Russia-Ukraine live updates: U.S. plans to ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine invasion

The New York Times on Tuesday became the first major American news organization to announce it will pull staff out of Russia in response to the country’s increasing crackdown on journalism, including a new law against “fake” news that threatens those who accurately refer to the invasion of Ukraine as an “invasion” — rather than a “special military operation” — with a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

“For the safety and security of our editorial staff working in the region, we are moving them out of the country for now,” Nicole Taylor, spokeswoman for the Times, told The Post. “We look forward to them returning as soon as possible while we monitor the application of the new law.”

She added that the Times “will continue our live, robust coverage of the war, and our rigorous reporting on Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and these attempts to stifle independent journalism.”

On Friday, other media organizations announced plans to cease reporting and broadcasting from the country, and in the country, but none others have yet said they will remove all editorial personnel.

NEW DELHI — After a few tense days, India managed to evacuate nearly 700 students stranded in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine, about 30 miles from the border with Russia, Tuesday. Students, running out of food and supplies, posted a video on social media declaring they would start walking to the border if they did not receive help urgently.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the presidents of Ukraine and Russia on Monday seeking support for evacuating students. The Indian government also worked other diplomatic and military channels in both countries, according to the foreign ministry, including getting help from Red Cross.

Arindam Bagchi, an Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that evacuation was “complex” as the window to get everyone out was “small.” Arranging buses for hundreds of students was not easy.

The students were sent in buses to Poltava, in central Ukraine, and the operation was carried out quietly, said Bagchi. Students were asked not to tweet or share information. “We didn’t want to be a target by mistake,” he said.

The government plans to transport the students on trains to western Ukraine, where they will cross over to neighboring countries and will be flown back to India on special flights.

The operation was aborted once on Monday as the shelling had not stopped and the government didn’t want to take any risks, said Bagchi.

One Indian student had died earlier in shelling in Kharkiv, while another was injured while attempting to escape Kyiv. Nearly 20,000 Indians were studying in Ukraine at the start of the invasion, and with the evacuation of this last remaining group, Bagchi said there was a “sense of relief.”

On “Special Report with Libby Casey,” Washington Post columnist James Hohmann analyzes the Russian advance into Ukraine and the strategic implications of a potential attack on Odessa.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday panned the U.S. government for giving military assistance and weapons to Ukraine, saying the American assistance during the invasion could prove to be “unpredictable and likely disastrous.”

The United States has already given more than $1 billion in aid to Ukraine over the past year, according to the Defense Department. Congress is aiming to approve about $12 billion in assistance to Ukraine, more than the roughly $10 billion endorsed by the Biden administration last week. That aid would be in both military and nonmilitary assistance.

Omar, who in recent weeks has opposed the initiative to supply Ukraine with more weapons through U.S. aid, spoke out again Tuesday morning.

“The consequences of flooding Ukraine with billion dollars in [U.S.] weapons, likely not limited to just military-specific equipment but also including small arms + ammo, are unpredictable & likely disastrous,” she tweeted. “[Especially] when they are given to paramilitary groups w/out accountability.”

Omar, who came to the United States in 1995 as a refugee from the Somali civil war, has long opposed U.S. foreign policy based on military intervention.

Democrats and Republicans hope to unveil on Tuesday a fresh package of humanitarian, military and economic assistance for Ukraine at a time when the invasion has rattled economies globally.

Tony Romm contributed to this report.

The nation’s top intelligence official testified Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “unlikely to be deterred” by the West’s rapid response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through massive economic sanctions and the provision of lethal aid to Kyiv.

Instead, Putin “may escalate, essentially doubling down” to prevent Ukraine from further integrating with the United States and NATO, said Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines at a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee.

Europe’s shutdown of its airspace to Russian planes “almost certainly surprised Moscow in particular,” Haines said.

“While Putin probably anticipated many of the current sanctions to be imposed ... when he weighed the cost of the invasion, we judge that he did not anticipate either the degree to which the United States and its allies and partners would take steps to undermine his capacity to mitigate Western actions” or the extent to which private companies have severed business with Russia, she said.

“We assess Putin feels aggrieved,” Haines said. “The West does not give him proper deference and perceives this is a war he cannot afford to lose.”

Haines also said that it is unclear whether Russia “will continue to pursue a maximalist plan to capture all or most of Ukraine,” which, she said, would require more resources.

Even as Russia steps up attacks on civilian areas, Haines said “it will be especially challenging for the Russians to hold and control Ukrainian territory and install a sustained pro-Russian regime in Kyiv in the face of what we assess is likely to be a persistent and significant insurgency.’’

Russia’s invasion, which is almost two weeks old, has led to at least 470 civilian deaths and more than 2 million refugees.

Nonetheless, Russia is facing widespread resistance by the Ukrainian people, which Putin did not anticipate, CIA Director William J. Burns said. “Our analysts fail to see how he can sustain a puppet regime, pro-Russian leadership” in the face of such resistance, Burns said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Russians the green light to ignore laws on intellectual property and licenses, part of a package of emergency measures he signed Tuesday to address the severe impact of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

The package allows the government to deviate from IP and licensing laws.

Russia’s finances have been severely hit by sanctions — but also by the impact of hundreds of companies leaving Russia, including Microsoft, which announced Friday it was suspending sales in Russia.

Kommersant newspaper reported Saturday that Russia may abolish criminal penalties for pirating software, to ease the impact of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and other companies suspending operations in Russia.

Putin said Saturday that Western sanctions were akin to a declaration of war on Russia while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “there should be an appropriate response to this economic banditry,” answering questions about moves to allow the pirating of software.

On Tuesday Russia announced that people holding Russian dollar-denominated bonds could be repaid in rubles for bondholders in dozens of “unfriendly countries” that were punishing Russia.

The emergency package signed by Putin also suspends government inspections of Russian IT companies and small- and medium-size businesses.