BERLIN — The Group of Seven major economies have agreed to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles, the German energy minister said Monday.
Robert Habeck told reporters that “all G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts.” He said officials from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada met Friday to coordinate their position and that European Union representatives also were present.
Habeck said that “payment in ruble is not acceptable and we will urge the companies affected not to follow (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s demand.”
Putin announced last week that Russia will demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas only in Russian currency from now on. He instructed the country’s central bank to work out a procedure for natural gas buyers to acquire rubles in Russia.
Economists said the move appeared designed to try to support the ruble, which has collapsed against other currencies since Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and Western countries responded with far-reaching sanctions against Moscow. But some analysts expressed doubt that it would work.
Asked by reporters earlier Monday if Russia could cut natural gas supplies to European customers if they reject the demand to pay in rubles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call that “we clearly aren’t going to supply gas for free.”
“In our situation, it’s hardly possible and feasible to engage in charity for Europe,” Peskov said.
Asked what happens if Russia turns off the taps now, Germany’s energy minister said, “We are prepared for all scenarios.”
“Putin’s demand to convert the contracts to ruble (means) he is standing with his back to the wall in that regard, otherwise he wouldn’t have made that demand,” Habeck said, adding that Russia needs rubles to finance its war at home, such as payments to troops.
The Biden administration wants people 50 and over to have the option of getting an additional booster shot.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden administration wants people 50 and over to have the option of getting an additional booster shot.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Anyone 50 years and older could soon be eligible for a second booster dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize the additional booster shots without holding a meeting of its independent vaccine advisors.
The plan comes as evidence increases that protection from three shots is fading and a fourth shot would help boost immunity back up. And as BA.2, an even more contagious version of the omicron variant, continues to spread in the U.S., concern is mounting it could fuel another surge.
“We have a large number of people who are at least four to six months past their third shot,” says Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who supports the move.
“Without protection against the omicron variant, particularly now we’re confronting BA.2, there’s a very high risk of hospitalization and death,” he says.
But others question the plan. The vaccines are still doing a good job of protecting people from getting seriously ill. Critics say there just isn’t enough evidence yet that another shot is needed and that it would provide stronger protection that would last.
“From a scientific perspective, we still don’t have definitive evidence that giving a second booster dose is the right way to go in older people,” says Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and a senior fellow and editor at Kaiser Health News.
She says data out of Israel shows an additional booster dose does reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death for people over the age of 60. But she points out it’s unclear how long that extra protection actually lasts.
“I don’t think it hurts,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University told NPR. “But the reality is the benefit against infection will be short lived and thus likely of little benefit for most people over 50.” He also cites the Israeli data showing benefits for those 60 and older.
Administration officials say it’s important to give people the option of a second booster as quickly as possible. The plan to offer it to people younger than 60 was made to ensure that more vulnerable people, particularly people of color who are more likely to suffer other health problems that put them at risk, also have the option of an additional booster.
But other infectious disease specialists say the administration should be focusing on getting people their primary doses and first boosters.
“What concerns me is that we are not investing in increasing the coverage of booster doses and even the primary doses,” says Dr. Saad Omer, the director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. “These are the things that are not receiving enough attention.”
Unlike previous authorizations, the FDA is not expected to make the 2nd booster a recommendation for everyone, but rather an option for those who want it.
Putin doesn’t have the ability to defeat the Ukrainian forces, claims Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to call on the world to do more to help his country fend off Russian aggressors, going as far as to accuse the West of cowardice during an address on Sunday, while a top Ukrainian official identified a shift in Russian strategies.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, predicted that Russia was aiming to split Ukraine into Western and Eastern blocs, similar to how North and South Korea were independently recognized following the Korean War, as ongoing negotiations with Russia have so far failed to reach a conclusion.
“The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine,” Budanov said in a statement via the Defense Ministry. The official said Ukraine would continue to fight to defend the regions.
Emergency workers search for bodies under the debris of the regional administration building, heavily damaged after a Russian attack earlier this month in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
The occupied territories include Donetsk and Luhansk, two cities Russian officials have demanded Kyiv hand over amid the negotiation process.
In the Sunday address, Zelenskyy called for additional fighter jets and tanks to push back Russian advances, as the latter country has pivoted its focus to taking over the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine.
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with independent Russian news media from Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in the address. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”
Zelenskyy also provided some details surrounding the ongoing negotiation process, telling Russian reporters that Ukraine would declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia.
A Russian military vehicle destroyed during combats against Ukrainian army is seen in a corn field in Sytnyaky, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
President Volodymyr Zelensky, the actor turned wartime leader of Ukraine, has dedicated most of his public appearances to appeals to Western nations for lethal weaponry to fight the Russians: tanks, jets and missiles.
But Mr. Zelensky, who before he became president had starred in romantic comedies and performed stand-up routines, has also pressed for celebrities and artists to speak up for his country, in what aides say is a worthwhile effort to solidify Ukraine’s global soft power advantage over Russia.
“We live in the modern world, and we know that opinion makers and celebrities are important,” said Ekaterine Zguladze, a former deputy minister of interior now involved in the Ukrainian government’s effort to win support from artists, musicians and celebrities. “Not only politicians shape the world.”
Ms. Zguladze added: “Right now, there exists genuine solidarity around the world for Ukraine. And this solidarity is not because of the heartbreaking images of destroyed cities and human tragedy, but because of the values we all share.”
But Ukraine’s appeal to the academy, the organization that awards the Oscars,encountered drama of its own.
Before the show, organizers said the war would be noted and the human toll honored, but did not commit to a video appearance by Mr. Zelensky, said Brian Keith Etheridge, a sitcom writer based in Los Angeles. He helped coordinate the Ukrainian government’s outreach to the academy, with help from Mila Kunis, an actress of Ukrainian origin, and her husband, Ashton Kutcher.
“The concern that we were told is, they don’t want to overly politicize the show,” Mr. Etheridge said. “If Zelensky just says ‘thank you’ it will remind people, and it could raise millions of dollars. It’s such a giant platform just to have his face show up.”
