Ukraine-Russia War: Russia Hit By Oil Import Ban, Ukraine Changes Stance On NATO: 10 Facts

President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil, gas and coal, saying Ukraine will “never be a victory for Putin”. Britain said it will also phase out Russian oil imports by the end of this year.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbour. Referring to NATO membership, Zelensky said through an interpreter that he does not want to be president of a “country which is begging something on its knees.”

US intelligence chiefs branded Russian President Vladimir Putin an “angry,” isolated leader craving global clout, frustrated about how his Ukraine invasion has not gone to plan, and lobbing provocative nuclear threats at the West.

The United States rejected a Polish offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US air base, saying the proposal raised “serious concerns” for the entire NATO alliance. Under the proposed scheme, those jets could then be deployed to Ukraine, while the Polish air force would receive F-16 fighters as replacements.

The European Union has announced 500 million euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, saying it had taken in two million refugees fleeing the Russian invasion so far and expected millions more.

International rating agency Fitch Ratings said it has downgraded Russia’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to ‘C’ from ‘B’.

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks have suspended their operations in Russia over Moscow’s internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine. 

The BBC announced it was resuming English-language broadcasting from Russia, after suspending reporting as it examined tough new media laws. In a new statement, the corporation said it had “considered the new legislation alongside the urgent need to report from inside Russia”.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said the number of people to have fled Ukraine in eastern and central Europe reached two million on Tuesday, amid renewed efforts to create safe evacuation corridors from cities under attack.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is no longer transmitting data to the UN’s atomic watchdog, the agency said, as it voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard at the Ukrainian facility. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost”, the agency said in a statement.