Zelenskyy says Ukraine may never join NATO; EU leaders travel to Kyiv: Live updates
Ukrainians must realize that the country will not be joining NATO and must “count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us” to withstand the Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Zelenskyy, speaking to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force, said Ukraine has heard for years about “the allegedly open doors” of NATO but acknowledged his country will not be able to join. Instead, his nation needs separate security guarantees from its allies, he said.
Zelenskyy had been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has called for a guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO among terms for an end to the war.
Still, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for NATO to set up a no-fly zone above Ukraine to ease aerial assault from Russian that have decimated Ukraine cities since the invasion began February 24. And he said Tuesday that Europe could “help yourself by helping us” with more military aid. The Ukrainian military is using up weapons and ammunition meant to last a week in 20 hours, he said.and other hardware obtained from the West, he said.
Leaders of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia were traveling to Kyiv on a European Union mission Tuesday to show support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet announcing the trip that “Europe must guarantee Ukraine’s independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations were expected to resume via teleconference Tuesday, the president said. Talks were halted Monday for a “technical pause,” according to one of Zelenskyy’s advisers. Three previous rounds of talks held in Belarus provided little progress, but both sides expressed optimism ahead of this week’s negotiations.
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Latest developments:
► More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country, the U.N. refugee agency said. “Today we have passed another terrible milestone,” tweeted U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “The war has to stop. Now.”
►A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Izium, an eastern city of 46,000 people, Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin said. The city lacks basic supplies, and extensive Russian shelling has severely damaged infrastructure, he said.
►Mariupol City Council says 2,000 civilian vehicles have left the besieged city through a so-called humanitarian corridor. Another 2,000 cars were waiting to exit along the evacuation route.
►The British government says it will raise import duties on vodka and other Russian products and ban the export of luxury goods to Russia.
►Multiple demonstrations by Ukrainians against Russian occupation have occurred over the last several days in the cities of Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, according to the British Defense Ministry.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski killed
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed while reporting with correspondent Benjamin Hall in Ukraine outside of Kyiv, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Tuesday. Zakrzewski and Hall were traveling in a vehicle in Horenka – nearly 20 miles from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv – when they were struck by incoming fire Monday, Scott said in a statement. Hall remained hospitalized.
“Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us,” Scott said. “His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched.”
American photojournalist Brent Renaud was killed Sunday when Russian forces fired on a car in Irpin, a town 30 miles outside the capital of Kyiv. A second American journalist, Juan Arredondo, was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, police said.
– Asha C. Gilbert
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops in an online video early Tuesday that they can surrender and will be treated “decently” and pleaded with European nations to provide his military with more weapons.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance,” Zelenskyy said in a video translated into English by his office, ahead of his scheduled speech to Canada’s parliament on Tuesday. “Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently.”
Damage in Ukraine estimated at $500 billion and rising
Preliminary losses from Russia’s military actions in Ukraine are already estimated at $500 billion – and the damage grows worse every day, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said Tuesday. Supply chains have been broken, some businesses destroyed and others left unable to function because their workers have fled, Marchenko said. The true cost of the war won’t be determined until it’s over, he said. The International Monetary Fund, which has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, said this week that the country’s economic output could shrink by up to 35% if the war drags on.
Marchenko said some of the hundreds of billions in Russian assets frozen in the U.S. and Europe could be tapped to help his country rebuild.
Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall injured in Kyiv
Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall was injured in Ukraine on Monday while reporting on the Russian invasion, the network said. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement that the network had “minimal level of details right now” but that Hall had been hospitalized. Hall, a father of three, has been reporting from Kyiv, Scott said.
“We will update everyone as we know more,” Scott said. “Please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.”
On Sunday, American photojournalist Brent Renaud was killed and another journalist was wounded in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv.
China defends position on Ukraine
China’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “impartial and constructive” while the U.S. has been “immoral and irresponsible” by spreading misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.
Lijan accused the U.S. of spreading misinformation over reports Beijing had agreed to a Russian request for military supplies. Lijan also said the U.S. played a major role in the development of the crisis, a reference to NATO expansion.
Lijan spoke at a press briefing on day after Yang Jiechi, one of China’s top diplomats, met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Yang called on the international community to support peace talks and that “China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm whether U.S. officials believe Beijing has conveyed its support for Moscow’s assault on Ukraine but said the U.S. is watching very closely whether China or any other country is providing any form of support including material, economic or financial assistance.
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– Katelyn Ferral, USA TODAY Network
Contributing: The Associated Press