LVIV Ukraine (Reuters). – U.S. President Joe Biden Friday will ask for normal trade relations to end with Russia. This would allow the United States to increase tariffs on Russian imports, as punishment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Washington moves to clamp down on Moscow while European and U.S. officials accuse Russia war crimes over the bombardment of Ukrainian cities by civilians. The attack was part of a series of violations of ceasefires that each side has blamed.

Satellite images revealed that the Russian military columns that threatened Kyiv from north were dispersed and moved to new locations, Maxar Technologies (NYSE 🙂 reported. This could have been in preparation for an attack against the capital.

One senior official in the administration stated that Congress must act to remove Russia from its status as “Permanent Normal Trade Relations”. Support has been expressed by both the Houses of Congress lawmakers.

This would represent another step in America’s push to press Putin to stop the worst conflict in Europe since World War Two.

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operations” that aims to dearm Ukraine and remove the leaders it considers neo Nazis. Allies of the West call it a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and unseat leaders. This has raised concern about wider conflicts in Europe.

RUSSIAN COLUMN REDEPLOYS

Maxar images show armoured units maneuvering in and through the towns near Antonov Airport northwest of Kyiv while elements further north were repositioned close to Lubyanka using towed artillery Howitzers.

Reuters couldn’t independently verify the images. However, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces stated that Russian forces had regrouped in the wake of heavy losses on Thursday. They didn’t specify which elements.

Thursday’s vote by the U.S. Senate to approve $13.6 million to aid Ukraine against Russia was a victory for democracy.

Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader said that “we’re sticking to our promises to help Ukraine in their fight against Vladimir Putin.” As well as providing humanitarian aid, the assistance for Ukraine will finance ammunition and military supplies.

Russia’s declared goals of disarming Ukrainian troops and ousting its democratically elected government have not been achieved after three weeks. But it has claimed thousands of lives and forced over 2 million to flee Ukraine, which is under siege in several places.

Putin was facing international condemnation, and became increasingly isolated. He said that Russia will emerge stronger following what he called the “special military operation”.

He said, “There are many questions, difficulties and problems but we have overcame them in the past and they will again,”

After talks in Turkey with Dmytro Kuleba (his Ukrainian counterpart), Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said that the operation went according to plan. This was the first meeting of its highest level since Putin’s February 24th invasion order.

Kuleba stated that Lavrov refused to set fire to aid distribution and evacuation of civilians entrapped in Mariupol’s southern port city.

Moscow has repeated Lavrov’s allegations that Ukraine poses a threat, and Russia wants Kyiv dropped from the NATO military alliance.

TRAPPED CIVILIANS

Many thousands of people remained in cities across Ukraine, fleeing Russian bombings and bombardment. Despite repeated Russian assurances to evacuate them through humanitarian corridors.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said Friday that they would declare a ceasefire and allow humanitarian passages to Mariupol. However, previous ceasefires had been broken up with the blame being shared by both sides.

Mariupol officials claimed that Russian warplanes bombed Mariupol again on Thursday. This comes a day after Mariupol’s maternity hospital was destroyed in an attack by the United States.

Linda Thomas Greenfield, U.S. ambassador, stated that Washington had been “working with others within the international community” to document Russia’s crimes against the Ukrainian population.

“They constitute war crimes; there are attacks on civilians that cannot be justified by any – in any way whatsoever,” said in an interview with the BBC.

Lavrov claimed that the hospital attacked on Wednesday was not treating any patients anymore and was being occupied by “radicals” from Ukraine. Later, Russia’s Defence Ministry denied that it had bombed any hospital and accused Ukraine of “staged provocations”.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, stated that Ukrainian authorities managed to rescue almost 40,000.

Zelenskiy stated that attempts to transport food, water, and medicine to Mariupol were unsuccessful after Russian tanks destroyed a humanitarian corridor.

In a televised speech, he stated that “this is outright terror…from experienced terrorists”.

SANCTIONS BITE

Kristalina Georgieva, International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director, stated that the war in Ukraine as well as massive Russian sanctions have caused a decline in world trade, sending food and energy prices up sharply, causing a hit to global growth.

She said that the sanctions already had triggered an unexpected, substantial contraction in Russia’s economy, and this year it was facing a “deep depression”.

Inflation rose and the living standards of Russians were affected by the massive loss of currency.

On Thursday, European Union leaders disagreed about the impact of sanctions on Moscow at a summit held in France. They also rejected Kyiv’s request for a rapid accession.

EU leaders supported tougher sanctions against Russia, even if it meant that there would be repercussions for European countries that depend on Russian fossil fuels.

“The conflict in Ukraine is a terrible tragedy. “But it’s also an immense trauma… It is most certainly something that is going to take us to totally redefine the structure Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared.

(Reporting b Reuters Bureau; Writing by Stephen Coates, Editing by Michael Perry