Schumer wants briefing, top U.S. and Russian diplomats scrap planned meeting

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has requested an all-senators briefing on the ongoing crisis on Ukraine's borders, a spokesperson for Schumer confirmed to NBC News.

The Senate is not in session and does not return until Monday.

Schumer's request for administration officials to meet with the Senate comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent a separate request on Monday for a briefing for all House members.

– Amanda Macias

Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee issued a joint statement on the heels of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, D-R.I., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Ok., Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's "unending quest to expand his authoritarian regime."

"[Putin] has trampled on Ukraine's sovereignty and jeopardized the peace that was forged in the aftermath of the Cold War," the two senators wrote in a joint statement.

"In the months and days leading up to this invasion, the Kremlin pushed falsehoods to justify its aggression. But we should be clear: Ukraine, NATO, and the international community are not and have not been the aggressors," the lawmakers wrote, adding that Putin choose the path of armed violence against Ukraine.

– Amanda Macias

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that he will no longer meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, citing Moscow's continued troop movement into Ukraine.

"If Moscow's approach changes, we remain, I remain very much prepared to engage," Blinken said during a press conference alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Last week, Blinken agreed to meet with Lavrov on the condition that Russian forces do not further advance into Ukraine. President Joe Biden, who met with Kuleba earlier on Tuesday, said Russian President Vladimir Putin had started an invasion of Ukraine.

Biden announced a slew of retaliatory sanctions aimed at Russian financial institutions, Moscow's sovereign debt as well as Russian elites and their family members.

– Amanda Macias

Stocks fell sharply Tuesday, as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified.

The S&P 500 slid 1% at 4,304.76. That decline put the broad market index in correction territory, down more than 10% from a record close set earlier this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 482.57 points, or 1.4%, to 33,596.61. Tuesday's slide marked the Dow's fourth straight losing session. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 1.2% to 13,381.52.

—Fred Imbert

The Pentagon is moving more advanced military equipment and U.S. troops to NATO ally member countries to bolster defenses amid what the White House has called the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered European-based aviation elements and ground forces to deploy to NATO's northeastern and southeastern flanks.

The new marching orders include:

• An infantry battalion task force of about 800 personnel from Italy will move to the Baltic region
• Eight Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets from Germany will operate now in several locations along NATO's eastern flank
• 20 AH-64 attack helicopters will move from Germany to the Baltic region
• 12 AH-64 attack helicopters will move from Greece to Poland

"These moves are temporary in nature and are part of the more than 90,000 U.S. troops already in Europe on rotational and permanent orders," a Defense official wrote in a statement Tuesday confirming the additional movements.

President Joe Biden has not committed to sending U.S. troops to Ukraine but instead to NATO countries in the region.

 — Amanda Macias

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine could impact the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates if oil prices rise sharply.

Russia is a major commodity exporter, and oil and other commodities have been rising on concerns of supply shortages.

But oil is the one commodity that can broadly impact inflation and the pace of economic growth.

Economists say they expect the Fed to raise rates in March by a quarter point, but the path of rate hiking for the rest of the year could be in doubt if there's a sharp spike in crude prices that drags on the economy.

On the other hand, a less severe jump in prices could spark more inflation and that might make the Fed consider becoming more aggressive.

- Patti Dom

President Joe Biden on Tuesday met with Ukraine's foreign minister to reaffirm the United States' commitments to Kyiv and its readiness to respond "swiftly and decisively to further Russian aggression," the White House revealed.

Biden updated Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the executive order he signed on Monday night and the batch of sanctions he announced the next day, according to a readout of the meeting, which had not been previously announced.

"He also affirmed that the United States would continue providing security assistance and macroeconomic support to Ukraine," the White House said.

Biden "reiterated the readiness of the United States, in close cooperation with our Allies and partners, to respond swiftly and decisively to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine," according to the White House.

— Kevin Breuninger

President Joe Biden warned that the new sanctions being slapped on Russia may also cause some pain at U.S. gas stations, but he said that his administration is taking steps to keep prices down.

"As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that," Biden said at the White House.

"But as we do this, I'm going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at [the] Russian economy, not ours," he said.

"We're closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption. We're executing a plan in coordination with major oil-producing consumers and producers toward a collective investment to secure stability in global energy supplies," the president said. "This will blunt gas prices."

"I want to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump," Biden said. "This is critical to me."

— Kevin Breuninger

President Joe Biden announced a slew of retaliatory sanctions aimed at Russian financial institutions, Moscow's sovereign debt as well as Russian elites and their family members.

"Today, I'm announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions," Biden said in a Tuesday address from the White House, referencing the Kremlin's continued aggression against Ukraine.

