SUNDAY, MARCH 27 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A
war in ukrainegas supplies and more than a
quarter of its oil.
In video remarks, Zelensky
compared conditions in Mariupol
to “what we all saw in Aleppo” — a
reference to the northern Syrian
city, once the country’s largest,
that was relentlessly bombarded
by Syrian and Russian warplanes
during Syria’s civil war. Russia
has been accused of committing
war crimes in both Aleppo and
Mariupol for indiscriminately
striking civilians and hospitals,
among other allegations.
Zelensky made the comments
as part of a video statement to
Qatar’s Doha Forum, an annual
policy summit held in the oil-rich
Persian Gulf country. The United
States banned imports of Russian
oil and natural gas on March 8.
European Union officials say they
aim to cut imports of Russian gas
by two-thirds by year’s end and to
end the bloc’s dependence for
good by the close of the decade. To
do so, they plan to accelerate
renewable energy initiatives al-
ready underway.Ty ler Pager in Warsaw; Robyn Dixon
in Riga, Latvia; Missy Ryan and
Marisa Iati in Washington; and Kim
Bellware in Chicago contributed to
this report.Refugees arrive with their dogs after fleeing the city of Irpin,
northwest of Kyiv, for the Ukrainian capital. In neighboring Poland
on Saturday, President Biden spoke against Russian aggression.rather was arguing that “Putin
cannot be allowed to exercise
power over his neighbors or the
region.”
The White House said Biden
spoke afterward with Belarus’s
democratic opposition leader,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who at-
tended his speech in Warsaw.
Belarusian President Alexander
Lukashenko has been beholden
to Putin since Belarus’s disputed
2020 election, when street pro-
tests nearly toppled him from
power before Putin promised to
send in Russian forces to quell
unrest if required. Lukashenko
launched a massive crackdown,
beating and jailing hundreds of
opposition figures and activists,
and clung on without Putin’s
help.
The Belarusian opposition, led
by Tikhanovskaya, has called for
limits on Lukashenko’s powers
and encouraged Belarusians to
protest the war against Ukraine.
Earlier on Saturday, the presi-
dent comforted refugees at a sta-
dium in Warsaw and met with the
city’s mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski,
who warned in an interview with
The Washington Post recently
that the city’s services were at r isk
of being overwhelmed.
As of Friday, over 2.2 million
displaced Ukrainians had fled to
Poland — more than to any other
country. Biden on Thursday said
the United States would accept
up to 100,000 Ukrainian refu-
gees, as well as others fleeing
Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Biden on Saturday also held his
first meeting with high-level offi-
cials since the war started. He
dropped in for 40 minutes on a
summit that Ukrainian Foreign
Minister Dmytro Kuleba and
Ukrainian Defense MinisterOleksii Reznikov were having
with Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin at the Marriott hotel
in Warsaw.
The president reiterated U.S.
support for Ukraine — including
in the form of historic levels of
humanitarian aid. He also re-
ceived updates on the country’s
progress on military, diplomatic
and humanitarian fronts. Biden
and the Ukrainian officials also
discussed efforts by the United
States and its allies to place sanc-
tions on Putin for Russia’s aggres-
sion in Ukraine.
Blinken separately announced
that the United States will pro-
vide Ukraine with an additional
$100 million in security assis-
tance. The aid will include ar-
mored vehicles, medical supplies,
protective gear and communica-
tions equipment for the country’sState Border Guard Service and
police. Since the beginning of the
Biden administration, aid to
Ukraine has exceeded $2 billion.
But Ukrainian officials so far
have been unhappy with the level
of commitment from the United
States a nd NATO allies in re-
sponse to the aggression, and its
leaders haven’t been afraid to say
so.
On Saturday, Ukrainian Presi-
dent Volodymyr Zelensky contin-
ued to press his global campaign
to isolate Russia. On Saturday, he
called on oil and natural gas
exporters to increase production
to help “stabilize the situation in
Europe” and prevent Russia from
using its energy resources as po-
litical “blackmail.”
Europe is heavily reliant on
Russian exports of fossil fuels,
which make up about 40 percent
of the European Union’s naturalPHOTOS BY HEIDI LEVINE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Medical personnel help an injured woman who fled the city of Irpin through a safe corridor into Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia said Friday that it
had ended the first phase of its war and is focusing on the eastern Donbas region, but others say Moscow is misrepresenting its plans.
Lviv has becomesomething ofa western capitalfor the country, withmany diplomats andothers fleeing therefrom Kyiv and citiesunder heavy siegein the easternpart of the country.The city is widelyregarded as a centerof Ukrainiannationalism andculture, and it datesits official foundingto more than sevencenturies ago.Dame Karen Pierce
British Ambassador to
the United StatesWilliam B. Taylor
Former U.S. Ambassador to UkraineFatih Birol
Executive Director
International Energy AgencyMikko Hautala
Finnish Ambassador to
the United StatesLithuania Prime
Minister Ingrida SimonyteSen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
Chair, Senate Intelligence CommitteeJohn Bolton
Former U.S. National Security AdvisorEstonia Prime Minister
Kaja KallasPavel Khodorkovskiy
President, Institute of Modern Russia
& CTO, EnertivJens Stoltenberg
Secretary General, NATODeputy Treasury Secretary
Wally AdeyemoEmily Haber
German Ambassador to
the United StatesJulianne Smith
U.S. Ambassador to NATOMarie Yovanovitch
Former U.S. Ambassador to UkrainePhilippe Étienne
French Ambassador to
the United StatesKyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko, PhD
Member, Kyiv Territorial DefenseWORLD STAGE
UkraineRevisit essential conversations with keyglobal figures about the war in Ukraineand the implications for the worldTo register to receive notificationsfor upcoming World Stage programmingand more, visit wapo.st/worldstageor scan code below using asmartphone camera: