Global Audiences Turn to VOA for Coverage on Russia’s War on Ukraine – USAGM

Global Audiences Turn to VOA for Coverage on Russia’s War on Ukraine

March 5, 2022

Washington, D.C. — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine got underway at the end of February, audiences in Eastern Europe and around the world turned to Voice of America television, radio, websites and social media sites for factual, on-the-ground reporting.

The response from VOA’s audience has been extraordinary. Since the beginning of the invasion on February 23, VOA Russian reports nearly 17 million video views on social platforms, a 159% increase from the previous period, while VOA Ukrainian reports 5.7 million video views, an increase of 87%. VOA Russian garnered more than one million engagement actions across its social media platforms in that time. Traffic to both websites has soared, with VOA Russian’s site growing 146% and VOA Ukrainian’s site increasing 94% since the invasion.

Shortly after VOA Russian set a one-day traffic record across all platforms on February 24, Russian regulators announced their intention to block VOA and other independent news outlets. As a result, not only did the use of circumvention tools suddenly soar in Russia in recent days, but golosameriki.com set another one-day site traffic record on March 3.

Interest in the invasion of Ukraine is not confined to just these two countries. Other regions where VOA broadcasts that are typically disinterested in news from the region are suddenly transfixed. Since the beginning of the invasion, the story has generated 178 million video views and more than 18 million engagement actions, across VOA’s hundreds of social media accounts. For example, reporting on the subject in Africa has generated more than 17 million video views on social media on an account that typically averages about 125,000 views in a similar period. Across Latin America, interest in the story drove the vast majority of the 12 million video views on social media platforms used by VOA Spanish since the invasion, an increase of 125%.

This historic growth is due to the extraordinary work of VOA journalists in covering this story. Responding to the critical need for timely and accurate information, VOA Ukrainian expanded its programming, featuring twice-daily live briefings and dozens of live interactives. As the Russian troops were crossing into Ukraine, VOA Russian was live on the air with two special digital programs featuring reports with people at risk and experts providing analysis. A special edition of Current Time America, and a live feed from the U.N. Security Council generated more than 3 million views on VOA Russian’s Facebook page alone, with the service’s website garnering nearly 2 million views.

Since the Russian invasion, both language services deliver critically important programming daily, including live coverage with simultaneous translations of remarks by President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg , U.S. lawmakers’ reactions, special live discussion shows, and reports from Ukrainian diaspora protests in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami and London in support of Ukraine.

“The Voice of America offers audiences in eastern Europe accurate reporting from the ground and access to a balanced, comprehensive coverage on how the conflict resonates in the U.S. and around the world” says Acting VOA Director Yolanda Lόpez. “True to its history and mission, VOA is providing the people of Ukraine and Russia, as well as all its worldwide audience, reliable news in this critical time in history.”

Russia's Demand for US Guarantees May Harm Nuclear Talks

Tehran — 

Russia’s demand for written U.S. guarantees that sanctions on Moscow would not damage Russian cooperation with Iran is “not constructive” for talks between Tehran and global powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official told Reuters Saturday.

The announcement by Russia, which could torpedo months of intensive indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna, came shortly after Tehran said it had agreed a roadmap with the U.N. nuclear watchdog to resolve outstanding issues which could help secure the nuclear pact.

“Russians had put this demand on the table [at the Vienna talks] since two days ago. There is an understanding that by changing its position in Vienna talks Russia wants to secure its interests in other places. This move is not constructive for Vienna nuclear talks,” said the Iranian official in Tehran.

Demanding written U.S. guarantees that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine would not damage its cooperation with Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the limitations had become a stumbling block for the Iran nuclear deal, warning the West that Russian national interests would have to be taken into account.

Lavrov said the sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine had created a “problem” from Moscow’s perspective. When asked whether Russia’s demand would harm 11 months of talks between Tehran and world powers, including Russia, Iran Project Director at International Crisis Group, Ali Vaez said: “Not yet. But it’s impossible to segregate the two crises for much longer.”

“The U.S. can issue waivers for the work related to the transfer of excess fissile material to Russia. But it’s a sign that the commingling of the two issues has started,” Vaez said.

