The Full Belmonte, 3/13/2022
“Russia could be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, an act that would draw a ‘severe price,’ White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Sunday.
Sullivan told CBS News that Russian rhetoric is increasingly claiming the Ukrainians and Americans will potentially use chemical or biological weapons ‘and that's an indicator that, in fact, the Russians are getting ready to do it, and try and pin the blame elsewhere and nobody should fall for that.’
Asked what consequences would result, he said he would not go beyond what President Joe Biden indicated on Friday: ‘They will pay a severe price.’
‘We have communicated that directly to the Russians," he said on NBC News' "Meet the Press.’
A Ukrainian serviceman exits a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv on Saturday.
The warning comes hours after a Russian airstrike on a military training base in western Ukraine killed at least 35 people and wounded 134, a local official said. The assault brought the war to within 25 miles of the border with Poland after a senior Russian diplomat warned that Moscow considered foreign shipments of military equipment to Ukraine ‘legitimate targets.’” Read more at USA Today
“Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to impact global fuel supply, pushing average gas prices in the US above $4.33 a gallon. Uber has announced it will begin adding a fuel surcharge starting Wednesday to help its drivers offset higher gas prices.” Read more at CNN
“BAGHDAD — Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck early Sunday near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.” Read more at USA Today
“Saudi Arabia carried out its largest mass execution in decades -- 81 men, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian -- were executed Saturday for terrorism and other offenses, authorities said.” Read more at CNN
“A late winter storm system had more than 42 million Americans across the eastern US under winter weather alerts. Heavy snow and strong winds in the Northeast led to trouble on the roads and more than 1,300 canceled flights. The unusually freezing temperatures could damage crops in parts of the South.” Read more at CNN
A European Union flag at an anti-war rally in Prague.Eva Korinkova/Reuters
Accustomed to peace
“Europe’s assertive response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has presented a possibility that was hard to imagine a month ago: the European Union as a superpower that can alter the global order, promoting liberal democratic values worldwide.
Before the war, the E.U. focused largely on economic growth. It resisted calls, particularly from the U.S., to increase its military spending and become more self-sufficient at defending Europe.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion drove European countries to be more aggressive. They imposed tough sanctions, helping to cripple Russia’s economy, and are working to cut off trade from Russia. They have sent weapons and other aid to Ukraine. Several moved to increase military spending, and E.U. leaders met in France over the past few days to coordinate their efforts. The leaders of France and Germany pressed Putin yesterday in a phone call to agree to a cease-fire.
Europe’s new commitments could help counter the global democratic backslide of the past 15 or so years. Democracies’ failure to stand up for themselves partly enabled that shift. But a tougher Europe, as well as other countries’ fierce response to Russia’s invasion, shows that democracies are still willing to wield power to counter autocratic governments.
‘Democratic nations and people are sending a united message to Putin that democracy matters, and authoritarians cannot act with impunity, and that’s powerful,’ said Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, which tracks the state of democracy around the world.
The E.U. is often fractious, made up of nations and ethnic groups that warred with each other for centuries and have different, sometimes competing interests and values. Britain’s vote in 2016 to leave the union shows how far such divisions can go.
But the E.U. has moved in a more united direction over time. Though it is not a single country, in many ways it acts like one. What began as a loose organization of six nations now includes most of the continent’s population, with 27 countries as members. Most share a currency and open their borders to each other, and they all send representatives to legislative, executive and judicial branches with powers across all aspects of European life.
The E.U.’s response to Russia’s invasion was another unifying step — one that could push Europe from its passive role to an influential democratic force around the world.
A sleeping Europe
Europe’s previous inaction is rooted in World War II. After the atrocities of war and the Holocaust, Germany leaned toward pacifism, refusing to build up its military or ship its weapons to conflict zones. As the E.U.’s most populous and wealthiest member, its approach had a large impact on the continent.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine suddenly forced the continent’s leaders to confront the prospect that their stance was failing one of the foundational goals of the E.U.: to prevent war in Europe. In what sounds like a paradox, the E.U. might need greater military power to deter more war.
‘Peace was taken for granted,’ Jana Puglierin, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told me. That’s no longer the case, she added.
Germany moved within days of the invasion to spend more to rebuild its military. Others made similar commitments, including Austria, Denmark and Sweden this past week. More E.U. and NATO members are likely to follow, experts said.
British Marines training.Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images
Another superpower
Over the longer run, a revitalized Europe could help renew a wounded global order led by a democratic West.
One way this could play out is through Europe more aggressively protecting itself. That could help free up American resources now devoted to European security, which would in turn allow the U.S. to embark on a long-promised refocus on Asia to help counter China. (White House officials say the war has already persuaded some Asian governments to work more closely with the West to defend democracy, my colleagues Michael Crowley and Edward Wong reported.)
As the world’s second-largest economy, Europe could also leverage its wealth to counter threats to itself or to democracy abroad — with sanctions, financial investments and trade policy.
The E.U. has played a role in expanding a global democratic order before. After the Soviet Union’s fall in 1991, the E.U.’s embrace of Eastern European countries empowered new democracies, from Bulgaria to Lithuania. That ‘was one of the biggest democracy-promotion projects in recent history,’ Timothy Garton Ash, a historian at the University of Oxford, told me.
The future is not as simple as a new Cold War between democracies and autocracies. India, the world’s most populous democracy, is friendly with Russia and has refused to condemn Putin’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. is dealing with its own illiberal movement. Inside Europe, democratic institutions have deteriorated in Poland and more severely in Hungary. ‘There are serious internal problems within Europe,’ said Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst at the Eurasia Group.
