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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• National document of the Russian Federation circulated in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN Security Council on 10 and 11 March 2022 "Regarding potential chemical provocations in Ukraine" Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 11 Mar 2022
• Putin cites 'some progress' in talks with Ukraine Press TV 11 Mar 2022 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says there has been some progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow's military offensive against its neighboring country enters its third week.
• Russian Ambassador Tells Iranian Media How Not To Ask About The Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- What began as an attempt by a Russian diplomat to explain his country's position in the ongoing nuclear talks turned into a scolding over how Iranian journalists should refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• 'Volunteers' Welcome To Fight In Ukraine War, Putin Says RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that foreigners should be allowed to join the war against Ukrainian forces and approved the handover of captured Western missile systems to Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
• Putin Agrees to Idea of Sending Foreign Volunteers to Ukraine Sputnik 11 Mar 2022 -- Russian forces, as well as the militias of Donbass continue to advance amid the special military operation in Ukraine. President Putin stated that the goal of the operation is to ensure the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.
• Russia Expands Targets to Ukraine's West as US Increases Sanctions VOA 11 Mar 2022 -- Russia has widened its war in Ukraine by targeting areas in the west of the country and appears to be regrouping troops near the capital, Kyiv, as the United States and its allies increase sanctions on Moscow.
• US Sees No Evidence of Syrian, African Mercenaries in Ukraine VOA 11 Mar 2022 -- Russia's efforts to recruit foreign mercenaries to bolster Russian forces fighting in Ukraine do not appear to be paying off just yet.
• Ukrainians United in Resisting Russian Invasion DoD News 11 Mar 2022 -- The Ukrainian fight against Russia's invasion of their country is truly a national effort, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said today.
• Russian Military Efforts Stymied by Blunders, Stiff Ukrainian Resistance, Defense Official Says DoD News 11 Mar 2022 -- Ukrainian resistance continues to be "stiff and determined," a senior defense official said today at a Pentagon press briefing.
• Russia Steps Up Attacks, Ukraine Says Psychiatric Hospital Hit RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- Russia continues to step up its attacks in Ukraine amid reports it is preparing to move in on the capital, Kyiv, and a humanitarian disaster looms over several besieged cities more than two weeks into Moscow's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.
• Russian MoD: DPR Forces Take Control of City of Volnovakha Sputnik 11 Mar 2022 -- The militia of the Donetsk People's Republic previously reclaimed several settlements in the region in a counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops.
• Day 16: Russian forces encircle major Ukrainian cities Press TV 11 Mar 2022 -- Russian forces are reportedly encircling at least four major Ukrainian cities as Moscow's military operation in the ex-Soviet republic goes through its 16th consecutive day.

