A military contractor’s helicopter crashed while on a training mission in Hawaii on Tuesday, killing all four people on board, the US Navy said.

A 58-foot Sikorsky S-61N helicopter supported a training operation at the Pacific Missile Range on the island of Kauai. Croman Corporationan Oregon-based contractor, the Navy said.

All four people in the helicopter were Croman employees, said Brian Beatty, the company’s chief operating officer. He added that the aircraft was “conducting routine training operations under contract with the US Navy.”

Their identities were not made public by Tuesday evening.

Mr Beatty told Hawaii News Now that something went wrong when the helicopter was trying to drop an object it had lifted out of the water.

Witnesses described how the helicopter suddenly went straight down.

Chris Turner, who owns a boat tour business, said The Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the helicopter was at the north end of the runway, dropping objects, when it made a sudden erratic turn to the right and then quickly nosed into the runway.

“They just fell,” Mr. Turner told The Star-Advertiser. “It was full speed. It was crazy.”

This is stated in the message of the National Transportation Safety Board. social media post that the agency is investigating the crash.

The military conducts missile testing and training at a 2,385-acre base on the west coast of Kauai, the northernmost of the main Hawaiian islands. The naval base has more than 1,000 square miles of underwater range for submarine and surface warfare exercises, as well as 42,000 square miles of airspace.

Death due to air crashes and helicopters is not uncommon in Hawaii. In December 2019 seven people on board tourist helicopter died when the plane crashed on the south side of Kauai. In the same year, more than a dozen people died in Hawaii in other air crashes.

Tuesday’s crash on Kauai was one of several military disasters that took place on Tuesday morning. In Utah, two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters crashed near the Snowbird resort during an exercise. This was reported by the Utah National Guard.. There were no injuries.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota. The prosecution said three Minneapolis police officers only watched callously as their colleague Derek Chauvin slowly killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. According to defense lawyers, the officers trusted Mr. Chauvin, an experienced officer who was present at the scene, to do his duty and should be acquitted.

Dueling positions unveiled on Tuesday ended wrangling in a federal trial over Mr. Floyd’s death, and on Wednesday the jury will begin debating which of the three officers – Tou Tao, 36; J. Alexander Kueng, 28; and Thomas Lane, 38, are guilty of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.

The jury heard from doctors, police and other witnesses after the trial started almost a month ago, and now they have to decide if any of the actions of the officers on May 25, 2020, for which they were quickly fired, fell to the level of a crime. Mr. Kueng and Mr. Lane, who were full officers in their first week on the job, helped restrain Mr. Floyd, while Mr. Tao held back a group of concerned bystanders. All three officers are accused of not providing medical attention to Mr. Floyd, and Mr. Kueng and Mr. Tao are also accused of not intervening to stop Mr. Chauvin.

The lawsuit mainly focused on the training of Minneapolis police officers and their duties to assist or prevent a fellow officer from using excessive force. The verdict may signal whether jurors are treating police work with more consideration — even when evaluating the actions of officers who were not primarily responsible for a person’s death.

Chauvin, 45, has been in detention since April, when he convicted of murder Mr Floyd. He pleaded guilty to federal charges Mr. Floyd’s civil rights violations in December. The other three officers also face state charges of aiding and abetting murder, and that trial is set for later this year.

In her closing remarks on Tuesday, Manda Sertich, the Minnesota federal prosecutor, tried to highlight how long Mr. Floyd suffered while three police officers failed to provide assistance. She also alleged that the officers deliberately stripped Mr. Floyd of his rights, implying that they knew what Mr. Chauvin was doing wrong. The jury must establish that the defendants’ actions were intentional in order to convict them.

By the time Mr Floyd made his last plea for air, all three officers had been unable to come to his aid for several minutes, Ms Sertich said.

