Biden's annual speech to Congress and the rapid increase in number of earthquake victims: last night's highlights
Joe Biden delivered his annual speech to the US Congress, where he also spoke about Ukraine, the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is rapidly rising, and Russian occupiers fired missiles at Kharkiv again. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.
Biden's speech
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his traditional annual State of the Union speech to Congress. He spoke mostly about US domestic policy but devoted part of his address to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Biden said that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was “a test for America, for the whole world”. The United States, he said, was ahead of the curve, united NATO, and built a global coalition. The United States will stand with Ukrainians “as long as it takes”, the president emphasized.
New numbers of earthquake victims
At least 7,826 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria as a result of the powerful earthquake. More than 38.6 thousand people were injured. The number of victims continues to grow rapidly and, according to the World Health Organization, may reach 20 thousand.
The American company Maxar Technologies showed satellite images showing the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey. The photos show buildings that have collapsed and filled roads and yards with debris.
Missile attscks on Kharkiv
Russian occupants launched missile attacks on Kharkiv at night. An industrial facility in the Kyivskyi district of the city was hit. A fire broke out. It is preliminarily known that the Russians fired 6 to 10 S-300 missiles. Information about the victims and the extent of the damage is being clarified.
Has China been spying on countries with balloons for years?
US intelligence believes that the Chinese balloon that was recently shot down is part of a large-scale surveillance program through which China has been collecting information about military resources in several countries for many years. The U.S. military recorded Chinese balloons over the United States as early as 2019.
US approves sale of HIMARS and ATACMS missiles to Poland
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and ATACMS long-range missiles to Poland for up to $10 billion. This does not mean that the contract has already been signed: Poland has announced the start of negotiations with the United States on the price of the weapons.
Other news:
- A fire broke out at a drone manufacturing plant in Latvia. Drones were being produced there for Ukraine.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed decrees appointing new heads of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Regional State Administrations and called them “specialists with experience in real state defense”.
- The Vice Chancellor of Austria criticizes the permission for Russians and Belarusians to participate in the 2024 Olympics.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed new military aid with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- Poland announced that it intends to train two battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces simultaneously every month.