Ukraine War Update: Refusing to surrender Mariupol to …

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Here are the latest headlines in the Russia-Ukraine crisis:

Fighting intensifies in Mariupol

"There can be no question of surrendering or assembling weapons," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Ukrainska Pravda. "We have already informed the Russian side about this." Instead, the country said Moscow should let residents leave the besieged city in southern Ukraine and deliver humanitarian aid to those who want to stay. The fall of Mariupol would mark a battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely stalled outside major cities after more than three weeks of fighting.

Going hypersonic

With Russia claiming to have deployed hypersonic missiles against targets in Ukraine over the weekend - marking the weapon's first use in combat - the U.S. is rushing the development of its own hypersonic arsenal. General Dynamics subsidiary Bath Iron Works will begin engineering and design work on changes necessary to install the weapon system on three Zumwalt-class destroyers in fiscal year 2023. Current hypersonic use by Russia is not a "game changer," cautions U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. "The reason that [Vladimir Putin] is resorting to using these types of weapons is because he's trying to reestablish some momentum."

EU oil embargo?

The White House has announced President Biden will visit Poland as part of his European trip this week for talks with allies about the war in Ukraine. Ahead of the meeting, the European Union is considering whether to impose an oil embargo on Russia. The decision could prompt Moscow to close flows on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which help provide the 27-country EU with 40% of its natural gas needs.

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Ukraine War Update: Refusing to surrender Mariupol to ...