Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says 'certain positive movements' in negotiations

The European Commission on Tuesday released its proposed plan to make the European Union independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030, starting with gas.

The plan "will seek to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gases and replace gas in heating and power generation," according to the European Commission.

This plan could reduce the EU's demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year, according to the European Commission.

"We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

Von der Leyen said she would be discussing the Commission's proposal with European leaders in Versailles later this week.

"Putin's war demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our clean energy transition," the European Commission wrote on Twitter.

Just before the invasion of Ukraine, the EU reported wholesale gas prices were around 200% higher than a year ago. The invasion aggravated the energy crisis even further.

The EU said it is reliant on imports of fossil fuels— gas, oil and coal— to meet its needs.

Last year, Russia provided around 45% of the EU's total gas imports, 27% of the EU's total crude oil imports and 46% of the EU's hard coal imports, according to the European Commission.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

The United States will ban imports of Russian oil and other energy products but will not be joined in doing so by European allies, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.

“Today, I'm announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy," Biden told reporters during a press conference from the White House. "We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy."

Biden said the ban means the U.S. "will deal another powerful blow" to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The move is also expected to trigger sharply higher gasoline and other energy prices in the U.S. and worldwide.

"There will be cost as well here in the United States," he added. "Republicans and Democrats understand, alike, understand that."

The decision was made in "close consultation" with U.S. allies and partners around the world, particularly in Europe, according to Biden.

"Because a united response to Putin's aggression has been my overriding focus, to keep all NATO and all the EU and our allies totally united," he said. "We're moving forward, understanding that many of our European allies and partner may not be in a position to join us."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Molly Nagle

The United Kingdom will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year, as part of its sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine, U.K. Buiness Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced Tuesday.

"Beyond Russia, the vast majority of our imports come from reliable partners such as the US, Netherlands and the Gulf. We’ll work with them this year to secure further supplies," Kwarteng said on his official Twitter account.

Kwarteng noted that while the U.K. "is not dependent" on Russian natural gas, as it only makes up 4% of the U.K's supply, he is exploring options to "end this altogether."

"The market has already begun to ostracise Russian oil, with nearly 70% of it currently unable to find a buyer," he added.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Yegor Gordeev, host of the Ukrainian television morning show "Breaking with 1+1," said he and his coworkers have had to evacuate the studio during broadcast several times as air raid sirens ring out across Kyiv.

"I'm not in studio, I'm in bomb shelter," Gordeev told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos during an interview Tuesday on "Good Morning America."

"In Ukraine, we have no shows now, we have no TV channels now, we have only one big broadcast for controlled information to audience, for communication with audience for everything," he added.

It was a bloody day in the Ukrainian capital, according to Gordeev. He said the Ukrainian Air Force shot down a Russian aircraft in the center of Kyiv early Tuesday morning, while a Russian rocket destroyed the city's largest bakery, killing 30 people.

Gordeev said he hopes for peace in his home country but he's "not sure."

"In 21st century, it's barbarian war," he said in disbelief. "Putin is unstoppable."

4:08

Ukrainian morning show host talks broadcasting during Russian conflict

Yegor Gordeev, co-host of “Breakfast with 1+1,” talks about his hopes and fears for his country as he streams a stripped-down web version of his show on YouTube.

ABCNews.com