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Added on the 17/03/2016 20:26:59 - Copyright : Reuters EN
Sweden joining NATO shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening the alliance, its chief Jens Stoltenberg says. The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defence umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg adds. SOUNDBITE
US President Joe Biden says during his State of the Union address that Ukraine is capable of stopping Putin if the US provides Kyiv the "weapons it needs to defend itself." SOUNDBITE
A space capsule carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew of Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, lands on the Earth's surface in Kazakhstan. IMAGES
"In the ongoing counteroffensive progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum", says US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during his unannounced visit to Kyiv. SOUNDBITE
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warns that Russia's decision to exit a landmark deal for the export of grain from Ukraine could push food prices higher and add to inflation. The withdrawal constitutes "upside risks to inflation", Lagarde says, after the ECB raised rates for the ninth straight time to fight fast-rising consumer prices. SOUNDBITE