All parties involved in Vienna talks said Friday they were close to reaching an agreement. “We have agreed to provide the IAEA by the end of [the Iranian month of] Khordad [June 21] with documents related to outstanding questions between Tehran and the agency,” Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told a joint news conference with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

Grossi arrived in Tehran late Friday to discuss one of the last thorny issues blocking revival of the pact, which in return for a lifting of economic sanctions limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium, making it harder for Tehran to develop material for nuclear weapons.

“It is important to have this understanding … to work together, to work very intensively,” Grossi told the televised news conference. “Without resolving these [outstanding] issues, efforts to revive the JCPOA may not be possible.”

A major sticking point in the talks is that Tehran wants the question of uranium traces found at several old but undeclared sites in Iran to be closed. Western powers say that is a separate matter to the deal, which the IAEA is not a party to, several officials have told Reuters.

Grossi, who also held talks with Iran’s foreign minister before returning to Vienna on Saturday, said that “there are still matters that need to be addressed by Iran.”

The IAEA has been seeking answers from Iran on how the uranium traces got there – a topic often referred to as “outstanding safeguards issues.”

Grossi’s trip has raised hopes that an agreement with the IAEA will potentially clear the way for revival of the nuclear pact that was abandoned in 2018 by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who also reimposed far-reaching sanctions on Iran.

Since 2019, Tehran has breached the deal’s nuclear limits and gone well beyond, rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output. Iran denies it has ever sought to acquire nuclear weapons.

Oil prices soar as Russia's Ukraine invasion fuels supply concerns | Main | Spanish edition

The price of Brent crude on Wednesday exceeded $110, its highest price since 2014 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raged on and international sanctions against Moscow began to bite.

Fears of a global oil supply crisis following Russia’s military assault on Ukraine prompted Ryanair director Michael O’Leary to urge western nations to ramp up the production of oil at tame soaring prices.

Brent crude on Wednesday was trading at $111.59 on the London futures market, a 6.3% increase on Tuesday figures.

(…)

As Russia’s Ukraine Campaign Escalates, US Reaches out to Taiwan and China

Washington — 

​As Russia escalates its invasion of Ukraine, the United States is sending a delegation of former defense officials to Taiwan while keeping communication channels open with Russia’s ally, China.

U.S. officials say China’s decision to back Russia amid its military campaign in Ukraine is causing the Beijing government to become “quite uncomfortable.”

Although Beijing’s spokespeople continue to repeat Russia’s claims accusing NATO of provoking the conflict by expanding its membership over the years, U.S. officials insist the relationship is being strained by both the fighting on the ground and the coordinated response by Europe and the United States.

“It is undeniable that right now, China is occupying an awkward nexus in which they’re trying to sustain their deep and fundamental relationship with Russia,” said Kurt Campbell, who is U.S. President Joe Biden’s senior coordinator for Indo-Pacific policy at the White House National Security Council.

“I think they have been concerned by some of the — both the solidarity that everyone has witnessed in the aftermath of the [Russia] invasion — but also by the brutality that is playing out every day with respect to an invasion,” added Campbell on Monday during a webinar hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Campbell said the U.S. was hoping China could play a critical role in encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin to reconsider invading Ukraine but “we believe they [Chinese officials] chose not to weigh in in advance.”

China has refrained from calling Russia’s military actions in Ukraine “an invasion,” saying China “understands Russia’s legitimate concerns on security issues.”

Monday in Beijing, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin repeated China’s partnership with Russia.

“China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination. Our relationship features non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party,” said Wang during a briefing.

China flexes military amid Russian invasion in Ukraine

In Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy is on high alert after Chinese military planes flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during consecutive days amid Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

“7 PLA aircraft (Y-8 ASW, J-16*4 and J-10*2) entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on Feb. 28, 2022,” said Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense in a tweet.

The sorties on Monday follow Beijing’s daily dispatch of warplanes into Taiwan’s ADIZ from February 23-27, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.

In a move seen as showing support to Taiwan, Biden is sending a delegation of former senior defense and security officials to Taiwan.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michèle A. Flournoy, former White House deputy national security adviser Meghan O’Sullivan and others are visiting Taiwan March 1-2.

The U.S. delegation “sends an important signal about the bipartisan U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy and demonstrates that the Biden Administration’s and the United States’ commitment to Taiwan remains rock solid,” said a senior administration official.

In a separate briefing, Campbell also said the U.S. is not diverting its goal to enhance ties with the Indo-Pacific region.

