Putin and Biden Deliver Dueling Speeches

Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at dueling speeches from Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden, another Turkish earthquake, and a spat between Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia’s military brass.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden delivered dueling speeches on Tuesday, each offering different visions of Russia’s war in Ukraine and world events more generally.

The main news from Putin’s sometimes rambling almost two-hour speech came toward the end: the suspension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (known as New START), the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States. Russia’s enemies, Putin claimed, “want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and climb all over our nuclear facilities.”

The speech also repeated the Kremlin’s interpretation of history and Putin’s theory of the war’s origins. “I want to repeat: It was they who unleashed the war,” Putin said of the war he launched on Ukraine a year ago. “And we used and continue to use force to stop it.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin’s decision to suspend Russian participation in the arms control agreement “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” while NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said it would make the world a more dangerous place and encouraged Putin to reverse course.

It is worth noting, however, that, according to a new survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations, while Russia’s war in Ukraine has united the West, the Western narrative has not broken through in India—or, for that matter, Turkey or China; 77 percent of respondents in India believe Russia is as strong as or stronger than it was before the war.

In Poland, where Biden was delivering his speech, Putin’s address was poorly received.

Bart Kot, Warsaw Security Forum program director, described it as a “delusional performance … mostly intended to feed domestic audiences.”

“The New START-related announcement may be regarded as another step in building nuclear fears in the West,” Kot wrote in an email to Foreign Policy. “What is worth noting was the direct comment on oligarchs and their assets in the West—a sign of rising isolationism of the regime, and a way of sending a message to business circles that Putin expects full loyalty.”

Biden, for his part, told those assembled at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, that “Kyiv stands strong.”

“Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased. They must be opposed. Autocrats only understand one word: No. No. No,” Biden said, adding that “democracies of the world have grown stronger, not weaker. But the autocrats of the world have grown weaker, not stronger.”

“I thank @POTUS and all of America for their leadership in rallying the world in support of freedom and for their vital assistance to Ukraine. Together we are heading towards a common victory, and we must ensure it this year already,” tweeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the speech.

“What is crucial for Poland is that it once again reaffirms the U.S. commitments to Europe’s defense and security, and [the] strategic importance of the U.S.-Polish partnership,” Kot noted. Although there was a regional focus, “[w]hat tends to be overlooked by Polish commentators is that the message has a global aspect—addressing the rising axis of the authoritarian powers, China included.”

“All in all, both speeches prove that the current war in Ukraine is a part of a greater confrontation of democratic world versus authoritarianism,” Kot wrote, “and that we should be prepared for a long fight to protect the most important values based on freedom.”

New quake hits Turkey. Weeks after devastating earthquakes hit Turkey, a new 6.3 magnitude quake struck the city of Antakya near the Turkish-Syrian border. The Turkish health minister said 294 people were injured—18 of them seriously. Three people died. Rescuers are once again searching to see how many people have been trapped below the rubble. (They were specifically concerned with three collapsed buildings, where officials suspect six individuals were trapped.) The relatively low death toll could be explained by the area being comparatively empty following this month’s earlier deadly quakes.

Prigozhin accuses Russia’s top military leaders of “treason.” Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has accused Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff of what he has described as a treasonous effort to destroy his company by depriving his fighters of munitions. The defense ministry, in turn, has said these accusations are “absolutely untrue.” Some people suspect the Kremlin has moved to check some of Prigozhin’s influence. As of this year, he can no longer recruit prisoners for Wagner.

Slovakia marks five years since murder of journalist. Journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, were murdered five years ago. The Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak launched an initiative for journalists’ safety in his memory. “5 years have passed since the murder of #Slovakia’s outstanding investigative journalist #JanKuciak & his fiancée Martina Kušnírová,” tweeted Slovak President Zuzana Caputova. “Ján’s zeal for seeking the truth & courage to fight corruption brought us together.”

In an interview, Kuciak’s former editor, Peter Bardy, said the murder was a tragedy, not a teachable moment. Still, he said, “What I take as the biggest change is that civil society has opened its mouth and straightened its back. … We seem to have found the strength again to try not to give up on the fact that we want to live in a country that is fair.”

• China’s Checkbook Diplomacy Has Bounced by Christina Lu

• Why the West Is Afraid of Ukraine’s Victory by Vasyl Cherepanyn

• How Poland and Ukraine Could Undermine Putin’s Imperial Dreams by Pawel Markiewicz and Maciej Olchawa

Pig problems. The United States is potentially set to face a new problem: Canadian “super pigs.” Crossbred and highly intelligent pigs are set to come into the United States by way of its northern neighbor. The pigs are “highly elusive,” as they are able to survive the cold by tunneling beneath the snow. The United States estimates that wild pigs already cause $1.5 billion in damage each year; consider what more the super pigs can do.