https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-15-22-intl/index.html

hmmmm…….we have a cause for Joe's inflation

Russia-Ukraine conflict could cause inflation to hit 10% in America, new analysis finds

From CNN's Matt Egan

The cost of living is already very high in America — and the Russia-Ukraine crisis could make it even worse.

Oil prices have jumped well above $90 a barrel in recent weeks as the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased.

If the Russia-Ukraine crisis drives oil to about $110 a barrel, inflation in the United States would exceed 10% on a year-over-year basis, according to a new analysis by consulting firm RSM shared exclusively with CNN.

The US economy hasn’t experienced 10% inflation since October 1981, according to government statistics.

“We’re talking about a real short-term shock,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

Russia is the world’s second-largest producer of both oil and natural gas and global oil supplies. And this crisis comes at a time when the world energy market is already struggling to keep up with demand. JPMorgan has warned that any disr

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>https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-15-22-intl/index.html

President Biden to address Ukraine situation today

From CNN's From Kaitlan Collins

President Biden will provide a status update on the ongoing situation in Ukraine at 3:30 p.m. ET today, per a source familiar.

The news comes as Russia announced that some of its troops would return to base after completing recent drills, but stressed that major military exercises would continue.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke on the phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this morning, according to a senior State Department official.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-15-22-intl/index.html

31 min ago

Ukrainian defense ministry and bank hit by possible cyberattack

From CNN's Sean Lyngaas and Tim Lister

An apparent cyberattack hit the website of Ukraine’s defense ministry and one of the country’s largest commercial banks on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian government agencies’ statements.

The bank has been under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, which floods a website with phony traffic to disrupt access to it, Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications said in a statement.

The Ministry of Defense also said it was responding to what appeared to be a DDoS attack.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the cyberattack. It comes as Russia has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border.

Some more context: DDoS attacks are relatively cheap and easy to carry out. While they can be a nuisance, they do not necessarily require sophistication.

A separate cyberattack hit Ukrainian government websites last month. Ukrainian officials suggested Russian and Belarusian involvement, but investigators have not formally blamed those countries for the cyberattack.

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https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-15-22-intl/index.html

Democrats are still waiting to hear back from GOP on Russia sanctions offer

From CNN's Lauren Fox

Democrats are still waiting to hear back from Republicans on their latest Russia sanctions offer after sending the Republicans a new proposal last night. A source familiar with the talks warns that there isn’t much time left to cut a deal given the movements on the ground on the Ukraine border.

The source said the GOP’s next move will signal how serious they are about actually getting a bipartisan deal, which both sides have called for publicly.

A reminder that many members — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio — say that the President has the authority he needs to issue strong sanctions without Congress. However, the congressional effort was seen as a way to send a united message to the world and to Putin that Congress is squarely unified against Russian aggression.

If a sanctions package isn’t possible, lawmakers have warned that they would at least like to issue a resolution of opposition to Putin’s actions. That, however, is more of a political move than one that carries any real weight.

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>US Intelligence Accuses Zero Hedge of Spreading Russian Propaganda

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