According to Ms Surtich, Mr Tao “did nothing” for 4 minutes and 40 seconds while Mr Floyd called for help. At the same time, she said, Mr Kueng ignored Mr Floyd’s pleas as he crouched “shoulder to shoulder” with Mr Chauvin, never urging him to give up. And Mr. Lane, who was holding Mr. Floyd by the legs, decided “not to stop the horror unfolding right under his nose”, only once suggesting that Mr. Chauvin turn Mr. Floyd on his side, but “doing nothing for to George Floyd the medical care he knew he so desperately needed,” the prosecutor said.

Even when Mr Floyd said he couldn’t breathe for the 27th time, Ms Sertich said, the officers “were only halfway through their crime.”

The officers are being tried together, but each has their own lawyer, and the three lawyers made separate closing arguments for several hours Tuesday afternoon.

They submitted that their clients had succumbed to the judgment of Mr. Chauvin, the senior officer present at the scene; that their attention was occasionally diverted from Mr. Floyd’s deteriorating condition; and that keeping Mr Floyd was necessary because he took fentanyl and refused to get into the back seat of a police car after being accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill. The lawyers also criticized the prosecutors, with one stating that the prosecutors presented misleading arguments, while another suggested that they filed the case due to political pressure.

“Just because something has a tragic end doesn’t mean it’s a crime,” Robert Paul, Mr Tao’s lawyer, told jurors.

Earl Grey, Mr Lane’s lawyer, noted that his client asked Mr Chauvin if the police should turn Mr Floyd on his side and that he was not charged with non-intervention as a result. Mr Gray also said Mr Lane was quick to tell the paramedics that Mr Floyd was not responding after they arrived at the scene and that he was traveling with Mr Floyd in an ambulance.

Understand the civil rights lawsuit over the death of George Floyd

Map 1 of 5Police culture on trial. That federal civil rights litigation three former officers for their role in murder of George Floyd focuses on a key issue in the American police force: the duty of officers to intervene in the affairs of their colleagues when they witness misconduct.

New focus. Since the murder of Mr Floyd nearly two years ago, all eyes have been on the officer who killed him. Derek Chauvin. While Mr. Chauvin was convicted of murder last spring at the state court, he was not the only officer present that day.

Who are the officers under investigation? Three officers are accused of willfully refusing to intervene against Mr. Chauvin and help Mr. Floyd. To Tao, a veteran officer who was Mr. Chauvin’s partner, held back a group of passers-by. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, both rookies, helped capture Mr. Floyd.

What are the charges? The allegations concern whether the defendants were stripped Mr Floyd of his civil rights. All three officers are accused of failing to provide medical attention to Mr. Floyd, while Mr. Kueng and Mr. Tao are also accused of failing to intervene in Mr. Chauvin’s use of force.

“How can our government, the wonderful United States of America—freedom and all—blame someone who does this?” Mr Gray said, adding that it was “a little scary”.

Thomas Plunkett, Mr Kuang’s lawyer, said the crowd of bystanders had created an unusual and hostile situation, and he said the jury was the officers’ last defense against the “mob mentality” he believed was driving their prosecution.

The police responded to an emergency call. store clerk in South Minneapolis a report that Mr. Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

As officers handcuffed Mr Floyd to his stomach on the street, the teenager recorded a video of Mr Floyd, a black security guard who lost his job due to the coronavirus pandemic, begging for air under Mr Chauvin’s ruthless knee. The video prompted the Minneapolis police chief to quickly fire all four officers and sparked racial justice protests that led to millions of people on the streets and sidewalks of America. Mr Chauvin and Mr Lane are white Mr Tao – Hmong as well as Mr Kueng black.

Majority 18 jurors chosen to try the case “The 12 main jurors and six reserve jurors, who replaced the main jurors when necessary, were white, in part because jurors were drawn from all over Minnesota and not from the more diverse Twin Cities region.

Tim Arango and Jay Senter provided coverage from Saint Paul.

Polls in recent years showed that Republican voters much less likely than Democrats to support an active U.S. leadership role in world affairs, and Trump pollsters argue that the base not interested in protecting other countries. At the same time, Establishment Republicans respect the Cold War party’s “peace through force” stance, a stance best articulated by Ronald Reagan.

