Hungary – Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary said on Tuesday that proposed sanctions against Russia if it takes military action against Ukraine would be “doomed to failure” and that Russian security demands were reasonable.
Visiting Moscow, Mr. Orban met privately for five hours with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, and afterward said at an amiable news conference with Mr. Putin that he “did not see any intention” for Russia to escalate the conflict with Ukraine (NYT).
Turkey – In a public rebuke of Russia, Turkey will expand supplies of one of the Ukrainian Army’s most sophisticated weapons, a long-range, Turkish-made armed drone (NYT).
Japan – Japan announced sanctions against Russia on Thursday, February 24th (AP).
South Korea – South Korea announced sanctions against Russia on Thursday, February 24th (AP).
Intergovernmental Organizations
NATO – NATO said on Monday, January 24th it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, in what Russia denounced as Western “hysteria” in response to its build-up of troops on the Ukraine border (Reuters).
On Thursday, February 24th, NATO members agreed later Thursday to bolster their forces and deploy “additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime assets,” the organization said in a statement. “We also condemn Belarus for enabling this attack” (The Washington Post).
International Crime Court (ICC) – The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday said it will seek court approval to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine (Reuters).
The European Union – The European Union urges non-essential diplomats to leave Kyiv, Ukraine (euobserver).
The European Union has already agreed to freeze the assets of President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov (Associated Press).
The European Union has officially welcomed Ukraine’s application to join, with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola saying the EU will work with Ukraine toward that goal (NPR).
The European Commission – President von der Leyen released a statement committing EU financial support for Ukraine (European Union).
International Court of Justice )(ICJ) – Judge Joan E. Donoghue, President of the ICJ, announced that the court will begin investigating “allegations of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” (ICJ).
The United Nations (UN) – The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday condemned alleged rights violations by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and agreed to set up a commission to investigate them, including possible war crimes (Reuters).
