Russia ally Kazakhstan denies request to join attack on Ukraine: Report

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Kazakhstan, a neighbor and ally of Russia, has reportedly denied a request for its troops to join Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine.

The former Soviet republic also said it is not recognizing the Russia-created breakaway republics, the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, NBC News reported Friday, citing officials.


“We welcome Kazakhstan’s announcement that they will not recognize the LPR and DPR,” the National Security Council said in a statement. “We also welcome Kazakhstan’s refusal to send its forces to join Putin’s war in Ukraine.”

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The Russian assault on Ukraine has persisted since Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin called upon the Ukrainian military to overthrow its government Friday, chastising its leadership as a “band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.” He also accused Ukraine’s first Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of holding the nation hostage and said the goal of his invasion was to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.

“The enemy will use all of their power on all fronts to break our defense,” Zelensky said, according to a local media translation, in a recorded address to Ukrainian citizens. “This night, we have to stand ground. The fate of Ukraine is being decided now.”

At least two Russian military transport planes were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses around Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said early Saturday morning. A European official told the Washington Examiner that the situation between Russia and Ukraine is “worrisome because Russia has strategic advantage and because of sheer numbers and air control” but that “Ukrainians’ determination and the spirit gives rays of hope.”

The White House defended President Joe Biden’s decision not to deploy U.S. forces in Ukraine on Friday despite acknowledging Putin’s “larger ambitions” of restoring the former Soviet Union. Biden has been “clear” regarding U.S. support of NATO defense operations, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Ukraine is not a NATO member but does border four of its member states — Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

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On Thursday, Biden leveled new economic penalties against the Russian financial system and Kremlin elites and sanctioned the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline this week amid the invasion. The White House announced plans Friday for the United States to join European allies in directly sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin and top members of his national security team.

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