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Reactions to the balloon 

Sharp Republican criticism of Biden: "Misconduct"  

 

Several Republican politicians are sharply critical of President Joe Biden waiting until Saturday to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon, several media reports. One of them is Marco Rubio, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. 

 

- I consider this a malpractice, why not shoot it down already on Wednesday or Thursday, he says to Fox News. 

 

On the other hand, Biden is praised by the Democrats. Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg states that no one was injured when the balloon was shot down on Saturday. 

 

- He gave the order that it should be shot down as soon as possible without risking American lives. That's exactly what happened, Buttigieg told CNN. 

 

Oleksіj Reznіkov Daniel Cole / AP  

 

Russian invasionUkraine's response  

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksіj Reznіkov is replaced  

 

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksіj Reznіkov is being replaced, reports AFP. He will be replaced by Kyrylo Budanov who until now worked as Minister of Intelligence.  

 

- Circumstances require strengthening and regrouping, says David Arakhamia, who is party secretary for President Zelenskyi's party. No reason for the shift is given. 

 

However, in recent days there has been speculation that Reznіkov will be pushed from the post after information about corruption from his subordinates, writes The Guardian.  

 

Reznіkov has not commented on the resignation. Earlier in the day, however, he received questions about the resignation requirements. 

 

- No one has this chair forever, he then replied, writes The Guardian's reporter Dan Sabbagh on Twitter.  

Ukrainian soldier/Oleksіj Reznіkov AP 

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Ukraine: Russia attacks in February - we are ready  

 

Ukraine expects Russia to attack with full force in February. Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksіj Reznіkov said on Sunday that the country can withstand the new Russian offensive, even if the West's arms deliveries do not arrive in time. 

 

- We are ready. We have made sure to create our own resources and fill our reserves. We have the capacity to withstand their attack, said Reznіkov. He believes the Russian offensive will coincide with the anniversary of the invasion, February 24.  

 

He says that it is not logical from a military perspective, but that the symbolism of the dates is important to Russia.  

 

 

 

Russian invasionMarket worries  

Russian "shadow fleet" is growing: "This flow is huge"  

 

The so-called "shadow fleet" that transports oil from Russia to the world market in defiance of sanctions has grown to around 600 tankers. This is stated by Trafigura according to Bloomberg.  

 

The head of oil trading, Ben Luckock, states that the scale is different from the shipping of oil from Iran and Venezuela in recent years.  

 

- The Russian flow is very different, it is huge, he says.