Vladimir Putin Speech LIVE: US President Joe Biden to rally allies as Ukraine war gets more complicated

12:49 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Biden to rally allies as Ukraine war gets more complicated

President Joe Biden is set to consult with allies from NATO's eastern flank in Poland on Tuesday as the Russian invasion of Ukraine edges toward an even more complicated stage.

After paying an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Biden made his way to Warsaw on Monday on a mission to solidify Western unity as both Ukraine and Russia prepare to launch spring offensives. The conflict — the most significant war in Europe since World War II — has already left tens of thousands dead, devastated Ukraine’s infrastructure system and damaged the global economy.

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said as he stood with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv before departing for Poland. “The Ukrainian people have stepped up in a way that few people ever have in the past.”

AP

12:31 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Nearly 19,000 casualties recorded in Ukraine, according to UN

There have been at least 18,955 civilian casualties since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The OHCHR released the report citing the number of casualties as being 7,199 killed and 11,756 injured but believes the actual figures are considerably higher.

11:50 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Evoking the past to defend the present

Observers in Russia will be listening to see if President Putin continues his trend of trying to invoke past Russian victories like during World War II to defend against the invasion amid setbacks in Ukraine.

11:46 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Russian economy contracts by 2.1% in 2022: Rosstat

The Russian economy contracted by 2.1 per cent last year, the government's statistics agency Rosstat said Monday, absorbing Western sanctions over Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine better than expected.

The data was published on the eve of a keenly awaited speech to parliament by President Vladimir Putin, days before the first anniversary of the launch of Russia's offensive against Ukraine on 24 February.

AFP

11:44 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

EU reactions to Putin's speech

NATO Sec Gen Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell have scheduled a joint press conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at 12:45 p.m. today, which may be when we hear the first EU and NATO reactions to Putin’s speech.

11:40 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Putin to update Russia's elite on Ukraine war in major speech

President Vladimir Putin will update Russia's political and military elite on the state of what he calls his "special military operation" in Ukraine on Tuesday with many Russians eager to know what his plans are for the year ahead.

Putin will set out his latest thinking in a speech to members of both houses of parliament and to military commanders and soldiers nearly one year after he sent troops into Ukraine, a decision that triggered the biggest confrontation with the West since the depths of the Cold War.

Reuters

11:35 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

China 'deeply concerned' over Ukraine conflict, vows to 'promote dialogue'

China’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Beijing is “deeply concerned” about the conflict in Ukraine, which is “intensifying and even getting out of control”.

Beijing will “work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security”, Qin Gang said in a speech on global security in the Chinese capital.

China has said it will publish a proposal this week aimed at finding a “political solution” to the Ukraine crisis, as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour looms on 24 February.

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11:27 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Russian attack on Ukraine station a 'war crime': HRW

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Russia of committing a "war crime" with a missile attack that killed some 60 fleeing civilians at a railway station in eastern Ukraine.

The attack on the Kramatorsk train station in April is one of the deadliest targeting civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Russia has denied responsibility. 

AFP

11:21 (IST)

Vladimir Putin Speech Live

Putin's speech will be largely devoted to the Ukraine conflict

In previous addresses, he has railed against NATO's perceived threat to Russia, and drawn on his country's history to buttress his rationale for launching the invasion, and sticking with it in the face of unexpected Ukrainian resistance.