“I think Ohio Republicans have the same two mindsets as national Republicans when it comes to how aggressive they should be in defense of Ukraine,” said Mark R. Weaver, a Columbus Republican strategist.

Ohio has large and politically active Eastern European communities, including about 80,000 Ukrainian Americans. But the state also has a history of supporting isolationism, dating back to the days of Robert Taft, Jr., a senator who opposed US involvement in World War II.

The question in the Ohio Senate primary is: Which faction is bigger?

“Vance clearly suggests that with his America First isolationism, he is drawing in more voters than he is turning off,” said Jeff Sadoski, a former adviser to Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Sadoski is currently neutral in the race.

Portman, a Republican retiring this year, made his bet: Last week he endorsed Timken, followed by three more senators. Portman, who leads the Ukraine caucus in the Senate, remains popular in Ohio, and his endorsement is likely to carry weight in the eyes of Republican donors.

Vance made a different calculation.

For several weeks now, he has been bombarding his Twitter feed with comments about Ukraine, touching on several topics at once. First, that the fate of Ukraine does not excite America. Secondly, he is more concerned about illegal immigration. And third, the corrupt elites conspired to drag the Americans into senseless wars.

“It’s worth repeating: our leaders care more about Ukraine’s border than our own,” Vance wrote. on twitter.

In the bag, the officers found a stress ball, which they cut open, checked for drugs and said they found cocaine inside, the lawsuit says.

Ms. Goldring believed “they were joking,” the lawsuit says, but that was not the case.

Officers Henry and Restrepo took Ms. Goldring to the Fulton County Jail. There, she saw officers doing drug tests on the substance inside the stress ball and heard one officer say to Officer Henry, “Drop it, buddy,” after multiple tests came back negative, the lawsuit says.

The officers then told Ms. Goldring that she would have to wait in jail until the test results came back from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, her lawyers said. Her alternative was to pay a $25,500 bail, which she could not afford.

While in prison, Ms Goldring was placed in a hostel for people who identify as transgender women, but she was still sexually harassed, according to her lawyers.

Ms Goldring remained there for five months and 12 days until March 22, 2016, the day after the charges were dropped against her. On November 17, 2015, the GBI determined that the contents of the stress ball were not cocaine or any other drug, the lawsuit says.

In his ruling, Judge Wray said there were “two apparent injustices” at the trial. The first came when Atlanta cops testified that they were arresting people for crossing the wrong road — a disturbing practice, according to Judge Ray, because such minor offenses can “seriously disrupt a person’s life,” leading to discrimination. He said the energy of the officers “could be better directed to more pressing matters, such as investigating violent crime.”

The judge’s second concern came when Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum testified that officers operate a system that rewards them with points for traffic violations, arrests or other actions.

WASHINGTON. President Biden has interviewed at least three candidates for the Supreme Court nomination, indicating that he intends to fulfill his promise to select a nominee by the end of the month.

But less than a week is left until the end of the month. The interviews began late last week, according to several people familiar with the trial, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to its political sensitivities. Mr. Biden is now under pressure to announce his choice of what he promised to be a black woman, a cross between a booming diplomatic effort to curb Russian aggression against Ukraine and plans to make his first address to Congress. scheduled for next Tuesday.

The White House stressed on Tuesday that Mr. Biden has not yet made a decision, but intends to make one before the end of the month.

According to a person familiar with the process, Mr. Biden interviewed three candidates long on his shortlist: he spoke with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, which won the support of three Republican senators when Mr. Biden elevated it to the level of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He also interviewed Leondra R. Krueger of the California Supreme Court, a former Supreme Court clerk whose Yale law ancestry is shared by four current justices.

He also spoke to J. Michelle Childsa federal district court judge in South Carolina, a state whose black voters Biden says helped him win the presidential election.

At least one of the interviews was personal.