Sean Penn in Rzeszow, Poland, last week after leaving Ukraine, where he had been making a documentary about the Russian invasion.Credit…Angelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Sean Penn, who had been filming a documentary in Ukraine when the war broke out,called for a boycott of the Oscars if Mr. Zelensky is not permitted to appear by video and vowed to smelt his own awards if the academy snubs the Ukrainian leader. The award statues are made of gold-plated bronze.
If the Oscar producers did not allow an appearance for “the leadership in Ukraine, who are taking bullets and bombs for us, along with the Ukrainian children that they are trying to protect, then I think every single one of those people, and every bit of that decision, will have been the most obscene moment in all of Hollywood history,” Mr. Penn told CNN in an interview.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, the producers said they intended to commemorate the war’s toll but did not commit to a video appearance by Mr. Zelensky.
“We’re going to be very thoughtful about how we acknowledge where we are in the world,” Will Packer, a producer of the Oscar ceremony, said Thursday at a news conference.
Preparations at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Saturday, before the Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
The comedic actress Wanda Sykes, one of the ceremony’s co-hosts, noted of Mr. Zelensky, “Isn’t he busy right now?”
Mr. Zelensky did not appear on the show. Ms. Kunis did speak about the war when she appeared on the telecast to introduce a Reba McEntire performance of her song from Ms. Kunis’s movie “Four Good Days.”
Before turning the show over to Ms. McEntire, Ms. Kunis said, “recent global events have left many of us feeling gutted.”
“Yet when you witness the strength and dignity of those facing such devastation, it’s impossible to not be moved by their resilience,” Ms. Kunis continued. “One cannot help but be in awe of those who find strength to keep fighting through unimaginable darkness.”
The show also displayed three screens of gold text on black backgrounds after Ms. McEntire’s performance, calling on viewers to donate to the humanitarian effort.
“While film is an important avenue for us to express our humanity in times of conflict, the reality is millions of families in Ukraine need food, medical care, clean water and emergency services,” the message read. “Resources are scarce, and we — collectively and as a global community — can do more.”
While Mr. Zelensky’s aides had pressed for support during the show in whatever form it takes, seeking any avenue to win public backing in the West, the value of celebrity support in a shooting war is not universally acknowledged in Ukraine.
“Ultimately, it’s important what is happening on the ground,” Oleksandr Danylyuk, a former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said. “Everybody is doing what they can. I don’t know if one more speech of Zelensky will make a difference. But it’s good those who initiate it want to do it. Everybody wants to help in any way possible.”
But Mr. Danylyuk said that “in the end, you need results,” like supplies of fighter jets, tanks or missiles for the Ukrainian Army.
Mr. Zelensky has pressed on all fronts to convey to a broad audience, and particularly to countries that are providing weaponry, the moral imperative of supporting Ukraine in the war.
Mr. Zelensky addressing Congress by video this month. He has worked to persuade a broad audience of the moral imperative of supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.Credit…Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times
“In general, Zelensky is really following the news from Hollywood and looking for opportunities for support,” Serhiy Leshchenko, an adviser to the president’s chief of staff, said in an interview.
The push for backing for Ukraine during the Oscars began a week ago, after Mr. Zelensky spoke on a video call from Kyiv with Mr. Kutcher and Ms. Kunis, to thank the couple for raising $35 million for Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid in a GoFundMe campaign, Mr. Leshchenko said.
Ms. Kunis most recently starred in “Breaking News in Yuba County” and has a planned movie release by Netflix, “Luckiest Girl Alive.”
“Ukrainians are proud and brave people who deserve our help in their time of need,” she wrote in the fund-raising appeal. “This unjust attack on Ukraine and humanity at large is devastating and the Ukrainian people need our support.”
After the video call, Mr. Zelensky’s aides sought a last-minute slot at the Oscar ceremony.
Mr. Zelensky has always had a keen sense of image and storytelling in politics. Earlier this month, he said he was aware that his repeated televised appeals for resistance, and continued presence in the beleaguered capital, had turned him into a symbol of bravery in many countries.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at a news conference early this month in Kyiv, the capital.Credit…Lynsey Addario for The New York Times
The Oscars are also a natural fit for an appeal by his government for humanitarian assistance, as many of his top aides are also movie industry veterans.
The chief of the presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, was a media lawyer and movie producer. The head of the domestic intelligence agency, Ivan Bakanov, had been the director of the Kvartal 95 studio. A chief presidential adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was a screenwriter and producer whose major credits included a hit romantic comedy film, “Eight First Dates,” and a television series, “The In-laws.”
Before becoming president of Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky played a president in his own television series, “Servant of the People,” which was rereleased on Netflix this month. The character, a teacher, is propelled to the presidency after he goes on a tirade against corruption, which is filmed by his students in a video that goes viral.
Maria Varenikova contributed reporting from Kyiv, and Matt Stevens from New York.
WASHINGTON—President Biden’s remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” came under fire for muddying U.S. policy and threatening to undermine diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Administration officials and Democratic lawmakers said Sunday the off-the-cuff remark was an emotional response to the president’s interactions in Warsaw with refugees—some of whom had fled violence in Mariupol, a Ukrainian southern port city under weekslong Russian bombardment and attacks on civilians.
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea.
Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to help defend his country from Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.
Speaking after U.S. President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay — Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.
“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”
Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.
He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving.
Russia quickly banned the interview from being published. Roskomnadzor, which regulates communications for Moscow, issued the ban Sunday, saying there could be action taken against the Russian media outlets that took part, which included “those that are foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents.”
Russian-based outlets appeared to comply with the ban although the interview was published abroad.
Zelenskyy responded by saying Moscow was afraid of a relatively short conversation with journalists. “It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic,” he said, according to the Ukrainian news agency RBK Ukraina.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled in many areas. Its aim to quickly encircle the capital, Kyiv, and force its surrender has faltered against staunch Ukrainian resistance — bolstered by weapons from the U.S. and other Western allies.
