President Joe Biden has arrived in Brussels at the start of a four-day trip to Europe in a bid to coordinate with Nato allies on military assistance for Ukraine, new sanctions on Russia, and the boosting of defences in Eastern Europe. The US has also now officially accused Russian forces of war crimes in Ukraine.
The president caused a stir during a gathering of business leaders at the White House this week when he alluded to a coming “new world order” in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, apparently not stopping to consider the awkward legacy of the phrase has tied to conspiracy theories.
Meanwhile, a report says that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged Mr Biden to not sanction Roman Abramovich as the oligarch may be able to help with Russian peace talks. The US Treasury Department was prepared to join the UK and EU with sanctions but was told by the White House to hold off.
Tributes have also poured in for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who passed away from cancer aged 84 on Wednesday. She was the first woman to hold the position, as well as the first female US ambassador to the UN.
Mr Biden praised her as “a force” who “turned the tide of history”.
