Navalny: U.S. Reacting to Putin Like a ‘Frightened Schoolboy’; Biden Gives Up on Stopping Putin in Ukraine: ‘He Will Move In, He Has to Do Something’; Ukraine Warns Europe War with Russia will Create Massive Refugee Crisis

Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

Navalny: U.S. Reacting to Putin Like a ‘Frightened Schoolboy’:

One of Vladimir Putin’s top domestic critics is accusing the Biden administration of failing to confront the Kremlin. Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who survived a government poisoning attempt in 2020, likened the U.S. to a “frightened schoolboy” because it is falling for Putin’s tricks.

Although Navalny is currently being held in a penal colony, Time’s Simon Shuster was able to conduct an interview with him through letters transported by his family members between November and January — as Russia amassed over 100,000 troops at several points along its border with Ukraine.

Toward the end of this period, in mid January, Navalny wrote to Shuster saying: “Time and again the West falls into Putin’s elementary traps. It just takes my breath away, watching how Putin pulls this on the American establishment again and again.”

He also criticized the current U.S. approach to dealing with the Kremlin, which he says places too much of an emphasis on European security matters. Instead, he told Time that Washington should focus on pressuring the regime itself: --->READ MORE HERE

Chip Somodevilla / Getty

Biden Gives Up on Stopping Putin in Ukraine: ‘He Will Move In, He Has to Do Something’:

President Joe Biden appeared to give up the idea of stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine, telling reporters at a press conference Wednesday that “he will move in, he has to do something.”

Biden answered questions at a special press conference to mark the first year of his presidency. He was asked several questions about the crisis in Eastern Europe and what he would do to stop Russia from invading Ukraine.

Asked whether the U.S. and NATO had lost their leverage over Russia and Putin, since Biden had ruled out using troops to stop an invasion, Biden at first defended his threat to impose economic sanctions: “He’s never seen sanctions like the ones I’ve promised will be imposed if he moves.” He pledged that there would be “severe economic consequences,” and that Russian banks could be restricted from using dollars in transactions.

But Biden seemed to concede that Russia might invade, and that the U.S. reaction might depend on whether it was a “minor incursion” or something more significant. He warned that Russia would suffer “consequential” casualties in fighting Ukraine, suggesting that Russia would pay a heavy internal price from a prolonged occupation of a foreign country.

David Sanger of the New York Times then asked Biden if he still thought “the last thing [Putin] wants is a Cold War,” referring to a comment Biden had made last year. --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to relevant/related stories:

+++++Ukraine warns Europe war with Russia will create massive refugee crisis+++++

Biden predicts Russia-Ukraine conflict: ‘Minor incursion’ could divide Western allies

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