Russia Ukraine War: Biden, Xi to speak today as tensions rise over Putin's Ukraine invasion

A court near Moscow has extended the detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner until May 19, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

Griner was detained at a Moscow airport, reportedly in mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The case of the 31-year-old Griner, one of the most recognizable players in women's basketball, comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the U.S. citizen Griner until May 19,” the court said, according to Tass.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The events in Ukraine and their consequences could lead the world to a food crisis in the next 12-18 months, said French President Emmanuel Macron.

In his opinion, this can especially affect countries "very dependent on Russia".

"In the Middle East and Africa, therefore, Europe must be ready for this challenge both for it and for its partners," the French leader said at a press conference, presenting his election programme as quoted by Ria Novosti, RT reported.

Macron added that he aims to ensure the food independence of France when elected president for the next five years.

The actions of the West, taken in order to "punish" Russia, are capable of provoking a global economic crisis, said Aleksey Zubets, director of the Institute of the Financial University under the Russian government.

The economist also recalled such circumstances as rising prices for fuel and metals, the restructuring of the supply chain, which is associated with the imposition of sanctions, the "falling away" of the Russian market from the West.

If this is combined with a rapid increase in food prices, all this "could cause a global crisis," which, according to some estimates, could come at the end of 2022, the expert stressed.

— Some survivors emerge from Mariupol theater hit by Russian airstrike; casualties unclear

— U.N. Security Council to meet ahead of vote on Russian humanitarian resolution

— Biden flatly calls Putin a war criminal, but investigations for determining that have only begun

— Cheap but lethal Turkish drones bolster Ukraine’s defenses

— Palestinians with Ukraine ties empathize with victims of war

Europe won’t be attempting to send its first rover to Mars this year because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,

The European Space Agency confirmed Thursday that it is indefinitely suspending its ExoMars rover mission with partner Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation. The ESA had previously said that the mission was “very unlikely” because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The rover’s primary mission was to determine whether Mars ever hosted life. The decision to suspend cooperation with Roscosmos was taken by ESA’s ruling council, at a meeting this week in Paris.

Because of their respective orbits around the Sun, Mars is readily reachable from Earth only every two years. The next launch window for Mars would be 2024. The mission has already been pushed back from 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the need for more tests on the spacecraft.

Russia's war in Ukraine will disrupt commerce and clog up supply chains, slashing economic growth and pushing prices sharply higher around the globe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Thursday. In a grim new assessment, the 38-country OECD said that over the next year, the conflict would reduce gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — by 1.08 per cent worldwide, by 1.4 per cent in the 19 European countries that share the euro currency and by 0.88 per cent in the United States.

But government spending and tax cuts could partially limit the damage, the organisation said.

The Russian invasion came at a time when prices were already surging and supply chains were snarled, fallout from an unexpectedly strong recovery from the coronavirus recession. The OECD, which in December forecast global inflation of 4.2 per cent this year, predicted that the conflict would drive up prices by 2.47 percentage points worldwide over the next year.

Russia and Ukraine account for less than 2 per cent of global GDP but are heavyweight producers of specific commodities.

Together, for instance, they export a third of the world's wheat, raising concerns that countries like Egypt and Lebanon that rely on those affordable wheat exports for bread and other food staples could face shortages in the months ahead.

Russia is also a big producer of potash that is used in fertiliser, palladium that is critical for cars, cellphones and dental fillings and nickel used in electric car batteries and steel.

Prices of those commodities have surged since January.

Hit by sanctions, Russia and its economy have absorbed a huge blow. The ruble has plummeted in value, and Russian oil is selling at a big discount on world markets.(AP)

Ukraine’s ombudswoman Ludmyla Denisova says a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol has withstood the impact of an airstrike, and that the rescue of civilians from under the rubble of the destroyed building has begun.

“The building withstood the impact of a high-powered air bomb and protected the lives of people hiding in the bomb shelter," she said on the messaging service Telegram on Thursday.

“Work is underway to unlock the basement” and surviving adults and children are coming out, she wrote. She said there is no information on casualties so far.

Hundreds of men, women and children had taken shelter in the basement of the theater. Russia has denied attacking the theater on Wednesday evening.

The Kremlin has rejected an order by the UN's top court for Russia to suspend the military offensive in Ukraine, a day after judges in The Hague announced their ruling. "We cannot take this decision into account," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added that both parties -- Russia and Ukraine -- had to agree for the ruling to be implemented. "No consent can be obtained in this case," Peskov said.