“You will see over the course of the next several months a determination to sustain high-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific with presidential travel. We will be announcing that ASEAN leaders, for the first time, will be coming to Washington in March shortly.”

Saturday, a U.S. naval vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a move seen as a warning to China not to make any rash moves on Taiwan.

“The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) is conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit Feb. 26 through international waters in accordance with international law. The ship is transiting through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State,” said the U.S. 7th fleet in a statement on Twitter.

Analysts are watching China’s next move after it abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“China was close to joining Russia in a veto, but changed position when [the] U.S. watered down [the] resolution text. I think this is a sign of both Chinese influence and its desire to avoid taking hits over Ukraine at the U.N. So it sends a complex bunch of messages (none too awful for Russia),” said International Crisis Group U.N. Director Richard Gowan in a tweet.

Gowan added while China’s abstention is a relief for the U.S., he would not “mistake [it] as a real blow to Russia. Moscow knows China is keeping its head down, and won’t take any serious action against it.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed during his Saturday call with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock that “when the Security Council discussed the resolution related to the Ukraine issue, China prevented quoting expressions that contain the authorization of the use of force and sanctions.” Wang was referring to U.N. Charter Chapter 7, as China has opposed the authorization of the use of force and sanctions against Russia under Chapter 7.

Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.

Audiences turn to RFE/RL for truthful reporting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – USAGM

Audiences turn to RFE/RL for truthful reporting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

February 25, 2022

Washington, D.C. — As the world awoke to unprovoked war in Europe, audiences turned to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for breaking news and analysis of the escalation. With journalists across the region and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian, Belarus, Russian, and Current Time networks providing on-the-ground coverage, RFE/RL is uniquely positioned to provide the facts to audiences across the region that are being bombarded by Kremlin disinformation.

• RFE/RL’s networks recorded 13 million page views on their websites on February 24, representing a 159 percent increase over the previous day and a 248 percent increase over the same day one week before (February 17).
• RFE/RL Ukrainian Service websites, which include content for audiences in Crimea and Donbas, alone recorded 4.7 million page views yesterday, a 313 percent increase over the previous day and 557 percent rise over the same day one week before.
• Current Time’s live coverage of the early hours of the invasion was viewed more than 10 million times across social platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, reflecting a 25-fold increase over the same day the previous week for Current Time’s morning show.

Jamie Fly, President of RFE/RL, spoke of the importance of providing uncensored news and information and condemned Russia’s aggression: “With Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, our mission to share the facts with audiences that are denied that truth by their governments or that need independent information during a crisis is more important than ever.”

“Vladimir Putin initiated an unprecedented act of war against Ukrainian democracy today, but he has been assaulting the rights of the Russian people and undermining democracies for decades. We will continue to report the truth about him and the Kremlin’s lies and fabrications to our audiences in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and throughout the region during this critical moment.”

RFE/RL is staying close to the story, offering comprehensive, around-the-clock reporting from our journalists on all aspects affecting our audiences during this conflict. This includes coverage of events Russian authorities would rather ignore, such as the outbreak of anti-war protests across Russia, damage to civilian apartment buildings in Kharkiv as a result of Russian bombardment, and massive traffic jams caused by civilians trying to flee the attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. RFE/RL continues to counter Russian propaganda through our services’ live videos, in-depth reports and analysis, podcasts, photo galleries, maps, infographics and real-time blogging.

To stay up to date on the latest developments, follow RFE/RL’s Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack – updated throughout the day. Several RFE/RL services, including the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian and Current Time networks, are also live blogging the invasion, and RFE/RL has also created a list of its most relevant Twitter feeds.

In response to intensified attempts by Russia’s media monitoring agency Roskomnadzor to keep Russian audiences from accessing factual reporting on the invasion, RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Tatar-Bashkir Service, Crimea.Realities, and Current Time units are educating their audiences on a variety of means to bypass online censorship and safely access information. Such efforts to ensure access to RFE/RL content are especially relevant given Roskomnadzor’s recent attempts to force RFE/RL to take down content tied to corruption investigations by jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s team.

About RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.

Protesters in Australia Condemn Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

SYDNEY — 

Hundreds of Australians of Ukrainian descent joined those with Russian heritage to demonstrate against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in downtown Sydney on Friday.

