U.S. President Joe Biden held a telephone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia / President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty according to the White House press statement.
Britain reported 30 cases of blood clots after the vaccination with AstraZeneca / British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency reported 30 cases of thrombosis after the vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Australia imposes autonomous sanctions connected to the Kerch Strait Railway / Australia has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against a Russian individual and four Russian companies connected to the construction and operation of the Kerch Strait Railway Bridge linking Russia to the illegally annexed territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine.
Canada has introduced another package of sanctions related to Crimea / The Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations and the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations impose asset freezes and dealings prohibitions on several individual and entities related to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine introduced another package of sanctions against the Russian Federation: Zelensky signed a corresponding decree / On Tuesday, March 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree introducing new sanctions against Russia.
The US has extended sanctions against Russia due to the seizure of Crimea / US President Joseph Biden signed a document extending the sanctions against Russia, which were imposed seven years ago due to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The U.S. conducted a missile strike on Iranian-linked fighters in Syria / On Thursday, the US military struck a site in Syria used by two Iranian-backed militia groups in response to rocket attacks on American forces in the region in the past two weeks, as was reported by CNN.
UN General Assembly debates situations in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine / On Tuesday, February 23, the UN General Assembly meeting was held with a lengthy debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The US has imposed visa restrictions on a series of individuals undermining Belarusian democracy / On Thursday, February 18, the U.S. Department of State took action pursuant to Presidential Proclamation (PP) 8015 to impose visa restrictions on 43 Belarusian individuals responsible for undermining Belarusian democracy, making them generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
COVID-19: Europe is preparing for the increased threat of variants / On Wednesday, February 17, the European Commission has proposed immediate action to prepare Europe for the increased threat of coronavirus variants – the new European bio-defence preparedness plan against COVID-19 variants called “HERA Incubator”, as was reported by the press service of the European Commission.
