Shannon, Ireland:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his US counterpart Joe Biden accidentally referring to him as Russian President Vladimir Putin was a mistake that could be forgotten about given all the support the US has provided to Ukraine.

Biden mistakenly referred to Zelensky as Putin at a NATO summit in Washington on Thursday before correcting himself two seconds later.

“It’s a mistake. I think the United States gave a lot of support to Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday at Ireland’s Shannon airport where he was meeting Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In yet another gaffe amid concerns over his re-election bid, US President Joe Biden today mistakenly introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as his Russian rival Vladimir Putin.

“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” he said, referring to Zelensky while speaking on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Washington.

Zelensky looked nonplussed, then was seen shaking his head and smiling to himself.

Biden, 81, then quickly corrected himself and said, “President Putin, you’re going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky. I am so focused on beating Putin.”

Zelensky, who had by then recovered from his bafflement, responded by saying, “I am better (than Putin).”

Biden is Blunder King

Watch Zelensky’s reaction when Biden calls him Putin! pic.twitter.com/SlGVFBB9ze

— BALA (@erbmjha) July 12, 2024

“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden replied before Zelensky began his address.

Shortly afterward, Biden made another blunder when he referred to his deputy, Kamala Harris, as “Vice President” Trump at a high-stakes news conference.

ALSO READ | “Great Job Joe”: Donald Trump Mocks Joe Biden Gaffes

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” he said as he responded to a question from a journalist about his confidence in Indian-origin leader Kamala Harris.

Oh MY GOD.

Now Biden has just referred to Vice president Kamala Harris as VICE PRESIDENT TRUMP.

What the fuck is going on?!

This is actually painful to watch.pic.twitter.com/fHYKtk95BF

— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) July 11, 2024

The latest gaffes come amid growing calls for Biden, who is already the oldest person to ever serve as the US president, to step aside.

The calls have grown louder ever since his poor performance against Donald Trump, 78, in a US presidential debate two weeks ago.

Even members of his Democratic Party are concerned about his ability to win the November 5 election.

China’s President Xi Jinping with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the SCO summit in Astana on July 3.
| Photo Credit: AFP

China is seeking to strengthen its leadership of an expanding bloc of nations it sees as a potential counterweight to the world order led by the United States.

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states met last week in Kazakhstan, with President Xi Jinping calling on strategic ally Russia and other partners to “firmly support each other”.

Founded in 2001 by Beijing and Moscow as an economic and security grouping, it includes India, Pakistan and several Central Asian states. It expanded last year to include Iran and this year welcomed Belarus. The talks in Astana took place ahead of this week’s NATO summit in Washington, where the Western military alliance is marking its 75th anniversary and reaffirming its support for Ukraine. In stark contrast, the SCO’s joint declaration made no mention of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

With China assuming the annual rotating chair of the SCO, analysts expect it will work to integrate the two new members and boost collaboration across its vast remit — bolstering, in turn, its own leadership of the alliance.

“The SCO is increasingly defining itself as an alternative vision for world order, juxtaposed against the traditional postwar order led by the United States and other Western powers,” said Bates Gill, a senior fellow for Asian security at the U.S.-based National Bureau of Asian Research.

The bloc’s expansion to include new members could be seen as echoing China’s and Russia’s repeated calls for their vast region to resist Western influence.

Washington:

India will continue to be a strategic partner for the US despite concerns over its ties with Russia, the Biden Administration has said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Russia for two days for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit that has been watched closely by the West amidst the Ukraine conflict.

During his talks with President Putin on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi told President Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed amid bombs and bullets.

On Tuesday, spokespersons of the Pentagon and the State Department reacted separately to questions on India’s relationship with Russia and PM Modi’s visit to Moscow.

“India and Russia have had a relationship for a very long time. From a US perspective, India is a strategic partner with whom we continue to engage in full and frank dialogue to include their relationship with Russia. As it relates to the NATO summit being this week, of course, like you, the world is focused on that,” Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters at a news conference.

On the other hand, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference that the US has been quite clear about its “concerns about India’s relationship with Russia.”

“We have expressed those privately directly to the Indian government, and continue to do so. And that has not changed,” Mr Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.

India has been open its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties.

India has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but has consistently pitched for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Maj Gen Ryder said: “I do not think anybody will be surprised if (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin tries to represent this visit in a way that seeks to somehow show that he is not isolated from the rest of the world. And the fact of the matter is President Putin’s war of choice has isolated Russia from the rest of the world, and it has come at great cost. Their war of aggression has come at great cost, and the facts bear that out,” he said.

