Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Europe, as it did during World War II, must reconsider the price to be paid for the continent’s peace.
Zelensky added that Europe must think about the price Russia has to pay “to bring the evil of total war back to Europe.”
In his evening radio address, Zelensky said history would hold Russia accountable.
“And we, Ukrainians, will continue to work for our defense, our victory and the restoration of justice. “Today, tomorrow and every other day that is needed to liberate Ukraine from the occupiers,” Zelensky said.
Zelenski wrapped up his radio address, thanking all those defending the country and promising that one day the Ukrainian flag will once again fly over all its cities.
“The Ukrainian flag will return. Because this is our country. A free European state, “Zelenski said.
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KEY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
– There is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine as Putin welcomes Victory Day
– The Russian ambassador to Poland was hit with red paint
– Russia celebrates the victory in World War II, overshadowed by Ukraine
– More than 60 are afraid of those killed in the bombing of a Ukrainian school
Follow all AP stories about Russia’s war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
WASHINGTON – Washington tried to portray a united front against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan measure to restart World War II-era land lease that helped defeat Nazi Germany to supported Kyiv and its allies in Eastern Europe.
The new legislation is largely symbolic, but comes when Congress is ready to free up more than $ 33 billion or more to fight the war. All this serves as a duplicate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seized the day of the CoE, the anniversary of Germany’s unconditional capitulation and Russia’s biggest patriotic holiday to unite his people behind the invasion.
Before signing the bill, Biden said that “Putin’s war” was “again bringing meaningless destruction to Europe”, referring to the importance of the day.
Accompanied by two Democrats and a Republican, Biden signed the bill, which passed the Senate last month by unanimous agreement, without even the need for a formal roll-call vote. He passed by an overwhelming majority in the House, provoking opposition from only 10 Republicans.
“It really matters,” Biden said of bipartisan support for Ukraine. “It matters.”
Despite differences over Biden’s approach and alleged mistakes in opposing Russia when it comes to Ukraine, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate have held together in a rare bipartisan way. Other measures, including calls for an investigation into Putin’s war crimes, have also received widespread support.
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WASHINGTON – Lithuania’s top diplomat said Monday that removing Russian President Vladimir Putin from power is the only way to protect the West and its allies from future threats from Moscow, urging an even tougher stance than the United States and many NATO allies. are ready to follow Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since then.
In an interview with the Associated Press in Washington, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Putin’s annual speech on Victory Day was “unsatisfactory” and that the “dark faces” of generals and others were signs of failure in the war in Ukraine. However, he said the wounded Putin could be even more dangerous and that the only way to remove the threat is to remove it.
“From our point of view, until the current regime is in power, the countries around it will be in some danger. “Not just Putin, but the whole regime, because, you know, one can change Putin and can change his inner circle, but another Putin can rise in his place,” Landsbergis said.
“So as long as there is a regime that intends to wage wars outside Russian territory, the countries around it are in danger,” he said. “And one thing that has been proven to those who doubted it since 2008 in Georgia in 2014, when the first war broke out in Ukraine, is that Russia is an aggressive country. That’s very clear. “
Lithuania is one of three Baltic states that are particularly concerned among NATO allies about possible Russian plans for their forced return to Moscow. Lithuanian officials, including Landsbergis, have been particularly outspoken about their fears, but his outspoken calls for regime change go beyond what most NATO allies are willing to express.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Jill Biden’s first phone call from her black SUV after an unannounced meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart inside the affected country was that of her husband, President Joe Biden.
Biden and Olena Zelenska, who have not been seen in public since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to her country nearly 11 weeks ago, had just spent about two hours together at a school in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine.
By visiting the military zone of Ukraine, the first lady of the United States managed to play the role of a second pair of eyes and ears for the president, who has so far failed to visit the country alone.
“Sometimes the first lady is able to do things and go where the president can’t,” said Mira Gutin, author of The President’s Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century.
Jill Biden ended his four-day trip to Eastern Europe on Monday after meeting in Bratislava with Zuzana Chaputova, Slovakia’s first female president. Her trip across the border on Sunday to meet with Zelenska and refugees from other places in Ukraine was the highlight of the visit.
Sitting opposite Kaputova, Jill Biden said that she told her husband in their phone call “how much I saw the need to support the people of Ukraine” and about “the horrors and brutality that the people I met experienced.”
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BERLIN – The leaders of Germany and France welcomed the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not announce any steps to expand the war in Ukraine, including in other countries, in his speech on the end of World War II.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Berlin that it was important that there was no escalation, “at least in terms of rhetoric,” in Putin’s Victory Day speech. “What is actually happening in Ukraine is something we will see in the coming days and weeks.”
His comments were supported by French President Emmanuel Macron, who added that the goal of diplomatic efforts remains a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“In fact, today has been marked by no verbal escalation, no geographical escalation, no escalation in the use of weapons,” he said. “Is that enough for us?” No.”
“We will remain focused on our only goal, we will do everything to achieve a ceasefire and help Ukraine negotiate on the terms it decides, because we are on the side of sovereignty and Ukrainian territorial integrity,” Macron said. “No more no less.”
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BUCHAREST, Romania – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during an official visit to non-NATO Moldova on Monday that the consequences of Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine are “too scary to think about”.
Guterres, who arrived in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, on Monday, told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita that the impact of the Russian war on neighboring Ukraine “is deep and far-reaching.”
The visit of the head of the UN to Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a population of about 2.6 million people, follows a series of alarming incidents that shook the pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, leading Chisinau authorities to readiness.
In late April, three men fired grenades at the region’s state security service, and two large broadcast antennas were removed a day later. On Friday, Transnistrian police said explosive devices were dropped by a drone, leaving craters 1m deep near the village.
“I am deeply concerned about the continuation and possible spread of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Guterres said, adding that Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “should not be threatened or undermined.”
Transnistria, a small strip of land with a population of about 470,000, has been controlled by separatist authorities since the 1992 war with Moldova. Russia has about 1,500 troops in the breakaway region, ostensibly as peacekeepers. There are no reports of casualties.
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WASHINGTON – The United States is suspending a 25 percent tax on steel imports from Ukraine in a show of support for the country’s affected economy during the Russian invasion.
The trade ministry said on Monday it would withdraw tariffs for one year. Ukraine accounts for only about 1% of US steel exports.
Some of the country’s largest steelmaking communities were among the hardest hit during the war, including the Mariupol factory, which is the only part of the strategically important port city that is not under Russian control.
“We cannot simply admire the strength of spirit and spirit of the Ukrainian people – we must protect them and support one of the most important industries for Ukraine’s economic prosperity,” said Trade Minister Gina M. Raimondo. “In order for steel plants to continue as an economic lifeline for the people of Ukraine, they must be able to export their steel.”
Steel levies were imposed in 2018 by the Trump administration, which placed a little-used provision in U.S. trade law to call foreign steel a threat to U.S. national security. The move outraged US allies, and critics said they did little to address the real cause of stress for US steelmakers: mass overproduction by the Chinese, whose steel supplies to the US are already constrained by other trade barriers.
The Biden administration removed most of the tariffs on steel from the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan, allowing their metals …
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