The rift between Vladimir Putin's military and the private army that has done much of the fighting in east Ukraine grew wider Tuesday as the Russian company's owner accused Kremlin officials of "high treason" and trying to destroy his force.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with close ties to Russian President Putin, released an audio statement claiming Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov were handing out orders not to supply the Wagner Group with ammunition and not to support it with air transport.
In recent weeks, Wagner forces have been taking heavy losses while making modest gains in the battle for control of Bakhmut, a crucial city in the Donbas. Prigohzin said the orders from Shoigu and Gerasimov “can be likened to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of its fighters every day."
Other developments:
►NATO is increasingly concerned that China plans to provide "lethal support to Russia's war," NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said. Moscow is also looking for help from North Korea and Iran, he said.
►Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to meet Putin in Moscow in the coming months to advocate for peace talks and discourage the use of nuclear weapons, the Wall Street Journal reported.
►EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, “We have to act with a sense of urgency,” as he pushed the bloc's 27 members to provide Ukraine more ammunition. The Ukrainian military is believed to be using up to 6,000-7,000 artillery shells a day, about one-third of what Russia's firing.
►Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called Putin's charges that the West is to blame for the war "propaganda,'' adding, "the truth is that there is somebody who is the invader and somebody who is defending itself.”
►The EU climate czar says Putin unwittingly accelerated Europe's green transition with his war in Ukraine. Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the 27-nation bloc has reduced dependency on Russian fossil fuels and increased renewable energy use.
Sanctions hampering Russia's military capacity, US official says
As the U.S. gets ready to announce more sanctions on Russia this week, a top administration official said the penalties already in place are hampering the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine.
Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies have deteriorated Russia’s capacity to replace more than 9,000 pieces of military equipment lost in the war, including about half of its tanks.
“Today, Russia can’t produce enough arms to meet their basic needs and to be a supplier to the countries that rely on them,” Adeyemo said, adding that this decline is illustrated by Moscow turning to isolated nations such as Iran and North Korea for weapons.
More than 30 countries representing upward of half the world’s economy – including the U.S., the EU members, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others – have imposed price caps on Russian oil and diesel, instituted export controls, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and restricted access to SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.
Putin withdraws from nuclear treaty – but not completely
After Putin's speech, the Foreign Ministry said Russia will respect the caps on nuclear weapons under the treaty. The ministry also said Russia will continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles in accordance with earlier agreements with the United States.
The ministry also said Russia will continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles per earlier agreements with the United States, although it figures to permanently suspend warhead and missile inspections. Both sides have accused each other of violating the deal, putting it in jeopardy.
– Kim Hjelmgaard
'KYIV STANDS STRONG':Biden declares Putin ‘was wrong,’ marking one year of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Putin sticks to his character to 'double down and fight harder'
Putin's defiant address to the nation Tuesday was in keeping with his nature, and a sign the war's end is nowhere in sight, experts say.
Despite casualties estimated at well over 100,000 -- perhaps closer to twice that number of dead and wounded -- and the depletion of much of Russia's arsenal, Putin showed no interest in curtailing his "special military operation'' in Ukraine.
“It’s they who have started the war,'' he said about the West and NATO countries. "And we are using force to end it.”
The invasion Putin launched a year ago, intent on replacing the government in Kyiv and bringing Ukraine back into Russia's sphere of influence, is seen by some analysts as the greatest threat in his two-decade-long regime, adding to his determination to prevail.
British journalist Philip Short, who published his biography, “Putin,” last year, said the Russian strongman “has painted himself into a corner. … He will be looking for ways to push ahead, but I don’t think he’s found them.” Giving up is unlikely, Short said of the former KGB agent, recalling that “his character was always to double down and fight harder.”
GOP House delegation visits Zelenskyy, who provides list of military needs
The day after Biden's surprise trip to Kyiv, a group of five congressional Republicans also went to the Ukrainian capital to meet Zelenskyy.
Their visit, led by Texas Rep. Michael McCaul -- the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee -- was especially significant because his party now controls the House, and some GOP lawmakers have expressed opposition to continuing to support Ukraine.
“There are some Members who would be more supportive if they saw a long-term strategy that was based on a Ukrainian victory rather than sending just enough support to prolong the war but not win it,” McCaul said in a statement.
The delegation discussed Ukraine's military needs and Zelenskyy offered a list of weapons, including longer-range artillery and missile systems.
"Our cooperation with America does not stop for a single day or a single minute,'' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "Together we are effectively strengthening global security.''
Trump says Biden's Ukraine policy could fuel WWIII
Former President Donald Trump warned that Biden's commitment to funding Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion is only expanding the conflict. Trump's comments came after Biden's secretive trip to Ukraine for a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Trump says his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin would have kept the Russian president from invading Ukraine a year ago.
"If you watch and understand the moves being made by Biden on Ukraine, he is systematically, but perhaps unknowingly, pushing us into what could soon be WORLD WAR III," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "How crazy is that?"
Biden: Putin was wrong about Ukraine, Kyiv is 'standing free'
Biden said the world has responded to a "test for the ages" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine draws near. Biden, in a speech outside the Kubicki Arcades palace in Warsaw, said Putin thought Ukraine would "roll over" when his forces invaded, but he met the "iron will" of Ukrainians and nations everywhere. "He was wrong."
"One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv," Biden said. "Well, I just came from visiting Kyiv, and I can report, Kyiv is standing strong. Kyiv is standing proud. And most importantly, Kyiv is standing free."
– Rebecca Morin, Joey Garrison and Maureen Groppe
Russian Foreign Ministry summons US ambassador in Moscow
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the American ambassador in Moscow and demanded withdrawal of all U.S.-NATO military equipment from Ukraine and an end to "hostile, anti-Russian activity," the ministry said in a statement.
The note of protest to Ambassador Lynne Tracy emphasized that the flow of weapons and the transfer of target designations for strikes against "Russian military and civilian infrastructure" disprove American claims that the United States is not a party to the conflict.
The communication also demanded explanations about the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines and urged the U.S. not to interfere with investigation into the blasts.
"The ambassador was told that the current aggressive course of the United States to deepen confrontation with Russia in all areas is counterproductive," the statement said.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
COMBATIVE SPEECH:Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty while lashing out at West over Ukraine war
A deeper dive:
• 'Kyiv stands strong’: Biden declares Putin ‘was wrong,’ marks one year of Russia’s war in Ukraine
• Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty while lashing out at West over Ukraine war
• Joe Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russian invasion anniversary, walks streets of Kyiv
• They counted the days until they could return to Ukraine. Now, they're not sure they'll go back
• Biden in Ukraine: See photos of president in Kyiv nearly one year after Russia's invasion
• As Americans grow weary of Ukraine war, Biden plans to mark Russia invasion anniversary
Contributing: The Associated Press
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