It was an act of solidarity many thousands of kilometers away from the conflict in Ukraine.

Protesters held signs urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the killing.

The Australian government has joined the international condemnation of the Russian attack.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also condemned China for undermining Western sanctions against Russia.

In early February, China’s president, Xi Jinping, and Putin agreed to boost trade ties.

Australia insists the agreement was aimed at undermining the United States’ network of global alliances and any sanctions that it would impose on Russia.

Morrison urged China to act responsibly.

“You don’t go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country,” he said. “That is simply unacceptable from the reports that we have seen, and I would urge all nations to say this is not a time to be easing trade restrictions with Russia. We should all be doing the exact opposite.”

A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson suggested Thursday the attack should not be called an “invasion” because Russia was only targeting Ukrainian military bases.

Morrison had previously described Russian invaders as “thugs” and “bullies.”

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton has said that China’s President Xi might be one of the few global leaders who could persuade his Russian counterpart to halt the invasion.

The Australian government will send medical supplies, financial support and military equipment, but not weapons, to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia.

The Russian embassy in the Australian capital, Canberra, has said sanctions imposed by Australia were “xenophobic.”

China Responds Cautiously to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

New Delhi — 

China, Russia’s most powerful ally, was notably restrained in its initial reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, offering little direct support for Moscow as much of the world seeks to isolate Moscow economically and diplomatically.

“I would like to say that China is closely following the situation in Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing on Thursday. “We call on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent the situation from getting out of control.

FILE – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying gestures during the daily Press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2022.

“We still hope that the parties concerned will not shut the door to peace and engage instead in dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from further escalating,” she said.

A foreign diplomat based in Beijing said the statement was consistent with China’s recent remarks on the Ukraine crisis but expressed surprise that Hua did not promise Moscow more help against what Western leaders say will be crushing economic sanctions.

“This is more or less what China has been saying last few days,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified. “The least one would have expected from Beijing is an assurance that it will go ahead with the recent agreement on purchase of Russia gas.”

Nevertheless, there were signs that China will help to soften the blow of the expected sanctions, some of which have already been announced. The Chinese Customs department released a new order signed on Wednesday for the purchase of Russian wheat.

FILE – Farmers bring in the harvest with their combine harvester on a wheat field in the southern Russian Stavropol region, July 9, 2014.

The two countries had announced a trade deal for the sale of wheat and barley to China on February 8. They appeared to make a point of announcing the transaction even as Russian troops and tanks were rolling into Ukraine.

During the press briefing, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson differed with Western journalists over whether the Russian military action should be called an invasion.

“Regarding the definition of an invasion, I think we should go back to how to view the current situation in Ukraine. The Ukrainian issue has other very complicated historical background that have continued to today. It may not be what everyone wants to see,” she said.

Other Chinese experts have echoed the argument made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow is simply responding to Western aggression and the mistreatment of Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine.

“I believe Russia’s military operation is a reaction of Moscow toward Western countries’ exerting pressure on Russia for a long time, showing that Moscow can’t tolerate anymore,” said Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He spoke to the state-run Global Times on Thursday.

Chinese dilemma

There are signs Beijing is caught in a dilemma. It does not want to support or justify the Russian attack on Ukraine because it might harm its political and trade relationship with the Western world.

Beijing is particularly worried about Western experts suggesting the Ukraine invasion could be a test case for China, which has long refused to rule out a military takeover of Taiwan. It does not want the spotlight to focus on China at this stage, informed sources said.

On the other hand, it wants to be seen as a country that stands by its friends and allies, which explains its decision on the wheat purchase. Beijing is expected to offer more trade opportunities to ease economic pressure on Russia but avoid any major political or military measures, the diplomat said.

Putin is believed to have consulted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the possible fallout of an invasion on Ukraine during a visit to Beijing on February 4. They also discussed possible ways to overcome new challenges that an attack on Ukraine would throw up, sources said.

The same day, Russian state-owned petroleum company Gazprom announced it has signed a 30-year agreement for the sale of natural gas to be supplied to China through a Far Eastern route.

The two countries were prepared for a possible European decision to halt the activation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built to carry Russian gas under the Baltic Sea, directly to Germany.

The United States is particularly worried about a strong partnership between China and Russia.

“We think that Russia and the PRC [want a world order] that is and would be profoundly illiberal, an order that stands in contrast to the system that countries around the world … have built in the last seven decades,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday. “It is an order that is in many ways destructive, rather than additive.”

RFE/RL’s comprehensive coverage of Russia’s aggression – USAGM

Ukraine: RFE/RL’s comprehensive coverage of Russia’s aggression

February 18, 2022

Washington, D.C. — With more than 150,000 Russian soldiers and sailors now surrounding Ukraine on three sides, and Belarusian and Russian forces carrying out large-scale military maneuvers less than 100 miles from Ukraine’s capital, the danger of full-scale war remains high. RFE/RL offers comprehensive around-the-clock reporting to audiences in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and in English to audiences around the world.

RFE/RL is uniquely positioned to cover and analyze events as they unfold, with four news services – its Ukrainian, Belarus, and Russian services and the Current Time digital network – fully focused on the crisis. As tensions mount, with a surge in shelling and leaders of the Kremlin-backed separatists that control parts of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk announcing the evacuation of residents to the southeast of Russia, RFE/RL will be reporting from the line of contact in Donbas and from Russia’s Rostov region.

Stories to follow

• In a February 8 interview, leading Russian military expert Pavel Felgengauer observed that the military would be fully prepared for action that week, and the Kremlin’s decision to start an invasion would come in three days, on February 11 – which turned out to be the day that Western countries sounded the alarm to begin evacuations of diplomatic personnel.

• Reporters also traveled to Ukraine’s eastern border to meet with elite Ukrainian soldiers defending the line of contact and visit an isolated Ukrainian village on the border, as well as the city of Mariupol, 20 miles from the line of contact, to gauge the mood of locals about the threat of invasion.

Newsmaker and expert interviews

RFE/RL interviewed Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.K., Vadym Prystayko, who walked back controversial comments that Ukraine could give up its NATO ambitions, as well as Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons, who questioned whether Russia’s top officials entirely understand the costs of a potential military invasion, both in terms of loss of life and the economic consequences.

What’s Ahead: On February 19, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service will air an exclusive interview with Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces Serhiy Sobko. The Russian Service will publish an interview with the Hoover Institution’s Michael Bernstam on the potential for economic sanctions to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as analysis of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Russia strategy. RFE/RL will also be providing in-depth live coverage of the Munich Security Conference.

RFE/RL’s News Services

RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with a monthly average of over 8 million visits and 11 million page views to its websites as well as nearly 600 million video views on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram in 2021, sets a standard in the Ukrainian media market for independence, professionalism, and innovation. Its comprehensive coverage includes the award-winning reporting of its Donbas Realities and Crimea Realities websites and “Schemes” investigative reporting team.

Labeled an “extremist organization” by the Belarus government, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service provides independent news and analysis to Belarusian audiences in their own language, relying on social media platforms such as Telegram, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as mirror sites and an updated news app to circumvent pervasive Internet blockages and access disruptions.

RFE/RL’s Russian Service is a multiplatform alternative to Russian state-controlled media, providing audiences in the Russian Federation with informed and accurate news, analysis, and opinion. Despite being labeled by the Russian government as a “foreign agent,” The Russian Service’s websites, including its regional reporting units Siberia.Realities and Northern.Realities, earned a monthly average of 12.7 million visits and 20.6 million page views in 2021, while 297 million Russian Service videos were viewed on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Current Time is a 24/7 Russian-language digital and TV network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. In addition to reporting uncensored news, it is the largest provider of independent, Russian-language films to its audiences. Despite rising pressure on Current Time from the Russian government, which has labeled the network a media “foreign agent,” Current Time videos were viewed over 1.3 billion times on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2021.

About RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.

Russia's Olympic Doping Case Helps China Skirt Dicey Topics

Little more than a week ago, the questions from non-Chinese reporters at daily Olympics briefings were about sensitive things involving China — tennis player Peng Shuai, the government’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest, the efficiency of the anti-COVID “closed-loop system.”

These days, they’re all about a drug scandal — the one with Russia at the center — and not much else.

The doping saga unfolding around Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been a Games-changer at the Beijing Olympics, pushing aside dicey topics that Chinese officials like to avoid answering.

“The big winner in the Valieva scandal is the Chinese government,” Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said in an email. He has been a consistent critic of China’s government and stayed away from these Games, his first Olympic absence since 1988.

“What a relief for them to not have to fend off comments about human rights,” Wallechinsky quipped.

The focus is now on 15-year-old Valieva, which will continue through her long program on Thursday when she is expected to win gold — her second of the Games — but be banned from any medal ceremony after failing a pre-Games doping test.

The IOC has said it “would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony” with her case sure to wind up again in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled on Monday that she could compete. She seems sure to dominate the briefings until the Games end on Sunday, leaving room for little else.

Peng, once the world’s No. 1-ranked tennis doubles player, made sexual assault allegations against a former high-ranking member of China’s ruling Communist Party. The charges three months ago were scrubbed immediately from China’s censored internet, placing the subject out of bounds for Chinese reporters.

Yang Shu’an, the high-profile organizing committee vice president, nearly stumbled in a briefing when — speaking in English — he was asked about Peng and almost mentioned her by name. Of course, saying it would acknowledge that Chinese officials are aware of her case.

China’s internment of at least 1 million Uyghurs has been termed genocide by the United States and others, which China calls the “lie of the century.” This topic is also off limits for Chinese reporters and, by its own choice, the International Olympic Committee.

“The position of the IOC must be, given the political neutrality, that we are not commenting on political issues,” IOC President Thomas Bach said at the briefing Feb. 3, the day before the Games opened. Bach also seldom mentions the Uyghurs by name.

Still, uncomfortable queries about Peng and the Uyghurs kept coming as the Games opened. COVID-19 questions were popular, too, as was criticism about China’s “case-hardened” bubble that separates reporters and athletes from 20 million Beijing residents.

There was a question about Jack Ma, China’s e-commerce billionaire who has largely disappeared from public view. Ma is the founder of the Alibaba Group, which is a major IOC sponsor.

There were persistent questions about athletes’ safety if their comments upset officials of China’s authoritarian government. But those began to fade as few spoke up.

Then came Feb. 9: Day 5 of the Olympics.

“A situation arose today at short notice which requires legal consultation,” IOC spokesman Adams said. “You’ll appreciate because there are legal implications involved that I can’t talk very much about it at this stage.”

Non-Chinese reporters quizzed Adams about the details for days. Questions from Chinese state-controlled media continued to center on soliciting laudatory comments about the venues, offering praise of the efficient organization — and laments about the scarce supply of Bing Dwen Dwen panda mascots.

Much news is local, so Chinese reporters are not alone in this. But not one offered a question about Valieva as non-Chinese continued to press Adams about the unfolding mystery.

“I can’t give you any more details,” Adams said. He repeated this for several days in varied forms. “I’m afraid, as you know, legal issues can sometimes drag on.”

After days of dominating the briefings, news came Monday that Valieva had been cleared to compete despite failing a pre-Games drug test. She skates this week and is the favorite to win the gold on Thursday, where she may lead a 1-2-3 sweep by Russian women.

And everybody’s watching. They’ll be doing so not just for her skating prowess, but for the next chapter in the saga of a girl buffeted by powerful forces and a nation known for doing what it takes to get the outcome it wants.

A nation that, for the moment, isn’t China.

“This is likely a welcome distraction from other potential subversions or critiques of the Games and of China at large,” Maria Repnikova, a China expert at Georgia State University, said in a email to Associated Press.

“Since the Olympics tend to present apt opportunities for the international community to investigate and widely report on the host country, having a scandal that takes the attention away from China in this case plays in favor of Chinese authorities.”

How US Expats in Kyiv Feel About Russia’s Possible War With Ukraine

President Joe Biden is urging US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately as tensions with Russia over its military buildup on the border continue to intensify. The US Embassy in Kyiv had already been urging citizens to consider leaving. Some American expats heeded the advice, others did not. Oksana Lihostova spoke to some Americans in Kyiv about their plans. Anna Rice narrates her story.

China Endorses Russia's Key Demands to West in Standoff Over Ukraine

Washington — 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has endorsed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands to end NATO expansion and get security guarantees from the West, issues that have led to Russia’s standoff with the United States and its allies over Ukraine.

The two leaders met at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, hours before the beginning of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which diplomats from the U.S., Britain and other countries are boycotting over human rights abuses.

The broadcaster did not provide details of the meeting, but Xi and Putin, both of whom have been criticized by the U.S. for their foreign and domestic policies, issued a joint statement underscoring their displeasure with “interference in the internal affairs” of other countries.

The joint statement proclaimed a new China-Russia strategic “friendship” that “has no limits” and no “forbidden areas of cooperation.”

China’s expressions of support for Russia comes as Moscow’s dispute with Ukraine threatens to escalate into armed conflict.

Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ride atop of a tank during military drills in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released Feb. 4, 2022. (Press service of the Joint Forces Operation/Handout via Reuters)

On Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said the U.S. has information indicating that Russia has developed a plan to stage a false Ukrainian military attack on Russian territory and leverage it as a pretext for an attack against Ukraine.

Fabricating a video of such an attack is one of several options the Kremlin is formulating to give it an excuse to invade Ukraine, the official said.

“The video will be released to underscore a threat to Russia’s security and to underpin military operations,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

“This video, if released, could provide Putin the spark he needs to initiate and justify military operations against Ukraine,” the official added.

The official said the Biden administration is disclosing specifics about Russia’s alleged plans to “dissuade” Russia from carrying out such plans.

In an interview Thursday with MSNBC, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer said, “We don’t know definitively that this is the route they are going to take, but we know that this is an option under consideration.”

NATO welcomes more US troops

The Biden administration disclosed the intelligence after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday welcomed U.S. plans to deploy more troops to Europe and said NATO is considering sending additional battle groups to the southeastern part of its alliance amid tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border.

The U.S. on Wednesday announced plans to dispatch 2,000 more troops to Europe, most of them to Poland, and move 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania to bolster NATO’s eastern flank countries.

Military personnel from the 82nd Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps board a C-17 transport plane for deployment to Eastern Europe, amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Feb. 3, 2022.

Stoltenberg told reporters that while NATO is preparing for the possibility that Russia may take military action, NATO remains ready to engage in “meaningful dialogue” and find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

“NATO continues to call on Russia to de-escalate. Any further Russian aggression would have severe consequences and carry a heavy price,” he said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that the U.S. deployment is heightening tensions in the region.

The United States and other Western allies have been preparing economic sanctions to level against Russia in hopes of persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back the more than 100,000 troops Russia has near the border with Ukraine. Russia has denied it plans to invade.

Stoltenberg said Thursday there has been a “significant movement of Russian military forces into Belarus,” Ukraine’s northern neighbor, where they are taking part in joint military drills that began Thursday instead of later this month as originally planned.

“This is the biggest Russian deployment there since the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said, referring to what he said were 30,000 troops, fighter jets and missile systems.

Belarusian military helicopters fly during the joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at a firing range in the Brest Region, Belarus, Feb. 3, 2022.

Russia has not disclosed how many troops or the amount of military hardware it has in Belarus.

Thursday’s exercises, which are expected to continue until February 20, involved live fire, according to images released by the Belarusian defense minister. They also showed fighter jets in the sky and tanks firing and maneuvering.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu witnessed the exercises after arriving in Minsk Thursday, and he also met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Russia has demanded that NATO pull back troops and weapons deployed in eastern European member countries, and to make clear that Ukraine cannot join the 30-member military alliance.

NATO and Ukraine have rejected those demands, saying countries are free to pick their allies.

But Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO is ready to talk to Russia about relations between the two sides, and about risk reduction, increased transparency and arms control.

EU plans united response

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday the 27-nation bloc is planning a response to letters Russia sent earlier this week to several EU members about its demand for security guarantees.

During a visit to Helsinki, von der Leyen told reporters, “We are united in the European Union and therefore it is clear that the response will mirror, will reflect that unity.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a joint news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2022.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday he welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to mediate the crisis and to host peace negotiations. Zelenskiy’s comments came after the two leaders signed a free trade deal and other agreements while meeting in Kyiv.

Erdogan previously suggested Turkey, a NATO member that also has good relations with Russia, could act as a mediator.

Erdogan’s visit to Ukraine is the latest in a series of visits to Kyiv by world leaders and diplomats to show support for Ukraine and try to advance a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

US Responds to Russia's Security Demands, Renewing Call for Diplomacy

The United States and NATO have provided written responses to Moscow, addressing Russia’s renewed security demands, following consultations with various European partners as well as Ukraine — the latest moves in diplomatic maneuvering aimed at heading off armed conflict.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered the document in person Wednesday to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. NATO transmitted to Russia its own responses regarding European security, described by officials as a few pages in length, separately.