The White House, aware that the Supreme Court nomination is one of the most tightly controlled and politically volatile of all presidential duties, has said so little about the replacement process. outgoing Judge Steven G. Breyer that the lack of details has turned into a running joke: “The long national trial is about to end,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said wryly when a reporter asked if Mr. Biden had finished the interview.

Washington Post as well as CNN each has reported some interviews previously. Several of Mr. Biden’s advisers said he may have more interviews and stressed that he intended to be thoughtful as he entered the final evaluation phase. Several others also indicated that Mr. Biden interest in a lengthy, detailed process may threaten his own deadline.

“He’s not someone who lets outside forces dictate his time,” said Jeff Peck, a lobbyist who served as general counsel and director of personnel on the Senate Judiciary Committee when Mr. Biden was its chairman. “He’ll do it when he’s ready and when he makes a decision, but I do think there’s an outside crutch here, partly because of the state of the country.”

In the past few weeks, Mr. Biden has been reading court decisions late into the night. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Biden presided over hearings of several Supreme Court candidates. He said one of his proudest moments in the role was helping to thwart the candidacy of Robert H. Bork due to what he saw as Mr. Bork’s restrictive views on civil rights, women’s rights, and the Constitution.

In 1991, he presided over explosive hearings confirmed by Judge Clarence Thomas. Allegations of sexual harassment were leveled at those hearings, leading some to accuse Mr. Biden and his all-white, all-male committee of mistreating Anita Hill, who accused Judge Thomas of sexual harassment. Mr. Biden has since expressed regret to Miss Hill.

As a senator, Mr. Biden would often forcefully or emotionally question candidates on issues such as civil rights and the right to privacy.

“Just talk to me like a father.” he asked John G. Roberts Jr. during Senate confirmation hearings in 2005, trying to understand how Mr. Roberts felt about end-of-life planning. “Just tell me, purely philosophically, what do you think?” (Mr. Roberts, now Chief Justice, declined to answer the question under such conditions.)

Mr. Peck said Mr. Biden most likely used the same method during the interview, listening to what senators would like to hear during confirmation hearings.

“I’m sure the conversations include discussions that allow him to get some idea of ​​the potential candidate’s value system,” he said. “He’s going to need someone who can build consensus, who can write a strong majority opinion, and who can also express a dissenting opinion in a clear, understandable way for people.”

Who are some of the contenders for a seat on the Supreme Court?

Card 1 of 4Leondra R. Krueger. The California Supreme Court justice has many of the qualities typical of U.S. Supreme Court candidates, but she is anomalous in at least one respect: FROMhe serves in the state court. The moderation of Judge Kruger might have made her mediation force in Washington.

At the White House, Mr. Biden is surrounded by people who understand the workings of the court, including his chief of staff, Ron Klein. He was an adviser to Mr. Biden on the Judiciary Committee during the 1991 squabble over the nomination of Judge Thomas, and was chief judicial adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Dana Remus, White House Counsel, was previously a clerk for Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., a member of the court’s conservative wing.

His other advisers on the matter include Cedric Richmond, director of the White House Office of Public Affairs, and Kamala Harris, vice president, although she was out of the country when the interviews began.

Mr Biden and his advisers rely on Doug Jones, a former senator from Alabama who will help a possible candidate get into the Senate. Last week, Mr. Jones began calling lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, was one of the first to receive calls from former colleagues, who a senior White House official said was a “call list” to get their opinion and advice.

In that discussion, according to a person who was briefed on the matter, Mr. Grassley told Mr. Jones that he was concerned that the White House could only offer meetings with the candidate via Zoom and wanted to make sure that any senator who wants a personal interview with a candidate can have one.

In numerous daily phone calls, Mr. Jones conveyed lawmakers’ concerns to Louise Terrell, director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, or Rima B. Dodin, deputy director of the office, according to a senior administration official.

Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former Special Counsel to the Judiciary Committee, praised the team around the president but said Mr. Biden was risking “political costs” by slowly choosing someone as the situation in Ukraine unfolded. .

