月: 2022年2月

1.The United Nations Security Council has voted to have the 193-member General Assembly hold an emergency special session to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Security Council on Sunday took a vote for a request to authorize the emergency session. Permanent council members, including Russia, were not allowed to exercise their veto powers.
2.The European Union has decided to finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine. This is the first time the EU has decided to provide such aid to a country that is under attack. The EU says it will reimburse purchases and transfers of arms from its member nations to Ukraine.
3.Ukraine is bracing for more Russian attacks. Official from both countries are expected to hold talks in Belarus near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is skeptical the meeting will achieve results. But he says he wants to try to prevent more lives from being lost.

1.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to talks. Zelenskyy said in a video message on Friday that fighting is continuing across Ukraine. He urged Putin to sit at the negotiating table with him to prevent people’s lives from being lost. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow on the same day that Moscow is ready to hold talks if the Ukrainian armed forces stop resistance and lay down their arms.
2.Officials in Ukraine say they expect Russian tanks to launch an attack on the capital city, Kyiv. An adviser to the interior minister warned on social media, “it could become the hardest day in the war.” The adviser said they were ready to defend Kyiv with anti-tank missiles supplied by other nations.
3.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aim is to topple the Ukrainian government. Blinken was asked in a TV interview with ABC News on Thursday if he was convinced Putin would overthrow Ukraine’s government. He answered, “I’m convinced he’s going to try to do that.”

1.Commanders at the Pentagon have tracked the movements of Russian forces around the Ukrainian border. They said on Wednesday that those forces are ready to invade.
2.The Kremlin says the leaders of pro-Russian breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine have asked President Vladimir Putin to help in “repelling the aggression” by Ukrainian armed forces and prevent a humanitarian disaster.
3.Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has reacted to the Russian President Vladmir Putin’s announcement that his country’s troops will conduct what he called a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine.

1.Japan’s Emperor Naruhito turned 62 years old on Wednesday. Ahead of the birthday, he expressed his thoughts to the media at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Emperor said his heart aches when he thinks about the people who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and are struggling financially or facing deeper isolation.
2.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has canceled plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday. Blinken said, “Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time.”
3.The head of the United Nations has urged Russia to exercise restraint over Ukraine, criticizing Moscow’s planned deployment of what it calls a “peacekeeping” force in eastern Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Our world is facing the biggest global peace and security crisis in recent years.”

1.Leaders from across the globe are condemning a Russian move to send troops into Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has recognized two breakaway regions as independent and ordered the deployment of what he calls a “peacekeeping” force. The move earned a barrage of economic sanctions.
2.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenzkyy has condemned Russia’s recent action to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as an unequivocal violation of his country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Zelenskyy said in a public address on Tuesday that all responsibility for the consequences of Russia’s decisions rests with Russia’s political leadership.
3.China has called on all parties to exercise restraint and resolve differences on the Ukraine issue through dialogue and negotiation in order to defuse tensions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also told reporters on Tuesday that the security concerns of any country should be respected and protected. He was apparently referring to Russia’s stance of seeking a guarantee that NATO will not expand further.

1.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed concern about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has decided to keep its forces in Belarus even after joint military drills end.
2.The French presidential office says the presidents of the United States and Russia have agreed in principle to hold a summit about the issue of Ukraine. The White House says that the meeting will only take place, if Russia does not invade Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke separately with Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin by telephone on Sunday. The French presidential office says Macron proposed the idea of a summit to the leaders.
3.Australia has reopened to foreign tourists who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus after nearly two years of border closures. Australia started accepting fully immunized visa holders from the rest of the world on Monday.

1.US President Joe Biden has warned that the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is “very high” and that his “sense is it will happen in the next several days.” Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday that “Every indication we have is they are prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine.”
2.Japanese speed skating star Takagi Miho has grabbed her first gold of the Olympics by winning the women’s 1,000 meters. The race was her final chance to stand atop the podium at the Games where she had already collected three silvers. The captain of Japan’s team finished with an Olympic record time and will leave Beijing with four medals from five events. Her overall total of seven medals is the most by any winter Olympian from Asia.
3.Figure skater Anna Shcherbakova from the Russian Olympic Committee has won gold in the women’s singles event at the Beijing Olympics. The 17-year-old winner of the 2021 world championships executed two quad jumps in her routine. Japan’s Sakamoto Kaori landed seven clean jumps, including a triple jump combination, to claim the bronze.

1.Japan’s Prime Minister has announced changes to coronavirus measures, as the spread of the Omicron variant appears to slow. The moves will impact businesses in parts of the country, and some of the rules at the Japanese border. Kishida Fumio says the country remains on a gradual path back to normal.
2.Heavy snow falling along the Sea of Japan coast is intensifying. Niigata Prefecture and the Hokuriku region are receiving much more snowfall than normal for this time of year.
3.Japan’s government plans to extend its declaration of a coronavirus quasi-emergency in 17 prefectures to early next month, while lifting it in five others after Sunday.

1.Western countries remain cautious about Russia’s announcement of a partial withdrawal of troops near Ukraine. Russia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that some of the country’s forces are pulling back after competing exercises.
2.An apparent partial Russian pullback from the Ukrainian border area is being met with skepticism from US and European leaders. Ukrainians flew their national flag in response to a call for a show of unity on Wednesday from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
3.In Japan, more than 91, 000 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Wednesday. But in the 7-day period through Tuesday, the number of weekly infections dropped for the first time in two and a half months. Data presented at a meeting of health ministry experts showed that new infections fell by about 10 percent from the previous week. That’s the first decline since December.

1.US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have warned an attack on Ukraine could come within days. They discussed the crisis on Monday over the phone. Biden and Johnson agreed there remains a “crucial window for diplomacy.” They said any incursion would result in “a protracted crisis” with severe economic consequences for Russia.
2.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared February 16 as the Day of Unity, a date he says he heard Russia will attack his country. Zelenskyy made the remark in a video message posted on social media on Monday. In the message, the president asked his country’s people to hoist the national flag and wear ribbons of the same blue and yellow colors on that day to show their unity to the world.
3.In the Beijing Olympics, Canada’s speed skaters overcame Japan to win gold in the women’s speed skating team pursuit. Japan was well ahead until the last lap until a fall on the final corner. Canada won in an Olympic record time of 2 minutes 53.44 seconds—0.17 seconds faster than the record Japan set in the quarterfinals.