Moscow claims its focus is on wresting the entire eastern Donbas region, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official on Friday said that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of the country.
Russia has supported the separatist rebels in Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk since the insurgency erupted there shortly after Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. In talks with Ukraine, Moscow has demanded Kyiv acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of seeking to split Ukraine in two, making the comparison to North and South Korea.
“The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine,” Budanov said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry. He predicted that guerrilla warfare by Ukrainians would derail such plans.
A Ukrainian delegate in talks with Russia on ending the war, Davyd Arakhamia, said in a Facebook post the countries would meet in Turkey beginning Monday. However, the Russians then announced the talks would start Tuesday. The sides have met previously with no deal reached.
Ukraine’s priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy told his nation Sunday in his nightly address.
“We are looking for peace, really, without delay,” he said. “There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey.”
Zelenskyy also signed a law Sunday that bans reporting on troop and equipment movements that haven’t been announced or approved by the military. Journalists who violate the law could face three to eight years in prison. The law does not differentiate between Ukrainian and foreign reporters.
Ukraine says that to defeat Russia, the West must provide fighter jets and not just missiles and other military equipment. A proposal to transfer Polish planes to Ukraine via the United States was scrapped amid NATO concerns about being drawn into direct fighting.
In his pointed remarks, Zelenskyy accused Western governments of being “afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision.”
His plea was echoed Sunday by a priest in the western city of Lviv, which was struck by rockets a day earlier. The aerial assault illustrated that Moscow, despite assertions that it intends to shift the war eastward, is willing to strike anywhere in Ukraine.
“When diplomacy doesn’t work, we need military support,” said the Rev. Yuri Vaskiv, who said fearful parishioners were staying away from his Greek Catholic church.
On the road to Kyiv, residents of a village combed through the wreckage of Russia’s ongoing attacks. Locals in Byshiv, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Kyiv. walked through buildings torn open and destroyed by shelling to salvage what they could, including books, shelving and framed pictures.
Standing in what used to be a kindergarten classroom, teacher Svetlana Grybovska said too many children have fallen victim.
“It’s not right” Grybovska told British broadcaster Sky News. “Children are not guilty of anything.”
Russia confirmed it used air-launched cruise missiles to hit a fuel depot and a defense plant in Lyiv, near the Polish border. Another strike with sea-launched missiles destroyed a depot in Plesetske just west of Kyiv, where Ukraine stored air defense missiles, said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities. Lviv, which has largely been spared bombardment, also has been a waystation for most of the 3.8 million refugees who have left Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
In a dim, crowded bomb shelter under an apartment block near the first blast site, Olana Ukrainets, a 34-year-old information technology professional, said she couldn’t believe she had to hide again after fleeing from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of the most bombarded cities.
“We were on one side of the street and saw it on the other side,” she said. “We saw fire. I said to my friend, ‘What’s this?’ Then we heard the sound of an explosion and glass breaking.”
Also in Kharkiv, Ukrainian firefighters used axes and chainsaws to dig through concrete and other debris Sunday searching for victims of a Russian military strike on the regional administration building. One body was found Saturday, a firefighter said. At least six people died in the March 1 attack — the first time Russian forces hit the center of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people.
On Sunday night, a rocket attack hit an oil base in the far northwestern region of Volyn.
Along with the millions of people who have fled Ukraine, the invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost one-quarter of Ukraine’s population. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed.
___
Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Nebi Qena in Kyiv, Cara Anna in Lviv and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Officials confirmed one person was killed and a second person was transported to an area hospital in Saturday’s accident, which occurred around 5:40 p.m. at 1 Congress St.
Boston police identified the man who was killed as Peter Monsini, 51, of South Easton. No additional information was released and no further updates are anticipated Sunday.
Part of the Government Center garage came down after a concrete slab on the ninth floor collapsed, construction firm John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement. The demolition is all part of the $1.5 billion Bullfinch Redevelopment Project. The finished project is expected to include a parking garage surrounded by office and apartment buildings. The site has been under demolition for some time.
Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey told reporters that a worker who was completing demolition work in a construction vehicle fell over the side of the garage when the structure collapsed, falling eight or nine stories with a large amount of debris.
Monsini was found under a pile of rubble and pronounced dead at the scene by authorities, Dempsey said.
“He was a good guy. A great guy. A hard worker. And a loving dad,” said Richard Monsini, cousin and close friend of the deceased construction worker, who had been working in the field his whole life.
“He was born with an excavator in his hand,” said Richard. “He knew how to operate machinery. His family…our family, is in the business.”
“He really set a tone,” Richard continued. “I looked up to him. He was a little bit older than me. I looked up to him and we were the best of friends. He taught me a lot about life. I’m going to miss him.”
“This is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the worker,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Boston mourns the life of a construction worker lost in a horrible tragedy at the Government Center garage construction site. Our hearts are with his family & loved ones.
We’re working closely with authorities to investigate. Work is suspended onsite until further notice.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the worker during this terrible time,” added City Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents the neighborhood. “Our prayers are wit him, his family, and I know the city will support that worker and his family. It’s a difficult time, but this city sticks together — especially during difficult times.”
“Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the loved ones of the worker who lost his life,” John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement. “JMA remains committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all our employees and trade partners. We would like to thank the Boston Police Department and EMS for their swift response.”
The construction accident remains under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office and city officials.
Wu said the city will do “whatever it takes” to find out what happened.
On Sunday morning, a large area surrounding the demolition site was still blocked off by police cruisers. And officials said part of Massachusetts Avenue will be closed until Monday morning.
The construction accident had a huge impact on traffic Saturday night. The on ramp to Interstate 93 north and south were both shut down near Government Center after the collapse. There were a number of road closures near the North End and Haymarket areas as well, which made it tough for drivers.
