Russia-Ukraine War News: Biden Signs Spending Bill to Send $13.6 Billion In Aid, Zelensky Prepares For Congress
In Ukraine: Russia lobbed more missiles into Kyiv, amid heightened fighting in the city’s outskirts as a delegation of European leaders headed to the embattled Ukrainian capital to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
One missile destroyed a building associated with an arms maker in central Kyiv in a predawn strike, blowing the windows out of buildings in a one-block radius. In a second strike, two rockets hit apartment buildings, setting fire to one of them.
Two residents died in the apartment complex and dozens were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. There were no fatalities in the other strike, officials said.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed on assignment covering the war in Ukraine.
A delegation of European leaders traveled to Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
In the U.S.: U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan pressed a top Chinese official over China’s alignment with Russia during what U.S. officials said was an intense, seven-hour meeting that included discussion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In Russia: A woman ran onto the set of an evening news program on Russian state television’s flagship Channel One holding a poster reading: “No war. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They lie to you here. Russians against war.” She yelled: “Stop the war, no to war” before the camera cut away. Russian state-run news agency TASS reported she had been arrested and investigators are considering bringing charges against her.
Russia imposed sanctions on President Biden and other top U.S. officials, in a move aimed at restricting travel to Russia. The Kremlin’s latest round of travel restrictions includes 13 people, and the foreign ministry said the measures could be expanded.
Markets: Oil prices slid below $100 a barrel after China imposed Covid-19 lockdowns, erasing much of the surge since Russia invaded Ukraine
NATO Defense Ministers to Discuss Reinforcing Alliance
NATO defense ministers are gathering today in Brussels to discuss how to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The gathering could have implications beyond the alliance. The defense minister of Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged NATO to provide more military assistance, will participate. So will those from Finland and Sweden—where the idea of joining the alliance is gaining popularity—as well as representatives from Georgia and the European Union, NATO has said.
The gathering also serves as a stepping stone ahead of a hastily called summit of NATO leaders due next week that is scheduled to see President Biden fly to Brussels to participate. The summit is scheduled for March 24.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said defense ministers are gathering “at a defining moment for our security.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and military integration of Belarus creates a new security situation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he said.
“We need to reset NATO’s military posture for this new reality,” he said.
On the agenda is deploying more ground forces on a permanent basis with a higher alert status in the countries closest to Russia, with more military equipment pre-positioned there, he said. Major increases to air and naval deployments, boosting air and missile defenses, bolstering cyberdefenses, more exercises and other measures will likely be discussed as well, he said.