US President Joe BidenWASHINGTON, Mar 6 US President Joe Biden in conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Visa and Mastercard's decision to suspend operations in Russia, the White House said. in particular, he welcomed the decision … Visa and Mastercard to suspend the provision of services in Russia,» the message said. The Central Bank of Russia had previously explained that Visa and Mastercard payment cards issued by Russian banks would continue to operate in Russia until their expiration date, however, cross-border transactions and purchases from foreign online stores will not be available. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of February 24th. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the Russian President emphasized.