“He is literally facing two of the most likely issues that will attract attention and hopefully support, but also likely to generate resistance,” Mr. Gerhardt said. “There is no margin for error.”

As they were working, she said, a man approached them and yelled that they were “violent terrorists,” repeatedly calling them misogynistic vulgarities and accusing them of being responsible for the violence in the city. The women were about a block from the house where Mr. Smith lives.

She said he threatened them, saying, “If I see you pass by my house, I will shoot you.”

Ms Beck said that Ms Knightley approached the man and said, “You won’t scare us. You can’t intimidate us.”

The shooter then shot Ms. Knightley in the face, Ms. Beck said.

Ms Beck said she was shot twice and that she saw two of her friends, including Ms Knightley, lying on the ground covered in blood.

Police declined to give a motive for the attack, saying they were still investigating.

According to his roommate, Kristin Christenson, 33, who lived with him for seven years, a search warrant was executed at Mr Smith’s apartment over the weekend.

Mr Smith, a machinist, has become more and more radical in recent years, Ms Christensen said.

“He talked all the time about wanting to shoot people, how much he hates Antifa, Black Lives Matter and ‘those damn commies,’” she said.

Ms. Christensen said Mr. Smith wore a shirt that said “Kyle Rittenhouse, True Patriot,” meaning a man from Illinois who was acquitted in a criminal case after he fatally shot two men and wounded another during protests against police behavior in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020.

A reading at a library in Providence, Rhode Island, was interrupted Monday evening when a group of people with a swastika flag slammed into the building’s windows, shouting insults and chanting “white power.”

That Red Ink Public Librarywhich describes itself as a “non-profit public library, reading room, and organizing space” hosted a reading of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ The Communist Manifesto on Red Book Day, marking the 174th anniversary of the manifesto’s publication. .

IN video stream During the event, someone is reading the manifesto when a sudden knock is heard off-screen, followed by several insults. The person tries to continue reading while a group is heard outside shouting insults and “white power”.

After several interrupted attempts to continue reading, another person stands in front of the microphone and sums up.

“Thank you all for joining us,” he says. “Fifty Nazis just went outside, so we’re going to finish this.” It continues with a short read and then exits the video frame just before the end of the broadcast.

In a series of posts about Twitterthe library said its event was “interrupted by a mob of fascists and Nazis”.

“They appeared on our sidewalk, banged on our glass windows, shouted terrible insults and tried to attack our members,” the library said. “Because they outnumbered us maybe 10 to 1, there was little we could do other than tell them to go home and try to stay safe indoors.”

The Providence Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Providence Journal reported that about 15-20 people had gathered near the event site and that no one had been injured or arrested.

The library said on Twitter that the group outside “continued to put on a show” until the Providence cops arrived.

“Although we did not seek help from the police, only the threat of state violence put an end to this mess,” the library said. “While we knew and wanted to highlight the relevance and importance of The Manifesto today, we didn’t want it to be so edgy, so ugly.”

From time to time, a group outside the building yells “131”, which refers to the 131 brigade or the National Social Club, which Anti-Defamation League describes as a neo-Nazi group with chapters in the United States. Members of the group “see themselves as soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race,” according to the anti-hate organization.

Another videos the events show the group flying a red and white flag with a black swastika.

“There is no place for hate in our communities or state,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said in a post on Twitter. “The video of the group waving Nazi flags last night at the PVD is unacceptable and disgusting. I support those who condemn the actions of last night.”

IN statement Jorge Elorza, mayor of Providence, said on Tuesday that the city is “home to many different people, cultures and ideas, and there is no room in our city for hate-filled acts designed to intimidate and inspire fear.”

“My administration is committed to ensuring that every resident feels safe and protects the rights of people who gather peacefully,” said Mr. Elorza.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, members of the Nationalist Social Club participate in demonstrations and counter-protests, and also appear at public events.

The group, which began in 2019 as the New England Nationalist Club, “seeks to form an underground network of white men who are ready to fight against their perceived enemies through local direct action,” according to the anti-hate organization.

