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The Financial Times reported that the European Union is preparing to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as part of a second round of sanctions against Russia.

The move reflects Moscow's new pariah status but is mostly symbolic, as it's unclear what assets Putin and Lavrov actually hold in the West after years of escalating sanctions against Russia.

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  • Putin is thought to rely on his inner circle of Russian billionaires to hide his wealth.

  • Visa restrictions will not be included in the sanctions, which is intended to leave the possibility for diplomatic talks at a neutral location in Europe.

The EU was quick to impose sanctions on Wednesday after Russian forces moved into eastern Ukraine, targeting many of Putin's top aides and Kremlin propagandists.

  • After Russia launched a full-scale invasion, the bloc engaged in intensive discussions to increase the pressure and is close to an agreement that would mirror U.S. restrictions on the largest Russian banks and other state-owned companies.

  • The U.S. and U.K. have not personally imposed sanctions on Putin or Lavrov, but that option is still on the table, according to President Biden.

Despite pleas from Ukrainian officials, the EU has not agreed to remove Russia from the central nervous system for international financial transactions.

  • Germany, Italy and Hungary are among the top EU countries that have resisted this step, which many consider to be among the toughest sanctions on the table.

  • The Telegraph reported that Italy carved out an exception for luxury goods from the EU's package of Russia sanctions.

Secrecy undermines the impact of Russian sanctions.

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  • The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on members of the inner circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  • EU officials said on Friday that the bloc is planning a third package of sanctions against Russia. The EU's 27 member states agreed to freeze any European assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, adding to a slew of sanctions backed by the leaders at an emergency summit on Thursday night.

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  • The Defense Ministry of Ukraine said on Friday that Russian troops had entered the city from the north. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of himself and his aides in the government district to refute rumors that he had fled. We are in the city of Kyiv. Zelensky said to stay on top of the latest market trends and economic news.

  • The ban covers regular flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the Czech Republic. Karlovy Vary is a popular destination for Russians.

  • Government and banking sources said that India is looking at ways to set up a rupee payment mechanism for trade with Russia to make up for the blow to New Delhi from Western sanctions. Indian officials are worried that sanctions could disrupt vital supplies offertilizer from Russia. India has long-standing political and security ties with Russia and has called for an end to violence in Ukraine.

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  • Americans shouldn't take their freedom for granted, argued the senator.

  • A group of delegates from the United Nations are discussing a treaty to curb plastic pollution. The U.N. Environment Assembly is expected to propose an international framework to address the growing problem of plastic waste in the world.

  • The images and videos show a missile striking a Russian military airfield near the border of Ukraine, but it is unclear who is responsible for the incident.

  • Few know that Amazon has millions of Prime subscribers.

  • The wealth wipeout of the 22 billionaires came after the benchmark Russian index crashed.

  • Artem Agvanian is from the Donetsk region of Ukraine. His family is Russian. He says that the claims made by Putin are not true.

  • Russia said on Friday it was limiting access to Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, accusing it ofcensoring Russian media, the latest in a series of steps against U.S. social media giants. Moscow has been trying to exert tighter control over the internet and big tech for years, something critics say threatens individual and corporate freedom, and is part of a wider crackdown against outspoken opponents of the Kremlin. The state communications regulator said that Facebook had ignored its demands to lift restrictions on four Russian media outlets on its platform.

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  • Many Ukrainian roads were crowded with cars on Friday as people fled Russia or left the country. Many had already spent hours making slow progress in heavy traffic, and some had no idea where they were going. Serhiy said he was woken by shelling early on Thursday.

  • James Heappey, the armed forces minister, warned that Putin could deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

  • The moral failure of considering Ukraine for NATO.

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  • The New York Times reported that Zelensky made a plea to avoid war with Russia.

  • The Biden administration imposed sanctions on a number of individuals and entities in response to the fact that the country was used as a staging ground for Russia's invasion into Ukraine.

  • According to reports, Ukrainian forces blew up a bridge north of Kyiv in order to stop the advance of Russian tanks.

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  • The U.S. stock benchmarks trade higher Friday morning, despite reports that Russia was in favor of talks with Ukraine.

  • Retail investors have shifted their focus to the worsening crisis in the Middle East as gold hits its highest level in over a year.

  • The sanctions will include freezing assets and suspending visas for Russian individuals and entities, freezing assets on Russian financial institutions, and a sanction on Russian related military organisation, which will be export controls for a list of products that were agreed upon international agreements.