Tag Archives: imminent

Measles now an imminent global threat due to pandemic, say WHO and CDC

Nov 23 (Reuters) – There is now an imminent threat of measles spreading in various regions globally, as COVID-19 led to a steady decline in vaccination coverage and weakened surveillance of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. public health agency said on Wednesday.

Measles is one of the most contagious human viruses and is almost entirely preventable through vaccination. However, it requires 95% vaccine coverage to prevent outbreaks among populations.

A record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose in 2021 due to hurdles created by the COVID pandemic, the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a joint report.

While measles cases have not yet gone up dramatically compared to previous years, now is the time to act, the WHO’s measles lead, Patrick O’Connor, told Reuters.

“We are at a crossroads,” he said on Tuesday. “It is going to be a very challenging 12-24 months trying to mitigate this.”

A combination of factors like lingering social distancing measures and cyclical nature of measles may explain why there has not yet been an explosion of cases despite the widening immunity gaps, but that could change quickly, said O’Connor, pointing out the highly contagious nature of the disease.

The WHO has already seen an increase of large disruptive outbreaks since the start of 2022, rising from 19 to almost 30 by September, O’Connor said, adding that he was particularly worried about parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in London; Editing by Maju Samuel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Biden’s warning of nuclear ‘Armageddon’ reflects the ‘stakes’ with Russia, not an imminent threat: Kirby

The White House believes “the stakes are very high right now” with Russia amid Vladimir Putin’s struggles in Ukraine and his references to his nuclear arsenal, but President Joe Biden’s warning of possible “Armageddon” wasn’t about an imminent threat, a top Biden spokesperson said Sunday.

“These comments were not based on new or fresh intelligence or new indications that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons and, quite frankly, we don’t have any indication that he has made that kind of decision,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

“Nor have we seen anything that would give us pause to reconsider our own strategic nuclear posture in our efforts to defend our own national security interests and those of our allies and partners,” Kirby said, citing the president’s promise that “neither we nor our allies are going to be intimidated by this.”

Kirby’s comments come after Biden’s unusually stark remarks at a fundraiser on Thursday.

Biden said then that Putin, the Russian president, was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons” and that “we have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis” in the 1960s.

The White House was pressed repeatedly last week over whether Biden’s warning marked some shift in the administration’s assessment of Putin’s behavior, which Kirby denied on “This Week.”

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, Sept. 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE

“We are monitoring this as best we can, and we have been monitoring his nuclear capabilities, frankly, since he invaded Ukraine back in February,” Kirby said.

Raddatz asked what the U.S. saw as Putin’s “way out” of this war, where his forces have been losing ground in recent weeks in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions. On Saturday, an explosion also partially collapsed a bridge serving as a crucial supply link from Russia to Crimea, the disputed peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

“Mr. Putin started this war and Mr. Putin could end it today, simply by moving his troops out of the country,” Kirby said, adding, “We all want to see this war end. … And what needs to happen is for the two sides to be able to sit down and negotiate and find a way out of this peacefully and diplomatically.”

But, so far, “Mr. Putin has shown no indications — zero, none — that he’s willing to do that,” Kirby said. And so, he said, the administration remained committed to indirect involvement in the war by supporting Ukraine via weapons and other military aid.

On the Ukrainian side, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out negotiating with Putin specifically — not Russia — and signed a decree formalizing that position on Tuesday.

Raddatz also pressed Kirby on the White House’s approach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who launched a barrage of ballistic missiles in recent days, including over Japan, raising alarms there and in South Korea.

“I’ve seen this for decades and decades, the same thing happens through many presidents: You respond, you do drills, he keeps firing,” Raddatz said.

“What are you doing differently?” she pressed.

Kirby pointed to intelligence gathering and “military readiness” between the U.S., Japan and South Korea: “We’re going to make sure that we have the capabilities in place to defend our national security interests if it comes to that.”

But direct talks with Kim’s regime remained the goal, he said: “We want to see the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, verifiable and complete … We are willing to sit down with them without preconditions at the negotiating table to work toward that end.”

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Trader Who Accurately Called This Year’s Crypto Crash Says Bitcoin Rally Imminent – Here’s His Outlook

A widely followed Bitcoin (BTC) analyst who predicted the 2022 BTC collapse is spotting a potential bear trap in the brush.

Pseudonymous crypto trader Capo tells their 547,900 Twitter followers that the US Dollar Index (DXY) and traditional stocks are setting up for a BTC rebound.

