“Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine…”

Biden walks through Kyiv to show resolve ahead of war’s anniversary

U.S. President Joe Biden walked around central Kyiv on an unannounced visit on Monday, promising to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.

Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walked side-by-side to a gold-domed cathedral on a bright winter morning pierced by the sound of air raid sirens.

“When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong,” Biden said.

“The cost that Ukraine has had to pay is extraordinarily high. Sacrifices have been far too great. … We know that there will be difficult days and weeks and years ahead.”

Outside the cathedral, burned-out Russian tanks stand as a symbol of Moscow’s failed assault on the capital at the outset of its invasion, which began on Feb. 24. Its forces swiftly reached Kyiv’s ramparts – only to be turned back by unexpectedly fierce resistance.

Since then, Russia’s war has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides, cities have been reduced to rubble, and millions of refugees have fled. Russia says it has annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine, while the West has pledged tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv.

“This visit of the U.S. president to Ukraine, the first for 15 years, is the most important visit in the entire history of Ukraine-U.S. relations,” Zelenskiy said.

Biden travelled to Ukraine’s capital by overnight train from Poland, arriving after roughly 10 hours at 8 a.m. on Monday, before returning there the same way, leaving just after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT), according to a White House pool report by a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Biden arrived late on Monday in Warsaw, where he met Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, along with other leaders of countries on NATO’s eastern flank, the following day.

While Biden was in Kyiv, the State Department announced a further $460 million in U.S. aid to Ukraine, including $450 million worth of artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems and air defense radars, and $10 million for energy infrastructure.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the bloc would approve more sanctions before the anniversary of the conflict, which Russia says is a “special military operation.”

Russia was notified before Biden’s departure, officials in Washington and Moscow said, apparently to avoid the risk of an attack on Kyiv while he was there.

The trip took place a day before Putin was due to make a major address on Tuesday, setting out aims for the second year of what he now calls a proxy war against the armed might of Washington and the trans-Atlantic military alliance NATO.

On eve of Ukraine war anniversary, Putin talks of boosting nuclear forces

President Vladimir Putin said Russia will maintain increased attention on boosting its nuclear forces in an address to mark Thursday’s Defender of the Fatherland public holiday and a day before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine.

Putin’s comments follow his suspension of a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.

“As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” said Putin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air.

Putin said that for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles – a weapon able to carry multiple nuclear warheads – would be deployed this year.

“We will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles,” Putin said in the remarks issued by the Kremlin early on Thursday.

Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with the hypersonic missiles.

MEP Eva Kaili to remain in prison despite lawyer’s pleas for electronic bracelet

Eva Kaili, the Greek MEP at the centre of the corruption scandal engulfing the European Parliament, was on Thursday ordered to remain in prison for at least two more months, despite her lawyer’s impassioned pleas for a release under electronic surveillance.

The embattled lawmaker has been in pre-trial detention since 9 December, when she was arrested by Belgian police after being reportedly caught in the act.

Her parliamentary immunity was lifted on the spot and she was later charged with participation in a criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering.

Over €150,000 in cash was found in her Brussels residence.

The decision to extend Kaili’s detention was taken by a Belgian judge after a hearing in Brussels on Thursday morning, during which her lawyers denounced her continued separation from her 23-month-old daughter and asked for her release with an electronic bracelet.

Her defence team continues to insist on her innocence and plans to appeal the decision.

Kaili’s domestic partner and father to her daughter, Francesco Giorgi, also remains in prison, accused of the exact same crimes.

Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and NGO director Niccolò Figà-Talamanca have too been arrested and criminally charged, with the latter since released, with no conditions attached.

Another MEP, Andrea Cozzolino, was arrested last week in Naples and Belgian authorities have requested his extradition from Italy.

Panzeri, the presumed ringleader, has signed a plea deal with Belgian authorities, admitting actions of bribery and committing to sharing “revealing” information.

The Italian’s pre-trial detention was also extended on Thursday.

Tarabella, who before his hearing on Thursday had asked for the dismissal of the investigating judge, meanwhile had his detention extended for a month. His lawyer said he would appeal on Friday with a hearing therefore expected in two weeks.

The sprawling investigation is focused on an alleged cash-for-favours scheme that involved “large” sums of money and “substantial” gifts paid by Qatar and Morocco to influence decision-making inside the European Parliament.

Qatar and Morocco have vigorously denied the claims, calling them unfounded.

Oil settles up 2% on tightening supply, demand concerns linger

Oil prices settled up 2% on Thursday on expectations of steep cuts to Russian production next month, but a stronger dollar and a sharper-than-expected jump in U.S. inventories added to demand concerns.

Prices got an early boost from Russia’s plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March, exceeding its announced production cuts of 500,000 barrels per day.

While a stronger dollar remains a near-term headwind for crude, UBS analysts said they expect lower Russian production and China’s reopening to tighten the oil market and support prices.

A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies, hitting demand. Both oil benchmarks lost more than $2 in the previous session after release of the Fed minutes.

Oil prices also came under pressure after U.S. government data showed the country’s crude oil inventories rose for the ninth time in a row last week, stoking demand worries.

Netflix making preparations to open Vietnam office

U.S streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NFX.O) is making preparations to open an office in Vietnam after years of negotiations with authorities and completing a risk assessment, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

A local office would make Netflix the first major U.S tech firm with a direct presence in the fast-growing Southeast Asian country of 100 million, increasingly seen as too lucrative to ignore despite wariness over its stringent internet rules.

The company is in the early stage of planning for a local entity in Vietnam after completing an assessment in late 2022 that evaluated security and political risks of operating an office in Vietnam and the handling of user data and sensitive content, the sources said.

The people declined to be identified because the preparations are confidential.

The office could open as early as late 2023 but will require a lengthy regulatory process that could take longer, according to one of the sources.

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