Yellen, Powell and Lagarde walk out of G20 event when Russian speaks
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde joined other allies in a coordinated walkout when the Russian deputy finance minister began speaking Wednesday at a G20 plenary meeting.
Canadian deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, posted a photo of the group moments after they left the meeting.
Walking out of events is a relatively common way that diplomats protest the policies of other countries. It’s even rarer to see it at such a high level.
The U.S. said last week that Yellen would boycott some events at this week’s G-20 conference in Washington, but until Wednesday it wasn’t clear what form this would take.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov appeared virtually. A Treasury official told CNBC that several other virtual attendees at the session turned their screens off in protest.
— Christina Wilkie
U.S. flies in four additional military cargo aircraft with security assistance
A C-130 Hercules taxis on the flightline July 14, 2014, at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Goonan | U.S. Air Force
Four U.S. military cargo aircraft carrying security assistance for Ukraine arrived in the region within the last 24 hours, a senior U.S. Defense official said on a conference call with reporters.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the aircraft carried weapons and other aid from the $800 million security package announced last week including some of the 18 howitzers. The official added that more howitzers and ammunition would be arriving in the region in the next 24 hours.
The howitzer artillery systems are the first known heavy artillery platforms of that caliber to be transferred to Ukrainian forces. The Pentagon also committed 40,000 artillery rounds, from both Army and Marine Corps stockpiles.
The Biden administration is expected to announce another substantial security assistance package for Ukraine this week, five U.S officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.
— Amanda Macias
UN Secretary-General asks Putin, Zelenskyy to meet him to discuss ending the war
UN Secretary General António Guterres photographed at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland on Nov. 11, 2021.
Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images News | Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres asked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if they would take meetings with him in their respective capitals.
A spokeswoman for Guterres said the request was made in separate letters delivered yesterday afternoon to the U.N. Permanent Missions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
“The Secretary-General said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” wrote U.N. Secretary-General spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.
“He noted that both Ukraine and the Russian Federation are founding members of the United Nations and have always been strong supporters of this Organization,” she added.
— Amanda Macias
U.S. lobs fresh round of sanctions against bitcoin miner and others aiding Russia
US President Joe Biden, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (L) and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (R), speaks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2022.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. Treasury Department expanded its wide raft of sanctions to include businesses and individuals that are helping Russia blunt the impact of economic penalties imposed on Moscow.
Treasury officials said the department is now targeting Russian commercial bank Transkapitalbank, as well as a network of more than 40 people including oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev it believes are helping the Kremlin skirt a wave of economic punishments.
The Biden administration also said it’s cracking down on companies operating in Russia’s digital currency mining industry, including Bitriver, that help the country monetize its exports and other natural resources.
“Treasury can and will target those who evade, attempt to evade, or aid the evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia, as they are helping support Putin’s brutal war of choice,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a press release.
U.S. troops begin training Ukrainians on howitzer artillery
U.S. Marines with Alpha Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 4th Marines, fire their M777 Lightweight 155mm Howitzer during Exercise Alligator Dagger in Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 18.
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Zachery C. Laning | U.S. Marine Corps
American troops have begun training Ukrainians to use howitzer artillery, a senior U.S. Defense official said.
“The training of some small number of Ukrainians on the howitzers has begun it has begun in a country outside Ukraine. I am not going to tell you or be able to detail where this is happening,” the official said on a conference call with reporters.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Pentagon expected the training of about 50 Ukrainian troops to last for nearly a week.
The U.S. included 18 howitzer artillery systems, the first known heavy artillery platforms of that caliber to be transferred to Ukrainian forces, in the $800 million security package announced last week.
The Pentagon also committed 40,000 artillery rounds, from both Army and Marine Corps stockpiles.
— Amanda Macias
Pentagon says Russia’s test of its new intercontinental ballistic missile wasn’t a surprise
The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test at Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region, Russia, in this still image taken from a video released on April 20, 2022.
Russian Defense Ministry | via Reuters
The Pentagon said that Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missile test was not a surprise and that Moscow “properly notified the United States under its New START treaty obligations that it planned to test” the system.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters the Russian test was not deemed to be a threat to the United States or its allies. “The department remains focused on Russia’s unlawful and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it test-launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk in the country’s northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east, according to a Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that no other nation had a missile system comparable and that it would ensure Russia’s security and “make those crazy who are trying to threaten it, think,” according to Reuters.
When asked about Putin’s rhetoric following the test, a senior U.S. Defense official said the Pentagon found it “unhelpful.”
“It’s not the kind of thing that we would expect from a responsible nuclear power, especially in the current environment,” the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
— Amanda Macias
Wimbledon bans Russian and Belarusian tennis players, citing Ukraine war
The Wimbledon logo amongst flowers The Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2019 in London, England.
Visionhaus | Getty Images
Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be barred from entering this year’s Wimbledon Championship in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the tournament’s sponsor, the All England Club, announced.
“We recognize that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime,” said All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt.
The annual lawn tennis tournament played in Wimbledon, England is considered the most prestigious of the professional tennis circuit’s “grand slam” championships, and it consistently draws the best players in the sport.
Several of those players hail from Russia and Belarus. On the men’s side, there are four Russian players currently ranked in the top 40 in the world, including Daniil Medvedev, who is ranked No. 2 in the world behind Slovakia’s Novak Djokovic. In women’s tennis, Belarusian star player Aryna Sabalenka is currently ranked No. 4 in the world.
The Kremlin called the Wimbledon decision “unacceptable.” Spokesman Dmitri Peskov described the sidelined players as “victims of some kind of political prejudices, intrigues and hostile actions towards our country.”
— Christina Wilkie
Russia tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile that Putin says has no peer
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the construction site of the Amur launch complex for Angara rockets at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Region, Russia April 12, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Mikhail Klimentyev | Sputnik | Reuters
Russia said it test-launched its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow’s enemies something to think about.
Putin was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the country’s northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east.
“The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense. It has no analogues in the world and won’t have for a long time to come,” Putin said.
“This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country.”
— Reuters
Pentagon chief speaks to Chinese counterpart for the first time
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