Ukraine war: US deploys 6 Navy aircraft to bolster NATO defences

The US Pentagon says it is deploying six Navy aircraft that specialise in electronic warfare and about 240 Navy personnel to bolster NATO defenses in Eastern Europe.

The US Pentagon says it is deploying six Navy aircraft that specialise in electronic warfare and about 240 Navy personnel to bolster NATO defenses in Eastern Europe. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the EA-18G Growler aircraft based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state were scheduled to arrive Monday at Spangdahlem air base in Germany, where they will be stationed. They are not intended for use in Ukraine, he said. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. intelligence assessments, said there has been little change in the situation on the ground in Ukraine.

The senior defense official said Russian forces largely remain in defensive positions in the area of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and they are making little forward progress elsewhere in the country. The official said the U.S. believes Ukrainian troops have retaken the town of Trostyanets, south of Sumy, in eastern Ukraine. The official said the U.S. continues to see Russia prioritizing operations in the Donbas region and de-emphasising ground operations in the Kyiv area, but the Pentagon believes it’s too early to know whether this reflects a change in Moscow’s strategic goals.

Biden calls Putin 'war criminal', Kremlin says 'such rhetoric unacceptable'

 Amid escalating war between Russia and Ukraine, US President Joe Biden called President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”

Amid escalating war between Russia and Ukraine, on Wednesday (local time) US President Joe Biden called President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”

“I think he is a war criminal,” Biden said.

Biden initially said “no” when asked whether Putin was a war criminal, but returned to a group of reporters immediately to clarify what had been asked. When asked again whether Putin was a war criminal, he answered in the affirmative, reported Sputnik. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden‘s remarks on Russian President Vladimir Putin speak for themselves.

“The President’s remarks speak for themselves,” Psaki said. “He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what he’s seen on television which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country. There is a legal process that continues to be underway at the State Department.” Biden’s designation reflects a shift from the administration’s previous stance. Officials, including Biden, had previously stopped short of saying war crimes were being committed in Ukraine, citing ongoing investigations into whether that term could be used, reported CNN…

Kyiv failed to create conditions for humanitarian corridor: Russia

Russian Defence Ministry on Sunday said Ukraine has not fulfilled its commitments with regards to organizing humanitarian corridors to help people leave Mariupol.

Russian Defence Ministry on Sunday said Ukraine has not fulfilled its commitments with regards to organizing humanitarian corridors to help people leave Mariupol. The ministry said that Russia made another attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol on Sunday.”Russia created all conditions for setting up a humanitarian corridor. We have to conclude that the Ukrainian side did not fulfill its obligations,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.

The United Nations regards humanitarian corridors to be one of the key forms of a temporary pause of armed Russia Ukraine conflict. both had agreed to organize humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians in the second round of talks in Belarus on March 4. Russia maintained that the Ukrainian forces prevented people from leaving the city on Saturday, while the Ukrainian authorities blamed the delay on Russian forces violating the ceasefire that was agreed upon….