A meeting between Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov planned for Thursday is now “in real jeopardy,” a senior Biden administration official told NBC News.
A second official said it’s hard to see how the meeting goes forward and a third official said it’s “likely” the meeting won’t happen. By extension, that means any summit between Biden and Putin is in jeopardy as well, these officials acknowledged.
These comments track with comments by deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, who told CNN this morning, “I think what Russia has done has made a diplomatic path much harder to walk down and much less likely.”
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Finer said he would “leave it to the State Department to determine whether or not that meeting goes forward.”
“Regardless, Russia is taking significant steps away from diplomacy,” he added. “We are not gonna be the ones that close the door, but all signs are not encouraging about the path they seem to be choosing.”
Biden to give update on Ukraine in White House speech
President Joe Biden will speak from the East Room at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday to provide an “update on Russia and Ukraine,” the White House announced.
The Biden administration on Tuesday called Russia’s movement of troops into eastern Ukraine an “invasion,” a move Biden has said would trigger significant economic sanctions against Moscow.
Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said earlier Tuesday that Russia had crossed a line and that Biden would announce in the coming hours new sanctions against Russia.
Russia continues to plan for Ukraine attack, NATO says
There is “every indication that Russia is continuing to plan for a full-scale attack of Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels Tuesday.
Calling on Russia to “step back,” he said it was “never too late not to attack.”
He said that NATO would continue to provide Ukraine with “strong political support” while continuing to “do whatever is necessary to protect the military alliance.
“We urge Russia to choose the path of diplomacy,” he said, adding that it was “the most dangerous moment in security in a generation.”
Putin requests approval for the use of armed forces outside Russian territory
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the Russian parliament’s upper chamber, the Federation Council, for approval to use armed forces outside Russian territory, according to the chamber’s chairwoman, Valentina Matviyenko.
The request came after lawmakers were told to return for a closed-door session after a break, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
This is the procedure that would be necessary in case Putin would want to formally proceed with military actions in the Donbass region. He needs the council’s approval in order to make decisions about the Russian army’s activities abroad.
White House says Russia has invaded Ukraine, triggering stiff sanctions
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is now describing Russia’s movement of troops into eastern Ukraine on Monday as “an invasion,” a move President Joe Biden has said would trigger significant economic sanctions against Moscow.
The shift in the administration’s language comes just hours after officials said that Russia moving troops into the Donbas region of Ukraine “would not itself be a new step,” since Russia has had forces there since 2014.
Two administration officials said the change in language Tuesday morning followed an assessment of Russia’s actions on the ground in Ukraine.
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Russian pipeline to Germany put on ice after Putin sends troops to Ukraine
A Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany was delayed Tuesday as the United States and its allies threatened far-reaching sanctions to punish President Vladimir Putin after he ordered troops into Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took the first steps to suspend the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would bring natural gas into Europe. It has been built but is not yet operational.
“It is important to launch new sanctions now in order to prevent an escalation and a disaster,” Scholz said at a news conference in Berlin. “These are difficult hours for Europe and almost 80 years after the end of the Second World War, we might see a new war in Eastern Europe.”
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E.U. activates cybersecurity experts
A coalition of European Union countries is tapping a team of cybersecurity experts to help Ukraine fend off potential cyberattacks from Russia.
Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence announced Tuesday that it is leading the E.U.-affiliated Cyber Rapid Response Team in its first deployment. The Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Romania, and Croatia will all send defensive cybersecurity experts. The move comes in response to a request for aid from Ukraine.
Ukraine has long been a target for Russia’s government-affiliated hackers. It has already faced several cyberattacks during Russia’s current troop buildup, including destructive software implanted on government computers in January and an attack that briefly knocked its banks offline last week.
Oil prices surge as stock markets shaken amid Ukraine crisis
Oil prices surged to close to $100, the highest in more than seven years, as global stock markets fell in early trading Tuesday amid growing fears over the Ukraine crisis.
Brent crude oil was up nearly 4 percent Tuesday morning, rising to just over $99 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell nearly 2 percent in a seven-month low in early trade, before rising back up to Monday’s closing level.
The ruble rose in FX markets, while German equities erased losses of more than 2 percent to trade flat.
Wall Street also erased losses, with futures measures for the S&P 500 turning positive as Nasdaq recovered from losses of about 2 percent to trade down 0.4 percent.
The developments came as the U.S. and its allies vowed to impose harsh sanctions in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision Monday to formally recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, as he sent troops to the area.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said efforts were underway to halt progress on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the wake of Monday’s developments.
European soccer organization under pressure to move Champions League final from Russia
European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, is coming under pressure to move the showpiece Champions League final from the city of St Petersburg.
The blue ribbon event of the European club football calendar is set to take place at the Krestovsky Stadium on May 28.
But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the U.K. Parliament Tuesday that he thought it was “inconceivable that major international football tournaments can take place in Russia after the invasion of a sovereign country.”
Other British politicians including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Tracey Crouch, a former sports minister, also called for the venue to be moved.
UEFA has previously been able to move prestigious events at relatively short notice, including last year’s final which was also set to be played in Saint Petersburg, but moved to Porto in Portugal due to Covid travel restrictions.
UEFA said in a statement Tuesday that it was “constantly and closely monitoring the situation and any decision would be made in due course if necessary.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov at the coffin of a 35-year-old soldier who died in recent shelling incident at the frontline with Russia-backed separatists, during a ceremony in Kyiv on Tuesday.
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