US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) said that India, an exception among US major allies, “has been somewhat shaky” on the Western sanctions punishing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at the Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting on Monday, referring to how unified Washington Allies have been in isolating President Putin, Biden stated, “…The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong—so has Australia—in terms of dealing with Putin’s aggression.” Biden in his remarks asserted that Putin didn’t anticipate how unified NATO and western allies would be in a global response to his invasion of Ukraine.
At a virtual Quad conference earlier this month, leaders of Australia, Japan and US denounced Russia’s invasion. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated “the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy.” India is the only member of the QUAD that has not condemned Russia’s invasion. All member countries of the QUAD barring India have also slapped significant sanctions on Russia. India has abstained from key United Nations votes on the crisis, calling instead for an “immediate cessation of violence” and a return to dialogue.
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution on Ukraine, the second such resolution since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, a spokesperson said Monday. The 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly will be held after a letter requesting the resumption was received by UNGA President Abdulla Shahid, his spokesperson Paulina Kubiak told reporters in an email. “A draft resolution sponsored by Ukraine and other member states has been submitted and is being processed,” she said. According to diplomatic sources, the new UNGA draft resolution focuses on the humanitarian situation, calling for the protection of civilians, medical personnel, aid workers, journalists, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure.
Biden on Monday (local time) held discussions with European leaders on Russia’s “brutal” tactics in Ukraine and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the violence. Biden spoke with France President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson where the leaders underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including security assistance to the war-torn country. As per an earlier White House press release, Biden will travel to Poland during his Europe trip to discuss international efforts to support Ukraine and impose “severe and unprecedented costs” on Russia for its invasion.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they retook a strategically important suburb of the capital early Tuesday, while Russia’s attack on the embattled southern port of Mariupol raged unabated, with fleeing civilians describing relentless bombardments and corpses lying in the streets. Two “super powerful bombs” rocked Mariupol on Tuesday as Ukrainian authorities made a fresh attempt at rescuing civilians from the besieged port city which has suffered relentless shelling since Russia’s invasion began almost a month ago. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president said on Tuesday there was “nothing left” of the city of Mariupol after weeks of Russian bombardment, and Kyiv appealed to Moscow to allow the evacuation of at least 1,00,000 people who want to leave.
New satellite images from Maxar Technologies shows damage from Moscow military strikes across Irpin, northwest of Kyiv in Ukraine.
Two distinct fires are seen in central Irpin near a complex of city government and apartment buildings. The images show fires from military strikes and growing flooding from the Irpin River, CNN reported. The images, taken on Monday, also show Russian artillery positions west of the Russian-held Antonov Air Base northwest of the capital, Kyiv. Two other fires can also be seen in another satellite image among a group of buildings near a school in the city and a residential area near a lake.