AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST
Russian forces shell Ukraine's No. 2 city and menace Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
Amid ever-growing international condemnation, Russia found itself increasingly isolated five days into its invasion, while also facing unexpectedly fierce resistance on the ground in Ukraine and economic havoc at home.
For the second day in a row, the Kremlin raised the specter of nuclear war, announcing that its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines and long-range bombers had all been put on high alert, following President Vladimir Putin's orders over the weekend.
Stepping up his rhetoric, Putin denounced the U.S. and its allies as an "empire of lies."
Meanwhile, an embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its ties to the West by applying to join the European Union - a largely symbolic move for now, but one that is unlikely to sit well with Putin, who has long accused the U.S. of trying to pull Ukraine out of Moscow´s orbit.
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Live updates: Ukraine says more Russia shelling during talks
The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war:
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian troops have intensified shelling of Ukraine, calling it an effort to force his government into making concessions during talks held Monday.
In a video address late Monday, Zelenskyy says that "the talks were taking place against the backdrop of bombing and shelling of our territory, our cities. Synchronizing of the shelling with the negotiating process was obvious. I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method."
The president gave no details about the hours-long talks themselves. But he says Ukraine is not prepared to make concessions "when one side is hitting each other with rocket artillery."
Zelenskyy says that Kyiv, the capital, remains "a key goal" for the Russians and that Russian forces have also shelled the city of Kharkiv with rocket artillery.
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One Putin move and behold: West's unity tightens overnight
BRUSSELS (AP) - Within days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved what remained out of the grasp of the European Union for many decades - to jointly buy and send weapons to a war zone - and restored something that was broken for years - trans-Atlantic unity.
For years, Putin could sit back and relish in unseemly scenes of Western disunity - ranging from the Britain's Brexit move out of the EU in 2016, Hungary's long-standing antipathy towards its EU headquarters and, equally, the rift created by former President Donald Trump that has far from fully healed under Joe Biden.
For Putin, the timing seemed perfect for his invasion of Ukraine since it had the potential of opening the cracks of division even further, with a war on the continent forcing everyone far outside their diplomatic comfort zone.
"And just as Vladimir Putin thought that he would destroy European unity, exactly the opposite thing has happened," European Council President Charles Michel said in an interview with a small group of reporters on Monday.
"Cooperation is solid as a rock," he said. "This is demanded by the circumstances of history. Demanded by circumstances that none of us could have imagined," Michel added.
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UN climate report: 'Atlas of human suffering' worse, bigger
Deadly with extreme weather now, climate change is about to get so much worse. It is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years with an "unavoidable" increase in risks, a new United Nations science report says.
And after that watch out.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report said Monday that if human-caused global warming isn´t limited to just another couple tenths of a degree, an Earth now struck regularly by deadly heat, fires, floods and drought in future decades will degrade in 127 ways, with some being "potentially irreversible."
"The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health," says the major report designed to guide world leaders in their efforts to curb climate change. Delaying cuts in heat-trapping carbon emissions and waiting on adapting to warming's impacts, it warns, "will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all."
Today´s children who may still be alive in the year 2100 are going to experience four times more climate extremes than they do now even with only a few more tenths of a degree of warming over today's heat. But if temperatures increase nearly 2 more degrees Celsius from now (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit) they would feel five times the floods, storms, drought and heat waves, according to the collection of scientists at the IPCC.
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Trump appeals ruling forcing him to testify in NY probe
NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Donald Trump has appealed a judge´s decision requiring he answer questions under oath in New York state´s civil investigation into his business practices - a widely expected move that's likely to prolong the fight over his testimony by months.
Lawyers for Trump and his two eldest children filed papers on Monday with the appellate division of the state's trial court, seeking to overturn Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron's Feb. 17 ruling. They argue ordering the Trumps to testify violates their constitutional rights because their answers could be used in a parallel criminal investigation.
In an eight-page ruling, Engoron set a March 10 deadline for Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to sit for depositions. Lawyers for the Trumps asked the appellate court for a stay to spare them from questioning while it considers the matter.
The court did not set a date for arguments. It typically issues decisions several months after that, but could be inclined to rule on an expedited basis given the urgency of New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation and the Trumps' desire to swiftly overturn Engoron´s ruling.
A message seeking comment was left with James' office. In a statement on Friday, as lawyers for the Trumps were preparing their appeal, the attorney general signaled she was ready for a long fight to get them to testify.
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US states adding to financial pressure on Russia over war
Seeking to tighten the financial squeeze on Russia over its war against Ukraine, governors and lawmakers in numerous U.S. states were taking actions Monday to pull state investments from Russian companies while encouraging private entities to do the same.
