Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden’s strong words for Putin reverberate around globe

European authorities, responding to Russian disinformation campaigns around the invasion of Ukraine, are increasingly scrutinizing the use of the war’s most recognizable pro-Russian symbol: the letter “Z.”

Authorities in at least two of Germany’s 16 federal states have said they will actively investigate anyone suspected of using the symbol for political purposes. Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich told the German Press Agency on Friday that police in the state will investigate anyone “who publicly approves of the war of aggression, in violation of international law.”

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance company told Reuters on Saturday that it had temporarily removed its long-standing “Z” logo from its social media accounts to prevent the posts from being “misinterpreted.”

The symbol first caught the world’s attention when it was spotted on military vehicles clustered along the Russian border with Ukraine in the days ahead of the invasion, which began Feb. 24.

Experts and social media users have speculated on the meaning of the Z, as well as other letters, including O, X, A and V, that have appeared on Russian tanks, sometimes framed by squares, triangles and other painted shapes. Some have suggested that it is an official way to delineate infantries or identify enemies from allies.

But the letter Z of the Latin alphabet — which does not exist in the Cyrillic Russian alphabet — has also been deployed beyond the military, pointing to what some experts say is a state-led effort to ramp up support for the war. The Russian Defense Ministry in recent weeks has posted graphics with the Z on Instagram — in the first such case, it appeared with the phrase “Za pobedu,” or “For victory.” And later, “For peace” and “For truth.”

Paulina Villegas and Sammy Westfall contributed to this report.

The next round of in-person talks between Ukraine and Russia will be held this week in Turkey, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said Sunday.

Discussions are set to take place from Monday to Wednesday, he said in a Facebook post, adding that more details would be forthcoming. Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state-run news service, said on Twitter that talks would take place in Istanbul.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed his desire for a cease-fire in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the outlet said.

Negotiations have continued for much of the month-long Russian invasion of Ukraine, and officials from both countries have at times expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of coming to a consensus for an end to the war.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week that the two sides were “close to an agreement on fundamental issues,” while noting that “it is not easy to come to an agreement while civilians are dying.”

With nine ad-libbed words at the end of a 27-minute speech, President Biden created an unwanted distraction to his otherwise forceful remarks by calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be pushed out of office. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.

It was a remarkable statement that would reverse stated U.S. policy, directly countering claims from senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who have insisted regime change is not on the table. It went further than even U.S. presidents during the Cold War, and immediately reverberated around the world as world leaders, diplomats and foreign policy experts sought to determine what Biden said, what it meant — and, if he didn’t mean it, why he said it.

Shortly after the speech, a White House official sought to clarify the comments. “The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia or regime change,” the official said.

Biden’s line was not planned and came as a surprise to U.S. officials, according to a person familiar with the speech, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. In the immediate aftermath of the remark, reporters rushed to find Biden aides and seek clarity on the president seemingly supporting a regime change in Russia. But Biden aides demurred, refusing to comment as they scrambled to craft a response.

Russia’s communications regulator and Internet censor, Roskomnadzor, has warned Russian media outlets not to publish a new interview with the Ukrainian president.

The statement posted on the agency’s Telegram page comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in an interview with Russian journalists — posting the discussion to his own Telegram channel on Sunday.

Roskomnadzor referred to outlets, “including those that are foreign media outlets, carrying out the functions of foreign agents,” that participated in the interview. It said it had begun to investigate outlets that conducted the interview “to determine the extent of responsibility and the taking of measures of response.”

Russia’s crackdown on media has intensified during the war. This month, Putin signed into law a measure prohibiting what Russia calls “fake” news about its military as well as language calling the invasion an “invasion” rather than a “special military operation.” Violators could face a 15-year prison sentence. Roskomnadzor had already warned outlets to delete pieces that used terms such as “invasion” or “war.”

As a result, major media organizations announced plans to curb activity in Russia over concerns about consequences for those reporting accurate news.

In a tweet thread, the U.S.-based managing editor of the English-language site for Russian independent outlet Meduza shared some of what Zelensky discussed in the recent interviews. He said, Kevin Rothrock posted, that entire suburbs around Kyiv had been obliterated: “No more homes. No more streets.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Roskomnadzor’s actions to prevent the sharing of an “interview in which the reasons for the barbaric war started by the Russian Federation Against Ukraine are studied in detail” are “at a minimum … cowardly and shameful.”

RIGA, Latvia — As Russian President Vladimir Putin enters his second month of war against Ukraine, questions are mounting about what limitations he could face as he presses ahead with an invasion that has already inflicted great costs on the Russian military and left the country deeply isolated.

Putin for years has snuffed out dissent, muzzled independent media and bolstered a security state to prevent protests, meaning he faces far fewer domestic constraints in waging such a war than the leader of a democratic nation would. Continued revenue from foreign oil and gas sales — despite Western sanctions — also is helping him ease the blow of harsh economic sanctions at home.

But the Russian president does face certain tactical strictures on the battlefield, as well as some geopolitical and economic constraints. They all will probably make his ability to wage a longer-term war in Ukraine more difficult — but far from impossible.

“Time is not on Putin’s side,” said Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the Russia-monitoring consultancy R. Politik. She noted that, as the war grinds on and the sanctions set in, the fallout on Russia from the war is likely to compound.

HIROSHIMA, Japan — As Russia threatens the possibility of a “nuclear dystopia,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel paid tribute Saturday to victims of the atomic bombing here and warned of the human devastation caused by nuclear weapons.

During a somber moment in the rain, the men each laid a wreath at the Hiroshima victims memorial. They visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, near ground zero, and its exhibitions documenting the human toll of the atomic bombing. In 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, vaporizing the cities and instantaneously killing tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, in each.

Emanuel and Kishida’s visit was personal and symbolic, particularly in the face of rising regional tensions over nuclear threats from Russia and North Korea.

The mayor of Chernihiv, a city 95 miles north of Kyiv that has been under near-constant attack, is worried the “worst is still ahead of us.”

In an interview with Ukrainske Radio shared on Telegram, Vladyslav Atroshenko spoke of the “humanitarian catastrophe” in his city and said that “we don’t know what will happen in a week or two,” given the food shortages and dwindling supplies.

In recent days, after Russian forces reportedly bombed a major bridge, Chernihiv has become even more isolated — with another potential path for evacuations and aid cut off.

When residents have tried to evacuate, they have faced artillery shelling. Those in the city have struggled with declining food supplies, while power, water and gas have been largely cut off.

A U.S. citizen, identified by friends and family as James Whitney Hill, was among those killed in Chernihiv in recent weeks, with Ukrainian police reporting that he and several others died when Russian troops shelled the city.

Still, Atroshenko lauded the “general patriotism” among residents who have remained in the city. Although he does not expect the war to end soon, he said, once it does, he hopes to “be able to bury everyone” in a respectful manner.