The two leaders also discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive, and Biden reaffirmed US support…reports Asian Lite News
President Joe Biden on Sunday spoke with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and discussed the recent events in Russia, the White House said.
The two leaders also discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive, and President Biden reaffirmed unflinching US support, which includes ongoing security, financial, and humanitarian assistance. “President Biden spoke today with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine to discuss support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression. They discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive, and President Biden reaffirmed unwavering US support, including through continued security, economic, and humanitarian aid. The leaders also discussed recent events in Russia,” the White House readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said.
Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that everyone who chooses the path of evil “destroys” himself, as he took a sharp dig at Moscow hours after the Wagner group launched a rebellion against Russian military facilities.
Taking to Twitter, Zelenskyy said, “Everyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself. Who sends columns of troops to destroy the lives of another country and cannot stop them from fleeing and betraying when life resists. Who terrorizes with missiles, and when they are shot down, humiliates himself to receive Shahed drones. Who despises people and throws hundreds of thousands into the war, in order to eventually barricade himself in the Moscow region from those whom he himself armed”.
Accusing Russia of using “propaganda” to “mask its weakness”, the Ukrainian President said that this attack by Wagner group exposes Russia’s “full-scale weakness”.
“For a long time, Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it. And all this is one person, who again and again scares by the year 1917, although he is able to result in nothing else but this,” he said.
However, on Sunday the Wagner mercenary chief decided to halt its March to Moscow after the Belarusian president stated he was in talks with Yevgeny Prigozhin about an agreement to “de-escalate tensions.
Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus wrote, “At 9 p.m. tonight, the Presidents spoke again by phone. The President of Belarus Lukashenko informed the President of Russia about the results of negotiations w/ the leader of the Wagner Group. President Putin thanked his counterpart for the work done.”
On Saturday morning earlier, Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a Telegram post, announced that his men had crossed the border from Ukraine into southern Russia and were ready to go “all the way” against the Russian military, TASS News Agency reported.
He said he and his men would destroy anyone who stood in their way. “But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said, adding, “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
However, later, as soon as the armed mutiny came to an end, Russia also announced that the charges against Wagner Chief Prigozhin would be dropped. (ANI)
‘Putin-Wagner dispute expose real crack’
The dispute between Russia’s President and Wagner mercenary exposed the “real crack” in Vladimir Putin’s reign, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.
To a question on whether he knew Wagner will abort his plan, Blinken in an interview with Jonathan Karl for ABC’s “This Week” said, “I don’t know, and I’m not sure we’ll fully know, or it may be something that unfolds in the coming – in the coming days and weeks. We simply don’t have a clear picture of that. And this really is fundamentally an internal matter for the Russians. We’re seeing it unfold. Again, we saw the rising tensions over several months that led to this. But exactly where this goes, we don’t know”, according to a statement released by State Department.
“But what we do know is that we’ve seen real cracks emerge – again, a direct challenge to Putin’s authority surfacing very publicly: the notion that this war, this aggression by Russia was being pursued under false pretenses; the notion that Ukraine or NATO somehow presented a threat to Russia that it had to deal with militarily. That’s now much more out in the open than it’s been. What that leads to, again, we just don’t know at this point,” he added.
On Saturday morning, Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a Telegram post, announced that his men had crossed the border from Ukraine into southern Russia and were ready to go “all the way” against the Russian military, TASS News Agency reported.
But later on, the governor of the southern Russian region of Voronezh said Wagner units are continuing their withdrawal and forces are departing “steadily and without incident.”
Meanwhile, in the interview, Blinken said wherever Wagner is present, death, destruction, and exploitation follow, as per the statement.
To a query on Putin’s hold on power, Blinken said, “It raises lots of questions that we don’t have answers to. As I said before, I think you see cracks of different kinds that have emerged. These are in a sense different in that it’s internal. When you’re being challenged from within, as Putin has been over the last few days, that also raises profound questions.” (ANI)