“DXY bounce is looking weak and it wants to dump again.

SPX at support.

BTC looks good for $20,500-$21,000.”

The king crypto is down 2.5% over the last 24 hours, currently going for $19,555. Still, Capo believes the slump is nothing more than a “bear trap” signaling that a bounce is imminent for BTC.

“Bear trap… Bounce incoming.”

Turning to the charts, Capo says BTC’s low time frame (LTF) target remains at $21,000.

“BTC LTF

Same plan. Price is at support and late longs have been liquidated. 

Main target for the local top remains $20,500-$21,000. 

Bearish confirmation: clean break of $19,000.”

Source: CryptoCapo_/Twitter

Capo also looks at BTC sentiment to support his bouncing Bitcoin hypothesis.

“Sentiment is ultra bearish even though price keeps printing higher lows on LTF.

Bounce is very likely.”

With the largest crypto by market cap down by nearly 3% over the last day, Capo still says all of today’s losses will be regained.

“Today’s dump about to be fully reversed.”

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Bonelab Trailer Reveals Imminent Release On Quest 2 & SteamVR

Highly anticipated physics playground Bonelab releases Thursday.

“Yes, this Thursday,” developer Stress Level Zero clarifies in its release date trailer.

So September 29 — just six days from this writing — Quest 2 and SteamVR players can explore the follow-up to 2019’s immensely popular PC VR title Boneworks. Developer Stress Level Zero published the 4-minute Bonelab release date trailer today offering some of our best-ever views of the game.

The follow-up to Boneworks has been promised for standalone VR since before the original’s release in 2019. Representing years of development, then, Stress Level Zero’s Brandon J Laatsch has been dripping out details on his Twitter account and then teased this week the game “has gone gold.”

Sentenced to death, you embody an outcast escaping fate. Discovering a pathway to a hidden underground research facility. A series of challenging experiments and discoveries await. A road to the truth calls from the void,” the game’s listing explains. “After discovering an underground lab in MythOS city, you will have access to a variety of game locations including arenas, obstacle courses, tactical trials, sandboxes, experimental modes, and user generated levels. Collecting items, avatars, and clues from these locations enable you to progress through the mysterious story.”

Previously, Stress Level Zero released VR games Hover Junkers in 2016 and then Duck Season in 2017, porting the latter to flat-screen PCs in 2019, before taking its work honing physics and object-handling in VR to its new Boneworks universe. The new title promises the ability to import custom avatars alongside a “layered narrative” with “game locations including arenas, obstacle courses, tactical trials, sandboxes, experimental modes, and user generated levels. Collecting items, avatars, and clues from these locations enable you to progress through the mysterious story.”

We’ll plan to dive deep into the game in the days ahead and see how it stacks up between PC and Quest.



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Steep Corrections Imminent for Bitcoin and Ethereum After Massive Fakeout in Stock Market: Top Crypto Analyst

A closely followed crypto strategist is issuing a dire warning to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) holders.

Crypto analyst Justin Bennett tells his 106,800 Twitter followers that the recent sell-off in the stock market suggests an imminent move to the downside for Bitcoin.

“Today’s sell-off from stocks is more than just a single red day. It confirms a massive fakeout, likely triggering an extended move lower. The 3,400 pre-COVID high is a prime target. I’ve said this since May. That’d be -16% for the S&P 500 or about -30%-40% for BTC if it happens.”

Source: Justin Bennett/Twitter

At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $20,049. A 40% devaluation could see BTC trading at the $12,000 price level.

Looking closer at Bitcoin, Bennett says that BTC is in danger of breaking below a diagonal support that has buoyed the top crypto since 2015.

“BTC is once again testing the 2015 trend line. Anyone telling you this looks healthy is either clueless or lying. Notice the two long lower wicks from 2015 and 2020. That indicates strong demand. We’re seeing the complete opposite of that this time.”

Source: Justin Bennett/Twitter

As for Ethereum, Bennett highlights that ETH is forming a head and shoulders top on the four-hour chart with a downside target of $1,000.

“The right shoulder of this potential ETH head and shoulders is starting to form. Confirmation below $1,500.”

Source: Justin Bennett/Twitter

At time of writing, Ethereum is swapping hands for $1,498, below the neckline of the pattern and Bennett’s confirmation level.