Boston police said Sunday that all fans driving to the Boston Celtics game should expect traffic to be impacted due to Saturday’s incident. They said the following roads will be closed to traffic:
Surface Road between New Chardon Street and Hanover Street. Traffic will be diverted from North Washington Street to New Chardon Street or to the Southeast Expressway.
Congress Street travelling west will be closed at Hanover Street to New Chardon Street.
Congress Street traveling east will be closed from New Chardon Street to Sudbury Street.
Sudbury Street between Congress and Surface will be closed, all traffic on Sudbury Street will be diverted to Congress St traveling east.
Additionally, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) released a statement Sunday informing commuters that the T was suspending service through the tunnels which travel beneath the Government Center Parking Garage as safety inspections are conducted.
The texts by Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni and is a lawyer by training, first reported by The Washington Post and CBS News, revealed she had reached out to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows multiple times in the weeks after the 2020 election pushing the baseless charge that the election had been stolen and urging Trump officials not to accept the results. At the time, President Donald Trump and his allies had vowed to take their efforts to overturn the election results to the Supreme Court.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on multiple charges after allegedly crashing into a homeless camp on Front Street NE, causing the death of four people, Salem Police said Sunday evening.
The man was taken to Marion County Jail and is charged with:
Four counts of first-degree manslaughter
Second-degree assault
Third-degree assault
Six counts of reckless endangerment
Earlier story:
Four people died early Sunday when a vehicle crashed into a homeless camp near Front and Division Streets just west of downtown, according to Salem police.
Salem Police said in a press release Sunday afternoon that the traffic team investigating “believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor.” The driver of a two-door sports coupe was northbound on Front Street passing Union Street when the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into the camp, pinning two individuals beneath the car.
Two people died at the scene of the 2 a.m. crash, police said. Four others were taken to Salem Health hospital where two later died. The driver, who was the only occupant of the car, also was taken to the hospital, police said.
The camp is in a small triangle of trees and grass just westof Front Street NE where it begins to curve. It’s sandwiched between Front Street NE and a railroad track. City officials say the grassy area is Oregon Department of Transportation property. The number of tents and campers at the site is unknown.
As of Sunday afternoon, police had not released the names of the deceased, pending family notification, or updates on the conditions of those hospitalized.
Officials said officers helped several uninjured campers collect some of their belongings and provided shelter assistance. Three individuals were taken to a local motel. Salem’s homelessness advocates also were contacted to get resources for affected individuals, police officials said.
Nathan Rose said he and his girlfriend were in their tent when he heard two loud thuds. Rose said the silver sedan vehicle just missed his tent.
When he stepped outside the tent, he saw some of his friends pinned underneath the car.
“The moment I saw what had happened, first thing I did was drop my phone and call 911,” Rose said.
He said he helped pull one person from under the car but witnesses were unable to help the others.
“From there, it was just chaos,” he said.
Front Street was closed between Union and D streets for several hours while police investigated the crash. It reopened just before 9 a.m.
“In the winter, homeless residents crowd closer into the downtown trying to get closer to food, dry spaces and warmth,” said Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, which assists in providing services for individuals struggling with homelessness. “Our unsheltered spend most of their day trying to find a safe place to sleep and rest, but events like this remind us that there is no safe space.”
He said nearly 50 homeless people have died in the past two years, but this is the first incident involving this many people.
“No one deserves to have to live in unsheltered conditions and they damn sure do not deserve to die in them,” he said. “Tragedies like this will continue until this nation makes a serious commitment to the idea that housing is a human right, and that everyone deserves a warm, safe and dry place where they can live with dignity.”
The number of people struggling with homelessness continues to far exceed the available shelter and transitional housing options in Salem, and the area around the shelter and other services is a common place for people to set up camps.
“I just wish there was somewhere to go without having to worry about stuff like this,” said Ryan Wright who witnessed the crash.
More than 1,000 people sleep outside in the Salem area on any given night. Salem City Council has created two pallet shelter locations in the city and is in the process of adding additional locations transitional shelters.
The city allowed camping in some of its parks in the early months of the pandemic but last summer reinstated its park camping ban and cleared out the parks. Since then, camps have popped up in a number of areas as people were removed from one location after another.
‘My friends are dead’
At least a dozen campers off Front Street NE awoke to a partly-flattened campsite early Sunday. Piles of clothes, bags, tarps and a downed tent line the car’s path. Two trees in the grassy area were marked.
“I knew there were kids over here in a tent,” Rose said of the victims. “The tent was no longer there and the car was sitting where the kids were.”
Rose returned to the camp Sunday afternoon to sort through the pile of debris and salvage some of his friends’ belongings, though he wasn’t sure what belonged to whom.
Mike Wade didn’t witness the crash but came to the camp after hearing one of his close friends had died. He spent the morning helping others at the camp try to salvage their belongings. ARCHES workers also were at the camp, offering breakfast and replacement tents.
“It gets me weaker every day hearing about us die one by one,” he said. “My friends are dead and I don’t know what to say.”
A man who goes by the name “Animal” also said he was friends with one of the individuals who died. “He was a nice guy. He cared about the people around him,” he said of his friend.
“Animal” said he had been staying at the homeless camp off Front Street until Saturday when he moved to Wallace Marine Park. He returned Sunday morning after hearing about the crash, to check on other campers.
“If we actually had a place to go, stuff like this wouldn’t happen,” he said. “It kind of forces us to do what we can when we can.”
City spokesperson Kathy Ursprung said the city had cleaned up Marion Square Park in that area in early March in response to public health concerns about the conditions. She said the cleanup focused on the areas near the park like sidewalks and under bridges.
Jones said he did not believe the camp sweeps contributed directly to this incident, saying many people had been sleeping in that location close to the road prior to the sweeps.
“This is the result of someone’s violent reckless behavior behind the wheel. It could have happened at a school or at a bus stop or the farmer’s market,” he said. “We do need to spend time as a community to find more land where the unsheltered can sleep farther away from the highways. I hope the city continues to work on doing so.”
