March 24, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

US President Joe Biden is meeting with the G7 to discuss new sanctions and other actions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

At the start of the meeting the leaders stood for a family photo, but did not otherwise engage with the press as the talks got underway.

Biden was seen sitting down at a round table and opening his notebooks as the meeting began. He walked in alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Some background: The G7 is shorthand for Group of Seven, an organization of leaders from some of the world's largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US.

Russia was indefinitely suspended from the group — which was at the time known as the G8 — in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against its annexation of Crimea. It was the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II.

US President Joe Biden in a statement said that the NATO alliance remains “as strong and united as it has ever been” and vowed continued support for Ukraine following Thursday’s NATO summit in Brussels. 

Biden noted that the leaders were able to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via videoconference and said in the statement that NATO and the United States will “continue to support him and his government with significant, and increasing, amounts of security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right to self-defense.”

The United States said Thursday it would provide more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance for people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The funds will help provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other assistance, the White House said.

The money comes as US President Joe Biden meets with European leaders and works to determine the next phase of the response to Russia’s war.

In addition, the White House said it would stand up a $320 million fund meant to bolster democracy in countries bordering the European Union, including funding for human rights, independent media and anti-corruption initiatives.

The G7 leaders just took a family photo in Brussels ahead of an emergency summit to discuss Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden is expected to speak soon to the group.

Andriy, a 15-year-old Ukrainian teen from Chernihiv, escaped his city after being forced from his home and then drove over what he thinks was a land mine, he told CNN.

He said he was screaming and couldn't walk. Villagers who heard the explosion brought him to safety.

His mother burned to death.

Andriy started crying when asked about his mother, saying it is "very difficult" for his family.

"I want you to know my mother was a very beautiful woman," he said via a translator.

The northern city of Chernihiv has seen some of the most intense shelling since Russia invaded Ukraine a month ago. Badly damaged buildings line rubble-strewn streets, while still-burning fires fill the air with heavy smoke, as seen in a new video from Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko.

"It's very hard to look what going on with my city," he added, saying that he'll go back once the war ends. 

Andriy said he wants to "distance myself from this war," then played a song on his guitar for Berman.

Watch the interview:

The United States is still opposed to providing fighter jets to Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made another appeal to NATO leaders on Thursday. 

A senior US official tells CNN the US position has not changed on the matter. 

During a video address on Thursday, Zelensky asked NATO for "one percent of all your planes," later adding, "you have thousands of fighter jets, but we have not been given one yet."

Previously, US officials said they opposed providing fighter jets to Ukraine because it could be viewed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as an escalatory step. 

The United States will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression, a senior administration official announced Thursday.

“To meet this commitment, we are considering the full range of legal pathways to the United States,” the official said, which includes US refugee admissions program, parole and immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.

The official said the White House will not have to ask Congress to expand the current cap on annual refugees — which is currently set at 125,000 for fiscal year 2022 — because it is more a “long-term commitment” and there will be other avenues to enter the United States for many of those Ukrainians.

“We still have a significant capacity within the 125,000 so we don’t currently envision the need to go beyond that,” the official said.

The official said that the administration is working to expand and develop new programs with “a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States.”

There will be an emphasis on protecting the most vulnerable among the refugee populations, including members of the LGBTQI+ community, those with medical needs, journalists and third country nationals.

“By opening our country to these individuals, we will help relieve some of the pressure on the European host countries that are currently shouldering so much of the responsibility,” the official added.

The United States on Thursday will announce new sanctions against over 300 members of the Russian Duma and more than 40 Russian defense companies, a senior administration official told reporters. 

The official added that the EU and G7 will also announce a new sanctions evasion initiative that’s “designed to prevent circumvention or backfilling” of sanctions.

Asked by CNN’s Phil Mattingly for examples of the sanctions evasion initiative, a senior administration official said, in part, it will blunt the Central Bank of Russia’s ability to deploy international reserves by making clear that any transaction involving gold is prohibited — which prevents the ruble from being propped up.

Asked about the expected joint energy strategy that is expected to be announced Friday, administration officials wouldn’t go into detail but said “it’s something we’ve been working on for some time and I think it’s going to be a meaningful step forward in terms of accelerating Europe’s diversification away from Russian gas.”

As Russian soldiers bear down on Ukraine, increasingly desperate Ukrainians are running out of food and medicine. The economic fallout from the invasion is beginning to spill over to the rest of the world, too.

Forecasts for global growth are being slashed and the chance of a US recession in 2023 has risen to 35%, according to Goldman Sachs.

But war in Europe is no longer a theoretical, off-in-the-future concern for economists to discuss in research papers and notes to investors. It's tangible. It's here. And it's causing pain for millions.

Sanctions and other supply-chain disruptions have sent consumer prices surging across the world as oil and other commodity prices have spiked. Soaring gas and diesel prices are also adding to the cost of food, heightening fears that the world is on the brink of a hunger crisis.

France's government is considering food vouchers to help residents afford to eat. A commodities trading company said diesel is in such short supply it may soon have to be rationed.

Continue reading the full story here:

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Gas rationing, food vouchers and hunger: Economic pain from Russia's war is getting real