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Russia tells NASA space station pullout less imminent than indicated earlier

The International Space Station (ISS) photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking, October 4, 2018. NASA/Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

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WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – Russian space officials have informed their U.S. counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts on the International Space Station at least until their own orbital outpost is built, a senior NASA official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, surprised NASA on Tuesday by announcing that Moscow intended to end the longstanding space station partnership “after 2024.” read more

Kathy Lueders, NASA’s space operations chief, said in an interview that Russian officials later on Tuesday told the U.S. space agency that Roscosmos would like to remain in the partnership as Russia works to get its planned orbital outpost, named ROSS, up and running.

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“We’re not getting any indication at any working level that anything’s changed,” Lueders told Reuters, adding that NASA’s relations with Roscosmos remain “business as usual.”

The space station, a science laboratory spanning the size of a football field and orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, has been continuously occupied for more than two decades under a U.S.-Russian-led partnership that also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.

It offers one of the last holdouts of cooperation between the United States and Russia, though its fate has been called into question since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

A formal agreement to extend Russia’s participation beyond 2024 has not yet been made. NASA, Russia and the station’s other partners plan to discuss the prospect of extending each other’s presence on the laboratory to 2030 during a periodic meeting on Friday of the board that oversees the station’s management, Lueders said.

Roscosmos published on its website on Wednesday an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, the flight director for the space station’s Russian segment, who was quoted as saying Russia must remain on the station until ROSS is operating.

“We, of course, need to continue operating the ISS until we create a more or less tangible backlog for ROSS,” Solovyov said. “We must take into account that if we stop manned flights for several years, then it will be very difficult to restore what has been achieved.”

The American and Russian segments of the space station were deliberately built to be intertwined and technically interdependent.

(This story corrects headline to say “pullout less imminent than indicated earlier,” not “stick with space station until at least 2028; corrects first sentence to say “at least until own outpost in orbit is built,” not “at least until own outpost in orbit is built in 2028”)

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Reporting by Joey Roulette; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Crypto Analyst Who Nailed Bitcoin Collapse This Year Issues Warning, Says Fresh BTC Crash Imminent

A closely tracked crypto strategist who accurately predicted Bitcoin’s correction below $30,000 says that it’s almost time for BTC to collapse to fresh 2022 lows.

Pseudonymous analyst Capo tells his 425,900 Twitter followers that the top crypto asset by market cap’s inability to stay above the key psychological price area of $20,000 suggests that another sell-off event is imminent.

“It’s time… This is exactly what has happened. Support to resistance flip, another bull trap. Strong rejection and straight to new lows.”

Source: Capo/Twitter

Capo says Bitcoin looks poised to dip below its yearly low of around $17,600.

“BTC: more accurate projected roadmap for the potential local bottom formation around $16,000.”

Source: Capo/Twitter

Based on Capo’s chart, he expects Bitcoin to briefly correct below $16,000 before launching a sharp rally above $20,000 and reclaiming the price level as support.

Capo also adds that his expected BTC correction could bring about a massive devaluation in the altcoin markets.

“Expecting 45-50% drop on altcoins from current prices.”

Capo, who has been bearish on the king crypto since April when it was trading close to $50,000, says that he will join the ranks of BTC bulls once the bottom is in.

“I have become the nightmare of the bulls, but soon I will be the nightmare of the bears.”

Bitcoin is changing hands at $19,170 at time of writing.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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USC, UCLA planning to leave Pac-12 for Big Ten in 2024 with announcement imminent

Pac-12 powerhouses USC and UCLA are finalizing discussions to leave the conference for the Big Ten as early as the 2024 athletic season, sources tell CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander and Dennis Dodd. Though the move is not yet official, it appears as if the Big Ten is aiming to make a significant acquisition that will change the college sports landscape.

An announcement expected to address USC and UCLA’s intensions is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, sources close to the situation tell Dodd.

“Everything is on the table,” a Pac-12 source tells Norlander.

Big Ten presidents and athletic directors met Wednesday night to discuss adding USC and UCLA to the league, according to The Athletic.

The transition of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten would be similar to the one that rocked college sports last summer when Texas and Oklahoma opted to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, a move set to transpire ahead of the 2025 season.

That kicked off a realignment bonanza in which the Big 12, American and other conferences saw teams move in and out of their membership. A similar situation will likely occur here if USC and UCLA formalize their intentions to depart the Pac-12.  The move would also constitute a stunning divergence in direction for UCLA and Cal, partners in the University of California system.

