Biden takes on ‘dictator’ Putin as Russian offensive in Ukraine intensifies

Joe Biden on Tuesday forcefully attacked Vladimir Putin, a “dictator” who is “more isolated than ever”, and the Russian oligarchs, while Moscow intensified its offensive in Ukraine, striking in particular Kiev and the large city of Kharkiv .

Vladimir Putin “was wrong”, “we are ready, we are united”, launched the President of the United States during his first “State of the Union address” in Washington, calling on the American Congress to offer a standing ovation in support of “the Ukrainian people” who “are not afraid of anything”.

The Russian president “thought that the West and NATO would not respond”, he hammered. But “Putin is now more isolated than ever from the rest of the world”, because in the battle against “autocracy”, “democracies are at the rendezvous”, he added, listing the unprecedented sanctions which are fell on Russia.

– Closed US airspace –

But “if dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause even more chaos”, warned the 46th president in American history to the address of the master of the Kremlin.

He threatened the Russian oligarchs with seizing their “yachts, luxury apartments and jets”.

In fact, international pressure on Russia continues to increase.

Joe Biden announced the prohibition of the airspace of the United States to Russian planes, as had done the European Union and Canada.

And the 27 EU states have given the green light to exclude “certain Russian banks” from the Swift messaging system, a key cog in international finance, and to ban the broadcasting of state media Russians RT and Sputnik.

As a result of the sanctions, a bankruptcy procedure will be opened concerning the main subsidiary in Europe of the largest Russian bank, Sberbank, announced the banking regulator of the EU.

Seized by the Ukrainian government, which accuses Moscow of planning genocide, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the United Nations, for its part announced hearings on March 7 and 8.

– Karkhiv bombed –

On the sixth day of the Russian invasion, the bombings followed one another on Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million inhabitants near the border with Russia, which the assailants are trying to seize.

In its central square, the headquarters of the regional administration was partly destroyed, Governor Oleg Sinegoubov said, in a video showing an explosion.

At least ten people were killed and more than 20 injured, while eight others perished when an apartment building was hit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared the strikes to the deadly bombings of Sarajevo, Bosnia, in the 1990s.

Satellite image provided, February 28, 2022, by Maxar Technologies of part of the Russian military convoy and burnt houses near Ivankiv, northwest of Kiev (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies / – )

In Kyiv, five people died when the television tower was targeted in the late afternoon.

But an hour after the attack, most Ukrainian channels appeared to be functioning normally again.

In the evening, new explosions sounded in the Ukrainian capital and in Bila Tserkva. For its part, the city of Zhitomir, in the north-west of the country, was targeted by an air strike which left two dead and seriously damaged ten residential buildings, according to Ukrainian relief.

Earlier, the Russian army had called on civilians living near security services infrastructure to evacuate, saying it wanted to attack them to stop “computer attacks against Russia”.

The future Russian assault on Kiev raises fears of a considerable number of victims in this metropolis, which normally has nearly three million inhabitants and is endowed with a rich historical heritage.

Photos made public overnight from Monday to Tuesday by the American satellite imagery company Maxar showed a Russian convoy stretching for tens of kilometers and heading towards the capital.

Firefighters evacuate the body of a victim of the bombing of the regional prefecture, on March 1, 2022 in Kharkiv (AFP / Sergey BOBOK)

“We have the general feeling that the movement of the Russian army (…) towards Kyiv has stalled at this stage,” said a US Department of Defense official, however, citing Ukrainian resistance but also problems “logistics”, food and fuel supply.

– Between Crimea and Donbass –

Russian forces, on the other hand, seemed to have advanced in southern Ukraine, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov.

In the port of Mariupol, “all neighborhoods” are bombed, said the regional governor, speaking of an undetermined number of deaths.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its troops advancing up the coast from Crimea had joined those in the pro-Russian separatist territory of Donetsk, giving them strategic territorial continuity.

The information was immediately unverifiable. Shortly before, the Ukrainian army had claimed to have thwarted this attempt.

The damage in the square in front of the Kharkiv regional prefecture hit by Russian bombing, on March 1, 2022 (AFP / Sergey BOBOK)

“We need to stop the aggressor ASAP,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted after chatting with Joe Biden.

Residents line up outside a supermarket to buy food on March 1, 2022 in Kiev (AFP / Dimitar DILKOFF)

The finance ministers of the G7 countries discussed on Tuesday additional sanctions against the Russian economy, already under the blow of a series of measures of historic proportions.

Four of the world’s five largest shipowners have stopped serving Russian ports, while German-Russian gas pipeline operator Nord Stream 2, headquartered in Switzerland, has filed for bankruptcy.

The Italian oil giant Eni intends to withdraw from a gas pipeline linking Russia to Turkey, and the American ExxonMobil has announced that it will do so gradually from a major oil field of which it is the operator in Russia.

Like many companies, Apple also said it has suspended sales of all its products in Russia.

Location of explosions or shelling since February 24 in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city (AFP / )

The Russian government, which is striving to counter these sanctions, was preparing a new decree to stem the flight of foreign investors.

At the same time, he blocked access to a well-known independent online TV channel and radio station, Dojd and Echo of Moscow.

As a result of these tensions, the European stock markets and Wall Street ended down sharply. Oil prices continued to rise at the same time, before Wednesday’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+). Ditto for wheat and corn prices, at a record level in Europe.

– “Deep regret” from Beijing –

In addition to economic sanctions, coupled with demonstrations of solidarity with Ukraine in many countries, Russia has been excluded from a multitude of events, from the 2022 World Cup to cycling events and the Davis Cup in tennis.

Members of the Ukrainian civil defense cross a river whose bridge was destroyed, north of Kiev, on March 1, 2022 ( AFP / ARIS MESSINIS )

Even China, which has so far not condemned the Russian invasion, on Tuesday expressed “deep regret” at the conflict.

– 677,000 exiled –

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, a million people have been displaced within Ukraine itself and more than 677,000 have left for neighboring countries, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The World Bank has announced three billion dollars in emergency aid for Ukraine, of which at least 350 million could be released this week.

Map of Europe showing the influx of refugees from Ukraine into European countries, as of 15:00 GMT on February 28, according to the High Commission for Refugees (AFP/)

Long lines of cars continued to head towards the Polish border, from Lviv, the big city in western Ukraine that had become an exit door and a center of retreat for Ukrainians and for Western embassies.

Women refugees in this city, leaving the men of their family “to defend Ukraine”, mobilized to support them, giving their blood or making camouflage nets.