March 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces sent bulletproof vests to Ukraine on Tuesday — a rare move for the country, which must uphold its pacifist post-World War II constitution.

Strict guidelines that ban the transfer of defense supplies from Japan to parties in conflict were updated on Tuesday to allow defense equipment assigned by the defense minister to be given to Ukraine following Russia's invasion, according to a statement from Japan's Defense Ministry.

It's the first time Japan’s defense force has sent bulletproof vests overseas.

The supplies were sent on a Japan Self-Defense Forces plane departing from Komaki Airbase in Aichi prefecture on Tuesday, according to a tweet by the Defense Ministry.

It came after a request from Ukraine's defense minister last Friday. 

Japan is also planning to deliver other nonlethal emergency supplies such as food, hygiene products, cameras, power generators, tents and winter clothing to Ukraine, according to the Defense Ministry.

In a news conference Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was "critically important" for Japan and its national security to respond firmly with other nations against Russian aggression and provide support to Ukraine. 

Japan is not planning to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, Matsuno added.

About 5,000 people and 1,000 cars evacuated the city of Sumy, northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday, according to deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office Kirill Timoshenko.

Timoshenko made the announcement on his Telegram channel. He also posted a video appearing to show people leaving during the evacuations.

CNN could not independently verify Timoshenko's evacuation statistics.

Sumy has seen heavy attacks in the past few days and is almost cut off from the rest of the country. Some 21 people were reported killed in the city in an airstrike Monday night.

A tense and fleeting evacuation from Sumy took place on Tuesday, with civilians fleeing in private cars and buses taking people to Poltava, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) away in central Ukraine, according to Dmytro Lunin, head of the Poltava regional administration.

The United States is sending two Patriot missile batteries to Poland as a “defensive deployment” to counter any potential threat to US and NATO allies during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a spokesman for US European Command said Tuesday night.

Patriots are air defense missile systems: They are designed to counter and destroy incoming short-range ballistic missiles, advanced aircraft and cruise missiles.

CNN reported earlier this week that the US was considering sending Patriots to allies.

The recent trip by two top US foreign policy officials to Caracas, Venezuela, is a sign of just how much the geopolitical balance could be shifting in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

National Security Council Senior Director Juan Gonzalez and Venezuela Affairs Unit Chief James Story met embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Saturday — the first since diplomatic relations between the two countries broke down in 2019.

Coverage of the meeting has, so far, focused on the possibility the White House might lift some of the sanctions it has imposed in recent years on the Venezuelan oil industry in order to replace imports from Russia, which US President Joe Biden banned earlier today.

Context: Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world — and historically, much of its crude oil has been exported to US refineries.

Venezuelan oil: Maduro confirmed Venezuela’s intention to increase its crude oil output on Monday, a move that comes as Russia’s oil exports are plummeting due to sanctions over its invasion in Ukraine.

American deal might be easier said than done: Oil production in the country is at an almost all-time low after years of mismanagement and lack of maintenance of oil facilities.

It would take years, and billions of dollars of investments, to recover oil exports from Venezuela to what they used to be, suggests expert Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at the Baker Institute in Houston. So if the White House needs a short-term solution to lower the price of gasoline, it cannot come from Venezuela.

US citizens released: However, the US officials’ Venezuelan deployment did bring some immediate results. Venezuela released at least two US citizens late Tuesday, with speculation it was done as a "sign of goodwill" from Maduro (and as part of potential sanctions relief) that has yet to happen.

Gustavo Cárdenas is a US citizen detained in Caracas since 2017 and one of six detained oil executives from US refinery CITGO. Later, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, a Cuban-US dual citizen detained in Venezuela since February 2021, was released from prison. He is not one of the so-called "CITGO 6."

The Caracas trip signals the intention that the White House might be ready to change its relationship to Venezuela in the long term. That’s because Caracas has grown much closer to Moscow under Maduro’s rule.

But it is a high stakes bet: Maduro has walked away from negotiations before — and if it doesn’t work out, Biden will likely pay a political price.

Governors across the United States broadly supported President Joe Biden's decision to ban Russian energy imports to the country — but raised concerns about surging gas prices and the need to strengthen America’s energy independence.

Arkansas: Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Biden's action is a unified message to Russian President Vladimir Putin but it will increase prices at the pump in the US.

Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said: "The Biden administration needs to listen to Americans and increase domestic energy instead of relying on authoritarian regimes to fuel our country. Gas prices are out of control and people are getting hammered at the pump. The time is now to make America energy independent — again."  

Washington: Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said the US needs to aggressively pursue clean energy alternatives. 

Gas tax: Six US governors — all Democrats — released a letter to congressional leaders calling for a suspension of the federal gasoline tax for the rest of the year. 

