Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One by one, embassies and international offices in Kyiv closed. Flight after flight was canceled when insurance companies balked at ...

But the longer this tension and escalation is taking place, the weaker Ukrainian economy can become,” she said. It saps faith in the government, and it forces Ukraine to divert attention and resources from needed reforms. The United States last week offered a $1 billion loan guarantee, and the European Parliament approved $1.3 billion in loans for Ukraine to cover financing needs this year. Alex Riabchyn is a former member of Ukraine’s parliament who now spearheads a project to set up hydrogen plants for the national Naftogaz energy company. Stavnitser said the Black Sea ports are operating as usual for now, but it’s only a matter of time before the same insurance problems that cut off commercial flights start to hit the shipping industry. The Ukrainian president is also juggling state-sponsored cyberattacks, a Russia-backed separatist movement and the threat of 150,000 Russian soldiers surrounding his country on three sides.

Tensions between Moscow and Kyiv are at their highest in years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin signing decrees recognizing two separatist pro-Moscow ...

The extortion of Colonial Pipeline underscored for Biden administration officials the economic and national security threat posed by ransomware. The phone call was one of a series of recurring briefings that FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials have had for US companies and local governments in the last two months in light of US tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It was scheduled before it was clear that Biden was addressing Russia’s latest moves in Ukraine on Tuesday. Russia is a “permissive operating environment” for cybercriminals, one that “is not going to get any smaller” as Russia’s confrontation with the West over Ukraine continues and further sanctions are announced, the FBI’s David Ring said on a phone briefing with private executives and state and local officials, according to two people who were on the call.

Biden imposes sanctions in response to what the U.S. calls the “greatest threat to Europe” since the Second World War.

“This package of sanctions that has been approved by unanimity by the member states will hurt Russia, and it will hurt a lot,” the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters in Paris. But the U.S. notably did not sanction Putin. “This is the beginning of an invasion, and this is the beginning of our response,” the official said. The senior Administration official said that oil prices were rising not because of Nord Stream 2 but because Putin might “hold the world hostage.” But he also said that other gas suppliers are expected to step in to help sustain the world’s supply. Irrespective of the situation in Ukraine.” The single purpose behind sanctions, he declared, is “to keep Russia behind, to prevent it from developing.” Almost plaintively, he added, “Was it necessary to make an enemy out of us?” The U.S. strategy now centers on preventing further Russian military action—basically deterrence—since Biden has repeatedly said that he will not send American forces to fight the Russians in Ukraine. A central goal is to protect Kyiv and the Zelensky government from falling. Russia’s eleven-billion-dollar investment will now “go to waste,” the senior Administration official said. In a statement, Putin said that the Minsk peace deal “no longer exists, there is nothing to fulfill.” Ukraine’s democratically elected government, however, has been firm in its resolve to join NATO and the European Union in the future—a policy enshrined in a constitutional amendment in 2019. U.S. officials believe Putin intends to use that power ambitiously, after his angry and meandering speech on Monday night claiming that modern Ukraine was “entirely created” by Russia. “Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us. “The United States and our allies and partners remain open to diplomacy, if it is serious when all is said and done. “This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” President Biden said, on Tuesday. Putin, he warned, is now “setting up a rationale to go further.” Biden, who announced the first tranche of U.S. sanctions on Russia in retaliation, appeared outraged as he called Putin’s moves “bizarre” and a clear violation of international law. “And hoping that throws us enough off balance that he will pay a minimal price for this first slice of salami.”

East Room 2:22 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Trying to make up your mind, huh? (Laughter.) Well, good afternoon. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin.

At every step, we have shown that the United States and our Allies and partners are working in unison — which he hasn’t been counting on — Mr. Putin. We’re united in our support of Ukraine. We’re united in our opposition to Russian aggression. And there is no question that Russia is the aggressor. When all is said and done, we’re going to judge Russia by its actions, not its words. We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine. I hope I’m wrong about that — hope we’re wrong about that. President Putin has sought authorization from the Russian parliament to use military force outside of Russian territory. Over the last few months, we have coordinated closely with our NATO Allies and partners in Europe and around the world to prepare that response. And we’ll continue to reinforce and reassure our NATO Allies. So, today, I’m announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday. And if Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as — with sanction. tomorrow [today] and continuing in the days ahead, we will also impose sanctions on Russia’s elites and their family members. Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors? Yesterday, Vladimir Putin recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent states and he bizarrely asserted that these regions are no longer part of Ukraine and their sovereign territory.

Volodymyr Zelensky said his government would work to “raise the preparedness of the Ukrainian army to all possible changes in the operational situation.”

We use cookies and similar methods to recognize visitors and remember their preferences. We also use them to measure ad campaign effectiveness, target ads and analyze site traffic. Before us lies hard work, every day, but we are prepared for it with confidence in ourselves, in our country, in victory.” Calling on Ukrainians to fight for their country before it disappears, Mr. Zelensky said his government would work to “raise the preparedness of the Ukrainian army to all possible changes in the operational situation.” “We want quiet. Volodymyr Zelensky said his government would work to “raise the preparedness of the Ukrainian army to all possible changes in the operational situation.”

President Biden warned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that more sanctions would follow if he did not withdraw his forces and engage in diplomatic ...

“Ahead will be a difficult trial,” Mr. Reznikov said in a somber message released by the military. “That remains an option,” she said of a potential meeting, but only if Russia de-escalates hostilities toward Ukraine. American officials have worried for weeks that imposing severe sanctions on Russia could also have consequences in the United States, including higher gas prices. Mr. Pankov’s remarks offered little evidence that a peaceful end to the conflict between the two countries was in sight. “Negotiations have reached a dead end,” he said in a televised speech. “This is the only objectively controllable factor that can be observed and reacted to.” Mr. Biden’s use of the word “invasion” was significant. Mr. Biden and his counterparts in Germany, England and other European nations described the package of global sanctions as severe. “This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.” But that still leaves open the question of how to calibrate the sanctions — because so far there have been no mass casualties. The global response began early on Tuesday, just hours after Mr. Putin recognized the self-declared separatist states in eastern Ukraine and Russian forces started rolling into their territory, according to NATO, European Union and White House officials. Ukrainians near the territory controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists have already endured days of shelling, and as Ukrainian troops hunkered down in their trenches and civilians took shelter in basements, the country’s military said that one soldier had been killed so far and six wounded.