IN joint statementThe Greater Rhode Island Jewish Alliance, the Greater Rhode Island Board of Rabbis, and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center said the demonstration outside the library was a “disturbing incident” and that similar episodes are occurring with increasing frequency in the state and region.

“This is disgusting,” the statement said. “Our common humanity is based on a society that does not hate or discriminate. We must respond collectively and convincingly, exposing hatred to the light.”

The Red Ink Public Library plans to hold a “community emergency forum” on Saturday to develop safety plans.

WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies were quick to impose economic sanctions on Russia Tuesday for what President Biden condemned as the start of an “invasion of Ukraine,” unveiling a set of coordinated punishments as Western officials confirmed Russian troops had begun crossing Ukraine. border.

Speaking from the White House, Mr. Biden denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that the immediate consequences of his aggression against Ukraine are the loss of a key gas pipeline and the end of global funding for two Russian banks and several of the country’s elite.

“Who in the name of God, thinks Putin, gives him the right to proclaim new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors?” Mr. Biden said Tuesday afternoon, joining a cascade of criticism from world leaders earlier in the day. “This is a flagrant violation of international law and requires a tough response from the international community.”

Mr. Biden warned Mr. Putin that more sanctions would follow if the Russian leader did not withdraw his troops and make diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

But that prospect remained hazy by the end of the day as Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken canceled plans to meet with Russia’s foreign minister on Thursday, saying it “didn’t make sense” to negotiate while Russian troops were in position. move.

“To put it simply, Russia has just announced that it is taking a big chunk out of Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said, adding, “He is making a rationale for taking more territory by force.”

The global backlash began early Tuesday morning, just hours after Mr. Putin recognized the self-proclaimed secessionist states in eastern Ukraine and Russian troops began moving into their territory, according to NATO, European Union and White House officials. This was the first major deployment of Russian troops across an internationally recognized border since the start of the current crisis.

At a press conference in Moscow, Mr. Putin said he had not made the decision to send troops “right now.” But officials said the invasion began overnight, just hours before Mr. Putin’s parliament formally granted him authority to deploy military forces abroad. Ukrainians near territory controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists have been under fire for several days now, and as Ukrainian troops hid in their trenches and civilians hid in basements, the country’s military said one soldier had been killed and six wounded so far.

Financial markets around the world fluctuated on Tuesday after the actions of Russia and the reaction of Western governments. In the United States, the news drove stocks lower, leaving the S&P 500 in corrective territory, more than 10 percent below its January peak. Oil prices, which rose to nearly $100 a barrel ahead of the global turmoil, settled at $96.84 a barrel, up 1.5 percent.

Mr. Biden and his colleagues in Germany, England and other European countries described the global sanctions package as harsh. They include United States financial directives barring Russia from borrowing money in Western markets and blocking the financial transactions of two banks and the families of three wealthy Russian elites.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspend the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.. The $11 billion pipeline from Russia to Germany – completed but not yet operational – is critical to Moscow’s plans to boost energy sales to Europe. Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the European Union and the British government approved sanctions against lawmakers in Moscow who voted to authorize the use of force, as well as Russian elites, companies and organizations.

“It will be very painful,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles.

The governments of Japan, Taiwan and Singapore also issued a joint statement saying they would restrict technology exports to Russia in an attempt to pressure Mr. Putin to undermine his ambitions to compete in high-tech industries.

But action in Washington and other capitals around the world has been limited in scope and out of step with the wider economic warfare that some, including members of Congress and other Ukraine supporters, have repeatedly demanded in recent weeks.

Mr. Biden and his colleagues said they must balance the need to take quick and tough action with the possibility of even tougher sanctions on Russia if Mr. Putin escalates the conflict in an attempt to capture more territory claimed by the separatists. or even the whole country – a war in which tens of thousands of people could die.

“This is the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said, adding that “we will continue to tighten sanctions if Russia does.”

European leaders have also vowed to act harder if Putin’s forces continue to advance. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the British sanctions just “the first tranche.”

