HAPPENING NOW: Biden is minutes away from starting his first #SOTU2022 address.
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Biden will emphasize the U.S. and NATO's prepared response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "premeditated and unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine in his #SOTU2022 address tonight, according to excerpts from his speech. axios.com/russia-ukraine…
Ukrainian ambassador Oksana Markarova is one of First Lady Jill Biden's guests at the State of the Union address tonight.
@mikeallen@margarettalev@SenatorTimScott@SecMartyWalsh .@SecMartyWalsh On bipartisanship and progress: "When you look at those spaces where you find common ground and agreement, the President found it in infrastructure...he found it in 70 pieces of legislation across the country, you find it in community colleges in a big way."
@mikeallen@margarettalev@SenatorTimScott@SecMartyWalsh .@SecMartyWalsh On expanding access to mental health services: "The President is really committed to tackling the issue of mental health and substance use disorder, as well as creating pathways into those professions for people."
LATEST: More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Attacks on civilian areas have increased in the last 48 hours, but the death toll is impossible to verify. trib.al/mWIIE9N
In a defiant address as a seventh day of war began, Zelensky said the war unified Ukrainians like nothing before.
"We forgave each other. We started loving each other. We help each other. We are worried for each other." axios.com/ukraine-civili…
The Russian plan to sprint to Kyiv and force a swift capitulation has faltered under stout Ukrainian resistance.
But Russian forces are taking towns and cities, particularly in the south, and intensifying bombardments of cities like Kharkiv in the east. axios.com/ukraine-civili…
LATEST: Zelensky released a new video accusing Russia of war crimes for its siege of civilian areas in Kharkiv, a mostly Russian-speaking city near the border.
"It is a conscious destruction of people. Russians knew where they were shooting." axios.com/ukraine-russia…
The southeastern port city of Mariupol has been surrounded and "has practically no electricity and centralized heating," according to the mayor.
U.S. officials say Russia wants to seize Mariupol and Kharkiv to section off eastern Ukraine. axios.com/ukraine-russia…
Norway has become the latest NATO country to commit to sending military aid to Ukraine, pledging up to 2,000 M72 anti-tank grenade launchers. axios.com/ukraine-russia…
Ukrainian and Russian officials arrived at the Ukraine-Belarus border for peace talks, as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the next 24 hours would be "crucial" to Ukraine's fate.
In his latest address, Zelensky called for Ukraine's immediate accession to the EU — one day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine is "one of us and we want them in." axios.com/ukraine-russia…
Zelensky's office called for an "immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine" ahead of peace talks, but expressed little optimism that the negotiations would result in an end to the attack. axios.com/ukraine-russia…
BREAKING: EU and U.S. to expel some Russian banks from SWIFT payments system axios.com/eu-expels-russ…
Some European allies had previously expressed concern that disconnecting Russian banks' access to the primary system for global financial transactions would cause collateral economic damage. axios.com/eu-expels-russ…
The U.K. and Canada joined the U.S. and EU countries in the effort to cut off Russia from the world's most important financial messaging system. axios.com/eu-expels-russ…
Zelensky was a comedian and actor before soundly defeating Petro Poroshenko with more than 70% of the vote in 2019.
He had no political experience and named his political party after the TV sitcom on which he played a president, "Servant of the People." axios.com/ukraine-volody…
Zelensky: "Throughout my entire life, I’ve tried to do everything so Ukrainians smiled. In the next five years, I will do everything so that you, Ukrainians, don’t cry." axios.com/ukraine-volody…