“My condolences go out to the friends and family of those affected by this terrible tragedy,” Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett said. “We continue to offer alternatives to unmanaged camping and encourage people to access those resources.”
Interim Salem city manager Kristin Retherford said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened at the tragic deaths of four members of our community early this morning when a vehicle struck an encampment along Front Street.”
“Our prayers are with those individuals, those who survived the accident but are currently hospitalized, those who weren’t injured but experienced the trauma of this horrible event, and the families and friends of those who died today,” Retherford said. “We grieve with them and support them in their grief. We are coordinating with nonprofits and with city case managers to provide assistance to survivors.”
In a statement on Facebook, City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke called out individuals on social media “blaming” homeless people for camping near busy roads. While it’s true that unsheltered individuals have camped near busy roads for years, she said, it does not excuse the “reckless” actions of the driver.
“It’s only been a matter of hours, but I’m already seeing social media posts blaming the homeless for camping near a busy street. As if they deserved to die,” Nordyke wrote on her Facebook page. “The dehumanization of the unsheltered, especially in a time of immense suffering and grief, is completely unacceptable. Salem is better than that.”
Nordyke said she has asked Mayor Bennett to observe a moment of silence during Monday night’s council meeting for the lives lost in the crash.
Whitney Woodworth covers Salem city government. You can reach her at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, 503-910-6616 or on Twitter @wmwoodworth
Virginia Barreda covers breaking news, public safety and courts. She can be reached at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com 503-399-6657 or on Twitter @vbarreda2
“He went to the National Stadium in Warsaw and literally met with hundreds of Ukrainians. He heard their heroic stories as they were fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine. In the moment, I think that was a principled human reaction to the stories that he had heard that day,” Biden’s ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
LVIV, Ukraine, March 27 (Reuters) – Ukraine is willing to become neutral and compromise over the status of the eastern Donbass region as part of a peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, even as another top Ukrainian official accused Russia of aiming to carve the country in two.
Zelenskiy took his message directly to Russian journalists in a video call that the Kremlin pre-emptively warned Russian media not to report, saying any agreement must be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum. read more
“Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it,” he said, speaking in Russian.
But even as Turkey is set to host talks this week, Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was aiming to seize the eastern part of Ukraine.
“In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine,” he said, referring to the division of Korea after World War Two. Zelenskiy has urged the West to give Ukraine tanks, planes and missiles to help fend off Russian forces.
In a call with Putin on Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed to hold talks this week in Istanbul and called for a ceasefire and better humanitarian conditions, his office said. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators confirmed that in-person talks would take place. read more
Top American officials sought on Sunday to clarify that the United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, after President Joe Biden said at the end of a speech in Poland on Saturday that Putin “cannot remain in power”.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden had simply meant Putin could not be “empowered to wage war” against Ukraine or anywhere else. read more
After more than four weeks of conflict, Russia has failed to seize any major Ukrainian city and signalled on Friday it was scaling back its ambitions to focus on securing the Donbass region, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army for the past eight years.
A local leader in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said on Sunday the region could soon hold a referendum on joining Russia, just as happened in Crimea after Russia seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.
Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia — a vote that much of the world refused to recognise.
Budanov predicted Ukraine’s army would repel Russian forces by launching a guerrilla warfare offensive.
“Then there will be one relevant scenario left for the Russians, how to survive,” he said.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson also dismissed talk of any referendum in eastern Ukraine.
“All fake referendums in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void and will have no legal validity,” Oleg Nikolenko told Reuters. read more
1/11
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends an interview with some of the Russian media via videolink, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 27, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
‘CRUEL AND SENSELESS’
Moscow says the goals for what Putin calls a “special military operation” include demilitarising and “denazifying” its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies call this a pretext for unprovoked invasion.
Ukraine has described previous negotiations, some of which have taken place in Russian ally Belarus, as “very difficult”.
The invasion has devastated several Ukrainian cities, caused a major humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population.
Tatyana Manyek, who crossed the Danube by ferry into Romania on Sunday with other refugees, said people in her home city of Odesa were “very afraid” but she would have stayed were it not for her daughter.
“It would be very difficult to provide the child with basic living conditions. That’s why we decided to leave,” she said, clutching a pet dog in her arms.
In his Sunday blessing, Pope Francis called for an end to the “cruel and senseless” conflict. read more
CALL FOR WEAPONS
Zelenskiy demanded in a late-night television address on Saturday that Western nations hand over military hardware that was “gathering dust” in stockpiles, saying his nation needed just 1% of NATO’s aircraft and 1% of its tanks. read more
Western nations have given Ukraine anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well as small arms and protective equipment, without offering heavy armour or planes.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said Russia had started destroying Ukrainian fuel and food storage centres. Appearing to confirm that, Russia said its missiles had wrecked a fuel deposit on Saturday as well as a military repair plant near the western city of Lviv. read more
Ukraine was mounting small counter-offensive actions as Russian forces try to encircle its forces in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian presidential advisor said.
The United Nations has confirmed 1,119 civilian deaths and 1,790 injuries across Ukraine but says the real toll is likely to be higher. Ukraine said on Sunday 139 children had been killed and more than 205 wounded so far in the conflict.
Ukraine and Russia agreed two “humanitarian corridors” to evacuate civilians from frontline areas on Sunday, including allowing people to leave by car from the southern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The encircled port, located between Crimea and eastern areas held by Russian-backed separatists, has been devastated by weeks of heavy bombardment. Thousands of residents are sheltering in basements with scarce water, food, medicine or power.
Boston police have identified the construction worker who was killed during a partial collapse of the Government Center parking garage in the Haymarket area of the city.
A spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said Sunday that the victim of Saturday’s deadly construction accident is 51-year-old Peter Monsini, of South Easton.
Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey said his department received a call at about 5:40 p.m. reporting a building collapse at 1 Congress St.
NewsCenter 5’s Emily Maher, who was in the North End reporting on a different story, said she saw multiple floors of the parking garage — part of which was being demolished — come crashing down between 5:35 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.