Britain's defense secretary says his country will deploy a missile defense system to NATO ally Poland in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

During a visit to the Polish capital, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the United Kingdom is sending the Sky Sabre medium-range anti-air missile system to Poland with about 100 personnel. He said the move is “to make sure that we stand alongside Poland in protecting her airspace from any further aggression from Russia.”

The decision comes days after Russian missiles struck a military base in Yavoriv, Ukraine, just a few miles from the border with Poland.

The British promise of military support also comes as nearly 2 million of the more than 3 million refugees to flee Ukraine have arrived in Poland.

“As a NATO ally and a very old ally, it is very right that Britain stands by Poland as Poland carries much of the burden of the consequence of this war and stands tall and brave to stand up to the threats from Russia,” Wallace said.

US President Joe Biden has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a "war criminal", prompting an angry response from the Kremlin which denounced it as "unforgivable rhetoric" from a head of state.

Biden's off-the-cuff remarks on Wednesday was the harshest condemnation of Putin's actions from any US official since Russia launched a 'special military operation' in Ukraine three weeks ago.

Previously, President Biden had stopped short of labelling atrocities being documented on the ground in Ukraine as "war crimes," citing ongoing international and US investigations.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later defended Biden and said the president had been speaking from his heart after seeing "barbaric" images of the violence in Ukraine.

"I think the President's remarks speak for themselves. He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what we've seen on television, which are barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country," she said.

She also noted that there was a separate legal process, run by the State Department, to determine war crimes - and that was ongoing separately.

In Moscow, Kremlin described Biden's "war criminal" remarks as "unforgiveable rhetoric".

"We consider such rhetoric from a head of the state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world, to be unacceptable and unforgivable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.

Earlier on Wednesday, Biden announced another USD 800 million security assistance to Ukraine, taking the total to USD 1 billion in less than a week.

Biden's announcement came hours after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for more military aid in a historic address to the US Congress.

Zelensky urged the US politicians to remember their country coming under attack in the past - at Pearl Harbour in 1941 and on 11 September 2001 - saying Ukrainians were experiencing the same thing every day.

"In your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand the Ukrainian history. Understand us now," he said.

Zelensky also urged American lawmakers and Biden for more help defending itself, including a no-fly zone and fighter jets.

President Biden also spoke about the "appalling devastation" inflicted on Ukraine, including reports of doctors and patients being held hostage in Mariopol.

"These are atrocities. They're an outrage to the world, and the world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price," Biden said.

The United States, its allies and partners, he said, are crippling Putin's economy with punishing sanctions.

"That's going to only grow more painful over time with the entire NATO and EU behind us, and many other countries. What's at stake here are the principles that the United States and the United Nations and across the world stand for. It's about freedom," Biden said.

"It's about the right of people to determine their own future. It's about making sure Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin, no matter what advances he makes on the battlefield.

"The American people are answering President Zelenskyy's call for more help, more weapons for Ukraine to defend itself, more tools to fight Russian aggression, and that's what we're doing," he said.

The new security package to Ukraine includes 800 anti-aircraft systems to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue to stop the Russian planes and helicopters that have been attacking their people and to defend their Ukrainian airspace, he said.

“We are not doing this alone. Our allies and partners have stepped up to provide significant shipments of security assistance and will continue to help facilitate these deliveries as well,” the US president said. 

Chinese Commerce Ministry official says Beijing will take “necessary measures” to protect Chinese companies from actions by other governments related to sanctions against Russia. The comment was in response to questions about a US warning of “consequences” for any moves by Chinese companies to skirt such sanctions. Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China opposes any form of unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” without a basis in international law.

“The imposition of economic sanctions will not only fail to solve security problems, but will also harm the normal lives of the people in the relevant countries, disrupt the global market, and make the already slowing world economy even worse,” Gao said Thursday.

He said China will take necessary measures to safeguard the normal trade interests and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. He gave no details.

Two influential Democratic lawmakers have urged Pakistan to condemn Russia’s ongoing military operations in Ukraine, saying they are disappointed with Islamabad’s decision to abstain from the UN General Assembly’s March 2 vote and Prime Minister Imran Khan's maiden visit to Moscow. In a letter to Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Majeed Khan on Wednesday, Congressmen Ted W Lieu and Tom Malinowski said that Prime Minister Khan's decision to proceed with his visit to Moscow in February ran counter to the international community's efforts to reaffirm Ukraine's territorial integrity and call out Russia as the aggressor.