Officials portrayed the responses as a way to address the Kremlin’s concerns while also giving all sides a chance to further pursue diplomacy.

“The document we’ve delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia’s actions that undermine security — a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a press conference.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about Russia and Ukraine during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 26, 2022.

“We’ve addressed the possibility of reciprocal transparency measures regarding force posture in Ukraine, as well as measures to increase confidence regarding military exercises and maneuvers in Europe,” Blinken said. “We are acting with equal focus and force to bolster Ukraine’s defenses and prepare a swift united response to further Russian aggression.”

U.S. officials declined to elaborate on specifics, though they expressed hope Washington and Moscow still could find consensus and even make progress on issues such as arms control related to missiles in Europe.

Moscow’s security demands include a pause of NATO’s eastward expansion, especially in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a rollback of NATO troops in Eastern Europe.

The U.S. has dismissed those demands as nonstarters, demanding Russia pull back its forces from the border with Ukraine and instead offering dialogue with Moscow on issues including military exercises and transparency, as well as the placement of missiles.

Russia offered a cautious initial response to the written proposals.

“We will read it. Study it,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Interfax news agency when asked about the NATO document. “The partners studied our project for almost a month and a half.”

In contrast, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters there is a growing sense of urgency, calling on Moscow to “withdraw its forces from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, where they are deployed without these countries’ consent.”

“We face a critical moment,” he said, warning that Russia now has positioned more than 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, with additional deployments already underway.

“We see also more troops not only in and around Ukraine, but also now in Belarus, where Russia is in the process of deploying thousands of combat troops, hundreds of aircraft, S-400 air defense systems, and a lot of other very advanced capabilities,” Stoltenberg added.

“We have listened to Russian concerns. We have listened also to the Russian call for a written response,” he said. “This is about whether there’s a will to engage in good faith and to try to sit down and find common ground.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday Kyiv had no objections to the U.S. responses to Russia, acknowledging the threat from the number of Russian troops massed along his country’s borders as well as in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces.

Still, Kuleba insisted there was no need for panic to take hold.

FILE – This handout photo taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s Press Office Jan. 17, 2022 shows Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a news conference in Kyiv.

“The number of Russian troops massed along the border of Ukraine and in the occupied territories of Ukraine is large (and) … poses a threat,” Kuleba said ​during a Wednesday press briefing. “However, at the moment, as we speak, this number is insufficient for a full-scale offensive against Ukraine along the entire Ukrainian border.”

While the U.S. would not rule out an imminent military move by Russia against Ukraine, a senior State Department official noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not want to upset China when the country is hosting the opening ceremony of Winter Olympics.

“We certainly see every indication that [Putin] is going to use military force sometime perhaps now and middle of February,” said Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday during a virtual event with Yalta European Strategy, a European security forum.

FILE – U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman holds a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 12, 2022.

“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics begin on February 4 — the opening ceremony — and Putin is expected to be there,” added Sherman. “I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine. So that may affect his timing and his thinking.”

Some analysts agreed with the assessment, noting Russia’s military logistics “have not yet been fully activated to start massive military operations.”

“The Winter Olympics in China, to be held between 4-20 February, might offer some respite,” said Mathieu Boulègue, a research fellow for the Russia and Eurasia program of London-based Chatham House. “To safeguard relations with Beijing, Moscow may avoid repeating its actions of August 2008, when Russia took military action against Georgia, literally during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics.”

In Kyiv, the U.S. embassy is urging American citizens in the country to consider departing now, citing an “unpredictable” security situation that “can deteriorate with little notice.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Russian officials rejected the prospect of U.S. sanctions against President Putin, one of several proposed responses if Russian forces were to invade neighboring Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such sanctions would be “destructive” but not politically painful.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned of “severe” and “enormous” consequences for Putin — including personal sanctions against Putin himself — if the Russian leader mobilizes troops standing ready to strike along the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian intelligence officials put troop estimates at 127,000.

Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $5 billion in both security and non-security assistance to Ukraine, including more than $351 million in assistance to those displaced or affected by “Russia’s aggression,” according to Deputy Secretary of State Sherman.

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report; some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.