“So we will continue to view India as a strategic partner. We will continue to have a robust dialogue with them,” Maj Gen Ryder said.

“He (Putin) is not looking so isolated with the head of the world’s largest democracy being in Moscow, embracing him right now,” a reporter asked.

Maj Gen Ryder responded by saying that Prime Minister Modi also met recently with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and offered his assurances that India will continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

“I think that we trust that India will support efforts to realise an enduring and just peace for Ukraine and will convey to Mr Putin the importance of adhering to the UN charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

Mr Miller said the US continues to “urge India to support efforts to realise an enduring and just peace in Ukraine, based on the principles of the UN charter based on upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty. And that will continue to be what we will engage with India about.”
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
| Photo Credit: AP

A court in Russia ordered the arrest of the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a hearing Tuesday that was conducted in absentia as part of a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on the opposition.

Yulia Navalnaya, who lives abroad, would face arrest if and when she returns to Russia.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled to arrest Navalnaya on charges of alleged involvement in an extremist group.

Navalny, the fiercest political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in February in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he had condemned as politically motivated. Authorities said he became ill after a walk but have otherwise given no details on Navalny’s death.

Navalny was imprisoned after returning to Moscow in January 2021 from Germany, where he had been recuperating from the 2020 nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Ms. Navalnaya has accused Mr. Putin of her husband’s death and vowed to continue his activities. Russian officials have vehemently denied involvement in Navalny’s poisoning and death.

Ms. Navalnaya mocked the court’s order on social media platform X, saying that it’s Mr. Putin who should be be prosecuted. Her spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, described the court’s ruling as a recognition of her “merits.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz noted on X that Ms. Navalnaya is carrying on her husband’s legacy and denounced the Moscow court’s ruling as “an arrest warrant against the desire for freedom and democracy.”

Russian authorities haven’t specified the charges against Navalnaya. They appear to relate to authorities designating Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption as an extremist organization. The 2021 court ruling that outlawed Navalny’s group forced his close associates and team members to leave Russia.

A number of journalists have been jailed on similar charges in recent months in relation to their coverage of Navalny.

The Kremlin’s crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and ordinary Russians critical of it has intensified after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Washington:

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a historic donation of air-defence equipment for Ukraine and said Russia is failing in this war.

Welcoming leaders of NATO member countries for the historic summit on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, Biden said the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will provide Ukraine with the equipment for five additional strategic air-defence systems.

In the coming months, the US and its partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air-defence systems, he said, adding that the US will make sure that when “we export critical air-defence interceptors, Ukraine goes to the front of the line”.

“They will get this assistance before anyone else gets it. All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missile and Ukrainian troops facing air attacks on their front lines,” Biden said.

“Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war.  More than two years into (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war of choice, his losses are staggering. More than 350,000 Russian troops dead or wounded, nearly one million (10 lakh) Russians, many of them young people, have left Russia because they no longer see a future in Russia,” he said.

“Kiev, remember fellas and ladies, was supposed to fall in five days? Remember? Well, it is still standing two and a half years later and will continue to stand. All of the allies knew that before this war, Putin thought NATO would break. Today, NATO is stronger than it has ever been in its history. When this senseless war began, Ukraine was a free country. Today, it is still a free country,” the US president said.

Reiterating that Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, he said the Russian president wants nothing less than Ukraine’s total subjugation to end that country’s democracy, to destroy its culture and to wipe it off the map.

“We know Putin will not stop at Ukraine, but make no mistake, Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” Biden said.

He said the war will end with Ukraine remaining a free and independent country. “Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a pivotal moment for Europe, for the transatlantic community and I might add, for the world. Let us remember, the fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security did not happen by accident,” he said.

“NATO is stronger, smarter and more energised than when you began. And a billion people across Europe or North America, indeed the whole world, will reap the rewards of your labour for years to come in the form of security, opportunity and greater freedom,” the president said.

In his remarks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there are no cost-free options with an aggressive Russia as a neighbour.

“There are no risk-free options in a war. And remember — the biggest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine. We cannot let that happen. Not only would it embolden President Putin, it would also embolden other authoritarian leaders in Iran, North Korea and China,” he said.

