Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton.

The Trump administration has announced sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies.

It comes after efforts to end the war in Ukraine have repeatedly failed.

Ukraine's President Volodemir Zelensky has been asking for more foreign help,

and Trump canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war.

Hopefully he'll become reasonable and hopefully Zelensky will be reasonable to.

You know, it takes two to tango, as I say.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions are a result of, quote,

Russia's lack of serious commitment to a peace process.

Putin directly drills, directed drills of the country's nuclear forces today, including

practice missile launches from land and by submarine. The drills also involved bombers,

firing long-range missiles. Russia's military said the exercise tested the skills of military

command structures. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to limit its communications with Congress.

It comes after he cracked down on press access, as NPR's Quill Lawrence reports.

In a memo obtained by NPR, Hegseth instructs all defense staff, with the exception of

inspectors general, to get permission before sharing information with congressional offices.

The memo says,

unauthorized engagements with Congress, no matter how well-intentioned, may undermine department-wide

priorities. But that may be hard to implement, since lawmakers from both parties request

information from military officials about everything from the National Guard to nuclear

weapons hundreds of times each day,

according to a congressional aide who was not authorized to speak publicly.

...