Biden warns Putin over Ukraine conflict, looks to revive stalled domestic agenda

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Today’s Top Stories from NBC News

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Good morning, NBC News readers.

We have a busy agenda today with all the key points from President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, the latest from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and news from the Texas primaries.

Here's what we're watching this Wednesday morning.

Russia steps up attacks on key Ukraine cities as Biden vows Putin will pay a 'high price'

President Joe Biden focused on both domestic and foreign priorities in his State of the Union address Tuesday, with the war in Ukraine vying with the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic for center stage.

Biden warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would pay a “high price” for his actions and announced that the United States would close its skies to Russian aircraft.

Catch up on Biden's speech with our comprehensive coverage:

Five key takeaways from Biden's State of the Union speech
Watch this three-minute video summary
Biden says Americans can 'remove their masks,' resume pre-Covid life
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds criticizes Biden over inflation, crime in GOP response
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., repeatedly interrupted Biden's address

Meanwhile, Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city Wednesday, with fresh strikes and paratroopers attacking Kharkiv as the seventh day of Moscow's invasion threatened to hit the country's major population centers with escalating violence and destruction.

But despite intensifying strikes, Russian troops have made little progress over the last day due to both “logistical difficulties” and strong Ukrainian resistance, according to Britain’s defense ministry.

Some highlights of our Ukraine coverage today:

Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine's cities as Biden warns Putin will pay a 'high price'
'Better to die than become a part of Russia': Kyiv residents dig in and wait
Follow developments as they happen with our liveblog and watch News Now for more.
'Open the door or we die': Africans report racism and hostility trying to flee Ukraine

Wednesday's Top Stories

Abbott, O'Rourke to face off in Texas governor's race, NBC News projects

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed more than two dozen GOP candidates in the Texas primary, including Gov. Greg Abbott.

Russian money flows through U.S. real estate

Despite new sanctions, Russians have spent years pouring funds into properties

His wife died from Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine complications. Why he's still pro-vaccine.

For the first time, Stan Thomas shares the story of how his wife, Monica Melkonian, died from vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, a rare side effect .

OPINION

The Russia-Ukraine war and Kyiv fighting have not gone Vladimir Putin's way — yet

It appears Russian military planners believed their own propaganda while discounting the ability of Ukrainians to fight back. But now they'll get nastier, says Sébastien Roblin, a military writer.

Also in the News

OPINION

Indigenous people are snapping selfies in kokum scarves in solidarity with Ukraine

Communities in Canada and the U.S. have worn colorful, Ukrainian scarves for generations. Now they're donning them as a symbol of support.

Select

With shifting retail trends due to the pandemic, experts advised us on what to buy and what to skip this month.

Stonehenge may have served as a calendar to keep track of the yearly movements of the sun, suggesting a prehistoric link to sun worship in the eastern Mediterranean, according to new research.

A study published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity shows the largest stones at Stonehenge in southwest England may embody a solar calendar with 365¼ days each year — almost the same as the 365.2425 days used in modern solar calendars.