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Western pressure on Russia hasn't stopped Putin's latest provocations
CNN
The US took new steps to ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday -- announcing new economic sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on the same day that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other finance ministers walked out of a G20 summit in Washington in protest once Russia's delegate began his remarks.
Those moves were rich with symbolism about Western intentions to keep tightening the vise around Russia's economy as the US and its allies try to isolate Putin on the world stage. But they looked feeble against the backdrop of Putin's provocative test launch of Russia's new intercontinental ballistic missile and the allies' inability to save civilians as the latest evacuation attempts from Mariupol collapsed Wednesday.
US officials downplayed the importance of the missile test, noting they had been alerted of the launch window through international notification agreements, that they had tracked the missile's path and believe it is not yet operational in Russia's inventory. But after weeks of saber-rattling from Putin -- including his February order putting nuclear forces on high alert -- the Russian leader clearly hoped the move would unnerve the US and its allies as they weigh their next moves to help Ukraine.
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Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have been fired or feel they could be soon, according to four people familiar with recent US intelligence on the issue.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should apologize after his meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office devolved into what Rubio described as a “fiasco,” while questioning whether the Ukrainian leader really wants peace in the country’s war with Russia.