Mr. Biden’s use of the word “invasion” was significant. In the past, he has angered the Ukrainian leadership when he suggested that “minor intrusions” could be punished with lesser penalties. Now that Mr Putin has ordered troops into eastern Ukraine, Mr Biden is choosing his words to make it clear that there is nothing peripheral to the operation.

But this still leaves open the question of how to calibrate the sanctions, because there have been no mass casualties so far. John Finer, deputy national security adviser to the president, said Tuesday morning that the administration could hold back. some of his promised punishments in the hope of deterring further, much more brutal Mr. Putin’s aggression to take over the rest of the country.

“We have always envisioned waves of sanctions that will unfold over time in response to steps Russia is actually taking, not just statements it is making,” Mr Finer said on CNN. “We have always said that we will monitor the situation on the ground and respond quickly and firmly.”

What is important is that it remains unclear how far Mr. Putin is willing to go when he argues that Ukraine itself is a fake country, erroneously cut off from Russia. On Tuesday, he ominously announced that he recognizes the sovereignty of the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk republics not only over the territory they control, but also over the much larger part of Ukraine they claim, home to 2.5 million people.

At a hastily convened press conference on Tuesday, Mr Putin demanded that Ukraine swear never to join NATO, renounce advanced weapons supplied by the West, recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and negotiate directly with Luhansk and Donetsk separatists, which are being considered in Kiev. and Western capitals as illegitimate proxies of the Kremlin.

“The most important thing is the degree of demilitarization of Ukraine known today,” Putin said. “It’s the only objectively controllable factor that can be observed and reacted to.”

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said Ukraine had amassed 60,000 troops to attack Russian-backed separatist enclaves in the country’s east, a move Ukraine denies having any plans. Mr. Pankov’s remarks suggested little that a peaceful end to the conflict between the two countries was not far off.

“Negotiations have stalled,” he said in a televised speech. “The Ukrainian leadership has taken the path of violence and bloodshed.”

Mr. Biden’s announcement of new sanctions was equally grim. He said the United States is imposing a “total lockdown” on two major Russian financial institutions and “comprehensive sanctions” on Russian debt.

“This means that we have cut off the Russian government from Western finance,” he said. “He can no longer raise money in the West and cannot trade his new debt in our or European markets.”

He also said the United States would impose sanctions on the Russian elite and their family members to ensure that those closest to Putin are not spared the financial problems that are expected to hit ordinary Russian citizens hard.

Duleep Singh, deputy national security adviser, called the sanctions announced on Tuesday “only a sharp pain that we can inflict.”

Mr. Singh called the two banks “the Kremlin’s famed piggy bank” and the financier of “Russian military activities.” Banks will be prohibited from doing business in the US or Europe, and their assets in the US will be frozen.

Mr Singh said that sanctions against the Russian elite and their families would punish those “involved in the Kremlin’s corruption proceeds, and now they will share the pain.”

US officials have been worried for weeks that imposing tough sanctions on Russia could also have repercussions in the United States, including higher gas prices. Jen Psaki, a White House press secretary, said Americans should be prepared for the outcome of a conflict with Russia.

Asked about Mr. Biden’s proposed summit meeting with Mr. Putin, Ms. Psaki said the administration remains open to diplomacy. “It remains an option,” she said of a potential meeting, but only if Russia deescalates its fighting against Ukraine.

By the end of the day, there were no immediate signs of a major military escalation in eastern Ukraine, but terrified Ukrainians were boarding buses from breakaway areas as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his country to “keep a cool head” during the crisis.

Mr. Zelenskiy insisted that Ukraine would not cede territory, and his defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, appeared to be preparing his country’s troops for battle.

“There will be a difficult test ahead,” Mr. Reznikov said in a grim statement released by the military. “There will be losses. You will have to go through pain and overcome fear and discouragement.”

Michael D. Shire and Zolan Canno-Youngs reported from Washington, Richard Perez-Peña from New York, and Anton Troyanovsky from Moscow.