The effect of sanctions by U.S. states often pales in comparison to national ones, but state officials said they wanted to show solidarity with Ukraine and do what they could to build upon the penalties imposed on Russia by the U.S. government and other Western nations.
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, a Republican, got a bipartisan standing ovation Monday when he told representatives he would seek to have the state´s retirement funds quickly divested from any Russian assets.
"I don´t know about y´all, but I don´t want one penny of Georgians´ money going to subsidize Vladimir Putin," Ralston said. "While our role in international affairs is limited, we make clear we stand with those who want to live in peace."
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who oversees state business registrations, on Monday also called upon Georgia-based businesses and investors to stop doing business with Russia or any companies that support Russia.
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AP PHOTOS: Exit out of Ukraine: escape by foot, train, car
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) - By car, train, foot and - in at least one case - office chair, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian war refugees have sought safety in the bordering nations of Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and beyond.
The chaotic run for freedom was captured by Associated Press photographers as more than 520,000 people have been forced to flee the country during the Russian invasion.
The U.N. has estimated the conflict could produce as many as 4 million refugees with "devastating humanitarian consequences."
As a seemingly endless column of cars lined up to cross into Moldova at the Mayaky-Udobne border point, some opted to walk alongside cars pulling luggage. Others walked toward borders bundled in heavy winter coats, gloves, warm hats - some with dogs in tow, others pulling baby strollers piled with bags of belongings.
There were emotional goodbyes as people parted at train stations and tearful reunions as family members embraced upon reaching one of the neighboring countries that has opened their borders to refugees.
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State of the Union: Amid disputes, common cause for Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) - They have argued viciously in Congress over just about everything: Whether the Capitol insurrection should be investigated or brushed aside. If the president´s choice for the Supreme Court should be limited to the first Black woman. Even over whether or not to wear masks in the Capitol building.
But as lawmakers gather for President Joe Biden´s first State of the Union address amid the gravity of Russia´s invasion of Ukraine, they have mustered a rare and remarkable bipartisan resolve, determined to hold the U.S. and its allies together in the defense of a Western-oriented democracy.
When Biden stands in the House chamber Tuesday evening, trying to make good on what until now has been a faltering attempt to resolve the nation´s bitter divisions, he may find that the threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin abroad has become the unexpected force pulling the U.S. political parties toward common purpose.
"I think you will see in the State of the Union, a strong bipartisan support for our president," predicts Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a Biden ally.
The turn of events is both stunning and fragile. Foreign policy has not been the kind of bipartisan draw it was during the past century, when Congress and the White House worked together as the U.S dominated the global stage. Factions on the right and left have broken off, most definitively over the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, creating oddball political alliances in the U.S. and chiseling away at a shared mission.
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Many Capitol riot cases could hinge on 1st trial's outcome
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department launched one of the largest and most complex criminal investigations in its history after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol over a year ago. Now it's time for a jury to hear some of the government's evidence about the unparalleled attack on American democracy.
The first trial for one of the hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions begins this week, with jury selection starting Monday in the case against Guy Wesley Reffitt. The Texas man is charged with bringing a gun onto Capitol grounds, interfering with police officers guarding the building, and threatening his teenage children if they reported him to authorities. Jurors could hear attorneys´ opening statements as soon as Tuesday.
Reffitt's trial may be a bellwether for many other Capitol riot cases. A conviction would give prosecutors more leverage in plea talks with rioters facing the most serious charges. An acquittal may lead others to wait for their own day in court.
Reffitt "truly is the canary in the coal mine," said Gregg Sofer, a former federal prosecutor who served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas from October 2020 to February 2021.
"It´ll really be interesting to see how strong a case the government has and whether or not they´re relying on evidence that, when pushed and tested, stands up. It´s going to have a huge impact going forward," added Sofer, now a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell.
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In LA's Eastern European diaspora, solidarity for Ukraine
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Thousands of miles from where they were born, Russian Anastasia Shostak and Ukrainian Andrew Berezin developed a friendship in Los Angeles because of their shared Jewish faith.
Now they have yet more in common: Both are feverishly working to get their families out of their respective homelands and into Israel after Russia launched its war against Ukraine, and both turned out over the weekend in their adopted hometown to protest the invasion.
Los Angeles is home to many from the Eastern European diaspora, a place where Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Romanians, Georgians, Moldovians, Estonians and Lithuanians often pray, work, shop and eat together. The war triggered by Russia´s invasion has resulted in raw and painful emotions in the pews of shared houses of worship and in the broader community.
Berezin, a software engineer, said that for years the community has been united by common bonds of faith, culture and history, but lately things have felt "strange."
"We may be from Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus or Moldova, but we´ve considered each other brother nations," he said. "We never thought each other as separate because of our shared legacy. I feel like now we´re forced to separate. It feels like `us´ against `them´ now, and it´s not good."
