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Today’s Top Stories from NBC News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 Good morning, NBC News readers.
The world's attention is focused on Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no sign of stepping back from the brink of a deadly new conflict even as the United States and its allies step up the pressure with a raft of sanctions.
Here's the latest on the crisis and everything else we're watching this Wednesday morning. 
Ukraine moved to introduce a state of emergency Wednesday as the United States and its allies ramped up pressure on Russia with sanctions and the threat of more to come, the latest signals that the West believes a full-scale invasion is likely in the coming days.
For weeks Kyiv has downplayed the threat of war, but on Wednesday Kyiv urged all Ukrainian citizens to leave Russia "immediately" and started conscripting reservists between the ages of 18 and 60.
The move comes after President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine this week amounted to "the beginning of a Russian invasion."
"We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further and launch a massive military attack against Ukraine," Biden said Tuesday in remarks at the White House.
With hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis all but over, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, saying it did not "make sense" to go ahead with the talks after Putin ordered Russian forces into eastern Ukraine.
Wednesday's Top Stories
The verdict was hailed as a victory by advocates for racial justice. "Ahmaud Arbery was lynched in broad daylight, and today’s verdict brings us one step closer to justice," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. 
The White House has said Biden, who pledged to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in U.S. history, will make his decision known by the end of the month. 
Two Blackhawk helicopters belonging to the Utah National Guard crashed Tuesday morning during a training exercise, officials said. No major injuries were reported. Also in the News
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