Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has shown himself confident of victory shortly before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of his country. Ukraine will win this "historic confrontation," Zelenskyj said in a video address on Monday evening. "The aggressor state, which is increasingly becoming a terrorist state, will be held accountable for its crimes." The entire free world is helping Kiev defend its freedom, independence and international legal order.

Almost a year after the war began, US President Joe Biden was a guest in Kiev – "in our free capital of our free country," Zelenskyj said. This is a sign of how resilient Ukraine is. The Russian war of aggression enters its second year this Friday.

Biden visits NATO partner Poland

After his visit to Ukraine, Biden is expected in neighboring Poland on Tuesday. According to a media report, he arrived in Poland by train. Biden arrived from Ukraine shortly after 20:30 p.m. at the train station of Przemysl in southeastern Poland, the Polish news agency PAP reported. In the capital Warsaw, he is planning, according to the White house, among other things, a meeting with President Andrzej Duda and in the early evening a speech in front of the Royal Castle.

Putin delivers State of the Union address

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday. The Federal Assembly meets near the Kremlin. According to the Kremlin, Putin will address the war and the current situation in Russia. In addition, he wants to comment on the economy and social policy. Because of Western sanctions, the Russian economy is under massive pressure.

Kremlin document: Plans for Russian takeover of Belarus

According to a media report, Russia apparently has plans for a gradual takeover of its neighboring country Belarus by 2030. This is suggested by a document from the Moscow presidential administration, reported by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and evaluated together with WDR, NDR and nine other media.

Accordingly, the strategists of Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently want to infiltrate Belarus politically, economically and militarily. The goal would be a common union state under Russian leadership, as the newspaper reports, citing the document. Western security circles consider the paper to be authentic, according to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".

The internal 17-page Kremlin document titled "Strategic Goals of the Russian Federation in Belarus" apparently dates from the summer of 2021. According to the report, it lists Russia's strategic goals in Belarus in the areas of politics/defense, trade and economy, and society and divides them into short-term (until 2022), medium-term (until 2025) and long-term (2030).

Experts consider the Kremlin paper to be authentic, according to the newspaper. "In its external form, the document resembles a standard document of the Russian bureaucracy or political administration," said Martin Kragh, deputy director of the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS). The content is "largely consistent with Russia's political goals towards Belarus since the 1990s."