US strikes harder at Putin, banning all Russian oil imports

Striking harder at Russia’s economy, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a ban on Russian oil imports in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine. The major trade action, responding to the pleas of Ukraine’s embattled leader, thrust the U.S. out front as Western nations seek to halt Putin’s invasion.

Americans will feel pain, too — at the gas pump — Biden acknowledged, declaring, “Defending freedom is going to cost.”