Biden under pressure on Ukraine, inflation and more as State of the Union looms – live | American News

Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Vladimir Poutine commits war crimes with rocket attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

“Get ready,” Rubio said on Twitter. “The #Kharkiv images and videos of #Putin’s war crimes will shock and outrage the world.”

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said dozens of people were killed and hundreds more injured in Kharkiv this morning after Russian forces launched a series of rocket fire into the city.

“Kharkiv just got massively shot by graduates (rockets)”, adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior Anton Herashchenko said on Facebook. “Dozens dead and hundreds injured.

Follow the latest updates from Ukraine on the Guardian’s other live blog:

The gardians Report by Martin Farrer, Andrew Roth and Julian Borger:

The Russian ruble tumbled more than 40% after trading began on Monday following unprecedented international sanctions against the country’s financial system during Vladimir Poutinethe invasion of Ukraine.

The news came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the British Prime Minister that the next 24 hours would be “crucial” for his country and amid reports that a column of Russian tanks was heading for the capital.

With restrictions in place limiting what Russia’s central bank can do to prop up the currency, the ruble plunged 41.5% to a record low as markets opened, falling to 119 to the dollar from 83.7 to its closing on Friday. It recovered some ground later on Monday to settle at 107 to the dollar, a drop of 28%.

Analysts at Rabobank in Singapore said Monday could see a “complete collapse of the rouble” after the Russian Central Bank’s asset freeze means it cannot sell foreign currency reserves to prop up the rouble.

Russia’s central bank has more than doubled interest rates to 20% and banned foreigners from selling local securities, in an effort to protect its currency and economy.

Read the full Guardian report:

Joe Biden will use his State of the Union address to describe his efforts to ‘build a global coalition’ to repel Russian aggression in Ukraine, White House press secretary says Jen Psaki at noted.

In an interview with ABC News yesterday, Psaki was asked how Biden would handle his first State of the Union address, which comes as his approval rating hits new lows and civilian casualties rise in Ukraine.

“If you look back when the president [Barack] Obama gave his first State of the Union, it was during the worst financial crisis in a generation,” Psaki said. “When the President [George W] Bush delivered his first State of the Union, shortly after 9/11.

The White House spokesperson said Biden’s remarks would reflect “his optimism and belief in the resilience of the American people” at this time of international crisis.

“Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what President Biden is doing,” Psaki said. “He will talk about it, but he will also talk about his optimism about what lies ahead and what we all have to look forward to.”

Greetings from Washington, Liveblog readers.

Joe Biden faces a number of crises, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to rising prices in the United States, which he will address tomorrow in his State of the Union address.

Biden’s first official State of the Union comes as his approval rating fell to a disappointing 40.4%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s recent poll average.

The whole world is tense over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has already claimed at least 100 civilian lives, and Kiev is demanding a ceasefire as Russia continues to launch airstrikes on large cities.

Meanwhile, Biden warned that the Ukraine crisis and ensuing sanctions against Russia could drive up gas prices, which are already high. The United States is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, resulting in sticker shock for many Americans at the grocery store and at the gas pump.

The US President will have to address all of these issues when he addresses the American people tomorrow, and there are no easy answers to any of these crises.

The blog will have more to come, so stay tuned.