ukraine.
Recently, Taiwan has engaged in military drills to deter what it sees as a threat from China.
Zelenskyy to speak at US Congress
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the US Congress on Wednesday by video stream, the second such address in the past month.
US President Joe Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million (€729 million) in security assistance to Ukraine in the aftermath of Zelenskyy’s speech.
This would bring the total announced over the last week up to $1 billion (€910 million), according to a White House official.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy told European leaders gathered in London on Tuesday that he realized NATO has no intention of accepting Ukraine, while still urging the alliance to enforce a no-fly zone over the country.
Zelenskyy said in his Wednesday video address that Russia’s demands were becoming “more realistic,” following Tuesday cease-fire talks between the two countries. The two sides are expected to meet again on Wednesday.
IMF warns Ukraine war is a ‘major blow to the global economy’
The IMF warned in a report published on its website that the crisis in Ukraine will cause slower growth and faster inflation around the world.
Higher prices for commodities like food and energy will push up inflation further, the IMF said. Ukraine and Russia are major wheat exporters and the war may put strain on the global supply of the staple grain, while a number of countries depend on Russian energy exports. The price of wheat has reached a record high in recent days, the IMF said.
Countries dependent on oil imports may see wider deficits and more inflationary pressure, according to the IMF. Some oil-exporting countries in the Middle East and Africa may benefit from higher prices.
“The consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine have already shaken not just those nations but also the region and the world”, the IMF said. To this end, the IMF suggested a “global safety net and regional arrangments” as a way to “buffer economies.”
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Tuesday
Talks between Ukraine and Russia resumed on Tuesday. This was the fourth round of talks between the two countries since Russia’s invasion in late February.
Without going into specifics, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the positions in the negotiations were starting to sound “more realistic.”
Polish, Czech and Slovenian leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv.
Poland’s deputy PM and leader of the ruling PiS party Jaroslaw Kaczynski called for a peackeeping force to be created for Ukraine, and said that the force could be sent by NATO or another international organization.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, said that “nobody can want” direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia, saying that sanctions were already hitting Moscow harder than the Kremlin had envisioned.
NATO itself has so far ruled out sending troops to Ukraine in any capacity.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said that around 20,000 people managed to escape Mariupol on Tuesday. Those fleeing the besieged port city left in private cars along a humanitarian corridor.
Ukrainian officials also said that forces in the second-largest city, Kharkiv, repelled an attempted Russian advance on Tuesday.
Explosions were reported in the capital Kyiv.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said that more than 3 million people had fled Ukraine since the invasion began.
Also on Tuesday, the European Union announced a fourth wave of sanctions against 15 individuals connected to the Kremlin.
sdi/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy: Russian demands becoming ‘more realistic’ — live updates
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