Biden issues oil ban

According to the New York Post, Zelenskyy has vowed to hunt down “every bastard” involved in the murder of a Ukrainian family in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin this weekend.  “A family was killed in [Irpin] today. A man, a woman and two children. Right on the road. … When they were just trying to get out of town. To escape,” Zelensky said, speaking in Ukrainian in a broadcast late Sunday. “The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine! We will not forgive. We will not forget.”  “We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war. On our land. We will find every bastard. Which shot at our cities, our people. Which bombed our land. Which launched rockets. Which gave the order and pressed ‘start,’” he continued  “There will be no quiet place on this Earth for you. Except for the grave.”  “The names and ages of the family have not been released, although reports said the daughter was 8 years old and her brother a teen,” the Post reports.  “About a dozen Ukrainian soldiers were nearby when the explosion went off Sunday, including one in a video who appeared to be injured in the blast. The soldiers were there not to fight but rather to assist fleeing civilians, according to reports.”  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained roughly 95% of his combat force in Ukraine as fighting continues, an  official confirmed Tuesday.   U.S. defense officials believe that Putin has pushed roughly  150,000 in  combat forces along Ukraine’s border into the former Soviet nation. There have been reports of stalled forces, including mechanical errors,  fuel and food shortages, but the majority of Russian forces remain.  "He still has a lot of combat power available," a senior defense official warned.   The official commented that despite Russia’s continued advances, the "vast majority" of Ukrainian forces also remain operable. Though the official noted Ukraine lacks the "physical numbers" that Russia maintains.   Russia has yet to advance in the air.  Ukraine  combats Russian missiles that have destroyed cities across the nation.  Approximately 670 missiles have been levied at Ukraine. 

According to Fox News, “In the days following the announcement that he had authorized invading the neighbor country, entities ranging from world leaders to small business owners are consistently attempting to squeeze Russia out of the global economy.”  “On Saturday, the United States, Canada and other European allies released a joint statement announcing that ‘selected’ Russian banks would be removed from the SWIFT financial system.”  “If one of these de-SWIFTED and Russian banks wants to make or receive a payment with a bank outside of Russia, such as a bank in Asia, it will now need to use the telephone or a fax machine. And in all likelihood most banks around the world will simply stop transacting altogether with Russian banks that are removed from SWIFT,” a senior  Biden administration official said.  The EU has also stepped up, sending $500 million in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine and barring Russian planes from entering EU airspace.  “Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane – and that includes the private jets of oligarchs,” der Leyen said. “This will apply to any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person.”  “Even if you’re a business that doesn’t care about anything except making money, the last thing you want to be doing is go there. You go to lots of other places to do your business, you don’t need to go there,” Retired CIA Senior Clandestine Services Officer Dan Hoffman told Fox News.  “Oil companies are also taking action against Putin, as BP announced Sunday it is dropping its stake in Russian energy company Rosneft, in which it has a 19.75% stake, according to its chief executive, Bernard Looney. He will also resign from the Rosneft board,” according to Fox news.  “I am convinced that the decisions we have taken as a board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in the long-term interests of bp,” Looney said in a statement. “Our immediate priority is caring for our great people in the region and we will do our utmost to support them.”

Ukraine’s’ first lady calls for NATO no fly-zone Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska called on NATO to enforce a no fly-zone over the skies of Ukraine, a move the alliance has resisted over fears it could escalate the conflict with Russia and draw NATO into the war.  “And what we need - close the sky!" she said in an "open letter" posted to social media Tuesday. "Finally take off the white gloves, you still can't keep neutrality. Because Putin may come to you next. Close the sky, and on earth we will handle it ourselves.”

Intelligence officials predict 'ugly' weeks ahead as Putin doubles down Top U.S. intelligence officials warned Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is frustrated that his invasion of Ukraine is not going as planned, and that the coming weeks will get "ugly" as he takes an even more aggressive approach to try and take over the country.  During a House Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that Putin did not expect the U.S. and European allies to respond the way they have with sanctions, and did not anticipate private companies ceasing to do business with Russia.  "Nevertheless," Haines said, "our analysts assessed that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate, essentially doubling down to achieve Ukrainian disarmament neutrality to prevent it from further integrating with the U.S. and NATO if it doesn't reach some diplomatic negotiation."

Former President Donald Trump commented in an exclusive interview on Saturday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could escalate to a "world war" and stressed that President  Biden's administration would have to put more pressure on Moscow than by simply issuing sanctions.  During the conversation with Fox News Digital at the site of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, the former president also stated that the invasion "never should have happened."  "It is a horrible thing," he said. "But there's great bravery being shown, and I think they're doing one hell of a job — much more so than anybody would have thought possible."  When Trump was asked if had any words for Russian President Vladimir Putin, he had no comment.