Biden calls for Putin's removal during speech in Poland
NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880/AP) -- President Biden wrapped up his four-day visit to Europe in Warsaw on Saturday where he visited Ukrainian refugees and called for Putin's removal. Pope Francis also reiterated a plea to end the fighting on Sunday though he did not specifically name Russia as the aggressor. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is in talks with Oscar producers to make a remote appearance on Sunday.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
6:52 p.m.- German Chancellor seeks to clarify Biden's "This man cannot remain in power" comment, says U.S. and NATO not seeking regime change in Russia
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that neither NATO nor U.S. President Joe Biden aim to bring about regime change in Russia.
Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech on Saturday that “this man cannot remain in power.” The White House and other U.S. officials rushed to clarify that Biden wasn’t actually calling for Putin to be toppled.
Asked during an appearance Sunday on ARD television whether Putin’s removal is in fact the real aim, Scholz replied: “This is not the aim of NATO, and also not that of the American president.”
Scholz added: “We both agree completely that regime change is not an object and aim of policy that we pursue together.”
Asked whether Biden made a dangerous mistake with his comment, Scholz replied: “No.” He said that “he said what he said” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken also had clarified that he wasn’t talking about regime change.
Scholz last month announced a big increase in German defense spending. On Sunday, he confirmed a report by the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the government is considering acquiring a missile defense shield along the lines of Israel’s “Iron Dome.”
4:54 p.m.- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggests hostage exchange with Russia ahead of peace talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is undergoing the logistical preparation necessary for a prisoner of war exchange with Russia ahead of peace talks in Turkey.
"Lists are being compiled. Our military, I know, made lists. All those who are in captivity - these lists are available. I don't know if they are all interested," said Zelenskyy.
Ukraine said the end of the war would not be a requirement for an exchange.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation that’s in talks with Russia said Sunday that the two sides have decided to meet in Turkey for in-person talks on Monday. However, Russia’s chief negotiator said the talks would begin on Tuesday. Neither said where in Turkey the talks would be held.
3:31 p.m.- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urges a ceasefire in Ukraine after peace talks scheduled in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the need for a cease-fire in Ukraine in a telephone call Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan also called for an improvement to the humanitarian situation in the region, according to the statement.
The two leaders agreed the next meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials should be held in Istanbul, the statement added, without giving a time frame.
Meanwhile, a member of the Ukrainian delegation that’s in talks with Russia said Sunday that the two sides have decided to meet in person beginning on Monday. However, Russia’s chief negotiator said the in-person talks would begin on Tuesday. Neither said where the talks would be held.
1:59 p.m.- Ukraine and Russia agree to meet in Turkey for in-person peace talks on Monday or Tuesday
A member of the Ukrainian delegation in talks with Russia on ending the month-long war says the two sides have decided to meet in person in Turkey beginning on Monday.
Davyd Arakhamia, the leader in parliament of the faction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, said on Facebook that the in-person talks were agreed upon in a video consultation. He did not give further details.
However, Russia’s chief negotiator said the in-person talks would begin on Tuesday, rather than Monday.
The two sides have met previously with no deal reached.
12:07 p.m.- Sean Penn threatens to smelt his Oscars if the academy does not invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy to speak
The five-time Oscar winning actor turned activist was in Ukraine last month filming a documentary on the Russian invasion.
"If the academy has elected not to do it... 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." said Penn in an interview with CNN. "When I return I will smelt [my awards] in public."
Penn also called for a walkout if the Ukrainian President is not invited.
8:12 a.m. - Kyiv bombings putting UNESCO world heritage site in danger
A manager at a UNESCO world heritage site in Kyiv says bombings in the capital are being felt in the landmark building and could threaten its foundations.
“We and the landmark feel the vibrations,” said Vadim Kyrylenko, an engineer who now is the most senior on-site manager at the St. Sophia Cathedral. “It’s a minimal threat but we feel it. If there would be a strike nearby as I say it would be a point of no return for our landmark because it is very fragile and vulnerable.”
The site shut its doors to visitors as soon as the war in Ukraine started last month. Kyrylenko said that the only people left on site apart from him are a cook, a carpenter and engineers who are keeping the main functions running.
The Orthodox shrine dates back nearly 1,000 years to the dawn of Christianity in the region. It is considered the heart of Ukrainian spiritual and national identity. The grand structure survived despite being in the crosshairs of numerous invaders and armies.
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Saturday, March 26, 2022
7:25 p.m.- Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is in talks with Oscar producers to make a remote appearance
Neither Zelenskyy nor the Academy have officially confirmed an appearance, and it's unclear whether the Ukrainian president would appear live or via pre-taped message if he is featured.
