| President Biden, heeding pressure to cut Russia off from doing business with the United States, announced an immediate U.S. embargo on imports of the country’s oil, gas and coal, applauding House and Senate bipartisan efforts to follow with legislation and similar action announced on Tuesday by the United Kingdom. Biden, who considered the move for days in consultation with European allies, labeled oil and gas the “main artery” of the Russian economy and proceeded to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin directly for gas price increases that are taking hold across the U.S. (The Hill). “The decision today is not without cost here at home. Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump,” Biden said, adding that he will take steps to “minimize Putin’s price hike here at home” (The Hill). Lawmakers on Tuesday were set to pass a legislative ban on Russian oil and gas imports. The measure was quickly amended to reflect the president’s order. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had initially planned to vote on the proposal on Tuesday, but scrapped that plan in favor of a vote later today. On top of the fuel directive, the House’s bill would also call for a new review of Russia's status as part of the World Trade Organization and expand the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, an existing human rights law that empowers presidents to apply sanctions to those regimes that commit human rights violations. She argued it is a complement to Biden’s executive order (The Hill). The White House fact sheet: United States bans imports of Russian oil, liquified natural gas and coal. The Associated Press: What does a U.S. ban on Russian oil accomplish? Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant, The Hill: How Biden came around to banning Russian gas and oil. The Wall Street Journal: Saudi, Emirati leaders decline calls with Biden during Ukraine crisis, accept calls from Putin. The Hill: U.S. looks to bridge petroleum needs with supplies from Latin America, Middle East. The Hill’s Saul Elbein reports how much will be needed. The Hill: The United Kingdom says it will phase out Russian petroleum purchases by the end of the year. 
© Associated Press/Steven Senne On top of the oil ban, Congress struck a deal on Tuesday on a $14 billion package to deliver humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the agreement, having been a driving force to bring the price tag up to its final number. The White House in late February initially requested $6.4 billion; the request rose to $12 billion on Monday. The bill is expected to be attached to the $1.5 trillion spending proposal to keep the government’s lights on through Sept. 30 before Friday’s deadline. “The quickest way to get this done is through the omnibus,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said about GOP criticism that the aid had moved too slowly (The Hill). House Democrats are expected to pass the omnibus later today. House Democrats are set to depart tonight for their three-day retreat in Philadelphia, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told members of his caucus that they should be prepared in case they have to return to Washington on Friday to pass a funding bill again in order to avert a government shutdown. As a failsafe, House Democrats are also set to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open until Tuesday, giving the Senate more breathing room to pass the massive year-end spending bill. “To provide time for the omnibus to be considered in the Senate and enrolled for the president’s signature without a lapse in appropriations, the House Appropriations Committee will introduce a continuing resolution through March 15,” a House Democratic aide told The Hill shortly after midnight. Senators are still pushing to pass the year-end package by Friday’s deadline (The Hill). The Associated Press: Top lawmakers reach deal on Ukraine aid, $1.5 trillion spending. The Hill: Democrats look for cover on rising gas prices. 
© Associated Press/Andrew Marienko America’s ban on Russian oil during what Biden called “Putin’s war” is not widely emulated by most European nations because dependence on Russian energy is extensive there. The United States, however, can cut Russia off and make up the supply differences elsewhere. “We can take this step when others cannot,” Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room. The president, a car enthusiast who enjoys driving, acknowledged however, that the embargo will raise costs for U.S. consumers, who are slammed by the dramatic surge in gas prices ahead of the spring and summer driving seasons as world markets react to war. “They're going to go up,” he said of driving costs. Higher fuel prices add to rising inflation in the United States just as the Federal Reserve next week is poised to announce the first in a series of interest rate hikes to try to keep the U.S. economy from overheating. Americans have thus far given Biden relatively high marks for his handling of the crisis in Ukraine but lower evaluations of his economic policies. Republicans are generally supportive of increasing U.S. oil and gas production and critical of the administration’s policies to wean the United States away from fossil fuels toward alternatives such as wind and solar power, and electric vehicles. The Associated Press: Record gas costs pose fresh political challenge for Biden. The Hill: Poll: 79 percent of Americans back Russian oil ban. Stocks fell Tuesday as energy prices rose in global markets (The New York Times). Since Feb. 24 when Russia — one of the world’s largest energy producers — invaded Ukraine, oil prices have risen about 30 percent. The average per-gallon price of gasoline on Tuesday in the United States was $4.17, according to the American Automobile Association. A month ago, the average was $3.46. Biden warned companies not to gouge U.S. consumers under the guise of an embargo and encouraged consumers to view the damage to their wallets as investments in democracy everywhere. “Putin may be able to take a city, but he’ll never be able to hold the country,” Biden said while praising Ukrainians for their bravery. “And if we do not respond to Putin’s assault on global peace and stability today, the cost of freedom and to the American people will be even greater tomorrow.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron for more than an hour, as well as with the French foreign minister, to discuss Putin and the escalating situation in Ukraine. Macron, who is keeping diplomatic channels open, earlier spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Vice President Harris departs Washington today for Poland and Romania to bolster U.S. support for NATO partners. On Tuesday, the Defense Department rejected Poland’s offer to give the United States its MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine, to be delivered to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The Biden administration, in a rare public split with NATO partners, rejected Poland’s idea as an “untenable” option that could widen the war with Russia (The Associated Press). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday implored the West to label Russia a “terrorist state” while urging British lawmakers to impose more penalties on Moscow and send military assistance to Ukraine (The Hill). Zelensky on Twitter expressed his gratitude for Biden’s “personal leadership in striking in the heart of Putin’s war machine and banning oil, gas and coal from US market. Encourage other countries and leaders to follow.” An attempt failed on Tuesday to evacuate civilians from the surrounded city of Mariupol and deliver badly needed basic supplies through a designated safe corridor. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had fired on a convoy before it reached the city (The Associated Press). There were reports of corpses in the streets and desperate, trapped Ukrainians forced to forage for food, melt snow for water and hide from the shelling in the cold and darkness underground. Defying predictions, apparently including those inside the Kremlin, Ukraine has nevertheless held Russian forces at bay into a second week. More than 2 million Ukrainians — the largest tide of fleeing refugees since World War II — continue to move into neighboring nations with no idea when they might return. In a nation with 44 million people, at least 1 million children have fled, according to the United Nations (The Washington Post). The international strategy to end the war continues to focus on punishing Russia into eventual economic and political submission and retreat, which Putin has shown no signs of entertaining. The U.S. and NATO partners have gradually escalated their approaches to isolating Russia’s economy, cutting off its access to global finances and sources of revenue and goods. On their own, iconic U.S.-based companies are deciding to halt sales in Russia. Biden on Tuesday saluted corporations for decisions increasingly seen as getting on the right side of an unprovoked war. Some of the names: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Starbucks, PepsiCo. The Wall Street Journal: NATO members mount huge operation to resupply Ukrainian fighters. 
© Associated Press/Markus Schreiber | 
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