A U.N. agency is warning that the conflict in Ukraine is likely to hinder access to food and fuel for many of the world’s most vulnerable people.

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development notes that Russia accounted for nearly a third of wheat imports for Africa, or $3.7 billion, in 2018-2020, while 12%, worth $1.4 billion, came from Ukraine.

The report said initial assessments point to a “substantive reduction” in access to food and fuel despite efforts to prevent disruptions of supplies of key commodities such as wheat. Meanwhile, rising costs for shipping and for grains and other staple foods is pushing prices higher, hitting poorest people the hardest, the report says.

The report said up to 25 African countries, especially the least developed economies, relied on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine. The lack of spare capacity in Africa limits the ability of those countries to offset any lost supplies, while surging costs for fertilizer will be an extra burden for farmers.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said China would face consequences if it backs Russias war on Ukraine, arguing such a move would be an "abomination" while hinting at new international sanctions for Beijing. Asked whether any penalties were in store for China over its refusal to condemn the ongoing Russian assault, the Prime Minister said that Australia would join with allies in sanctioning the country, RT reported. "We will move in lockstep with our partners and allies on these issues, and the United States has made some very clear statements about this and we support those statements," he said on Wednesday, calling on "the whole world" to "put an end to this terrible violence and aggression by Russia in Ukraine". Morrison went on to argue that Beijing must be "very transparent" about its ties to Moscow, including "when it comes to throwing them an economic lifeline during this global crisis" and "potentially what, if any, support has been discussed for military support for Russia", adding the latter decision "would be an abomination". The leader's comments follow similar statements from Washington, which has also warned of "significant consequences" for any military or economic assistance to Moscow. "We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had said last week, ahead of a meeting with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome.

Facebook's parent company, Meta has announced that it removed a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking citizens to "lay down arms" amid Russia's ongoing war on Kiev. In the video, Zelensky appears to stand behind a presidential podium and in front of a backdrop, both of which feature the Ukrainian coat of arms. Wearing a green shirt, Zelensky speaks in Ukrainian, appearing to tell his countrymen to put down their weapons, reports Sky News. However, Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta's head of security, on Wednesday tweeted that the video had been removed from the company's platforms. "Earlier today, our teams identified and removed a deepfake video claiming to show President Zelensky issuing a statement he never did. It appeared on a reportedly compromised website and then started showing across the internet," Gleicher said. Meanwhile, Zelensky also posted a video to his official Instagram account exposing the video. "As for the latest childish provocation with advice to lay down arms, I only advise that the troops of the Russian Federation lay down their arms and return home. We are at home and defending Ukraine," he said. The Ukrainian government earlier this month issued a statement asking people to ignore videos of Zelensky online, especially if he announces a surrender to the Russian invasion.

Around 7,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, over 14,000 injured, as per the US estimates.

Russia said on Wednesday that peace talks with Ukraine were not easy but that there was some hope of reaching a compromise and that neutrality for Ukraine was being seriously discussed. “The negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told RBC news. “But nevertheless, there is some hope of reaching a compromise.”

Permanent representative of Ukraine in United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya said that the Russian appeal to UN members for supporting their "humanitarian" draft resolution is outrageous."Russian appeal to UN members to support most egregious hypocrisy - "humanitarian" draft resolution by a serial killer is outrageous. UN members may like to think twice before they dive into the blood of children & adults executed by the Russian military in Ukraine," Kyslytsya tweeted.Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, sent a letter to the UN on Wednesday, where they expressed their concern over the Ukraine situation and asked the international community to make efforts to minimize the humanitarian consequences for Ukrainian.According to the letter, "We firmly believe that it is the duty of the international community despite geopolitical differences to make every effort possible to minimize humanitarian consequences for the civilian population in Ukraine."

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For the first time since Moscow waged its war on Kiev on February 24, US President Joe Biden called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" as the latter is "inflicting appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine". Biden made the remarks while responding to a reporter's question at the White House on Wednesday, the BBC reported. When the reporter asked the President is he was ready to call Putin a "war criminal", Biden responded by saying: "Did you ask me whether I would tell ....? Oh, I think he is a war criminal." Later in a tweet, the American leader said: "Putin is inflicting appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine - bombing apartment buildings and maternity wards. "Yesterday (Tuesday), we saw reports that Russian forces were holding hundreds of doctors and patients hostage. These are atrocities. It is an outrage to the world."

