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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy awards a Ukrainian service member at a position near a frontline, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 22, 2023.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

What We’re Watching: Zelensky’s Bakhmut message, Rishi’s post-Brexit win, Trudeau’s take on Haiti, Ethiopia’s peace progress

Russia and Ukraine score points where they can

Volodymyr Zelensky visited frontline troops in war-ravaged Bakhmut, located in Ukraine’s eastern province of Donetsk, on Wednesday as Russian drones struck across the country. While planning for the trip was surely well underway before Vladimir Putin’s surprise stop in Russian-occupied Mariupol last weekend, the contrast underlined Zelenksy’s signal of defiance.

By appearing in Bakhmut very near the fighting, Zelensky reminded the world that, six months after Putin mobilized 300,000 new Russian soldiers for a deeper advance into Ukraine, even the small city of Bakhmut remains beyond their grasp.

In other war news, Russia has warned it will respond harshly to shipments from the UK to Ukraine of anti-tank munitions made from depleted uranium. Moscow claims this step adds an escalatory nuclear element to the conflict. In response, the UK insists the Russian position is propaganda, that the use of depleted uranium is common in anti-tank weapons, and that it contains nothing that can be used to make nuclear or radiological weapons. Finally, Russia has announced a plan to raise an additional $8 billion in revenue by changing the way oil profits are taxed.

All these stories underscore the reality that, while little has changed on the battlefield, Russians and Ukrainians are still looking for every small advantage they can gain in what looks increasingly like a war of attrition.

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Biden’s visit to Ukraine signals US commitment, but war gets tougher | Quick Take | GZERO Media

Biden’s visit to Ukraine signals US commitment, but war gets tougher

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi everybody, Ian Bremmer here, and a happy Monday to you, a Happy President's Day.

I'm just back from Munich Security Conference, and of course today the big news, President Biden, with his surprise trip to Kyiv. And this is just before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion into Ukraine, last February 24th. Also, since the Russian annexation in Crimea in 2014, and their intervention in Southeast Ukraine, the first American president to visit Ukraine. That means including Obama, including Trump, including the first year of the Biden administration. This is a big deal symbolically for the US in showing continued commitment. It is a big deal for the Ukrainians in helping support their morale. It is a big deal for NATO, in helping to get them to believe that the Americans are undiminished in the prioritization of Ukraine, even after tens of billions of dollars, and a year of serious fighting.

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State of the Union Address: Kickoff tTo a Campaign Speech | World In :60 | GZERO Media

Biden's SOTU touts domestic wins but not foreign policy

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

What's your reaction to Biden's State of the Union address?

Well, I mean, a couple things. First of all, even longer than last year's. He has the longest State of the Unions of any president in memory. And he is getting old. He's 80 years old. The first half of the speech, he came across as very strong, pretty compelling. Second half of the speech, he was obviously getting tired. He was having difficulty with some of the sentences. That doesn't show incredibly well. More importantly, has a lot of domestic wins that he's focusing on. This feels like a kickoff to a campaign speech. I fully expect him to announce his run for the presidency formally in the next couple of months, and I think pretty much everyone on the Democrats side does as well.

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State of the Union a Biden 2024 Campaign Preview | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

State of the Union a Biden 2024 campaign preview

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics:

What are three takeaways from Joe Biden's State of the Union address?

The first takeaway is that Joe Biden is definitely going to run for reelection. There was some question about this prior to the midterm elections when Democrats did surprisingly well. But based on the content of last night's speech, which was more of a campaign rally than anything else, where he took a victory lap for his efforts on climate change, where he took digs at his political rivals, the Republicans, and where he really laid out a vision of what the next six years of a Biden presidency might look like, it seems very clear that this man is going to run.

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Let's Talk About the Balloon | Quick Take | GZERO Media

China's spy balloon chills relations with US

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi, everybody. Ian Bremmer here and I'm at Columbia University, just about to teach my class. I just got back to New York and a Quick Take to kick off your week.

Of course, what we're talking about right now is the balloon, which was made for television. I mean, you know, you get to watch on the map as it's traveling across the country and check the popularity ratings. Democrats, Republicans, what do you think about the balloon? The reality is this is not going to be talked about in another week, but it is inconvenient, the timing for a few different reasons. First of all, because you have the State of the Union coming up tomorrow. And as a consequence, President Biden is going to have to address it in a very public way, and therefore it puts more of a chill in US-China relations.

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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a DNC meeting in Philadelphia.

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Hard Numbers: Dems done with Joe, Nigerian lawmaker gets kidney beaned, Hong Kong trial begins, child marriage crackdown in India

37: Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that “run” in your hand? Only 37% of registered Democrats think President Joe Biden should seek reelection in 2024, according to a new AP-NORC poll. That’s down from 52% last fall. Biden’s numbers are particularly bad among younger voters — less than a quarter of Dems between 18-44 want more Joe.

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Biden’s “Mini” Document Scandal Could Hurt His Position With Dems | US Politics in :60 | GZERO Media

Biden's "mini" document scandal could hurt his position with Dems

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics:

What are the implications of the unfolding Biden document scandal?

Revelations that President Biden mishandled classified documents as a senator and vice president are the first major scandal of what has really been an otherwise pretty squeaky-clean administration. FBI officials have uncovered caches of documents in Biden's Delaware home and at his think tank, the Penn Biden Center. Media outlets like CNN have kept the story in the headline for weeks, even sending a helicopter to circle his house during an FBI search, adding to the drama.

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US Cannot Issue New Debt Until Congress Acts To Raise Debt Limit | GZERO Media

GOP partisanship could trigger first-ever US default

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics:

What does it mean that the US has hit its borrowing limit?

Well, the US this week hit its statutorily created debt limit, meaning that because of all the money that it borrowed during the course of the pandemic and the fact that it's borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars a year spending more than it takes in tax revenues, it hit its $31.5 trillion debt limit, which means that the US is now in a situation that it cannot issue new debt until Congress acts to raise the debt limit. However, Congress does not want to raise the debt limit, and there are a couple episodes during 2011 and 2013 where Congress came very, very close to the date where it would've potentially defaulted for the first time ever by not making payments to creditors.

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