Pelosi Says She only Supports Sanctions in the Event of An Invasion

LOCAL NEWS

• Nancy Pelosi says she would support sanctions against Russia only in the event of an attack on Ukraine, and these sanctions should be tough. "No one but him [Putin] knows what he's going to do, so we need to be ready for anything, whatever it is."
  • This contrasts Republican Senator McConell’s push for sanctions even before an invasion. White House Spox Psaki said the US will consider options for sanctions against Russian proposed by Congress, including those that are proposed to be introduced regardless of how the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border develops.
• US intelligence & Pentagon Spox Kirby says Moscow has considered staging a graphic propaganda video showing a Ukrainian attack on Russia as justification for an invasion.
  • Turkish Bayarktar drones would also be used in the video as a way of implicating NATO. However, no evidence of the claims was provided
• Xi Jinping & Putin are set to meet today for the first time in two years amid rising tensions with the West. Both have discussed cooperating on financial instruments in the past weeks and both sides will hold a joint presser post-discussion to highlight common views on security and other issues.
  • China has been more vocal in recent weeks backing Russia in its spat with the West