Biden and Lula are silent on Ukraine
10:42 am | US President Joe Biden received his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House on Friday. During an early press conference, the two presidents stressed their commitment to climate but remained silent on an important talking point between the countries; the war in Ukraine.
Biden plays an important role in Western aid to Ukraine, but Lulu has so far stayed away from the conflict. You recently defended your decision not to supply munitions to Ukraine in an interview with CNN: ‘If I send munitions, I join the war. And I don’t want to go to war, I want peace.’
The two discussed the storming of government buildings they both faced at the start of their presidency. In the United States, supporters of former President Trump attacked the Capitol in Washington in early 2021, in Brazil, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasilia earlier this year. “Democracy in our countries has been tested,” Biden said, “but democracy has endured both in the United States and in Brazil.”
Presidents lashed out at their predecessors during press time. Without naming him, Lula said Bolsonaro’s world “began and ended with fake news — morning, noon and night,” to which Biden replied, “Sounds familiar.”
Moody’s is more negative on Ukraine’s finances
09:10 | Ukraine’s financial health has further deteriorated due to the ongoing war with Russia. Due to the Russian invasion and the great loss of life, refugee flows and huge damage to infrastructure, the country’s economy shrank by 30% last year, according to Moody’s estimates. This means that the risk of default by the Ukrainian government has further increased, according to the credit rating agency.
Ukraine’s creditworthiness score drops a notch from Moody’s to Ca, the agency’s second-lowest tier. This means that the Eastern European country is very likely to have already defaulted on its financial obligations or will soon. But looking ahead, Moody’s experts believe the situation won’t get worse as a settlement with creditors is imminent.
Moody’s speculates that the war, which has been going on for nearly a year, will continue for a long time. This puts permanent pressure on public finances, despite the large international donations with which other countries support Ukraine in the fight against the Russians. The rating agency refers to the destruction of many infrastructures, such as roads and electricity grids. Researchers at the Kyiv School of Economics estimated that damages reached $138 billion in December, or 70 percent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP).
This year the budget deficit amounted to almost 30% of the Ukrainian economy. Total debt is 82% of GDP and will grow to 90%, according to Moody’s estimates.
Conflicts between Wagner Group and Russian forces are on the rise
08:27 | Conflicts between the mercenaries of the Wagner group and the Russian armed forces are increasing. So much so that Wagner stopped recruiting prisoners. This was reported by the British Ministry of Defense in its daily intelligence update.
According to the founder of the Wagner Group, Prigozhin, his army of mercenaries had completely disrupted the recruitment program, which was launched last summer. The prisoners would be pardoned if they survived six months in Ukraine.
It is not known how many prisoners were ultimately recruited, but according to data from the Russian prison system, the number of prisoners dropped by more than 20,000 between August and November.
The IMF considers a billion-dollar loan for Ukraine
07:46 | International Monetary Fund representatives are due to travel to Warsaw next week, where they will meet with Ukrainian representatives to discuss a possible billion-dollar loan to Ukraine to oversee the costs of the war with Russia.
According to Reuters, credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Ukraine’s financial worth as they expect the war with Russia to create long-term challenges for the country.
Half of the Russian tanks were captured or destroyed
07:34 | According to Celeste Wallander, US assistant secretary of state for international security affairs, half of the Russian tanks in Ukraine have already been captured or destroyed. You made these statements in a virtual meeting of the think tank Center for a New American Security.
Wallander did not provide an exact number, according to Agence France-Presse, but he is making the estimate at a critical time with Western tanks closing in on Ukraine.
Britain’s Challenger 2 tanks are currently on their way to Ukraine and ready for deployment since March, while Germany and allies aim to have a Leopard 2 tank battalion in Kiev by April.
The Americans also contribute 31 M1 Abrams tanks, although they take longer to get to Kiev.
Biden in Poland years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
February 10 – 20:31 | US President Joe Biden will visit Poland February 20-22 to reflect on the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago in the neighboring country of Ukraine.
Biden will speak in Poland about the “ruthless and unprovoked” invasion of Ukraine, the White House has announced. He will also discuss joint efforts to support Ukraine and strengthen NATO deterrence with Polish President Andrzej Duda. He will also meet with a group of NATO allies on the alliance’s eastern flank to “reaffirm United States’ firm support for alliance security.”
The US sees no direct Russian threat to Moldova
February 10 – 20:12 | The United States currently sees no direct Russian military threat to tiny Moldova, nor to NATO member Romania, which sits next door. Washington remains in close contact with Moldovan and Romanian partners, according to a government spokesman. It comes in response to reports that Russia is threatening Moldova militarily, a country of 2.5 million people that was once part of the Soviet Union.
A political crisis has erupted in Moldova due to persistent economic problems and war in its large neighboring country, Ukraine. The one-and-a-half year government of pro-Western Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita has fallen. Former Home Secretary Dorin Recean was named acting prime minister.
Ukraine: 61 out of 71 Russian cruise missiles intercepted
February 10 – 8pm | Ukraine says it has intercepted 61 of the 71 cruise missiles launched by the Russians in their latest massive attack on the neighboring country.
The missiles were fired from Russian ships and aircraft, the Ukrainian military said. Also, according to a preliminary count, Russia has fired 29 missiles from the S-300 system, which is actually intended for air defense. According to Kiev, the targets of these rocket attacks were not military, but civilian targets such as energy supplies.