According to Dempsey, Monsini was doing demolition work inside the parking garage in a construction vehicle — which Dempsey described as a Bobcat-type vehicle that was equipped with a jackhammer — when the floor buckled underneath the vehicle.
Dempsey said that according to witnesses, the vehicle was approaching the edge of the building when the floor buckled and collapsed.
After the floor collapsed, Monsini was still inside construction vehicle as it went over the side of the parking garage and fell nine stories.
“It literally sounded like a ton of rubble fell. It just sounded like a huge crash,” witness Caroline Catano told NewsCenter 5’s David Bienick on Sunday. “I’m used to a lot of noise because they’re always doing the jackammering, but I knew something was amiss when I heard that particular sound.”
In a statement confirming the fatal accident at its One Congress Street job site, John Moriarty & Associates said the death happened at about 5:30 p.m. when a concrete slab on the ninth floor on the east side of the Haymarket Garage collapsed onto the eighth floor.
The subcontractors working demolition at the time were evacuated from the building and the site has been temporarily shut down.
A multitude of Boston police officers, firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel, along with Massachusetts State Police troopers, responded to the scene.
Firefighters found Monsini at the bottom of a pile of rubble and Boston EMS personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
“This is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the worker,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the loved ones of the worker who lost his life,” reads the statement from John Moriarty & Associates. “JMA remains committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all our employees and trade partners. We would like to thank the Boston Police Department and EMS for their swift response.”
Boston fire officials said Monsini’s body was removed from the site at 9:15 p.m. Saturday after members of the Boston Inspectional Services department deemed it safe to do so.
On Sunday, inspectors used a fire engine’s bucket latter and a drone to inspect the pile of rubble at the scene.
Boston EMS officials said a second person, a passerby who did not appear to be physically injured, was transported to an area hospital.
One man who witnessed the collapse told Maher that he could hear the sound of jackhammers just moments before he saw some parts of the parking garage collapse.
“The open half just collapsed. It couldn’t be on purpose. It had to be an accident,” that witness said.
A woman who heard the collapse said it sounded like continuous thunder.
A photo shared with NewsCenter 5 via Twitter showed what appeared to be the heavy construction equipment described by Dempsey trapped under concrete rubble.
Boston police warned that vehicular and pedestrian traffic would be impacted in the surrounding areas. The following street closures and detours will remain in effect until further notice:
Surface Road between New Chardon and Hanover streets. Traffic will be diverted from North Washington Street to New Chardon Street or to the Southeast Expressway.
Congress Street travelling west will be closed at Hanover to New Chardon streets.
Congress Street traveling east will be closed from New Chardon to Sudbury streets.
Sudbury Street between Congress and Surface streets will be closed, and all traffic on Sudbury Street will be diverted to Congress Street traveling east.
As a result of Saturday’s partial collapse at the Government Center parking garage, the MBTA will keep rail service in the Green and Orange lines suspended in the tunnels beneath the site. The transit authority announced weeks before Saturday’s collapse that shuttle buses would be replacing subway service on both the Green and Orange lines this weekend.
The MBTA said it will not resume rail service through the area until a team of structural engineers confirms that subway service can safely resume following an examination and assessment of the infrastructure above and below the service. The transit authority estimates the service impacts could last several days as a result.
Orange Line service will be suspended between North Station and Back Bay, while Green Line service will not operate between North Station and Government Center. Shuttle buses will be running between North Station and Government Center. Orange Line customers who wish to reach destinations between Downtown Crossing and Back Bay are encouraged to use nearby Green Line stations between Park and Copley stations.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office will be involved in the investigation of the worker’s death, along with numerous local, state and federal agencies, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Our office is a stone’s throw away from the garage and our staff has watched through their office windows all the work being done these many months. To know that one of the workers on this project has tragically died weighs heavy on our hearts. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends,” reads a statement from the DA’s Office.
Parking garage project history
The demolition of the Government Center parking garage has been going on for several years.
Demo work initially began in December 2016 as part of a project to construct a six-building, mix-used development called Bulfinch Crossing.
The Bulfinch Crossing project includes a 1 million-square-foot office tower, a hotel and what will be Boston’s tallest apartment tower at 45 stories.
“She was bringing me a lot of emotion during the whole hearing. I mean, she, under sort of the most outrageous of attacks, she was showing who she is,” Booker said when asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” about Jackson tearing up in response to the senator’s emotional comments during the hearing.
“She showed up and told America how qualified she is, how special she is, what kind of endurance, grit and grace she showed,” he added.
Jackson’s confirmation hearing made headlines last Wednesday when Jackson teared up as Booker was addressing the historic nature of her nomination to the bench. Jackson, if confirmed, would be the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
“I want to tell you when I look at you this is why I get emotional,” Booker said to Jackson during the hearing, his voice quavering with emotion. “You’re so much more than your race and gender. You’re a Christian, you’re a mom. Your intellect.”
“You have earned this spot, you are worthy. You are a great American,” he added.
Booker on Sunday said the purpose of his speech was to “reaffirm the truth” regarding Jackson after three Republicans questioned the nominee.
“And so by the time it got to me after three Republicans in a row who were really over the top, the energy in that room, I just wanted to reaffirm the truth of the matter that I think most Americans know, which is how special this person is, and bring our attention back to how incredibly special this moment is in America,” he said.
“I think there were a lot of moments like that, that were deflating to me and disappointing to me,” Booker said when asked about Blackburn’s questioning of Jackson.
“I think that what was unfortunate in the room for me was that she was getting attacks that were roundly criticized even by people on the right as being beyond the pale,” he later added.
Although it’s still March, a heat wave has brought summerlike temperatures to the western United States, shattering long-standing records. The unseasonably high temperatures also helped to intensify a grass fire that erupted near Boulder, Colo., on Saturday, forcing thousands from their homes.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Amy Klobuchar said Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from certain cases after it emerged that his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, sent text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows urging him to help overturn the 2020 election results, calling it “a textbook case for” recusal.