A big unanswered question remains: Will Europe’s new assertiveness last? Europeans are facing a refugee crisis and rising food and gas prices as a result of the war and the sanctions imposed on Russia. That could fuel a backlash against politicians who have aggressively backed Ukraine — and cut short the path that Europe is on now.
State of the war
Russian war planes struck a base near the border with Poland, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least 35 people and bringing the war even closer to NATO’s doorstep.
Russian forces stepped up bombardments aimed at devastating Ukraine’s cities and towns. Soldiers fought street-by-street battles in a Kyiv suburb.
Russian forces detained the mayor of the captured city of Melitopol, Ukrainian officials said, prompting hundreds of outraged residents to protest.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of commencing a ‘new stage of terror’ designed to break citizens’ will.
Attacks in two cities punctured the relative sense of security in western Ukraine.
More on Ukraine
The U.S. announced that it would send an additional $200 million in weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
The chaos of war could fuel a surge of Covid or other infectious diseases, doctors warn.
Europeans worried about survival are investing in bunkers and iodine pills.
American voters see Ukraine in an increasingly friendly light.
Few of the products that Americans are boycotting are actually Russian.” Read more at New York Times
“Russia’s attack on a Ukrainian nuclear plant was far more dangerous than first believed. An NPR analysis of hours of security footage and photos of the assault on the Zaporizhzhia plant reveals Russian forces repeatedly fired heavy weapons in the direction of the complex’s massive reactor buildings, which housed dangerous nuclear fuel.” Read more at NPR
Russian military vehicle is pictured near the border with Ukraine in Crimea, Russia on Mar 2.
Konstantin Mihalchevskiy—Sputnik/AP
“On March 5, Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun stepped up to the podium at a gymnastics World Cup event in Doha to receive his gold medal in the parallel bars. Next to him stood Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak who had won bronze. But their athletic accomplishments are not what the world is talking about. Rather, in a move the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has called ‘shocking,’ Kuliak wore the letter Z, which has become an emblem of support for the Russian invasion, tacked on his uniform with white tape. FIG has said it would open disciplinary proceedings against Kuliak and barred all Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions starting March 7.
Kuliak is among the many Russians using the Z to show where their allegiances lie. The symbol was first seen on tanks heading to the Ukraine border in late February, and initially, military experts speculated that it, along with other letters, including O and V, might have been used to identify different task forces or distinguish Russian tanks from similar Ukrainian ones.
Soon after, Russia’s Defense Ministry began posting photos of Russian soldiers on Instagram, with the Z and possible meanings overlaid on top–’Za pobedu’ or ‘For victory,’ ‘Za mir’ or ‘For peace.’ ‘They injected meaning in the symbols far beyond what they were most likely designated for,’ says Kiril Avramov, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. ‘It falls really well within the tradition of the best techniques of Soviet propaganda of hijacking and adopting symbols.’
The letter has now spread across the country. It has recently appeared on the back windows of cars, on billboards in the metro systems of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and in propaganda posts on social media. The Russian-controlled television network, RT, began selling T-shirts emblazoned with the symbol. At a hospice center in Kazan, sick children were lined up to spell out the letter Z in the snow. Maria Butina, the Russian Parliamentarian who was convicted in the U.S. of serving as an unregistered foreign agent before and after the 2016 election, shared a video of herself drawing a white Z on the lapel of her suit jacket. ‘Keep up the work, brothers. We are with you,’ she said in the clip.
Since the letter doesn’t appear in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, when Russians use the symbol online, whether by changing the letter that makes the z sound in Russian–which looks more like a 3–in their own names to Romanized versions or pinning a Z to their Twitter account, it serves as a badge of honor–and an easy way to show support for Russia, says Avramov. He notes that, while the emergence of Z feels new, it fits into a long history of symbols being used in nationalist efforts.” Read more at Time
Credit: Jake
“Scores of Ukrainians have been seen cradling their pets as they flee the country — dogs, birds, yes, even a turtle. Hundreds of thousands of pets are estimated to have crossed into neighboring countries with their owners since the war began. One evacuee told NPR his pug, Puzo, has been an endless source of relief during a turbulent journey out of Kharkiv.” Read more at USA Today
“The men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments begin; the N.C.A.A. will announce its selections tonight.” Read more at New York Times
“Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs became the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history, notching his 1,336th victory on Friday in a game against the Utah Jazz. Along the way, he’s earned several accolades and built a reputation of being unafraid to speak candidly about inequality in America.” Read more at NPR
“Louisiana State abruptly fired men’s basketball coach Will Wade on Saturday, less than a week after the school received a notice of allegations from the N.C.A.A. that accused Wade of five major rules violations, including making cash payments and job offers to help lure a recruit to the school.
Wade and his associate head coach, Bill Armstrong, were dismissed one day after the Tigers lost to Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals. An assistant coach, Kevin Nickelberry will coach the team, which is 22-11 overall, in the N.C.A.A. tournament, whose pairings will be announced on Sunday.
Wade had been under scrutiny for about three years, since Yahoo reported in 2019 that federal agents had recorded Wade in a wiretapped call discussing making ‘a strong-ass offer’ to Javonte Smart, a decorated high school player from Baton Rouge, La.
Wade was suspended for the Tigers’ postseason games in 2019 over his refusal to cooperate with L.S.U. officials, but was reinstated a month later after he met with administrators and agreed to an addendum to his contract that would allow the school to fire him with cause if he was found to have committed Level I or Level II violations, the most serious offenses.” Read more at New York Times