Defense Policy / Programs

Foreign Policy

• Meeting with permanent members of Security Council President of Russia 11 Mar 2022 -- Vladimir Putin held a meeting, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council.
• Telephone conversation with President of Finland Sauli Niinisto President of Russia 11 Mar 2022 -- Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinisto.
• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 11 Mar 2022
• Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the situation around the Northern Dimension and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 11 Mar 2022
• Meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko President of Russia 11 Mar 2022 -- Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin.
• Remarks by President Biden Announcing Actions to Continue to Hold Russia Accountable The White House 11 Mar 2022
• Biden Calls to End Normal Trade Relations With Russia VOA 11 Mar 2022 -- President Joe Biden on Friday announced that the U.S. will seek to revoke "most favored nation" (MFN) status for Russia. If approved by Congress, the move effectively ends normal trade relations between the two countries and allows the administration to impose new tariffs and sanctions in response to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
• Targeting Elites of the Russian Federation US Dept. of State 11 Mar 2022 -- The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce have taken additional sweeping actions as part of our response, together with our allies and partners, to the Russian Federation's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war against Ukraine. We are committed to ensuring the Government of Russia pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine.
• Continuing to Hold the Kremlin to Account US Dept. of State 11 Mar 2022 -- "With our allies and partners, the United States is committed to ensuring the Government of the Russian Federation pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its invasion of Ukraine. We have continued to do so today with additional actions, which President Biden announced."
• Treasury Sanctions Kremlin Elites, Leaders, Oligarchs, and Family for Enabling Putin's War Against Ukraine US Treasury 11 Mar 2022 -- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new round of sanctions targeting Russian and Kremlin elites, oligarchs, and Russia's political and national security leaders who have supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
• Commerce Restricts the Export of Luxury Goods to Russia and Belarus and to Russian and Belarusian Oligarchs and Malign Actors in Latest Response to Aggression Against Ukraine US Dept. of Commerce 11 Mar 2022 -- Today, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) imposed restrictions on the export, reexport, and transfer (in country) of luxury goods to all end users in the Russian Federation (Russia) and Belarus and to certain Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and malign actors located worldwide. This action is in response to Russia's brutal, continuing invasion of Ukraine (as substantially enabled by Belarus) in flagrant violation of international law.
• 'Global Economic Pariah': U.S. Revokes Russia's Favored Trade Status, To Deny Borrowing Rights At IMF RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- The White House says it is imposing "new economic actions" against Russia to hold the Kremlin accountable for Moscow's continued unprovoked assault on Ukraine and further isolate Russia from the global financial system.
• Joint Statement by the G7 Announcing Further Economic Costs on Russia The White House 11 Mar 2022
• Executive Order on Prohibiting Certain Imports, Exports, and New Investment with Respect to Continued Russian Federation Aggression The White House 11 Mar 2022
• Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate on Prohibiting Certain Imports, Exports, and New Investment with Respect to Continued Russian Federation Aggression The White House 11 Mar 2022
• FACT SHEET: United States, European Union, and G7 to Announce Further Economic Costs on Russia The White House 11 Mar 2022
• EU Threatens Russia With New Sanctions, Aims to Bolster Energy, Defense Independence VOA 11 Mar 2022 -- The European Union has warned it could slap massive new sanctions against Russia, but it also rejected fast-tracking Ukraine's EU membership. At a summit outside Paris, the group also focused on beefing up the EU's military, energy and food security in response to the Ukraine conflict.
• China calls for supporting Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks, offers humanitarian aid People's Daily 11 Mar 2022 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that utmost efforts should be made to support Russia and Ukraine in overcoming difficulties to carry forward ceasefire negotiations, and China supports and encourages all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.
• Foreign Secretary sanctions 386 Russian lawmakers who supported Putin's invasion of Ukraine UK FCDO 11 Mar 2022 -- Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has sanctioned 386 members of the Duma for their support for the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
• Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Meeting with U.K. Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss The White House 11 Mar 2022
• Canada Bans Russian Oil Imports, Sanctions Russia's Defence Ministry Sputnik 11 Mar 2022 -- Earlier on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Ottawa is slapping restrictions on five Russians and 32 Russian military organisations.

News Reports

• Russian Officials Predicted A Quick Triumph In Ukraine. Did Bad Intelligence Skew Kremlin Decision-Making? RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- The day after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a Russian lawmaker who also happens to be the grandson of one of the most famous diplomats of the 20th century gave a speech in parliament.
• The Week In Russia: Unprovoked War And 'Unspeakable Suffering' RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- Civilian casualties mounted and outrage spread as Moscow's unprovoked war on Ukraine entered its third week with no clear end in sight. Russia's isolation deepened, with Western businesses from McDonald's to IKEA shutting up shop and the Kremlin turning the clock back toward Soviet times.
• UN rights experts raise alarm over Russia's 'choking' media clampdown at home UN News 11 Mar 2022 -- The recent adoption by Russia of a punitive "fake war news" law is an alarming move by the Government to gag and blindfold an entire population, independent UN human rights experts said on Friday.
• Russia Restricts Instagram, Opens Case Against Meta For Reported Hate-Speech Changes RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- Russia is opening a criminal case against Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and moved to label it an "extremist organization" over reported changes in its rules that allow some users to call for violence against Russia's army and its leadership in the context of the war in Ukraine.
• Navalny Calls For More Protests Against Ukraine War Launched By 'Mad Maniac Putin' RFE/RL 11 Mar 2022 -- Jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has called for protests this weekend against Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to combat the "propaganda" machine created by President Vladimir Putin.