U.S. Hits Putin Allies With New Sanctions

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is ordering new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle as Russian forces pummel Ukraine. Those targeted by the new sanctions include Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, and Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke late Thursday as Russian forces shelled a nuclear plant in the eastern Ukraine city of Enerhodar. They urged Russia to “cease its military activities” in the area and allow firefighters to access the damaged site.