Ukraine Briefly

February 24, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s nuclear forces would be strengthened as fears increase about the larger global impact of the Ukraine war, NBC News reported. The Russian leader added that Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can carry several nuclear warheads, will be deployed for the first time this year. His announcement came a few days after he said that Moscow would suspend its involvement in the New START treaty, the last such arms agreement between Russia and the United States, and just before the one-year anniversary on Feb. 24 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow for a meeting with Putin, during which the Communist Party leader is likely to encourage his counterpart not to use nuclear weapons, according to the New York Post. The high-level gathering, which is to take place in the coming months, will be part of a multi-party drive for peace negotiations as Russia’s conflict in Ukraine enters its second year.

Also this week:

• Russia is “covertly mapping” important infrastructure in the North Sea, including gas pipelines and wind farms, in preparation for potential acts of sabotage, according to a report by Dutch intelligence agencies, Politico wrote. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is closing its consulate in St. Petersburg and will limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at Moscow’s diplomatic mission in the Hague, Radio Free Europe reported. Dutch officials said the move comes as Moscow is trying to “secretly get intelligence agents into the Netherlands under cover of diplomacy.”

• At the same time, Russia convened a United Nations Security Council meeting this week to discuss the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines after circulating a resolution calling for an urgent UN probe, blaming the US and other Western countries for the damage, Al Jazeera noted. In advance of the meeting on Tuesday, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, and Germany addressed a letter to council members claiming their investigations had proved the pipes were significantly damaged “by massive explosions owing to sabotage.”

• Indian officials hosting the Group of 20 finance chiefs this week are attempting to avoid using the word “war” in any unified statement when referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a source familiar with the situation said, the Straits Times reported. It would be a departure from the agreement made by leaders in Bali in November. According to the source, the use of phrases like “crisis” is more acceptable.

• The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a global organization that represents up to 600,000 media workers worldwide, said on Wednesday it had suspended the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) from the organization, the Moscow Times added. The IFJ’s move was in response to the RUJ’s recent decision to expand its activities to Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, which it claimed violated the organization’s ideals.

• In a symbolic bid to address an “accountability gap” in the absence of an international tribunal with jurisdiction over Russia, a “people’s court” put Putin on trial for the crime of aggression over his invasion of Ukraine on Monday, according to the Independent.

• Russia offered a range of weaponry – from Kalashnikov rifles to missile systems – for sale Monday at a biennial arms show in the United Arab Emirates, despite facing Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

This story originally appeared in the February 24, 2023 newsletter, When Spring Comes.