Land-for-NATO swap proposal that drew ire in Ukraine was 'a mistake': Live updates
A NATO official on Wednesday backed off his suggestion that Ukraine give up land to Russia in exchange for membership in the alliance, a proposal dismissed as "ridiculous" and unacceptable in Ukraine.
Stian Jenssen, chief of staff to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, raised the possibility of such an approach to end the war at an event Tuesday in Norway. Jenssen added that any peace deal would have to be acceptable to Ukraine, a position the Biden administration also has stressed.
On Wednesday, Jenssen told the Norwegian newspaper VG the comment "was part of a larger discussion about possible future scenarios in Ukraine, and I shouldn't have said it that way. It was a mistake."
Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine in September and has occupied Crimea since 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to return all the land to Ukrainian control. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelenskyy, said ceding any of its territory to Russia would be a "triumph" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Trading territory for a NATO umbrella?" Podolyak wrote on social media. "That means deliberately choosing the defeat of democracy, encouraging a global criminal, preserving the Russian regime, destroying international law, and passing the war on to other generations."
Developments:
∎ Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Paul Whelan, an American security executive imprisoned in Russia, “Keep the faith and we’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible,” in a phone call Wednesday, CNN reported.
∎ The Ukrainian government has spent more than $14 billion, almost one-third of overall spending this year, on pay for military personnel, the Finance Ministry said.
∎ A conservative group has launched a $2 million campaign called "Republicans for Ukraine'' to encourage GOP lawmakers and voters to support U.S. efforts to boost the Kyiv's government's fight against Russia.
∎ Ukraine said it recaptured the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk province. The community had a population of about 1,000 before the war.
∎ Russia bombarded grain ports and storage facilities along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe.
Ship sails out of Odesa for first time since July, but few may follow
A container ship carrying more than 30,000 tons of cargo, including food products, became the first vessel to sail out of Odesa since July 16, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. However, it doesn't appear many others will follow.
The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte was traveling toward Turkey down a temporary corridor Ukraine set up for merchant shipping, despite U.S. warnings that the Russian military may attack civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea.
The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte was traveling down a temporary corridor Ukraine asked the International Maritime Organization to ratify. The United States has warned the Russian military is preparing for possible attacks on civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea.
The Kremlin has threatened to target ships leaving Ukraine since withdrawing in mid-July from an agreement that allowed safe passage in the Black Sea to vessels transporting Ukrainian grain. On Sunday, a Russian warship fired at a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the southern Black Sea.
The Joseph Schulte was one of about 60 ships stuck in Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping, said it might have been allowed to sail through because of Russia's close ties to China, but he doesn't expect that to become a trend.
Is US pressing Iran to halt drone sales to Russia?
U.S. officials have reached out to Iran to persuade the Islamic regime to stop selling armed Shahed drones to Russia, the Financial Times reports, citing people the media outlet said were briefed on the matter. The request was issued amid discussions on a broader “unwritten understanding” between the Biden administration and Tehran to de-escalate tensions, the report said, and the issue was raised during indirect talks in Qatar and Oman this year. The discussions came as negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal led to Tehran transferring four Iranian Americans from prison to house arrest last week.
Russia has battered Ukrainian cities with missiles and armed drones since the war began. Iran has officially denied supplying drones to Moscow despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Russia has almost certainly started flying drones it has manufactured based on the Shahed design so it can have a steady supply of these weapons, but most of them have been neutralized by Ukrainian defenses, the British Defense Ministry said.
Russia raises interest rates amid inflation concerns
Russia's ruble regained some of its value on the dollar Wednesday, a day after Moscow's central bank raised its key rate a stunning 3.5 points, to 12%. Russian policymakers are trying to fend off inflation that reached 7.6% over the past three months. The ruble on Monday reached its lowest value since early in the war, passing 101 rubles to the dollar.
"Sanctions are working and Russia economy is hurting," said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics. "Remember when everyone was saying that sanctions don’t bite? Now we see they do. Interest rate, exchange rate, inflation, budget deficit."
Contributing: The Associated Press