"We are implementing full-blockage sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, the VEB and their military bank. We are also implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt," Biden said.

The sanctions imposed on Russia's sovereign debt will effectively remove the Kremlin from Western financial markets. Biden said that in the coming days his administration will also impose sanctions on Russian elites and their family members as they benefit from the Kremlin's maligned behavior.

The new measures come on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

U.S. and European allies have warned that Putin's recognition of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic could serve as a possible prelude to a Russian invasion. The two enclaves in the Donbas region are where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels have been engaged in a long-running armed standoff. 

The conflict in the separatist regions began in 2014, shortly after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian government granted Putin permission to deploy Russian forces outside of the country's borders.

"He's setting up a rationale to go much further. This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," Biden said during his address, his third speech in the past week.

Biden reiterated that while he will not commit to sending U.S. troops into Ukraine he vowed to defend "every inch of NATO territory."

"I've authorized additional movements of U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Let me be clear, these are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia," Biden said, adding that the U.S. and European allies were still hopeful for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

– Amanda Macias

A rocky start to the week for the U.S. stock market got worse on Tuesday afternoon as investors monitored developments in Ukraine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was down fewer than 300 points at noon ET, had extended its losses to more than 650 points shortly after 2 p.m. ET. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 2%, while the S&P 500 shed 1.7%.

Tuesday's market moves come on top of recent weakness for stocks. The three major indexes all lost more than 1% last week.

Elsewhere, the price of gold and 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose, suggesting that some investors were shifting toward safety assets.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday for Presidents' Day.

-Jesse Pound

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Tuesday afternoon at the Pentagon.

Kuleba told reporters at the Pentagon that Kyiv does not want a war with Russia "but if a war is forced on them they will defend themselves," according to a pool report. Kuleba said Russian President Vladimir Putin's lengthy speech Monday evening was about "the destruction of the Ukrainian state."

Austin said U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is "unwavering."

Following his meeting with Biden's Defense Secretary, Kuleba is slated to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken and Kuleba will hold a joint press conference at the State Department at 4:15 p.m. ET.

 — Amanda Macias

The three Russian billionaires hit with sanctions by the U.K. on Tuesday are well-known members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle who have been on the U.S. sanctions list since 2014.

The U.K. announced sanctions on Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg — three oligarchs that the British government said are "leading members of the Russian elite of particular significance to the Kremlin." The U.K. said the three will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban to the U.K.

The sanctions were part of a first wave of economic measures — which also included five Russian banks — in response to Russia's decision to order troops into eastern Ukraine. The U.K. said it will impose broader sanctions, which could include a longer list of Russian oligarchs, if Moscow engages in "further aggressive acts."

Here is what the U.K. and U.S. Treasury Department revealed about the three Russian businessmen placed on the new sanctions list.

Timchenko is ranked as the 8th richest Russian on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated fortune of more than $18 billion. The U.K. also calls him "one of the most powerful people in Russia." He is the founder of the private investment group Volga Group, which is headquartered in Luxembourg and focuses on energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.

Like many Russian billionaires, Timchenko has multiple citizenships, from Russia, Finland and Armenia. He is also chairman of the board of directors for the Russian ice hockey league KHL.

While not as well known in the West as some other Russian billionaires, he owns a fleet of jets, a 130-foot yacht called Lena (named after his wife) and stakes in a vast network of Russian companies, including gas company Novatek and petrochemicals firm Sibur Holding.

In 2014, as part of its sanctions against Russia after the Crimea annexation, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Timchenko as one of 16 "members of the Russian leadership inner circle."

"Timchenko's activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin," Treasury announced at the time. 

"Putin has investments in Gunvor and may have access to Gunvor funds," the U.S. added, in reference to commodities trading firm cofounded by Timchenko.

While the estimated wealth of Boris Rotenberg would not put him among the top 20 in Russia, he is among Putin's closest allies, according to government officials. A former judo trainer, Rotenberg was Putin's sparring partner at a martial arts camp in the 1970s and the two remained close.

Rotenberg's fortune is estimated at around $1.2 billion. He and his brother Arkady own SGM, the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power lines in Russia.

Boris Rotenberg is also a member of the St. Petersburg Connection, a powerful energy lobby.

Igor Rotenberg, the oldest son of Arkady Rotenberg and presumed heir to his fortune, controls drilling company Gazprom Bureniye. In October 2018, Igor Rotenberg's wealth was estimated to be roughly $1 billion.

In its 2014 sanctions report, Treasury said Igor Rotenberg has provided "support to Putin's pet projects by receiving and executing high price contracts for the Sochi Olympic Games and state-controlled Gazprom."