Meadows voluntarily turned over the messages to the committee last year before deciding not to cooperate with the inquiry. In January, the court declined to block the Jan. 6 committee from obtaining Trump White House records over the objection of only one justice: Thomas.
“The facts are clear here. This is unbelievable,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an exclusive interview on Sunday. “You have the wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice … advocating for overturning a legal election to the sitting president’s chief of staff.”
“She also knows this election — these cases are going to come before her husband,” she added. “This is a textbook case for removing him, recusing him from these decisions.”
Karl followed up, and “if he doesn’t recuse himself?”
Klobuchar said “the entire integrity of the court is on the line here” and that she’s looking to leadership from Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of the bench to speak out on the issue.
“They had better speak out on this because you cannot have a justice hearing cases related to this election and, in fact, the ethics rules that apply to all the other federal judges say that if it involves a family member, appearance of impartiality, they have to recuse themselves,” she said.
“So not only should he recuse himself, but this Supreme Court badly needs ethics rules,” Klobuchar added.
Following a week of contentious hearings to consider President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Karl pressed Klobuchar, who was present for those hearings, on whether any Republicans would vote for Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated to the high Court. With West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin making clear his intention to vote for Jackson, she is on track for confirmation with or without GOP support.
“I think she (will). She has in every other nomination that she’s had for very levels of the court… I can’t tell you who. I can’t tell you how much. But I think that will be very important to this process,” Klobuchar said, applauding Jackson as “the pillar of strength” for how she handled Republicans’ “attacks” during the hearings.
In a defining moment of his presidency, Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin to not “even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory,” during a Saturday speech from the grounds of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
He also surprised many when he said Putin “cannot stay in power,” leading White House officials to clarify that the United States is not calling for regime change in Russia.
But Karl noted “that was the headline around the world,” and “that was the message heard in Moscow.”
Klobuchar responded by saying she’s been on the Polish-Ukrainian border and seen and heard firsthand the horrors from refugees escaping Ukraine “leaving everything they have behind, everything, their little stuffed animals and their backpacks, moms with suitcases leaving their husbands behind to fight.”
“Vladimir Putin is a monster,” she said. “But the position of the United States government is not to send troops there. It is to give all the aid we can to Ukraine…it’s the humanitarian aid, over $1 billion pledged, taking in over 100,000 refugees, that is what we are doing.”
Karl pressed: “And it’s not regime change in Moscow?”
“That has been made very clear,” she said.
ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel, Katherine Faulders, Jonathan Karl and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a 14-year-old Missouri teen fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride this week, a rapper and R&B singer from Jacksonville is offering to pay funeral costs.
YK Osiris on Saturday asked his nearly 3 million Instagram followers to help him contact the family of Tyre Sampson who died Thursday night after he dropped out of his seat from a 430-foot, free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district not far from Disney World.
Jacksonville rapper YK Osiris offers to pay funeral cost for teen who died after fall from Orlando theme park ride. (Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.)
“If anybody know [sic] his family, tell them to DM me because I want to pay for his funeral cost,” YK Osiris wrote on his Instagram story.
The well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Tyre’s father, Yarnell Sampson, said the family is “shocked and heartbroken at the loss of their son.”
“This young man was the kind of son everyone hopes for — an honor roll student, an aspiring athlete, and a kind-hearted person who cared about others,” Crump said in a statement Saturday.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates amusement rides in Florida at all but the major theme parks, declined comment Saturday other than to say the investigation is ongoing.
“He went to the National Stadium in Warsaw and literally met with hundreds of Ukrainians. He heard their heroic stories as they were fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine. In the moment, I think that was a principled human reaction to the stories that he had heard that day,” Biden’s ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Hours after President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear the United States does not have a plan for regime change in Russia.
“I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinken said Sunday during a press conference in Jerusalem.
“As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter,” he said.
Julianne Smith, U.S. ambassador to NATO, also reaffirmed Sunday that the U.S. is not pursuing regime change in Russia.
In a sweeping and forceful speech concluding a four-day trip to Europe, Biden on Saturday cast the war in Ukraine as part of an ongoing battle for freedom and ended with a blunt call for Putin to be stopped.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, in his strongest comments to date about his desire to see Putin gone.
“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” the official said. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, “it’s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.”
“Only Russians, who vote for their president, can decide that,” Peskov said.
►In remarks from Warsaw, Biden slammed Putin as a “butcher” for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and said the West “has never been stronger.” Poland has been on the front lines of the refugee crisis, having accepted 2 million Ukrainians fleeing the war.
NATO ambassador: Biden comments a ‘human reaction’
The United States’ top NATO representative clarified President Joe Biden’s comments where he said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” saying the full administration believes “we cannot empower Putin right now to wage war in Ukraine or pursue these acts of aggression.”
Julianne Smith, United States ambassador to NATO, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that the United States is not pursuing a policy of regime change.
Smith said Biden met with Ukrainian refugees ahead of his speech on Saturday and his ad-libbed line was “a principal human reaction to the stories that he had heard that day.”
“As you’ve heard from Secretary Blinken and others, the U.S. does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, full stop,” she said.
– Rebecca Morin
Ukraine’s ambassador asks for weapons
Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova called Sunday on Western allies to give Ukraine more military support, not in the form of troops but warplanes and anti-aircraft equipment so the nation can win the war against Russia.
“We are not asking for American soldiers, but we need all the support … all the weapons including the anti air, including the airplanes, everything, to stop this brutal destruction,” she told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We will not surrender,” she said.
– Katie Wadington
Macron responds to Biden remark
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday distanced himself from President Joe Biden’s comments calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “butcher” and someone who “cannot remain in power,” adding that he is trying to avoid an escalation from Russia.
In an interview with French TV station France 3, Macron said he would not use that kind of language and noted his task is to achieve “a cease-fire and then the total withdrawal of (Russian) troops by diplomatic means.” Macron and Putin have continued to be in talks after Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
“If we want to do that, we can’t escalate either in words or actions,” Macron said, according to a translation from France 24.