Canada has imposed sanctions against 15 more Russian government officials over the country's war with Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed in a tweet on Tuesday (local time)."To make sure Putin and his enablers are held accountable, Canada has imposed severe sanctions on 15 more Russian officials - including government and military elites who are complicit in this illegal war," Trudeau said in a tweet.The Canadian Prime Minister added that the sanctions being imposed are in line with Canada's European Union partners, and they bring the total number of individuals and entities sanctioned by Canada since Russia's invasion of Ukraine to nearly 500.The latest round of sanctions targets deputy commander in chief of the navy Vladimir Kasatonov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Federal Guard Service Director Dmitry Kochnev, and Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov among others, reported Sputnik News Agency.

The US welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order asking Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine on Wednesday (local time), State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement."We welcome the Court's order and call on the Russian Federation to comply with the order, immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine, and to establish unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine," Price said while adding, "The United States will continue to act with our allies and partners in support of Ukraine."Earlier, the ICJ at The Hague ruled that pending the final decision in the case, Russia must suspend the military operations that it commenced on February 24 in the territory of Ukraine.The US Press statement highlighted parts of the order including the court's acute awareness of "the extent of the human tragedy that is taking place in Ukraine" as well as the "continuing loss of life and human suffering."The Court also observed that it did not possess any evidence substantiating Russia's claims that genocide had been committed by Ukraine in the Donbas region, the press statement said.

The chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Maximo Torero, on Wednesday warned of the possible heavy toll of the Ukraine conflict on world food security.To assess the potential impact on international food prices caused by a conflict-induced reduction in cereal and vegetable oil exports from Ukraine and Russia, simulations have been carried out, he said.On the basis of their already elevated baseline values, the wheat price would increase by 8.7 per cent in a moderate-shock scenario and by 21.5 per cent in a severe-shock scenario, he told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.For maize, the increase would be 8.2 per cent in the moderate case and 19.5 per cent in the severe scenario. For other coarse grains, prices would rise by 7 to 19.9 per cent, and for oilseeds by 10.5 to 17.9 per cent, he said.Globally, in terms of impacts on food security, in the moderate scenario, the number of undernourished people would increase by 7.6 million people, while this level would rise to 13.1 million people in the severe-shock setting, said Torero. Moreover, additional upward pressure on fertilizer prices has stemmed from disruptions and high transportation costs following the imposition of export restrictions and due to sharp increases in bulk and container freight rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering Wednesday and rained fire on other cities, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting. The airstrike ripped apart the center of the once-elegant building, where hundreds of civilians had been living since their homes had been destroyed in the fighting, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Many people were buried in the rubble, the statement said, though there was no immediate word on how many had been killed or injured. Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word “children” written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the building, the Maxar space technology company said. “Another horrendous war crime in Mariupol,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter, calling the bombing a “massive Russian attack.” The Russian defense ministry denied bombing the theater or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with high-velocity anti-aircraft missile systems Starstreak along with other military aid, the UK Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, following an extraordinary meeting of NATO defence chiefs."During the meeting, Defense Ministers agreed to continue providing significant military supplies to Ukraine including lethal and non-lethal aid. The UK Defence Secretary highlighted that the UK would be providing Starstreak, a high-velocity anti-aircraft missile system, that complements the other military aid provided by the UK Armed Forces, including over 4,000 anti-tank missiles," the ministry said in a statement.The ministry cited Ben Wallace as saying that the UK and allies will continue to support Ukraine against Russia's military operation.The ministry added that it has recently doubled the number of troops in Estonia, has sent the patrolling vessel HMS Trent and the air defence destroyer HMS Diamond to the Eastern Mediterranean, and is conducting joint air policing missions in Romanian and Polish airspace to bolster its commitments in Eastern Europe.Russia launched an operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the breakaway Donbas republics "appealed for help" in defending themselves against the Ukrainian military. In response, Western nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow. 

Ukrainian military forces have dealt a punishing blow to the airport in Kherson, which Russian troops had seized early in the war, the General Staff said late Wednesday. It said the Russians were trying to remove any surviving military equipment. Ukraine’s military said it hit the airport on Tuesday. Satellite photos taken afterward by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press show helicopters and vehicles on fire at the air base. Russia seized the southern port city without a fight in the first days of the war. Control over Kherson allows Russia to restore fresh water supplies to Crimea; Ukraine cut off the water after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014. The General Staff said Russia’s ground offensive on major Ukrainian cities has largely stalled.