Zelenskyy makes plea for continued aid in speech to U.K. Parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an impassioned plea for continued aid from the British Parliament on Tuesday, with an emphasis on aerial support.
During his speech, he recounted Ukraine's experiences since Russia first began its invasion of his country nearly two weeks ago. Zelenskyy also appealed to British history, recalling instances in which the United Kingdom had to protect itself.
Ukraine is proud of its resistance, he said, and continues to hold out hope as it pushes back against Russian forces. But air raids and helicopters have caused significant casualties and the country will continue to need external support, he said.
Zelenskyy says he and Macron discussed humanitarian corridors
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and French President Emmanuel Macron maintain constant dialogue and discussed humanitarian corridors. Macron continues to be one of the few leaders keeping an open line of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We discussed the implementation of agreements on humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of the population and delivery of necessary goods," Zelenskyy said in a tweet Tuesday.
CIA director says China 'unsettled' by opposition to Russian invasion
China is "unsettled" by what is unfolding in Ukraine as it puts up an unexpectedly fierce resistance to Russia and the U.S. and its allies impose a global sanctions regime on Moscow, CIA Director William Burns said Tuesday at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats.
China's leaders are concerned about both the economic consequences of its relationship with Russia and the "reputational damage that can come by their close association" with President Vladimir Putin, he said.
Russia's actions have also brought the United States and European countries closer together, Burns said — another point of concern for Beijing.
"I think they've, you know, valued their relationship with Europe and valued what they believe to be their capacity to try to drive wedges between us and the Europeans," he said.
European Commission plans to be Russian-energy free by 2030
The European Commission unveiled a plan Tuesday to make Europe independent from Russian energy before 2030 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The plan would first tackle Europe's use of Russian gas by diversifying supplies to other sources and would reduce the use of Russian fossil fuels by boosting energy efficiency and relying on renewable energy.
The efforts would decrease the E.U.'s demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year, the commission said.
"We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. "We need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the clean energy transition."
U.K. to phase out Russian oil imports by year's end
The United Kingdom will phase out Russian oil imports and petroleum products by the end of 2022, the country's business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced Tuesday.
"Businesses should use this year to ensure a smooth transition so that consumers will not be affected," Kwarteng said in a series of tweets announcing the phaseout. He said the transition will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports, which make up 8 percent of U.K. demand.
The British government will also work with companies through a new task force "to support them to make use of this period in finding alternative supplies," he said.
Additionally, while Russian natural gas only makes up 4 percent of the U.K.'s supply, Kwarteng said he is exploring options to end its use, as well.
U.S. gas prices soar to record high of $4.17 a gallon
Gas prices soared in the U.S. on Tuesday to a record high of $4.17 for a gallon of unleaded, according to AAA, formerly the American Automobile Association.
That breaks the previous high of $4.10 a gallon, set in July 2008. When adjusted for inflation, that price would be about $5.37 in 2022.
The average price across the country rose 10 cents in a day and 55 cents since last week, according to AAA data.
Pressure at the pump has only intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago and subsequent calls to ban Russian imports of oil. President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday morning that the U.S. will ban imports of Russia oil.
U.S. intel agencies: Up to 4,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine invasion
U.S. intelligence agencies estimate that 2,000 to 4,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the first two weeks of the invasion of Ukraine — possibly more than the number of American service members killed in the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said during a worldwide threats hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning that analysts give the estimate low confidence, and that it was based in part on information from “open sources,” which can mean media and social media reports.
The estimate underscores the steep price Russia is already paying for a conflict that Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, in the same hearing, called “a shock to the geopolitical order with implications for the future that we are only beginning to understand.”
An estimated 2,448 American service members were killed during two decades of war in Afghanistan, according to The Associated Press.
The New York Times to pull news staff out of Russia
The New York Times has announced it will temporarily remove journalists from Russia in the wake of a new law there that effectively outlaws independent reporting on the invasion.
“Russia’s new legislation seeks to criminalize independent, accurate news reporting about the war against Ukraine. For the safety and security of our editorial staff working in the region, we are moving them out of the country for now,” a spokeswoman for the Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, said in a statement published by the outlet on Tuesday.
The decision comes after Bloomberg News and the BBC announced last week that they were also temporarily suspending their journalistic operations in Russia.