Heading towards World War III?

Ukrainian Parliament member Oleksander Merezhko says Russia wants the U.S. and NATO allies to 'stay away' from Ukraine.

President Biden on Monday stood by his comments over the weekend that Russia's Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" as Ukraine President Zelensky said he was open to discussing neutrality for his nation in exchange for a ceasefire. Special correspondent Ryan Chilcote talked with President Vladimir Putin's chief spokesman and deputy chief of staff Dmitry Peskov to get a view inside the Kremlin.

US President Joe Biden's comment that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" has prompted strong criticism from veteran US diplomat Richard Haass.

The comments "made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous", tweeted Mr Haass, who is president of the US Council on Foreign Relations.

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60890199

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed directly to NATO leaders Thursday for just “one percent” of the alliance’s combined fighter jets and tanks to help the country repel Russia’s month-long invasion.

“Ukraine needs military assistance — without restrictions — as Russia uses, without restrictions, its entire arsenal against us,” Zelensky said in a video address to the leaders of the Western alliance.

NATO leaders, including President Biden, are meeting in Brussels to discuss next steps in their support of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader repeated his request for NATO nations to resupply Kyiv’s military hardware.

“You have thousands of fighter jets! But we haven’t been given any yet,” Zelensky said. “You have at least 20,000 tanks! Ukraine asked for one percent — one percent — of your tanks to be given or sold to us. But we do not have a clear answer yet.”

nypost.com/2022/03/24/zelensky-to-nato-give-us-1-of-your-jets-and-tanks

Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov has said he is feeling “cautiously optimistic” following talks with key US government figures, led by President Joe Biden, in the Polish capital, Warsaw, on Saturday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken also joined the meeting, along with Kiev's Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

Speaking afterwards to journalists, Kuleba said his country had received “additional promises from the United States on how our defense co-operation will evolve.” The official also revealed that Kiev and Washington had agreed on possible ways to put pressure on European Union states to press them to impose more sanctions on Russia.

www.rt.com/news/552763-biden-meets-ukrainian-defense-foreign-ministers

Nearly 100,000 Italian farms are on the verge of closure due to skyrocketing production costs brought about by the conflict in Ukraine, major farming association Coldiretti said in a report this week.

According to the group, growing production costs far exceed what is being paid to farmers and breeders for their products, from milk to fruit, meat and vegetables.
More than one farm in 10 (11%) is therefore on the verge of closure, while about one-third of the nation’s total (30%) are working in conditions of negative profits, Coldiretti explains, citing data from Italian agricultural research organization Crea.

The group notes that prices have been growing on nearly every raw material used by agro-producers: from energy to diesel, fertilizers, fodder for animals and seeds.

www.rt.com/business/552751-italy-farms-risk-closure

Warsaw should seek to “claim” the Kaliningrad region from Russia, General Waldemar Skrzypczak has said. The region has been “under Russian occupation since 1945,” the ex-commander of the Polish Land Forces claimed on the TV show ‘Super Express’ on Friday.

“It might be worth asking for it, as it used to be with the Regained Territories,” Skrzypczak said, referring to the eastern German territories incorporated into Poland after the defeat of Nazi Germany. “It might be worth asking for this Kaliningrad region, which, in my opinion, is part of the territory of Poland.”

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, its East Prussia region was split between the Soviet Union and Poland. The USSR got roughly one-third of the region’s land, including the city of Konigsberg (known as Kaliningrad since then), establishing the modern Kaliningrad region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region remained a Russian enclave, bordering Poland and Lithuania.

www.rt.com/russia/552726-poland-general-territorial-claims

“Hungary is on Hungary’s side,” its prime minister, Viktor Orban, said in a statement on Saturday, in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls for Budapest to quit sitting on the fence in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.

Orban said that, while his country could not “be indifferent” to the “Russo-Ukrainian war going on in our neighborhood,” Hungary would look after its own interests first, and maintain a “Hungarian point of view.” He went on to stress that Budapest “want[ed] to stay out of this war,” but that this did not preclude it from helping “those in need.”

The statement came in response to Zelensky having urged Orban to choose a side in the conflict. Speaking to EU leaders via video link on Friday, the Ukrainian president thanked the Baltic states, Poland, France, and Germany for their support, but noted that Hungary was still declining to take a stand. He called on Budapest to “decide for yourself who you are with.” Addressing Orban directly, Zelensky asked him if he knew “what’s going on in Mariupol,” referring to the besieged southern port city, which has seen heavy fighting in recent days.

Zelensky reiterated his request that his country’s application to join the EU be swiftly considered, and once again appealed to Hungary in particular not to block the bid.

Unlike the other EU member states bordering Ukraine, Hungary has so far refused to either send weapons to Kiev or let other countries move such shipments through its territory.

Orban has argued that, as around 85% of its gas and over 60% of its oil is imported from Russia, it would not be in Budapest’s best interest to rile Moscow.

www.rt.com/news/552747-hungarian-pm-responds-zelensky-call

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sits down with Tucker Carlson to discuss how western Europe is changing and how his country is moving further away.