Biden Says Threat to Ukraine Remains Until More Troops Pull Back

LOCAL NEWS

• Biden says the threat to Ukraine remain until Russia pulls back more of its forces as Putin’s claims of withdrawal had yet to be supported by data – calling on Moscow to provide proof as the pullback coincided with cyberattacks on Ukrainian govt and banking websites.
  • Biden said diplomacy should be given every chance, but an invasion still remains possible. Noted that US/NATO had no missiles in Ukraine and were not planning to put them there in the future. This morning IFX released more footage of tanks leaving Crimea, but reports say 130k troops remain near the Ukraine border – Tass, bbg, IFX
• German Chancellor Scholz is facing criticism after saying a war over NATO membership would be “absurd” – arguing that NATO membership for Ukraine “is not on the agenda for Ukraine” instead saying it is “a question of leadership ability” and “we just cannot have a military conflict over a question that is not on the agenda” – Express UK
• FM Zakharova says Russia has repeatedly confirmed its adherence to the Minsk agreements, questions about their violation should be asked to Ukraine after NATO said recognition of the LPR & DPR would breach the agreements.
  • Argued “it is necessary to deal with the laws adopted in Ukraine, as well as statements made by Ukrainian officials, including that the Minsk agreements are irrelevant, require reconfiguration, or their implementation is impossible.” - IFX
• Parliament speaker says Russia will do everything it can to avoid war with Ukraine as clearly defined by Putin. “The very thought of war is an absurdity to us,” adding that she believed the crisis can be solved peacefully by diplomatic means and that discussion of an attack was fanned by the West - Tass
• Russia's investments in US Treasury bills in December 2021 increased by $1.5 billion compared to the previous month due to growth in short-term bonds and reached $3.91 billion.
  • Long-term government bond holdings rose $102 million vs $101 million a month earlier, while short-term securities increased to $2.808 billion vs $2.308 billion. – IFX