Joe Biden, Zelenskyy discuss humanitarian & economic aid for Ukraine over phone call

Amid escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to US President Joe Biden on Saturday.  The call comes as the Russian forces widened offensive after a brief ceasefire on Saturday. The two leaders discussed further sanctions against Russia over their continued offensive and financial support and security extended to the war-hit Ukraine.

"As part of the constant dialogue, I had another conversation with @POTUS. The agenda included the issues of security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia," Zelenskyy tweeted while informing about his contact with the US President. Following the conversation between the two presidents, a White House readout of the call said that Biden noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine. It also added that the US President was working closely with Congress to secure additional funding for Kyiv.

The call came only a day after Biden had a telephonic conversation with Zelenskyy regarding the fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after a Russian attack. According to a press release by the White House, both presidents had urged Russia to cease military activity in the highly sensitive area. Meanwhile, in another blow to Moscow, Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc have suspended operations in Russia. Also, the European Union is providing the first tranche of 500 million euros in assistance to refugees fleeing Ukraine amid the raging war.

Biden has no intention of engaging directly with Putin: White House

The White House on Friday said that US President Joe Biden has no intention of engaging directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US has been on the opposing side ever since Putin announced the military operations in Ukraine. However, it has now said that Biden won’t be directly engaging with his Russian counterpart as the war continues to escalate.

The White House, while addressing the situation after Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear plant in Ukraine, said that US President Biden is in no plans to put American troops on the battleground in Ukraine. The US, EU allies called the UNSC emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the nuclear plant attack. Following this, the White House said that the US is not advocating for regime change in Russia as killing the head of a foreign country is not the policy of the United States. Furthermore, the White House also informed that the US is now looking at options to cut consumption of Russian energy.

Meanwhile, the third round of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is expected to take place on Monday, March 7, Ukrainian media reported quoting an official of the President of Ukraine. In the second session of talks, both the countries agreed to create safe corridors for civilians to exit besieged cities and observed a temporary ceasefire in areas where they will be created.

(Image: AP)