Moved 12,000 US troops along borders with Russia but not fighting WWIII in Ukraine, says Biden
Washington(PTI): US President Joe Biden said he has moved 12,000 troops along the borders with Russia, such as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania while asserting that Vladimir Putin will not be victorious in the war he has waged against Ukraine.
Addressing members of the House Democratic Caucus on Friday, Biden stressed over "not fighting a third World War in Ukraine" but avowed sending an "unmistakable message that we will defend every inch of NATO territory".
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is a group of 30 North American and European nations. According to NATO, its purpose "is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means."
Biden said the people of Ukraine have demonstrated remarkable bravery and courage in the face of a Russian military offensive but the security assistance that the US provides has been critical in their defence.
"And as we provide support to Ukraine, we're going to continue to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message that we will defend every inch of NATO territory with a united galvanized NATO," the US president said.
"That's why I've moved 12,000 American forces along the borders with Russia -- Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania et cetra... Granted, if we respond, it is World War three. But we have a sacred obligation on NATO territory... although we will not fight a third World War in Ukraine."
On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's breakaway regions -- Donetsk and Luhansk -- as independent entities.
"The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand -- and don't kid yourself, no matter what you all say -- that's called World War Three," he said.
The US president said that he spent hours the alliance together -- the EU, NATO and including all those in Asia.
"As a result, we've been able to ramp up our economic pressure on Putin and further isolate Russia on the global stage," he said.
Biden said the G7 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States -- made a move to remove the favoured nation status for Russia.
He claimed that as a result of the US-led sanctions, the economy of Russia is badly impacted.
"The totality of our economic sanctions and export controls are crushing the Russian economy. The Ruble has lost more than half its value."
"Moscow Stock Exchange is closed... why is it closed? Because the moment it opens, it will be disbanded. Credit rating agencies have downgraded Russia's government to junk status," Biden said.
He said that democracies are rising to the moment rallying the world for peace and security. "We are showing strength and we will never falter. Putin's war against Ukraine will never be a victory."
"I want to thank you for showing a unified front to the world. When Putin unleashed his assault, he thought he could divide NATO.
"He thought he could divide this country in terms of the parties. He thought he could divide Democrats and Republicans at home, but he failed," Biden told the members of the House Democratic Caucus.
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Special court in Pune sentences two to life imprisonment, acquits three in Dabholkar murder case
Pune (PTI): A special court for UAPA cases in Maharashtra’s Pune on Friday convicted and sentenced two men to life imprisonment and acquitted three, including key accused Virendrasinh Tawde, in the murder of well-known rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.
Dabholkar (67), an anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead while on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge here on August 20, 2013.
Reading out the order in a packed courtroom, Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court) P P Jadhav said that the prosecution had proved the charges of murder and conspiracy against Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar and they have been awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Andure and Kalaskar had shot Dabholkar.
The court acquitted accused ENT surgeon Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave for want of evidence.
The prosecution examined 20 witnesses while the defence examined two witnesses during the trial. The accused were opposed to Dabholkar's crusade against superstition, it had stated in its final arguments.
Pune police initially probed the case. The CBI took over the probe in 2014 following a Bombay High Court, order and arrested Tawde linked to the Hindu right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha, in June 2016.
According to the prosecution, Tawde was one of the masterminds of the murder.
Sanatan Sanstha, to which Tawde and some of the other accused were linked, was opposed to the work carried out by Dabholkar's organisation, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (committee for eradication of superstition, Maharashtra), it claimed.
The CBI first named fugitives Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the shooters in its charge sheet. But later it arrested Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, and claimed in a supplementary charge sheet that they had shot Dabholkar.
Subsequently, the central agency arrested advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave as alleged co-conspirators.
During the trial, advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, one of the defence lawyers, had questioned the CBI's flip-flop over the shooters' identity.
The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 120 B (conspiracy ), 302 (murder), relevant sections of the Arms Act, and section 16 (Punishment for terrorist act ) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.
While Tawde, Andure and Kalaskar are in jail, Punalekar and Bhave are out on bail.
Dabholkar's murder was followed by the murders of three other rationalists/activists in the next four years: communist leader Govind Pansare (Kolhapur, February 2015), Kannada scholar and writer M M Kalburgi (Dharwad, August 2015) and journalist Gauri Lankesh (Bengaluru, September 2017).
It was suspected that the culprits in these four cases were linked to each other.
