Joe Biden, other top officials banned from entering Russia

Russia says it has put Joe Biden, U.S President, Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister and a dozen top US officials on a “stop List” that bars them from entering Russia.

Alongside Biden, US officials on list included Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns and National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.

The ban was in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining official relations and if necessary, would make sure that high level contacts with people on the list could take place.

Others on the list included Deputy National Security Advisor, Daleep Singh, US agency for International Development Chief, Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo and US Export Import Bank chief, Reta Jo Lewis.

Russia also banned from entry, Biden’s son Hunter, and former Secretary of State and democratic Presidential Candidate, Hilary Clinton.

The Foreign Ministry warned Moscow will soon announce additional sanctions against a range of “Russophobix” US officials, military officers, legislators, businessmen and media personalities.

Earlier, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on four Russian individuals and one entity it accused of playing a role in concealing events around the death of whistle blower, Sergei Magnitsky, of being connected to human rights violations against rights advocate, Oyub Titiev.

The Treasury statement also imposed fresh sanctions on Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko and his wife, increasing pressure on Moscow and its close ally.

“We condemn Russia’s attacks on humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, and call on Russia to cease its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine,” the Head of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Andrea Gacki, said in a statement.

Canada has also imposed sanctions on 15 Russian officials, who enabled and supported the war in Ukraine.

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Russia’s military forces blasted Ukraine’s capital region and other major cities as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defense that has frustrated their progress after invading.

Russia’s military forces blasted Ukraine’s capital region and other major cities Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defense that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading.

With Russia’s ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, a glimmer of optimism emerged that talks between the two sides could make progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiations would continue and Russia’s demands for ending the war were becoming “more realistic.”

Russia rained shells on areas around Kyiv and within the city, where a 12-story apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. British and U.S. intelligence assessments supported the Ukrainian leader’s view of the fighting.

“Efforts are still needed, patience is needed,” he said in his video address to the nation. “Any war ends with an agreement.”

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment, said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of the capital.

Zelenskyy was preparing to make a direct appeal for more help Wednesday in a rare speech by a foreign leader to the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, defense ministers from NATO member nations planned to meet in Brussels on Wednesday.

Developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground occurred as the number of people fleeing Ukraine amid Europe’s heaviest fighting since World War II passed 3 million.

Shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire that sent plumes of smoke over the area, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergencies agency. The neighboring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without saying if they were injured or killed.

Russian forces have intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, Kyiv region head Oleksiy Kuleba said.

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New Zealand border to reopen from next month, PM Ardern says

New Zealand has brought forward plans to reopen its borders to international travellers after a Covid lockout of more than two years.

Australians will be allowed to enter the country without needing to quarantine or isolate from 13 April.

Fully vaccinated travellers from about 60 countries on a visa-waiver list will be able to arrive from 2 May. Those nations include the UK and US. All arrivals will have to show a negative Covid test. New Zealand shut its borders in March 2020 as the pandemic spread. They have remained closed, except for a short-lived travel bubble with Australia.

Currently only New Zealand citizens are allowed in and out. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand was “ready to welcome the world back”.

“We have now received guidance that it is safe to significantly bring forward the next stage of border reopening work, bringing back our tourists,” she said on Wednesday.

People who already have a visa – but are from outside the visa waiver list – will be eligible to enter the country on 1 May.

While tough lockdowns and virtual isolation helped the country get a reputation as a Covid success story, transmission rates have soared recently.

Many Kiwis are struggling to grasp how their country has gone from fewer than 1,000 cases a day to more than 20,000 daily infections in just a couple of weeks. Ms Ardern had pursued an elimination strategy until October last year.

But New Zealand now has a 95% vaccination rate in the eligible population. It has recorded only 115 Covid deaths since the pandemic began.

Despite some easing of isolation requirements for Covid patients, the country remains in its highest level of restrictions with limits on gatherings and mask mandates in many settings.

Mandates have left unvaccinated people in some sectors without jobs, leading to three weeks of protests in the capital Wellington.

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Zelenskyy to deliver virtual address to US Congress

Ukraine introduces temporary visa-free for foreigners who wants to help fight Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address this week to the U.S. Congress, part of a series of high-profile speeches from a leader working to rally support as the Russian invasion of his country intensifies.

Zelenskyy will speak Wednesday to members of the House and Senate, an event that will be livestreamed for the public. It follows an address he delivered last week to the U.K. Parliament that carried echoes of Winston Churchill’s stirring words during World War II. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver a speech to Canada’s parliament.

“It’s such a privilege to have this leader of this country, where these people are fighting for their democracy and our democracy,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday during an event at the Brooklyn Bridge with New York lawmakers.

Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for the meeting when they spoke at the end of last week, and lawmakers are “thrilled” to have him address Congress.

The talk comes as the Ukrainians are fighting for their country’s survival in the escalating war as Russian President Vladimir Putin intensifies his assault, including airstrikes on the capital, Kyiv. Zelenskyy has pleaded with the U.S. for more air support, including the transfer of planes from neighboring Poland. Civilians in Ukraine are taking up arms to hold back Putin’s regime, but the war has launched a mass exodus of more then 2.8 million people from Ukraine.

“The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,” said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

They said all lawmakers are invited to the talk that will be delivered via video at the U.S. Capitol. It comes after Congress recently approved $13.6 billion in emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Biden is expected to sign a big spending bill containing Ukraine aid into law on Tuesday, but lawmakers expect to hear more from Zelenskyy about his country’s immediate needs. During Pelosi’s call last week, Zelenskyy said his country would need help rebuilding from the war.

“We have to do more in terms of meeting the needs of some of the 2.7 million refugees,” she said.

She said of the Ukrainians, “They’re fighting for democracy writ large.”

In their statement Monday, the congressional leaders said Congress “remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin’s cruel and diabolical aggression.”

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy spoke by video with House and Senate lawmakers, delivering a desperate plea for more military aid.

The Ukrainian president has specifically sought air support to battle the Russians, including the transfer of Soviet-era MiGs from Poland, but the Pentagon has closed the door on that idea for now, worried it could escalate U.S. involvement.

Schumer said Monday that it’s among the highest honors of any Congress to welcome foreign heads of state, “but it is nearly unheard of in modern times that we hear from a leader fighting for his life, fighting for his country’s survival, and fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy.”

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