Now nearly two weeks into the conflict, Ukrainian president Volodomir Zelenskyy pleaded with US lawmakers on a zoom conference call yesterday to send more planes to help the country defend itself.

Zelenskyy has remained in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv throughout the Russian invasion as a convoy of armoured vehicles threatens from the north. Russian troops continue to shell the city and estimates of 1.4 million people in total have fled Ukraine.

The US is considering sending F-16 fighter jets to former Eastern Bloc countries who are now members of NATO, who would then send Soviet-era Migs to Ukraine. The US is working on a $10 billion military and humanitarian aid package to send to Ukraine.

While many members of U.S. Congress approve of a ban on Russian oil, the White House has so far resisted that step, with concerns about further increases at the gas pump to American citizens.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said Ukraine’s future is in serious doubt, and said the West’s sanctions against Russia are like declaring war.