The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:
* Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calls for more sanctions against Russia: “Now the pressure needs to step up to stop Putin. Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now.”
* Ukraine’s military reported shelling from pro-Russian separatists killed one Ukrainian soldier and injured six others in Luhansk.
* The Ukrainian security council approved a national state of emergency set to last for 30 days, subject to parliamentary approval.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is always open to diplomacy but will not negotiate on the interests of Russia or the security of its citizens.
* Australia announced sanctions against members of Russia’s security council, while Japan halted the issuance of Russian bonds.
* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said planned talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were off, after Russia “made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy.”
* U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday cut off the Russian government from international financing and imposed sanctions on two large banks, declaring that its invasion of Ukraine was “a flagrant violation of international law.”
* Biden also ordered the movement of infantry troops and air support from elsewhere in Europe closer to Russia’s borders, as the region girds for possible confrontation.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he is conscripting reservists for a special period but ruled out a general mobilization.
* The West is demanding that Russia pull its troops and weapons from Ukraine’s border, while Moscow is pushing for NATO to curtail its operations in eastern and central Europe. Russia also maintains that the Western defensive alliance should reject Ukraine’s NATO membership bid, a move the United States calls a “non-starter.”
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
