Ukraine morning briefing: Five developments as Joe Biden warns Vladimir Putin has 'no way out'
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Good morning. US President Joe Biden fears that Vladimir Putin is trapped in the Ukraine war with no way out after the Russian invasion failed to divide the West.
It comes as Mr Biden resurrected a Second World War funding plan used to support America's allies fighting Nazis Germany.
The Lend-lease Act will allow the US to accelerate weapons shipments to Ukraine for its battle against Russia's invasion.
Meanwhile, buildings in Odesa lay in ruins on Tuesday after Russian forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.
Here are the latest developments from overnight, and you can follow all today's updates in our live blog.
1. Vladimir Putin is trapped in Ukraine war, fears Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden said he is worried that Vladimir Putin does not have a way out of the Ukraine war.
Mr Biden, speaking at a political fundraiser in Washington, said Putin had mistakenly believed the invasion of Ukraine would break up Nato and break up the European Union.
Instead, the United States and many European countries have rallied to Ukraine's side.
Mr Biden said Putin is a very calculating man and the problem he worries about now is that the Russian leader "doesn't have a way out right now, and I'm trying to figure out what we do about that".
2. Odesa's ports at a standstill, says Zelensky
Ukraine's president said on Monday that trade at the country's ports was at a standstill and urged the international community to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade to allow wheat shipments and prevent a global food crisis.
Volodymyr Zelensky made the comments after speaking to European Council President Charles Michel, who was visiting Odesa - the major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products where missiles struck tourist sites and destroyed buildings on Monday.
"For the first time in decades and decades, in Odesa there is no regular movement of the merchant fleet, there is no routine port work. This has probably never happened in Odesa since World War Two," Mr Zelensky said in a video address.
"And this is a blow not only to Ukraine. Without our agricultural exports, dozens of countries in different parts of the world are already on the brink of food shortages. And over time, the situation can become, frankly, frightening."
3. Fears Russia will target Ukraine's chemical industries
The Ukrainian military is warning that Russia could target the country's chemical industries.
The military said: "The possibility of sabotage at the chemical industry of Ukraine with further accusations of units of the armed forces of Ukraine is not ruled out."
It comes after oil depots and other industrial sites have been targeted by Russian shelling in the war.
4. Russia 'not planning to close embassies in Europe'
Russia is not planning to proactively close its embassies in Europe in response to unfriendly measures by the West and expansion of sanctions against Moscow, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a deputy foreign minister.
"This is not in our tradition," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA.
"Therefore, we believe that the work of diplomatic representative offices is important."
On Monday, Russia's ambassador to Poland was doused in a red substance by people protesting against the war in Ukraine as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
5. We're still defending steelworks, says fighter
One of the Ukrainian fighters holding out in the Mariupol steelworks said on Monday they were still defending the city.
Valeri Paditel, who heads the border guards in the Donetsk region, is among 2,000 hardcore fighters holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks, making a last desperate stand against Vladimir’s Putin’s forces.
In a video address, released by the national border guard service, he said the fighters include border guards, soldiers, national police and members of the national guard.
He said the fighters were "doing everything to make those who defend the city in the future proud."
He comments come as most of the remaining civilians that had taken shelter in the plant have been evacuated by the UN.
