12/3/2022–|Last update: 12/3/202205:05 AM (Mecca)
US President Joe Biden vowed to avoid a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, saying the United States would not fight a third world war in Ukraine, but imposed new trade restrictions on Russia.
The Kremlin said the conflict in Ukraine would end when the West took action to address Russia’s repeatedly raised concerns about civilian deaths in eastern Ukraine and NATO’s eastward expansion.
On the other hand, the diplomatic confrontation escalates in the Security Council; The Russian delegate, Vasily Nebenzia, accused the United States of using Ukrainian territory to conduct research he described as dangerous in the field of biological weapons.
Nebenzia said the Russian Defense Ministry has documents confirming the existence of a network of at least 30 biological laboratories in which experiments were conducted to develop deadly diseases.
The US ambassador to the Security Council, Linda Thomas Greenfield, denied the Russian accusations.
On the ground, clashes are raging between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the vicinity of the capital, and Moscow says that its air force has destroyed dozens of Ukrainian military installations, while Kyiv says that the progress of Russian forces has stopped, warning of a major Russian attack east of the capital.
Here are the latest developments on the 17th day of the war:
- US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken: We will work closely with Congress to deny Russia the benefits of membership in the World Trade Organization.
- Blinken: We will work to ensure that Russian imports do not receive the most favored country treatment in the US economy.
- Blinken: We imposed sanctions on 4 members of the board of directors of the Russian “Novikombbank”, including the chairwoman.
- Reuters on the British defense: Russian air and missile forces bombed the Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk.
- Reuters on the British Defense: The Russian planes that support the advance of the ground forces mainly rely on stupid unguided munitions.
- MSNBC on the US Deputy National Security Adviser Dalip Singh: We are in the process of removing Russia from the global economic system.
- Singh: Russia was accelerating towards living standards in the 1980s.
- Singh: Fear of supply chain disruptions has pushed global markets to raise oil and gas prices.
- Singh: Our strategy is to boost global supplies by getting major producers to use reserves.
- Singh: The major consuming countries have 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves and they have to release them.
- Reuters: Ukraine’s president says 7,144 Ukrainians were evacuated from 4 cities via humanitarian corridors on Friday.
- Reuters: Ukraine’s president says Russia has refused to let civilians out of the besieged city of Mariupol.
- Reuters: Ukraine’s president says authorities will once again try to deliver food and medicine to the besieged city of Mariupol.
- Satellite imagery company Maxar publishes photos showing the continued deployment of Russian military units near Kyiv.
- Maxar Corporation: Pictures show Russian military units firing heavy artillery towards residential areas.
- Maxar Corporation: Pictures show a number of houses and buildings erupting in fire across a town northwest of Kyiv.
Reuters: Instagram says Russia’s blocking of its services will affect 80 million users.
- The US Secretary of Energy: We continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and are concerned about Russia’s violations of the principles of nuclear safety.
- US Secretary of Energy: No signs of a radioactive leak have appeared in Ukraine.
- US Energy Secretary: We cannot confirm the allegations that electricity has been restored to the Chernobyl reactor.
- US Secretary of Energy: We are concerned about the work of employees at the Chernobyl reactor and the Zaporozhye plant under duress and without rest.
- US Secretary of Energy: Attacks that threaten nuclear safety in Ukraine and beyond must stop.
