Biden administration to request $10B in Ukraine aid

NATO countries supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion have a “green light” to send fighter jets as part of their military aid, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

The push for more air support comes as Russia battered a string of southern cities in Ukraine, throttling evacuation efforts and leading to rising numbers of civilian deaths and displacement. Ukraine’s military has used fighter jets, drones and anti-aircraft systems largely supplied by NATO to down the Russian aircraft bombing the area.

“We’re talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians,” Blinken said during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for a no-fly zone over his country continues to draw no support. Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday that “the world is strong enough to close our skies.” He also appealed for stronger sanctions on Russia.

NATO countries have ruled out policing a no-fly zone, which would bar all unauthorized aircraft from flying over Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participation” in the armed conflict.

Blinken also said the U.S. and its allies are in talks to ban Russian oil imports, a move that would require successful efforts to provide an “appropriate supply of oil on world markets.” Russia supplies about 30% of Europe’s oil and 40% of its natural gas.

Over the weekend, the Russian military continued seeking to isolate Ukraine’s major cities, including Kyiv, a senior Defense Department official said Sunday. But forces attacking near Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv in northern and eastern Ukraine are facing strong resistance, the official said.

The airspace over Ukraine remained contested, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings.

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook

Latest developments:

►Netflix said Sunday it’s suspending service in Russia, joining the growing list of companies shunning the country. Earlier in the day, TikTok and American Express said they would suspend operations in the country. TikTok also said it will start labeling content from accounts used by state-controlled media.

►The State Department is urging Americans to leave Russia immediately, citing the “unprovoked and unjustified attack” against Ukraine and the potential for harassment of U.S. citizens by Russian government security forces.

►Gas in the U.S. has topped $4 a gallon for the first time in over a decade as the price continues to soar in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The national average of a regular gallon of gas is $4.009, according to AAA, up 8 cents from Saturday and up 40 cents from last week.

►Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett returned from a surprise trip to Russia where he discussed the war with Putin. The trip was “in coordination and with the blessing” of the Biden administration, the latest attempt at diplomacy in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Israel is one of few countries that has good working relations with both Russia and Ukraine.

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Biden administration to request $10B in aid to Ukraine

The Biden administration has requested $10 billion in humanitarian, military, and economic support for Ukraine, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced in a news release Sunday evening.

Biden has strongly affirmed that he will not send U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine, but the funds, which will be part of the federal government’s omnibus funding legislation, will likely provide military equipment and support U.S. allies who are supplying airplanes to Ukraine, Pelosi’s release said.

She also said the U.S. House of Representatives is exploring “strong legislation” that would ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the U.S., repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and take the first step in denying Russia access to the World Trade Organization.

— Celina Tebor

Zelenskyy appeals for stronger sanctions as Russians boost attack

With his requests for a no-fly zone over Ukraine falling on deaf ears, President Volodymyr Zelensky is appealing for stronger sanctions against Russia as the invaders boost their shelling.

Zelenskyy criticized Western leaders in a video statement Sunday for not responding to the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement that it would strike Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. Zelenskyy also told employees of those defense plants not to go to work.

“I didn’t hear even a single world leader react to this,” Zelenskyy said. “The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal to the West that the sanctions imposed on Russia are not sufficient.”

Western sanctions have damaged the Russian economy and cratered the ruble, but the country’s attack on its neighbor has continued undeterred.

Cease-fire in Mariupol collapses as Russians keep up offensive

A second attempt at a cease-fire meant to allow civilians and the wounded to be evacuated from besieged Mariupol in southern Ukraine came apart under shelling from Russian forces Sunday, leaving the port city in dire need of food, water, medicine and other supplies.

Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks quickly closed the humanitarian corridor that had been negotiated, dashing hopes that more people could escape the fighting.

“There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom,“ Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram.

Efforts to evacuate civilians also fell through in Volnovakha in the east as well as the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, where presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich described the situation as “catastrophic.”

Although the Ukrainians were putting up stiff resistance and ruining Russian plans for a quick takeover, the conflict has taken a heavy toll as the invading forces have launched 600 missiles since the war started Feb. 24.

Russian airstrikes damaged the Donetsk-Mariupol gas pipeline, likely leaving dozens of Ukrainian towns and villages in the area without gas or heat, officials in the Donetsk region said. A Russian missile strike hit a gas line in Irpin, 15 miles west of Kyiv, cutting off gas and heat to local residents, the government said.

Also, Ukraine notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that regular staff operates the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, but that plant management is now under orders from the commander of the Russian forces that took control of the site last week. Ukraine reports that any action of plant management – including measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor units – requires prior approval by the Russian commander.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed “grave concern” about the reorganization, saying professional staff must have the “capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure.”

Ukraine defense minister: ‘Myth’ of Russian might destroyed

Ukraine Defense Minister Alexei Danilov said his country has survived the first wave of Russia’s large-scale offensive but Russia is preparing a second wave. Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Odesa remain strategically important cities for Russia’s war, he said. Russian troops want to encircle key cities, bleed the Ukrainian army and create a humanitarian catastrophe, Danilov said.

“The myth of Putin’s most modern and powerful army in the world has been destroyed and burned on the roads of Kyiv and Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mykolaiv,” Danilov said. “But the enemy is still dangerous.”

American Express suspends operations in Russia

American Express said Sunday that it is is suspending all operations in Russia “in light of Russia’s ongoing, unjustified attack on the people of Ukraine.” Globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia. Additionally, cards issued in the country by Russian banks will no longer work outside of Russia on the American Express global network. The company said it is also terminating all business operations in Belarus.

On Saturday, Visa and Mastercard said they will drop any cards issued by Russian banks off their networks and not allow their cards issued outside of Russia to work with Russian vendors or ATMs.

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine

Over 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine into neighboring nations, the U.N. refugee agency said, making it the worst such crisis in Europe since World War II. The Polish prime minister’s office said 922,400 people had crossed its border alone since fighting began 11 days ago. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Moldova to discuss security and humanitarian assistance for the refugees, said officials have seen “very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians” that could constitute war crimes.