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7 mins ago
Croatian President criticizes Western decision to send tanks to Ukraine
By Josh Pennington, Alex Stambaugh
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic speaks to the press in Petrinja, Croatia, on January 30.
(Photo: N1 Croatia/Reuters)
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Monday criticized the move by NATO allies to supply tanks to Ukraine, calling it "insanity", while lashing out at Western support for Kyiv to repel Russia's nearly year-long invasion. of duration.
"I am against sending lethal weapons. It prolongs the war," Milanovic told reporters in the town of Petrinja.
"What is the goal? The disintegration of Russia, the change of government? There is also talk of disintegrating Russia. This is crazy."
Milanovic, leader of the newest member country of the European Union, has repeatedly criticized the West's involvement in the war.
Last week, he reiterated his position that "Russia is settling scores with the Americans through Ukraine" and that the war would be resolved between Washington and Moscow, CNN affiliate N1 reported.
His comments came after the United States and NATO allies, including Germany, said last week they would send modern tanks to Ukraine, unleashing powerful new tools in Kyiv's efforts to retake territory seized by Moscow. .
In his defense of why Zagreb would not provide military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic condemned Germany's decision to donate Leopard 2 tanks, telling reporters on Monday: "German tanks in Russia: good luck with that."
Claiming Crimea
– Despite Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky's stated goal of returning Crimea to Kyiv rule, Milanovic also said that the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 would remain part of Russia.
"It is clear that Crimea will never become part of Ukraine again," he said.
9 mins ago
The Russian deputy foreign minister foresees the end of nuclear arms control with the US in 2026
By Jonny Hallam, Josh Pennington
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov looks on during a press conference following talks with his US counterpart on rising tensions over Ukraine, in Geneva on January 10 (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
The last remaining element of a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States could expire in three years without a replacement, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti on Monday.
Asked whether Moscow could foresee no nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations when the extension of the 2011 New START Treaty comes to an end after 2026, Ryabkov said: "It's a very possible scenario."
"The dialogue on strategic stability and arms control was not stopped by us, but by the Americans and their satellites," he said, appearing to refer to Ukraine.
Ryabkov added that he believed Washington was betting on Moscow suffering a "strategic defeat" in its war with its neighbor, which is nearing the one-year mark.
Last week, the United States and its NATO allies, including Germany and the United Kingdom, declared they would send modern tanks to Ukraine, reversing their longstanding reluctance to provide Kyiv with offensive armored vehicles and unleashing powerful new tools. in their efforts to recapture the territory seized by Moscow.
In his remarks on Monday, Ryabkov told RIA that recent US actions had violated the spirit of the bilateral arms control treaty in the "most flagrant and ridiculous way".
Citing the preamble to the 2011 treaty, which advocates "mutual trust, openness, predictability and cooperation," Ryabkov asserted that the US showed contempt for the deal by maintaining "aggressive deterrence forward, staggering in the face of brink of a direct confrontation between the United States and NATO and Russia".
"The entire security situation, including arms control, has been held hostage by the line taken by the US to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia," Ryabkov said.
11 minutes ago
Putin's former speechwriter says a military coup is becoming a possibility in Russia
By Mitchell McCluskey
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Obukhov State Plant in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 18.
(Photo: Getty Images)
A military coup is becoming a possibility in Russia as the war in Ukraine continues, former speechwriter to President Vladimir Putin said Monday.
Speaking to CNN's Erin Burnett, speechwriter-turned-political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said that as Russian losses mount in Ukraine and the country experiences hardship caused by Western sanctions, the Russians will be looking for someone to blame.
"The Russian economy is deteriorating. The war is lost. There are more and more corpses coming back to Russia, so the Russians will find it more difficult and they will try to find an explanation why this is happening, looking around them, at the political process, and they will answer to themselves: 'Well, this is because our country is ruled by an old tyrant, an old dictator,'" Gallyamov said, referring to Putin.
"At that point, I think a military coup will be possible. That point may come in the next 12 months," he said.
"So in a year, when the political situation changes and you have a really hated unpopular president running the country and the war is really unpopular, and they need to shed blood for it, at that point, a coup becomes a real possibility." he added.
Gallyamov also said he believes Putin could cancel the presidential election scheduled for March 2024.
"Judging by his actions, when he's escalating something unnecessarily, he could really cancel the election. Without a win over Ukraine, he'll have a hard time with the Russians. The Russians don't need him if he's not strong. He could declare martial law and cancel the elections," Gallyamov said.
12 mins ago
White House defends decision not to send fighter jets to Ukraine
By DJ Judd
White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Monday defended the Biden administration's decision not to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, pointing instead to US aid. , including Abrams tanks.
"What I can tell you is a lot of capacity is being shipped, and it will be shipping in the coming weeks and months," Kirby told CNN.
“The kind of capabilities that we know will be instrumental in helping the Ukrainians fight again now in the winter, as well as the kind of fighting that we expect them to do in the spring.”
Kirby said he believes the decision, announced last week, to send Abrams tanks to the region was not taken too late, even amid reports that Russia has gained territory in eastern Ukraine.
“The decision on the tanks — and it wasn't just the US, but also the Germans and the British before that — was really designed to help Ukraine get ahead of the fighting that we believe…everyone is going to see. when spring comes," he said.
"So this was actually one of those cases where we're trying to forecast the kind of needs Ukraine will require when the weather improves and we can expect the Russians to try to go on the offensive at that point."
Some context
: President Joe Biden answered "no" when asked by a reporter if he would send the planes to Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is looking for fighter jets to help sustain his war effort against Russia.
Biden has repeatedly said that planes are not on the table, even as he has provided help in other areas.
war in ukraine
