Ukraine live briefing: Putin’s ICC arrest warrant is justified, Biden says
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Key developments
- Putin’s arrest warrant is the first the ICC has issued for the head of state of a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. While the warrant is unlikely to land Putin or commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in court, it could make it difficult for them to travel to countries that cooperate with The Hague-based tribunal, which include several of Russia’s neighbors.
- Putin visited Crimea on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine, whose leaders want to recapture the territory. Putin had “certain events” planned for Saturday’s anniversary, his press secretary, Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Russian state media reported that Putin had visited a school in Sevastopol.
- Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Moscow next week to meet with Putin, in a major show of support for the Kremlin. While Beijing has claimed neutrality between Kyiv and Moscow, it has offered diplomatic support for the Kremlin and accused Washington of turning the conflict into a “proxy” war.
- The United States said it would oppose any cease-fire proposal that could emerge from talks between the Chinese and Russian leaders. “A cease-fire now is, again, effectively the ratification of Russian conquest,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday, according to the Associated Press. Asked about the visit Friday, Biden said: “Well, we’ll see when that meeting takes place.”
- The Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine expires Saturday. The deal, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, is meant to ease hunger and soaring global food prices exacerbated by the invasion. Under its terms, the agreement can be automatically extended for another 120 days if neither party objects — Moscow has said it does not object to another extension, but only for 60 days. On Friday the United Nations’ aid chief told the Security Council that the organization was doing “everything possible” to make sure that the accord can continue.
Battleground updates
- Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials held a video call to discuss the battleground situation and U.S. support, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. The White House also confirmed Friday’s call, which involved national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley. “The U.S. officials reaffirmed the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine as defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House statement said, adding that President Zelensky joined at the end of the call.
- Russia is likely preparing to widen its military conscription, the British Defense Ministry said Saturday. A bill introduced earlier this month proposes changing the age for serving from 18-27 years to 21-30, a change the British ministry said was probably intended to ensure that 18 to 21-year-olds, who often seek exemptions based on being in higher education, are nonetheless “eventually forced to serve.” Although conscripts are currently officially barred from serving in Ukraine, “extra conscripts will free up a greater proportion of professional soldiers to fight,” the ministry added.
- A group of European Union countries will sign an agreement Monday to buy artillery rounds for Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified E.U. official. The pact aims to quickly provide Ukraine more of the 155mm shells it has said are a vital need, as it burns through rounds in a war of attrition.
- A top Ukrainian military official said Russia has used most of its forces to try to encircle Bakhmut. Ground Forces commander Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in a Telegram post Friday that the eastern city remains the epicenter of fighting, but fierce battles continue in Kreminna, Torske, Bilohorivka, and Spirne.
Global impact
- The International Monetary Fund approved changes to its own policies to allow lending to countries facing “exceptionally high uncertainty,” in a move that could pave the way for billions of dollars in loans to Kyiv. The decision Friday did not mention Ukraine, but will apply to situations “involving exogenous shocks that are beyond the control of country authorities and the reach of their economic policies.” Earlier this week, the IMF said it had made “very good progress” in its talks with Ukraine’s authorities, who are seeking a $15-billion multiyear program in what would be the biggest loan to a country involved in an active war, according to Reuters news agency.
- There is “no danger of war coming to Moldova” as long as Ukraine holds out, Moldovan President Maia Sandu told lawmakers Friday. Russia has allegedly engaged in efforts to overthrow the country’s pro-West government, and a missile launched at Ukraine recently entered Moldovan airspace, prompting flight cancellations.
- Turkey is set to begin the process of ratifying Finland’s entry into NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday in Ankara. Stockholm and Helsinki moved to join the transatlantic alliance after last year’s invasion of Ukraine, but Erdogan is expected to withhold approval of Sweden’s bid. Accession requires the unanimous approval of all existing NATO members.
- Germany’s fencing federation canceled a World Cup event after global fencing authorities reversed a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. German federation president Claudia Bokel said that by eliminating the May event in women’s foil, the federation intends to give a “clear signal” of its disagreement.
From our correspondents
War forces thousands of disabled Ukrainians into institutions: Thousands of elderly Ukrainians with disabilities, who were displaced after the Russian invasion, have been institutionalized. Stowed away in poorly resourced Soviet-era institutions with limited mobility, they are experiencing some of the war’s most shattering consequences, Steve Hendrix, Amanda Morris and Siobhán O’Grady report.
Viktor Krivoruchko, 54, was taken to a nursing home near the central city of Uman, where he said his passport was taken away, the air reeked of human excrement and the staff routinely failed to change the diaper on one of his roommates, a double amputee.
“It’s better for me to be under shelling than to be there,” Krivoruchko said. “It was living hell.”
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