Ukraine Update….116 days into the Russian move on the Ukraine

President Biden said the Group of Seven nations will announce an import ban on Russian gold in an attempt to further isolate the country from financial markets and punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine. Biden, who is in Germany attending a two-day G-7 summit beginning Sunday, said in a tweet that gold is a “major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.”

Russia is attempting to draw Belarus more directly into the war, according to Ukrainian officials, who said Saturday marked the first time that Russia fired missiles from Belarusian airspace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke directly to Belarusians in his nightly address Sunday, telling them they can refuse to participate in the war. “You are not slaves or cannon fodder,” he said. “You do not have to die. And you can prevent anyone from deciding for you what awaits you next.”