“We want to be fun and celebratory, but we’re certainly going to do that in a respectful way and with an eye toward what’s going on in the world," said Oscars producer Will Packer at a press conference on Thursday.
6:40 p.m.- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemns Russian shelling that damaged Holocaust memorial
The shelling damaged a statue of a Menorah in Kharkiv.
The monument is commemorating the murder of over 15,000 Ukrainian Jews by Nazis, Kuleba said.
Russia damaged another Holocaust memorial in Kyiv earlier this month dedicated to the 70,000 to 100,000 Jews murdered in the Babyn Yar massacre.
4:43 p.m.- The Ukrainian State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate says Russia again targeted Kharkiv nuclear facility
The USNRI said it couldn't not assess the extent of the damage due to ongoing fighting, but raised concerns of a radiation leak.
"If the shelling continues, it could lead to severe radiation effects and contamination of the surrounding areas," wrote the agency on Twitter.
2:22 p.m.- Biden calls for Putin's removal in major speech in Poland on last day of his trip to Europe
President Joe Biden on Saturday called for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s removal, saying, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
Biden also used a speech in Poland’s capital to make a vociferous defense of liberal democracy and the NATO military alliance, while also saying Europe must steel itself for a long fight against Russian aggression.
In what was billed by the White House as a major address, Biden spoke in front of the Royal Castle, one of Warsaw’s notable landmarks that was badly damaged during War II.
He borrowed the words of Polish-born Pope John Paul II and cited anti-communist Polish dissident and former president, Lech Walesa, as he warned that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to bring “decades of war.”
“In this battle we need to be clear-eyed. This battle will not be won in days, or months, either,” Biden said.
The crowd of about 1,000 included some of the Ukrainian refugees who have fled for Poland and elsewhere in the midst of the brutal invasion.
“We must commit now, to be this fight for the long haul,” Biden said.
11:40 a.m. - Lviv hit by two missile strikes, at least 5 dead
A Ukrainian military official said on Twitter there were two missile strikes in Lviv with at least 5 people dead based on preliminary information.
Blasts and air raid sirens were heard while smoke was seen rising in Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to multiple sources on the ground.
"The time has come for the first column of smoke visible from the center of Lviv. Probably this time they hit the city," reporter Paolo Mossetti wrote in a tweet with a video of smoke rising from the view outside.
The city is just 400 kilometers (roughly 250 miles) from Warsaw where President Biden is visiting.
11:30 a.m. - Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, calls Putin a "butcher"
After meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday, President Biden called Vladimir Putin a "butcher" in response to a question by reporters about what he thought after seeing the refugees.
The question-and-answer session took place at Stadion Narodowy where Biden said he is always surprised by "the depth and strength of the human spirit" when visiting places like this.
"Each one of those children said something to the effect of, 'Say a prayer for my dad or grandfather or my brother who's back there fighting,' Biden said. "And I remember what it's like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder and you pray you don't get that phone call."
8:45 a.m. - Russian forces enter city of Slavutych, seizing hospital and briefly kidnapping mayor
Russian forces allegedly briefly kidnapped the mayor of Slavutych after entering the city and seizing a hospital there, according to Governor Oleksandr Pavlyuk, though the claims could not be verified.
Slavutych is located north of Kyiv and west of Chernihiv and is home to workers at the Chernobyl site as it sits just outside of it.
Slavutych took to the streets with Ukrainian flags to protest the Russian invasion, the governor said.
“The Russians opened fire into the air. They threw flash-bang grenades into the crowd. But the residents did not disperse, on the contrary, more of them showed up,” Pavlyuk said.
8:30 a.m.- Zelenskyy calling on the west to create a lend-lease program for Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff is calling on the West to create a new lend-lease program for Ukraine, referring to the World War II effort that sent U.S. supplies to the Soviet Union to help it fight Nazi Germany.
“We need a full lend lease,” Andriy Yermak said in an address late Friday. “Today Ukraine is the holy grail of Europe, and without exaggeration Ukraine is reviving those principles that gave life to current Western civilization.”
He said what Ukraine needs most is real-time intelligence and heavy weapons.
Yermak also repeated the Ukrainian president’s calls for help in closing the skies over Ukraine to stop Russian bombing and missile attacks. The West has refused to impose a no-fly zone for fear of widening the war.
He said options include supplying Ukraine with air defense systems or fighter jets, or creating an “air police force to protect civilian infrastructure.”
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