Barely one-third of Americans approve of the way President Biden is handling the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a new poll released days after Vladimir Putin ordered “peacekeeping” forces to two breakaway regions of the former Soviet republic.

The Gallup survey found that only 36 percent of Americans back the president’s response to the “situation with Russia” while 55 percent disapproved.

Fewer than two-thirds of Democrats (64 percent) support Biden’s handling of the matter while 35 percent of independents approve of his efforts. Only 11 percent of Republicans offered the same support.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/23/over-half-disapprove-of-bidens-handling-of-ukraine-in-new-poll/

World leaders have begun to respond as Russia moves military forces into Ukraine early Thursday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemning the action as an “egregious attack.”

“These unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Trudeau said in a statement.

“Canada calls on Russia to immediately cease all hostile and provocative actions against Ukraine and withdraw all military and proxy forces from the country. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and the Ukrainian people must be free to determine their own future.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/world-leaders-respond-trudeau-calls-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-egregious-attack-1.5793805

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, telling the West not to intervene in what appeared to be the beginning of war in Europe.

Putin said in an early televised speech Thursday the action was in response to threats coming from Ukraine, yet insisted Russia doesn’t have a goal to occupy the country.

He said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime,” telling fighters there to lay down their arms and surrender — though Putin admitted clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces are “inevitable” and “only a question of time.”

The Russian leader warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/8641948/ukraine-russia-putin-war/

Article from January

OTTAWA - Gifts by heads of state to other world leaders are not just a gesture of friendship, but a tool of diplomacy, carefully chosen by protocol advisers to reflect the recipient’s taste.

So when President Joe Biden gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a pair of gold-framed aviator sunglasses at the Three Amigos North American summit last November, his protocol team no doubt knew that Canada’s prime minister has a penchant for wearing shades.

What Trudeau might not have known when he was handed the polarized sunglasses in a case stamped with the White House insignia, was that only months before Biden had given the exact same pair to Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguably the U.S. president’s greatest adversary on the world stage.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/01/27/biden-gave-trudeau-same-aviator-sunglasses-as-official-summit-gift-as-putin.html

Hong Kong's government invoked emergency powers on Thursday to allow doctors, nurses and other personnel from the Chinese mainland to help combat a spiralling coronavirus outbreak.

https://news.yahoo.com/virus-hit-hong-kong-invokes-024356997.html