Nation
NATO says Russian troop buildup continues despite Moscow's claims; Ukrainians show unity
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- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there’s no visible sign of de-escalation.
- Defense ministers from 30 NATO members are gathered in Brussels for talks.
- The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was sending even more troops back to their bases.
Russia appears to be continuing with its military buildup on Ukraine’s borders despite claiming it is moving troops away from the area, U.S. and NATO officials say.
“Unfortunately, there’s a difference between what Russia says and what it does and what we’re seeing is no meaningful pullback,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a Wednesday ABC News interview. “On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces that would be in the vanguard of any renewed aggression,” he said.
In Brussels, where defense ministers are meeting, NATO Secretary General JensStoltenberg said there were no visible signs Wednesday of “de-escalation on the ground,” a day after Moscow asserted it was moving some troops and weapons back to bases after the completion of military drills. Stoltenberg added that Russia has “always moved forces back and forth” and that its release of video footage over the last 24 hours purporting to show its forces retreating “does not confirm a real withdrawal.”
Missiles, military drills and NATO:How diplomacy could defuse a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine
Stoltenberg said NATO allies “remain ready to engage with Russia,” which wants Ukraine to drop its ambition to one day join the military alliance that promotes democratic values and was formed in the wake of World War II.
Defense ministers from the 30 NATO member countries are meeting for the next two days amid fears that Russia could be planning to invade its neighbor Ukraine, a scenario that Moscow has dismissed as “western hysteria” and not matched by evidence even though it has sent approximately 150,000 troops to encircle Ukraine’s territory.
The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was in the process of sending back even more troops to permanent bases. It didn’t specify how many. Russia’s defense ministry released a video that it said showed armored vehicles moving across a bridge away from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy:Ukraine’s actor president, plays his greatest role yet
In Washington, President Joe Biden will hold a secure call Wednesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the White House said.
On Tuesday, Scholz met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. When Scholz visited the White House earlier this month, he and Biden pledged a united response.
In remarks at the White House on Tuesday, Biden noted that U.S. officials and military experts had not verified Russia’s troop withdrawal claims.
“Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position,” he said. Ukrainian officials said they were awaiting concrete evidence of Russian withdrawals.
“(Nothing) has changed on the ground in any meaningful way. Putin could have invaded yesterday, he can still do so tomorrow,” Russian analyst Mark Galeotti noted on Twitter.
Skepticism, calls for unity in Ukraine
In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Wednesday a “day of national unity” and encouraged Ukrainians to sing the national anthem and wave flags.
Across the country, Ukrainians of all ages displayed flags in the streets and from apartment windows.
Hundreds unfolded a 650-foot flag at Kyiv’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium, while another was draped in the center of a shopping mall in the capital.
In the government-controlled part of Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops since 2014, residents stretched another huge flag across a street.
“This event, this number of people united around Ukrainian flag will show that we stand for united Ukraine,” said resident Olena Tkachova.
According to his public remarks over the last several weeks, Zelenskyy’s assessment of the invasion threat Ukraine faces has diverged from U.S. intelligence. Several U.S. officials appeared to indicate they believed Russia’s attack would happen Feb. 16.
“These emotional swings and psychological pressure are very tiring. Today everyone breathed a sigh of relief that we weren’t attacked,” Ukrainian journalist Kristina Berdynskykh wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Tomorrow there’ll be information they’re moving stuff closer to the border again and it will all start again. But people will get used to this too and will just stop reading the news.”
‘Brothers’: Russians, Ukrainians wage fragile peace at Olympics amid threat of war
Late Tuesday, Ukraine appeared to blame Russia for a cyberattack that temporarily shuttered the websites of its army and some of its largest banks. The Kremlin denied it was behind the assault, and Russian lawmaker Valentina Matviyenko accused the U.S. of getting in the way of Russia’s attempts to normalize it ties with Ukraine.
“The main problem in our relations with Ukraine, as I see it, is that Kyiv is not independent in its foreign and domestic policies. The Kyiv authorities are directed by Washington. And the adversarial relationship with Russia is the price that Ukraine has to pay for U.S. patronage,” Matviyenko opined in an interview with Russian state media.
Contributing: Matthew Brown; Associated Press
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
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I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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