After the speeches there was an impressive light display at the castle. Feels like a celebration that one year later Ukraine stands. An emotional, hopeful moment. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/aL1BTT3haE
— Kellan Howell (@kellanhowell) February 21, 2023
Some are in the Mardi Gras mood… others, not so much!
how it started / how it's going pic.twitter.com/zHaDvDP3KU
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) February 20, 2023
I absolutely love the memes of Joe Biden doing average Kyiv things that Ukrainians have already put together. They’re spreading like wildfire on social media ?? pic.twitter.com/ECybhQbHBU
— Una Hajdari (@UnaHajdari) February 20, 2023
But seriously:
.@POTUS: "One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Well I've just come from a visit to Kyiv and I can report Kyiv stands strong."
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) February 21, 2023
"Every member of NATO knows it and Russia knows it as well — an attack against one is an attack against all. It's a sacred oath, a sacred oath to defend every inch of NATO territory,” Biden says in eastern Europe. https://t.co/9hzy4jl0DH
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 21, 2023
Biden speaking in Warsaw: One year into this war, Putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition. But he doubts our staying power… but there should be no doubt. Our support for Ukraine will not waiver.
— Kellan Howell (@kellanhowell) February 21, 2023
I am informed that in the Russian Orthodox faith, Lent does not begin until Monday, February 27th this year, so Putin has some time yet to consider the state of his soul:
US believes Russia carried out a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile while Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, @OrenCNN @NatashaBertrand report.
The test of the heavy SARMAT missile appears to have failed. https://t.co/5L8WpWoYkL— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 21, 2023
… Russia notified the United States in advance of the launch through deconfliction lines, one official said. Another official said that the test did not pose a risk to the United States and that the US did not view the test as an anomaly or an escalation.
The test of the heavy SARMAT missile – nicknamed the Satan II in the West and capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads – appears to have failed, officials said. It has been successfully tested before and had this one worked, US officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would have highlighted the test in his State of the Nation address on Tuesday.
Instead, Putin made no mention of the launch in the speech that lasted an hour and 45 minutes. He did, however, formally declare that Russia will be suspending his country’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
The timing of the test suggests that the US and Russia were communicating through several different channels earlier this week for deconfliction purposes – US officials also notified the Russians on Sunday night, hours before Biden’s visit to Kyiv, that the president would be making the trip to the Ukrainian capital, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday…
Foreign Affairs Open Thread: President Biden Spent His Shrove Tuesday in EuropePost + Comments (104)