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

Even with a series of harsh measures already taken on Russia, including a ban on Russian imports, the sanctioning of Russia’s central bank and the enactment of export controls, the U.S. could enact even tighter sanctions, several experts told ABC News.

The U.S. could push other countries to make commitments to decrease their reliance on Russian energy -- which it and the U.K. are already beginning to do -- and to increase their own production of oil and gas to lower the high energy prices Americans and Europeans are starting to face — and it could also get Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and others to increase their exports.

Other current sanctions the U.S. could tighten include imposing "full-blocking" sanctions, the harshest possible financial sanctions, on Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank. The U.S. has already done this for several other banks but has only put limited restrictions on Sberbank in order to limit the impact on the ordinary Russians who use the bank.

The U.S. could also put additional secondary sanctions on banks, put more restrictions on Russian goods, keep pursuing oligarchs and other Russian elites and sanction other Russian sectors such as minerals, chemicals, and coal.

The sanctions the West has already imposed have devastated the Russian economy at a rapid clip. They will continue to compound and inflict more pain on the Russian economy as they continue to play out, the experts said.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo have suspended business in Russia, the companies announced Tuesday.

"Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine," the release states. "We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve."

Pepsi, which has ben operating in Russia for more than 60 years, "must stay true to the humanitarian aspect of our business," CEO Ramon Laguarta wrote in a letter to PepsiCo associates.

"Our first priority continues to be the safety and security of our fellow Ukrainian associates," Laguarta said. "We suspended operations in Ukraine to enable our associates to seek safety for themselves and their families, and our dedicated crisis teams in the sector and region continue to closely monitor developments in real time."

Pepsi will also continue to provide aid to assist Ukrainians refugees in neighboring countries, including donating milk and refrigerators to relief organizations, and we’re ramping up production of foods and beverages in neighboring countries to meet the increased need, Laguarta said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

The White House is not engaging in speculation about how high crude oil prices will spike but said Americans will not be asked to stay home to cut down on gas usage.

"We’re neither going to make a prediction, or -- nor are we going to tell Americans to stay home," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

Some House Democrats, such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Tuesday morning, have suggested that asking the federal government and private business to encourage working from home would ease the demand for fuel and help keep prices stable.

But Psaki dismissed the suggestion of ramping up work from home, as the administration has been working to move into the "endemic" phase of COVID-19, returning to more normalcy.

Upon arriving in Texas on Tuesday afternoon, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that there's little he can do about the soaring gas prices, blaming Russia for sparking the crisis.

"They're gonna go up," Biden said about gas prices after arriving in Fort Worth. "Can't do much right now. Russia's responsible."

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Despite losing troops, ground vehicles and aircraft in the fighting, Russia’s invading forces remain roughly 95% intact, a senior U.S. defense official said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Ukrainian resistance efforts are continuing to slow down Russian forces, particularly in the north, where they have not moved any closer to Kyiv’s city center since yesterday, the official said. Fighting and resistance against the Russian advance on Chernihiv and Kharkiv have been reported as well, the official said.

Russian air and missile attacks are increasing as the ground effort has been frustrated, and bombardment of the capital continues, he added. Much of the airspace of Ukraine, in the north and south, is under some umbrella of “Russian surface-to-air missile capability,” the official said.

"We still have every reason to assess that their effort is to encircle and force the surrender of Kyiv,” the official said.

In the south, Russians advancing to the northwest out of Crimea are about 25 miles out of Mykolayiv, the official said. Russian forces have isolated the city of Mariupol and continue to bombard it, he added.

In addition, Ukraine’s military is struggling to overcome shortages of fuel and food, he said.

The deconfliction line set up last Tuesday about has been used by the U.S. and Russia about a dozen times now, but so far only for test calls to make sure "somebody's picking up on the other end."

-ABC News' Mattew Seyler