Western nations impose sanctions and cut off key pipeline with Russia after Putin orders troops into Ukraine's breakaway regions
CNN
The threat of a full-scale war weighed heavy in Europe on Tuesday as the international community scrambled to finalize sanctions and further rounds of diplomacy following Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to order troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine.
It comes as diplomatic efforts to avoid an escalation appear to have stalled after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had canceled a planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva this week.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the US will sanction Russia's financial institutions and oligarchs. The United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan also announced fresh sanctions on Russia.
Elected officials, Jewish advocacy groups and civil rights leaders are vowing to “push back” against the message of a White nationalist group that staged a march last week near downtown Columbus, Ohio, calling the demonstration an act of hate unwelcome in their community – and the United States more broadly.
Senate Democrats have confirmed some of President Joe Biden’s picks for the federal bench this week in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for a total GOP blockade of judicial nominations – in part because several Republicans involved with the Trump transition process have been missing votes.