— Robert Frank

A tentative meeting that was to occur Thursday between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov looked increasingly unlikely Tuesday as both the Unites States and Russia hardened their positions on Moscow's military incursion into Ukraine.

"What Russia has done has made a diplomatic path much harder to walk down and much less likely," said Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security advisor, on CNN on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine on Monday after announcing that he would recognize their independence.

On Tuesday, Russia's parliament approved Putin's request to use military force outside the country's borders, a development that could lead to a broader attack on Ukraine.

President Joe Biden will speak about the crisis at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Biden has not yet used the word "invasion" himself to describe the Russian military deployment in the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, but that could change Tuesday afternoon.

There is a lot riding on the word "invasion," which helps to explain why the United States has avoided using it until now.

Biden has long promised to impose severe economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow further invades Ukraine, but the White House has not said specifically what they will be.

If the U.S. formally determines that an invasion is underway, Biden will be expected to unveil some of these sanctions, which could have immediate effects on oil prices and financial markets.

— Christina Wilkie

Russia's parliament approved Russian President Vladimir Putin's request on Tuesday to use military force outside the country's borders, a development that could lead to a broader attack on Ukraine.

"The total number of formations of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the areas of their operations, the tasks facing them, the terms of stay outside the territory of the Russian Federation are determined by the President of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation," the Russian government wrote in a statement.

The quick rubber-stamp from Russian lawmakers comes on the heels of Putin's decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Putin's request to use combative force outside of Russia's borders during a press conference at the alliance headquarters.

"Requests to get permission to use force outside the Russian territory just adds to the pattern of decision and actions by Russia in the last few months which has led to the most dangerous moment for our security in decades," Stoltenberg said.

– Amanda Macias

President Joe Biden will deliver an update after 2 p.m. ET on the situation in Russia and Ukraine and the U.S. response, the White House said.

The speech will be Biden's third such address in a week, and it comes just hours after Russia's parliament voted Tuesday to give President Vladimir Putin sweeping authority to deploy troops abroad.

On Monday, Putin ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that he would recognize their independence.

U.K. Health Minister Sajid Javid said Tuesday that "the invasion of Ukraine has begun."

Biden has not yet used the word "invasion" himself to describe the current activity, but that could change Tuesday afternoon. A top national security official in the Biden White House used the word on live TV on Tuesday morning, a deliberate decision that marked a shift in the American characterization of the Russian military incursion.

– Christina Wilkie

Oil jumped to its highest level since 2014 as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalate, with prices now within striking distance of $100.

International benchmark Brent crude traded as high as $99.50 per barrel, but by 11 a.m. prices had eased back from that level. The contract last traded at $96.61 per barrel, for a gain of 1.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, stood 2.05% higher at $92.94 per barrel. Earlier the contract hit $96, the highest level in more than seven years.

The S&P 500 energy sector traded in the green Tuesday, buoyed by higher oil.

Devon Energy, EOG, Hess and Marathon Oil all rose to multi-year highs, while Pioneer Natural Resources hit an all-time high.

— Pippa Stevens

As President Joe Biden weighs how to best deploy economic sanctions against Russia, he is under pressure from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to do more and do it faster.

The Biden administration argues that the purpose of sanctions should be to act as deterrents against further Russian incursion into Ukraine.

"We don't want to pull the trigger until we have to, because we lose the deterrent effect," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Feb. 20.

"At the same time, we also don't want to detail in public exactly what we're going to do because that will forewarn Russia; it will be able to prepare more effectively to try to mitigate the sanctions," he added.

But this arguably cautious approach to Russia is not sitting well with Congress.

Both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have called on Biden to issue preemptive sanctions against Russia. They argue that Russia should be penalized for what it has already done, including recent cyber attacks against Ukraine and the arming of rebels in separatist areas of Eastern Ukraine.

Both the legislative branch and the executive branch of government can impose sanctions, and it's not uncommon for Congress to pass sanctions packages with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. But this time legislators were unable to reach a deal.

Earlier this month, senators abandoned a sweeping Russia package that would have imposed sanctions on Moscow and funded weapons for Ukraine. After weeks of negotiations, the deal ultimately fell apart over the question of whether U.S. sanctions should be aligned with those of other European and NATO countries, or whether America could go it alone.

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension announced Tuesday that effective immediately, it would make no new investments in Russian government bonds or in companies where the state owns more than 50% of the company.

"Putin's formal recognition of the two separatist republics is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, which is a violation of international law. And it is also a breach of our policy on responsible investment," AkademikerPension Director Jens Munch Holst said in a statement.

The firm said it would reinvest money that would have gone to Russia into other emerging market bonds.  