The White House relayed to Congress concerns over a bipartisan deal that was reached to clamp down on Russia — citing in particular provisions that would suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, according to multiple sources in both parties.

Now the House is moving ahead tomorrow on a different anti-Russia bill that would instead review Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization, while reauthorizing the Magnitsky sanctions law and banning Russian energy imports. That bill will be approved by the House tomorrow, sending it to the Senate.

Republicans are angry because they believe the White House undercut a bipartisan deal reached by the four top tax-writers in Congress.

Even though Brady characterized this bill as a weaker bill, he told CNN: “I think there’s certainly bipartisan support.”

The US House will now move on a bill to clamp down on Russia tomorrow after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier that the bill would come to the floor tonight.

The reason for the change: They had originally tried to approve it under "suspension of the rules," which requires two-third support to pass. But a Democratic leadership aide says that Republicans would not commit to giving them enough votes to get the bill through under suspension.

So they now plan to move the bill under a rule tomorrow so it can pass with a simple majority.

Following US President Joe Biden's announcement today that his administration is banning Russian energy imports, Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that the House would vote on a bill that follows similar steps. The bill would ban imports of Russian energy, take steps to scrutinize Russia's role in the World Trade Organization, and reauthorize the Magnitsky Act to strengthen sanctions on Russia.

What is the Magnitsky Act? The act, signed into law in December 2012, blocks entry into the US and freezes the assets of certain Russian government officials and businessmen accused of human rights violations.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to begin her trip to Poland and Romania tomorrow as the Biden administration continues to show support for Ukraine and the US' eastern NATO allies while Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters a dangerous new phase.

Harris' trip will take place from Wednesday through March 11, and will include stops in Warsaw and Bucharest, according to a Friday announcement by the White House.

She'll meet with the leaders of both countries to coordinate on their response to Russia's invasion and discuss how the US can further support Ukraine's neighboring nations as they prepare to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict.

The White House says the leaders will also "discuss their continuing support for the people of Ukraine through security, economic, and humanitarian assistance and our determination to impose severe economic consequences on Russia and those complicit in Russia's invasion."

The trip comes as the Pentagon on Tuesday dismissed Poland's proposal to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States for delivery to Ukraine.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the Pentagon did not believe Poland's proposal was "tenable," just hours after Polish officials released a statement saying the government was ready to deploy all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to US Air Force's Rammstein Air Base in Germany so they could then be provided to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Kirby said that the decision about transferring Polish-owned planes to Ukraine was "ultimately one for the Polish government," adding that the proposal shows the complexities that the issue presents as Russia has made threatening statements over arms being provided to Ukrainians for use against Russian forces.

The idea as laid out by Poland was too risky, Kirby said, as the US and NATO seek to avoid an outright conflict between the alliance and Russia.

More background: The Defense Department statement was released Tuesday evening after the Polish proposal caught the Biden administration completely off guard, multiple sources told CNN.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for more aircraft amid the Russian invasion, the offer had not been discussed with the US before making it public and Polish officials did not bring it up with Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he was recently in Poland either.

US officials have privately weighed sending aircraft to Ukraine but have repeatedly noted the difficult logistical challenges of doing so.

Poland's surprise announcement complicates what had already been a high-stakes visit by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is due to land in Warsaw late Wednesday.

Harris had been expected to discuss the fighter jet issue while in Poland, according to officials. The White House had previously said it was in discussions with the Polish government about a plan for Poland to supply Ukraine with its Soviet-era fighter jets and the US to backfill the planes with F-16s.

Harris is still scheduled to depart Wednesday morning for Poland, but now there are intensive conversations within the administration about how to work with Poland to come to some sort of agreement that allows the jets to reach Ukraine.

CNN's Jeremy Herb, Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post. 

Ukrainian biathlete Dmytro Suiarko, who won bronze in middle distance vision impaired on Tuesday at the Paralympics in Beijing, said his house “was bombed and destroyed.”

Suiarko was part of a Ukrainian podium sweep in the biathlon event, with Vitaliy Lukyanenko winning gold and Anatoliy Kovalevskyi taking silver.

"I'm very happy. It's an amazing day today, 8 March,” Suiarko said, according to quotes provided by Beijing 2022. “Today is (international) women's day and my medal is for women in Ukraine. I'm very happy with the race because after my last shooting I lost 10 seconds on the bronze position, but (I did) the last loop very quickly and I took a medal," Suiarko said.

"I am very happy my friends Vitaliy and Anatoliy took the gold and silver medals," he added.

Suiarko said that despite feeling happy about his medal, the crisis in Ukraine is on his mind, he said that his home was bombed.

Regarding the podium sweep, Suiarko said: "I am very happy because three athletes from Ukraine stand on the podium again. For me, it's something amazing. I am very happy, but not 100% because in my country there is a very big situation and I want peace for Ukraine."