Russia-Ukraine live updates: Zelensky open to ‘neutrality’ and negotiations over Donbas

JERUSALEM — Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel before a historic meeting of top Israeli and Arab diplomats in the Nagev dessert on Monday — the latest indication of a realignment of Middle Eastern relations following normalization deals struck two years ago.

But the rare meeting of Arab countries on Israeli soil — a byproduct of years of coaxing from U.S. officials — coincides with a much less cooperative approach from America’s Middle Eastern allies on the issue of the day: Ukraine.

Blinken has touted the unprecedented support Washington has marshaled from countries opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But on Sunday, he acknowledged that more work needed to be done among U.S. allies in the Middle East — a challenge that could loom over Monday’s meetings.

“We will be talking throughout about various means of support that Israel and other countries can give to Ukraine, whether it comes to security assistance, whether it comes to humanitarian assistance, economic assistance, or, again, making sure that sanctions are implemented,” Blinken told reporters. “That will be a conversation that’s ongoing throughout this trip.”

Israel, the largest recipient of cumulative U.S. aid, has come under criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to provide security assistance to Kyiv or impose sanctions on Russia. “We can ask many times why we’re not getting weapons from you, why Israel hasn’t imposed serious sanctions on Russia. … You need to provide answers to these questions and live with them,” he told the Israeli Knesset last week.

In a Ukrainian city hard hit by Russia’s invasion, five musicians brought their instruments underground — seeking to drown out the thunderous explosions with their violins, cello and bass for those taking shelter in subway stations.

The conflict halted plans for “Kharkiv Music Fest,” an annual international classical music festival in Ukraine’s second largest city. So the organizers said they scrambled to improvise their plans to hold the event amid war — descending down into a subway station and a business’s basement, hoping for safety from the incoming assaults overhead. “Music can unite,” art director Vitali Alekseenok said, “it’s important now for those who stay in Kharkiv to be united.”

The original concert would have included a recital by French pianist Lucas Debargue and was to be held in the grand hall of the Kharkiv Philharmonic on Saturday. Instead, the “concert between explosions” — as it was dubbed on social media — started with the Ukrainian anthem, drawing audience members to hold their hands to their hearts.

Russian troops in Ukraine have relied, with surprising frequency, on unsecured communication devices such as smartphones and push-to-talk radios, leaving units vulnerable to targeting, and further underscoring the command-and-control deficiencies that have come to define Moscow’s month-long invasion, observers say.

“We’re seeing them use a lot more unclassified communications because their classified communications capability … for one reason or another, is not as strong as it should be,” a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, told reporters in a recent news briefing.

The Russian military possesses modern equipment capable of secure transmission, but troops on the battlefield have reached for simpler-to-use but less-secure lines because of uneven discipline across the ranks, an apparent lack of planning for conducting a sustained fight over long distances, and Russian attacks on Ukraine’s communication infrastructure that it, too, has relied on, experts say.

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.

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.