The support package voted down - the Democrats go ahead with a clean Ukraine vote
The support package on Ukraine support and border protection has been voted down in the US Senate, with 50 votes to 49, US media reports.
The Democrats in the USA will soon, during the current meeting, launch a "plan B" to save the Ukraine support. This is what Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says, according to the Financial Times.
Both Ukraine support and border protection were baked into the package, and several hard-line Republicans - cheered on by Donald Trump - announced in advance that they intended to vote no because they do not think it goes far enough on the border issue.
Therefore, Schumer intends to seek a new vote on the Ukraine aid alone - something that, according to the FT, can be approved by enough Republican senators to achieve the 60 out of 100 votes required.
- It would be a shame for our country, and a complete nightmare for the Republicans, if they deny support for national security twice in one day, says Schumer.
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Internal rebellion against Mitch McConnell in the Republicans
Mitch McConnell, the minority leader of the Senate, was previously praised by the right wing of the Republicans - now they attack him for even daring to negotiate with the Democrats on the border issue. That's what Politico writes.
The protracted negotiations in Congress on the Ukraine aid and the border seemed to be approaching a compromise after several months - but at the beginning of the week, several Republican senators reversed themselves.
On Tuesday, several of them held a press conference condemning McConnell's handling of the issue, and Sen. Ted Cruz called on him to resign.
McConnell, who is determined to pass aid to Ukraine, does not think they understand the political reality in Congress.
- The reason why we talked about the border is that they wanted it, the persistent critics. You can't pass a bill without dealing with a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate.
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Russian invasionCarlson's interview
Tucker Carlson may be subject to EU sanctions
The conservative American media profile Tucker Carlson may be subject to sanctions by the EU after his interview with Vladimir Putin, several sources within the European Parliament tell Newsweek.
One of them is Belgian parliamentarian and former prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, who calls Carlson "Putin's mouthpiece" and calls on the EU to impose an entry ban on him.
- Since Putin is a war criminal and the EU targets anyone who assists him, it would be logical for the European Foreign Service to investigate the case with (Carlson) as well, he says.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Carlson interviewed Putin on Tuesday. According to the state-run Russian news agency Tass, the interview will probably be broadcast on Thursday, writes Reuters.
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Russian invasionWagner rebellion
The new manager of the Wagner group has made a first video
Wagner Group's new commander, Anton Jelizarov, has made a videotaped statement for the first time since the death of his predecessor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, writes the UK's Ministry of Defense in a status report.
In the clip, Wagner's new headquarters, the "Cossack Camps", are presented, which according to the British are likely to be located in the Russian region of Rostov, which borders Ukraine. Jelizarov adds that the base will also be used by the Russian National Guard Rosgvardija volunteer corps. The UK interprets this as the Wagner group is now subordinate to the Rosgvardija.
"The Russian state has most likely approved the construction of Wagner's new base, and probably feels that by placing Wagner under the Rosgvardija, it has eliminated the potential threats the group could pose to the Russian regime."
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Russian invasionRussian reactions
Russia warns Baltic states ahead of presidential election
On
Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the diplomatic envoys of
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to complain about the "lack of a clear
answer" on how the countries should "assist with security" for their
ethnic Russian citizens when they vote in the Russian presidential
election in March. This is written by the ISW think tank.
"If the sabotage continues, we will act decisively," the ministry wrote in a statement according to AFP.
The
ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zacharova, warned that any
"disturbances" at polling stations in the countries will cause "big
protests" among the Russian-speaking citizens.
This
suggests that the Kremlin is preparing disinformation campaigns against
the Baltics in connection with the presidential election, with
accusations of curtailing the rights of Russian-speaking citizens,
according to ISW.
ISW's latest status update
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