In acquiring the Trojans and Bruins, the Big Ten would transform from largely a midwest conference to one that extends to the West Coast. It would be a significant shift in the college sports landscape at the Power Five level, which has largely been localized with teams mostly belonging to leagues in their geographic area.

USC and UCLA would bring the Big Ten to a total of 16 teams, the same number as the SEC once Texas and Oklahoma enter their fold. The ACC has 14 teams, while the Big 12 will settle at 12 with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF in the fold after UT and OU depart.

This acquisition would be a significant coup for fourth-year Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, the first Power Five boss to cancel the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The news comes less than a year after the Big Ten and Pac-12 — along with the ACC — announced a strategic alliance following the SEC’s additions of Texas and Oklahoma. That alliance was light on substantive action from the start, and the Big Ten’s poaching of two Pac-12 powers only further undermines the notion that the leagues will work together in combatting the SEC’s growing hold on power in college sports.

With the Pac-12’s media rights deal expiring in 2024 and the Big Ten in the midst of negotiating a new media rights deal that could start as soon as next season and reportedly exceed $1 billion per year, the timing is natural for such discussions. The expiration of that Pac-12 deal should leave USC and UCLA with little financial burden should they ultimately choose to depart for the Big Ten.

The San Jose Mercury-News’ Jon Wilner first reported that USC and UCLA were planning to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

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U.S. envoy not confident Iran nuclear deal is imminent

  • U.S. believes deal not imminent
  • Failure of talks could heighten tension in Middle East
  • Still difficult issues holding up talks

DOHA, March 27 (Reuters) – U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said on Sunday he was not confident that a nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran was imminent, dampening expectations after 11 months of talks in Vienna that have stalled.

The failure of efforts to restore a 2015 accord, which would curb Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions that have hammered Iran’s economy, risks spiking political tensions in the Middle East and further increasing world oil prices, analysts say.

“I can’t be confident it is imminent… A few months ago we thought we were pretty close as well,” Malley said at the Doha Forum international conference.

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“In any negotiations, when there’s issues that remain open for so long, it tells you something about how hard it is to bridge the gap.”

His assessment of the negotiations in Vienna came after Kamal Kharrazi, a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said a deal could come soon.

“Yes, it’s imminent. It depends on the political will of the United States,” Kharrazi told the conference.

LAST MINUTE DEMANDS

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear pact in 2018, prompting Tehran to start breaking nuclear limits set under the deal. Months of on-and-off talks to revive the deal were delayed earlier this month as Russia wanted guarantees it would be able to carry out its work as a party to the deal.

But there are still outstanding issues. Kharrazi said in order for the deal to be revived Washington must remove the foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) designation against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC, created by the Islamic Republic’s late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is more than just a military force and has enormous political clout. It was placed under sanctions in 2017 and put on the FTO list in April of 2019.

Iran’s and U.S.’ flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

“IRGC is a national army and a national army being listed as a terrorist group certainly is not acceptable,” said Kharrazi.

Malley said regardless of what happens, many sanctions on the IRGC will remain.

IRAN SEEKING GUARANTEE

Tehran has also been pushing for guarantees that any future U.S. president would not withdraw from the deal and the extent to which sanctions would be rolled back is another unresolved issue.

The United States’ allies in the Gulf and Israel remain of the view that Tehran is a security threat and have deep misgivings over the talks.

Israel and the United States will continue to cooperate in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, Israel’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

“We have disagreements about a nuclear agreement and its consequences, but open and honest dialogue is part of the strength of our friendship,” Yair Lapid said in Jerusalem during a joint press conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken said a return to the 2015 deal is the best way to contain Iran’s nuclear programme.

But whether or not that happens, “our commitment to the core principle of Iran never acquiring a nuclear weapon is unwavering,” he said.

The issue is likely to dominate a two-day summit in Israel which will include foreign ministers from three Arab states.

In Tehran, EU envoy Enrique Mora, who is the coordinator of the talks, met with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani on Sunday to discuss pending issues in the nuclear talks.

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Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous and Andrew Mills in Doha; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Dan Williams in Jerusalem: Writing by Nadine Awadalla and Michael Georgy; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

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Latvian PM says Russian forces are moving into eastern Ukraine as US warns full-scale invasion could be imminent

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a media briefing in Australia which occurred Tuesday evening eastern time, that “Russia is at peak readiness to now complete a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”

Morrison, whose country is a member of the so-called Five Eyes alliance that shares intelligence, said it was “likely to occur within the next 24 hours.”