– Rebecca Morin
Zelenskyy: West’s jets, missiles are ‘collecting dust,’ and they should share
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again urged the West to provide Ukraine with warplanes and air defense missiles.
Speaking in a video address early Sunday, Zelenskyy said that “our partners have all that, and it’s just collecting dust. And in fact it’s necessary not just for Ukraine’s freedom, but for the freedom of Europe.”
Zelenskyy warned that the Baltic states, Poland and Slovakia could eventually face a Russian attack “just because they will have kept in their hangars just 1% of all NATO warplanes and 1% of all NATO tanks. Just 1%! We aren’t asking for more and we have been waiting for that for 31 days!”
He said that “our partners must step up their aid to Ukraine.”
The president said, “Ukraine can’t shoot down Russian missiles with shotguns and machine guns that have accounted for the bulk of supplies. And we can’t unblock Mariupol without the necessary number of tanks, other armor and warplanes. All defenders of Ukraine know about it.”
The U.S. and “all European politicians” also know that, he said.
– Associated Press
Last rail link to Russia from Europe will end
Finland will discontinue train service into Russia on Monday, severing rail links into EU countries.
Since Moscow invaded Ukraine, Finnish train operator VR has operated a route between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia, to “provide a safe passage to the Finnish citizens.”
“During these weeks, the people, who have wanted to depart from Russia, have had adequate time to leave. Now, due to the sanctions, we will discontinue the service for now”, says Topi Simola, SVP for Passenger Services at VR Group said late last week.
– Katie Wadington
Zelenskyy: Moscow sowing deep hatred for Russia among the Ukrainian people
LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily warned Moscow that it is sowing a deep hatred for Russia among his people.
“You are doing everything so that our people themselves leave the Russian language, because the Russian language will now be associated only with you, with your explosions and murders, your crimes,” Zelenskyy said in an impassioned video address late Saturday.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ground into a war of attrition in many places, with the toll on civilians rising as Moscow seeks to pound cities into submission from entrenched positions.
A nuclear research facility in the besieged city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border, again came under fire Saturday, and Ukraine’s nuclear watchdog said that because of ongoing hostilities it was impossible to assess the extent of the damage.
– Associated Press
Kremlin responds to Biden’s condemnation of Putin
A spokesperson for the Kremlin on Saturday said President Joe Biden’s statement that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” was “extremely negative” for U.S. relations with Russia.
“Only Russians, who vote for their president, can decide that,” Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press. “And of course it is unbecoming for the president of the U.S. to make such statements.”
The White House walked back Biden’s initial statements in Poland, claiming the president was not endorsing regime change, but meant that “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”
Peskov said that with Biden’s statements, he was “narrowing the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current administration.”
Rockets strike western Ukrainian city of Lviv
LVIV, Ukraine — Several rockets struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday in what officials say were two separate attacks.
The powerful explosions frightened a city that had been a haven for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Russian assault on other parts of Ukraine.
The regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyy, said on Facebook that preliminary indications were five people were injured in the first attack but did not specify what the two rockets hit. Hours later, he reported three more explosions outside the city, again with no details.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi called the second round of explosions a rocket attack, saying it did significant damage to an unspecified “infrastructure object.”
Lviv had been largely spared since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, although missiles struck an aircraft repair facility near the international airport a week ago.
The back-to-back attacks on Saturday brought a chill to residents and displaced Ukrainians who had seen Lviv as a relatively safe place to rebuild their lives. Home to about 700,000 people before the invasion, the city has absorbed many more.
– Associated Press
Governor of Lviv region says man detained on suspicion of espionage
LVIV, Ukraine — The governor of the Lviv region says a man was detained on suspicion of espionage at the site of one of the two rocket attacks that rattled the city on Saturday.
Maksym Kozytskyy said police found the man had recorded a rocket flying toward the target and striking it. Police also found on his telephone photos of checkpoints in the region, which Kozytskyy said had been sent to two Russian telephone numbers.
Rockets hit an oil storage facility and an unspecified industrial facility, wounding at least five people. A thick plume of smoke and towering flames could be seen on Lviv’s outskirts hours after the attacks.
President Zelenskyy asked if the West was scared of Russia amid “ping-pong” talks about weapon supply.
Zelenskyy urged West to have one percent of the courage that Ukraine forces defending Mariupol have.
He called on the US and the EU to provide fighter planes and tanks to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Western nations on Saturday if they were scared of Russia following “ping-pong” talks about providing weapons to Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden traveled to Poland last week to talk about international support for Ukraine with world leaders amid the war. On Saturday, Biden met with Ukraine officials to discuss assistance through weapon supply, according to Zelenskyy.
“So who runs the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it still Moscow because of intimidation?” Zelenskyy said in a late-night speech.
He said he was grateful for the Ukrainian forces defending the besieged city Mariupol and urged Western partners who have been thinking about supplying Ukraine with planes and tanks to have at least “a percentage of their courage.”
Zelenskyy said in the speech that “ping-pong” discussions on which country should supply Ukraine fighter jets and other weapons were still ongoing.
“Ukraine cannot shoot down Russian missiles using shotguns, machine guns,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the country has plentiful supplies.
The US and the EU know that it’s “impossible” to release Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, without a sufficient number of tanks and aircraft, Zelenskyy said.
“It is impossible to unblock Mariupol without a sufficient number of tanks, other armored vehicles, and, of course, aircraft. All defenders of Ukraine know that. All defenders of Mariupol know that. Thousands of people know that – citizens, civilians who are dying there in the blockade.
“This should be known as soon as possible by as many people on earth as possible so that everyone understands who and why was simply afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision,” Zelenskyy said.
His speech came after several rockets hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday — just 45 miles away from Poland — during Biden’s visit in Warsaw.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Putin at the end of his speech from the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
The White House has since walked back the comments, saying that Biden’s remarks were not calling for regime change in Russia.
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