Russian government securities and shares of state-controlled companies currently make up 0.3% of AkademikerPension's portfolio, the company said.

— Chloe Taylor

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday morning, the Biden administration's Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said: "Invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway."

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to enter eastern Ukraine on Monday evening after Moscow said it would recognize two self-declared republics in the region.

"We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion," Finer told CNN on Tuesday. "I am calling it an invasion. We're taking a severe response including sanctions on Russia [that] we'll be rolling out in a matter of hours."

The U.K. announced sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs on Tuesday, while Germany halted the approval of a major gas pipeline between Russia and Europe.

 — Chloe Taylor

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Tuesday afternoon at the State Department. America's chief diplomat last spoke with Kuleba by phone Monday night following Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in Ukraine.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the two leaders discussed retaliatory U.S. sanctions as well as future additional measures.

Blinken and Kuleba are expected to hold a joint press briefing following their closed-door meeting.

– Amanda Macias

The Biden administration welcomed Germany's decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia and said that the U.S. would follow up with its own measures Tuesday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Tuesday tweet that President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been in "close consultations" after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two separatist regions in Ukraine and ordered troops into the areas.

During a press conference Tuesday, Scholz announced that he asked Germany's Economics Ministry to withdraw documents submitted as part of the process to approve Nord Stream 2.

– Amanda Macias

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that unless the situation in Ukraine changes, the efforts of Western nations to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the crisis "may be in vain."

"We have to face the possibility that none of our messages have been heeded and that Putin is implacably determined to go further in subjugating and tormenting Ukraine," he told lawmakers in Parliament.

Five Russian banks — Rossiya, Black Sea Bank, Genbank, IS Bank and Promsvyazbank — would now be subject to sanctions, Johnson announced.

Three wealthy Russian individuals, Gennadiy Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg, will also have their assets frozen by the U.K. government.

"We must now brace ourselves for the next possible stages of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's plan," Johnson warned.

— Chloe Taylor

There should be "no doubt" that the deployment of Russian forces in Ukrainian territory "amounts to a renewed invasion of that country," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking to lawmakers in Parliament on Tuesday, Johnson said Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers have been spotted in eastern Ukraine since Putin said yesterday that Russia would recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

"By denying Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, and presenting its very existence as a mortal threat to Russia, Putin is establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive," Johnson added.

In an address to Russia on Monday evening, Putin claimed the U.S. and NATO saw Russia as the enemy, and wanted to use Ukraine as "a foothold for a strike" against Russian missile systems.

Johnson on Tuesday referred to that speech as "inflammatory," adding that Putin had "denied that Ukraine had any tradition of genuine statehood … and hurled numerous other false accusations and aspersions."

— Chloe Taylor

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said the U.S. made no proposals for talks between President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

According to Russian state-controlled media, Peskov told reporters Tuesday that Moscow remains "open to diplomatic contacts at all levels," however.

The White House said on Sunday that Biden had agreed "in principle" to a meeting with Putin, provided there was no invasion of Ukraine.

— Chloe Taylor

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, has told a press conference that if a full-scale war with Russia arises, Ukraine will impose martial law.

"We believe that there will be no large-scale war against Ukraine and no broad escalation against Ukraine," he told reporters on Tuesday. "[But] if there is, martial law will be imposed."

He added that although Ukraine is neither a member of the EU or NATO, a full-scale invasion by Russia would put other European countries at risk.

"Other states will be in danger — our neighbors Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia," he warned. "God forbid, I do not wish this on anyone. Nobody wants a war. In Ukraine, people only want peace. But we must prepare for any steps of aggression from our neighbors."

— Chloe Taylor

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Tuesday that Germany would not approve Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline built by Russia's Gazprom to transport natural gas into Europe.

Speaking at a press conference, Scholz said he had asked Germany's Economics Ministry to withdraw documents that had been submitted as part of the process to approve Nord Stream 2.

"It sounds a bit technocratic, but this is the first necessary step to make sure that this pipeline cannot be certified at this point in time, and without this certification Nord Stream 2 cannot operate," Scholz told reporters.

It comes after Russia moved to recognize two breakaway regions of Ukraine and ordered its troops into Ukrainian territory.

"It is important to launch new sanctions now in order to prevent an escalation and a disaster. All our diplomatic efforts are undertaken," Scholz said on Tuesday.

"These are difficult hours for Europe and almost 80 years after the end of the Second World War, we might see a new war in Eastern Europe. It is our task to avert such a disaster and I call upon Russia once more to contribute their share."

— Chloe Taylor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again called on the West to impose sanctions on Russia before it initiates any further military aggression toward Ukraine.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Estonian leade