He acknowledged that NATO’s enduring success has never been a given, but is rather “the result of deliberate choices and difficult decisions” — from the alliance’s creation to arms control negotiations, and from NATO’s enlargement at the end of the Cold War to its support to Ukraine today.

“The time to stand for freedom and democracy is now, the place is Ukraine,” he said.

Stoltenberg concluded by saying that the alliance will continue to face difficult questions in the future, but that “we are stronger and safer together in NATO”.

Biden presented Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honour, in recognition of his decade of service at the helm of the alliance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

India’s relationship with Russia gives it an ability to urge President Vladimir Putin to end its war with Ukraine, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.

Jean-Pierre made the remarks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin that the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying, a day after a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to Russia and his interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Mr Zelenskyy referred to Russia’s attack Monday – in which at least 37 people, including three children, were killed after a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The strike also damaged nearly 100 buildings, including schools and maternity hospitals.

His tweet included photographs of the bombed hospital and babies in ambulances.

Mr Zelenskky’s post came after Prime Minister Modi met President Putin in Moscow and shared an embrace. Visuals from their meeting showed the two leaders drinking tea on a terrace at Mr Putin’s home in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, and Mr Modi being driven around in a golf cart.

One photo in particular – of Mr Modi and Mr Putin hugging – has been widely shared online.

READ | PM Hugs Putin On Russia Visit, Tea Meet At Home, Golf Cart Ride

And the Ukraine President was particularly critical of that image, posting, “It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day…”

In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia’s brutal missile strike.

A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were… pic.twitter.com/V1k7PEz2rJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024

PM Modi flew into Moscow on a two-day visit that treads a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship and courting closer ties with the West amid the war in Ukraine. 

This is the Prime Minister’s first visit since he was voted back to power last month.

It is also his first to Russia since the war in Ukraine began.

READ | At Modi-Putin Dinner, India’s Direct Appeal To End Ukraine War

Sources have told NDTV that Mr Modi, during his meeting with Mr Putin, stressed no solution – to the violence – could be found on the battlefield. “India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Mr Modi is believed to have said.

Mr Modi has also spoken to Mr Zelenskyy on numerous occasions, including meeting him in Italy last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The two were photographed sharing a hug. Their first face-to-face meeting since the war started was in May last year, at the G7 summit hosted by Japan.

In a phone call with President Zelenskyy in October 2022, PM Modi said there can be “no military solution” and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts

READ | PM Speaks To Ukraine President, Call With Putin Later Today

Ever since the war began India has maintained it can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and the Prime Minister has said “India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts”.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to Russia and his interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Mr Zelenskyy referred to Russia’s attack Monday – in which at least 37 people, including three children, were killed after a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The strike also damaged nearly 100 buildings, including schools and maternity hospitals.

His tweet included photographs of the bombed hospital and babies in ambulances.

Mr Zelenskky’s post came after Prime Minister Modi met President Putin in Moscow and shared an embrace. Visuals from their meeting showed the two leaders drinking tea on a terrace at Mr Putin’s home in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, and Mr Modi being driven around in a golf cart.

One photo in particular – of Mr Modi and Mr Putin hugging – has been widely shared online.

READ | PM Hugs Putin On Russia Visit, Tea Meet At Home, Golf Cart Ride

And the Ukraine President was particularly critical of that image, posting, “It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day…”

In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia’s brutal missile strike.

A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were… pic.twitter.com/V1k7PEz2rJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024

PM Modi flew into Moscow on a two-day visit that treads a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship and courting closer ties with the West amid the war in Ukraine. 

This is the Prime Minister’s first visit since he was voted back to power last month.

It is also his first to Russia since the war in Ukraine began.

READ | At Modi-Putin Dinner, India’s Direct Appeal To End Ukraine War

Sources have told NDTV that Mr Modi, during his meeting with Mr Putin, stressed no solution – to the violence – could be found on the battlefield. “India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Mr Modi is believed to have said.

Mr Modi has also spoken to Mr Zelenskyy on numerous occasions, including meeting him in Italy last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The two were photographed sharing a hug. Their first face-to-face meeting since the war started was in May last year, at the G7 summit hosted by Japan.

In a phone call with President Zelenskyy in October 2022, PM Modi said there can be “no military solution” and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts

READ | PM Speaks To Ukraine President, Call With Putin Later Today

Ever since the war began India has maintained it can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and the Prime Minister has said “India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts”.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.