Ukraine war: Biden follows up despite Kremlin anger against Putin - Nato fears use of chemical weapons

Created: 03/18/2022, 10:46 am

By: Cindy Boden

Biden sends sharp words to Russian President Putin in the Ukraine war.

The UN calls for investigations into dead civilians.

NATO warns.

News ticker.

• Escalated Ukraine conflict

  *: Joe Biden calls Vladimir Putin* a "murderous dictator".

• The NATO Secretary General urges vigilance against the use of chemical weapons.

• This

  news ticker on negotiations and diplomatic approaches to the Ukraine war

  is continuously updated.

  More information on the background to the Ukraine crisis* here.

Kyiv/Moscow – The Kremlin in Russia was recently very angry with Joe Biden*.

Spokesman Dimitri Peskov described a statement by the US President as "unacceptable and unforgivable".

He publicly called Vladimir Putin a war criminal for the first time on Wednesday (March 16).

But Biden was not impressed - and followed up on Thursday.

Ukraine and Russia at war: Biden calls Putin 'murderous dictator'

Putin is a "murderous dictator, a pure criminal waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine".

In view of the Russian war of aggression, Biden sees a "turning point in history" that only happens every few generations.

"I think we are in a real battle between autocracies and democracies and the question of whether democracies can be preserved or not." Biden is also looking to talk to China's head of state Xi Jinping on Friday.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj*, on the other hand, sent warm words to the USA during the Ukraine war*.

He thanked Biden for his "new and effective" help - and asked for understanding that he could not reveal all the details of the US support package.

Washington had recently pledged more weapons worth several billion dollars.

Selenskyj expressed reproaches to Germany on Thursday morning.

An "unworthy", as numerous politicians said, subsequently overshadowed his emotional and historical speech, in which he also addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz* directly.

US President Joe Biden (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (collage) © Jim Watson, Grigory Dukro/AFP

Ukraine war: UN calls for probe into attacks on civilians

The Russian war of aggression is also repeatedly on the agenda of the United Nations.

In view of countless dead bystanders in the Ukraine war, they called for an investigation.

"The scale of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied," UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said at an emergency UN Security Council meeting Thursday in New York.

This requires thorough investigation and accountability.

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Russia threatens to use nuclear forces in Ukraine conflict

The US is therefore consulting with allies on a joint response.

The UN is also alarmed.

Ukraine conflict: USA plan reaction to Russia – France calls for UN ceasefire

Macron on Putin phone call: "Had no effect"

Macron is the first Western politician to call the Kremlin chief since the beginning of the Ukraine attack.

After the conversation, Macron is sobered.

India's prime minister is also trying to intervene.

Macron on Putin phone call: "Had no effect"

Meanwhile, Russia is refraining from a planned vote on a resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine due to a lack of support in the UN Security Council.

Instead, the most powerful UN body is to meet again for an emergency meeting on Friday morning US Eastern Time, probably 3 p.m. CET, over alleged US laboratories for the production of biological weapons in Ukraine.

The Council had already dealt with the issue at Moscow's request.

The allegations are widely described as misinformation and unfounded propaganda.

War between Ukraine and Russia: NATO chief warns against use of chemical weapons

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the allies should closely monitor whether Russia is planning to use chemical weapons.

“We have seen Russia's very dangerous rhetoric, nuclear rhetoric, but also the false accusations against Ukraine and NATO allies that we are preparing to use chemical weapons.

That's absolutely wrong," said Stoltenberg on Friday morning on Deutschlandfunk.

“But of course we have to be vigilant and follow very closely what Russia is doing, whether it is planning some kind of false flag operation that will also involve the use of chemical weapons.” The World Health Organization, meanwhile, is seeing a “pattern” in Russian attacks on civilians and also Children*.