The US intelligence assessments and foreign leaders’ public warnings — as well as US President Joe Biden’s statements Tuesday that the Russian invasion was beginning — come as the Ukrainian president has called for a state of emergency to be imposed across the country starting at midnight Wednesday in Ukraine.

“According to the information at my disposal, Putin is moving additional forces and tanks into the occupied Donbas territories,” Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. “By any definition that’s a crossing of a sovereign territory into a neighboring country.”

Pressed specifically on whether he was referring to the entry of additional Russian troops since Moscow recognized the two separatist regions earlier this week, Kariņš replied: “Yes, according to the information at my disposal, this is exactly what we’re seeing.”

Two other sources familiar with US intelligence confirmed to CNN that additional Russian troops have in fact crossed the border into the Donbas region since Putin recognized the two regions and issued an order deploying “peacekeepers” into the Donbas on Tuesday. According to a senior US official familiar with the latest intelligence, Russia has deployed one to two so-called battalion tactical groups, Russia’s main combat formation, each of which comprise an average of about 800 troops.

CNN has not independently verified the presence of additional Russian troops in the Donbas.

The new warning from US intelligence was conveyed to Ukraine on Tuesday morning local Kyiv time, according to three of the sources. A senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine has not verified the intelligence and noted that the United States has issued similar warnings before, for assaults that ultimately did not materialize.

The US has assessed that Russia has completed all preparations for an invasion, a senior US defense official familiar with the latest intelligence. “They are as ready as they can be,” the official said.

NATO allies have been given a similar intelligence assessment warning of an imminent attack, according to a NATO military official. The official cautioned that “no one knows for sure” what Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to do.

Newsweek first reported on the US warning.

Of particular concern, the US warned, is the major northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to the senior Ukrainian official and a western official familiar with the intelligence. The Ukrainian foreign minister said on Tuesday there were no plans to evacuate the city,

“We do not have such plans,” he said during a press conference in Washington alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Russian forces in ready positions, Pentagon says

A senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday that 80% of Russian forces amassed on Ukraine’s border are “in what we would consider forward positions, ready to go.” a senior defense official told reporters during an off-camera briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

Russian military forces “arrayed around Ukraine and Belarus are as ready as they can be,” for an invasion, the official said.

Russian military capabilities along the Ukraine border are “near 100% of all forces” that the Pentagon anticipated Putin would move into the area, the official added. Putin has a “full range of capabilities” already moved to the Ukraine border, including “significant offensive missile capability,” “two dozen warships in the Black Sea” and “armor, artillery, certainly infantry,” according to the official.

Social media videos geolocated and analyzed by CNN over the past several days show a continuing buildup of armor and support vehicles less than 30 kilometers across the border in Russia.

US officials have said that they anticipate both a ground invasion and airstrikes should Russia launch an attack.

“Russian missiles and bombs will drop across Ukraine. Communications will be jammed. Cyberattacks will shut down key Ukrainian institutions,” Blinken said last week before the UN Security Council, describing how the US believed a Russian attack on Ukraine would unfold. “After that, Russian tanks and soldiers will advance on key targets that have already been identified and mapped out in detailed plans.”

US, Europe say more sanctions ready if Putin further escalates

President Joe Biden on Tuesday described events now underway in Ukraine as “the beginning of a Russian invasion,” but senior administration officials have since declined to confirm whether additional Russian troops had entered into the Donbas — where unmarked Russian forces have propping up separatist fighters since 2014.

The US and European allies invoked sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday in response to Putin’s moves, and the Biden administration is expected to announce Wednesday that it will allow sanctions to move forward on the company in charge of building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

Kariņš told CNN that the initial round of sanctions from the US and Europe was only the beginning of the Western response toward Moscow if Putin escalates further in Ukraine.

“I think that what we’re seeing now is the first wave of sanctions. So Putin moves military units into Ukraine, the democratic world responds immediately, within one day, and across all the time zones, with coordinated and very deep sanctions,” he said. “If there would be more moves, there would be more sanctions, and they will only be cutting deeper and deeper.”

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s parliament said it was “dealing with a cyberattack” on its website, a member of Ukraine’s parliamentary press team confirmed to CNN.

Internet monitor NetBlocks tweeted that Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Service and Cabinet office websites have been “impacted by network disruptions.”

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council announced Wednesday that the state of emergency would be introduced across all parts of the country under government control. The measure is expected to be approved by the Ukrainian Parliament within 48 hours and would last for 30 days, with the possibility of being extended for an additional 30 days.

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