Then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dialed into the meeting via teleconference with a bracing appeal that left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes. In just five minutes, Zelensky — speaking from the battlefield of Kyiv — pleaded with European leaders for an honest assessment of his country’s ambition to join the European Union and for genuine help in its fight with the Russian invaders. Ukraine needed its neighbors to step up with food, ammunition, fuel, sanctions, all of it.

“It was extremely, extremely emotional,” said a European official briefed on the call. “He was essentially saying, ‘Look, we are here dying for European ideals.’” Before ending the video call, Zelensky told the gathering matter-of-factly that it might be the last time they saw him alive, according to a senior European official who was present.

Just that quickly, Zelensky’s personal appeal overwhelmed the resistance from European leaders to imposing measures that could drive the Russian economy into a state of near collapse. The result has been a rapid-fire series of developments boosting Ukraine’s fight to hold off the Russian military and shattering the limits on European assertiveness in national security affairs......

The increased popular demand for a strong response, including by kicking Russia out of SWIFT, and Biden calling out Europe “really ramped up the pressure” to act, said one person familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Without SWIFT, Russian institutions will be forced to fall back on a telex network and other less convenient and more costly alternatives.

The International Judo Federation said in a statement Sunday that it was suspending Russian President Vladimir Putin as its honorary president and ambassador, citing the “ongoing war conflict in Ukraine.”

The announcement came as Russian forces continued to bombard the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other cities, leading to heavy street fighting and back-and-forth rocket firing.

The judo organization, which brings together more than 200 national federations, said Friday it had canceled its Grand Slam event in Kazan, Russia, which was set to be held in May. IJF President Marius Vizer said he was “saddened by the current international situation,” although the statement on the cancellation did not directly refer to Russia or Ukraine.

Following Russia’s invasion, some went on Twitter to call on the group to take additional steps to remove Putin from his leadership post.

And the heroic figure at the center of this war is none other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former actor and comedian who rose to prominence playing a character on a popular TV show who accidentally becomes the Ukrainian president. Zelensky then parlayed his success into politics, running for office in 2019 on the back of a political party named after his show, "Servant of the People."

Imagine a country where a television star could become president and emerge as a beacon of courage!

But sometimes history comes to the rescue of a politician, and the past week has transmogrified Zelensky from a rapidly dwindling presidential figure into a national hero on a massive scale. He has shown himself to be a man who has dug into himself and found an inspiring store of courage. When the United States offered to evacuate him from Ukraine, he stood his ground, saying, "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride."

He has posted several videos online, and they've inspired a fierce defiance among the Ukrainian people. In one video titled "We are here. We are in Kyiv. We are protecting Ukraine," Zelensky can be seen surrounded by his top advisers. "We are all here. Our army are here. Citizens and society are here," he says. "We are defending our independence, our state, and it will remain so."

We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin’s war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. Russia’s war represents an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending. We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.

This past week, alongside our diplomatic efforts and collective work to defend our own borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their fight, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world, imposed severe measures on key Russian institutions and banks, and on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures within the coming days.

Specifically, we commit to undertake the following measures:

First, we commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.

Second, we commit to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.

Third, we commit to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.

Fourth, we commit to launching this coming week a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions. As a part of this effort we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families, and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world.

Finally, we will step up or coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.

We stand with the Ukrainian people in this dark hour. Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are prepared to take further measures to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine.

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"Well, here's what French President Emmanuel Macron said recently about Putin, and it was reported in the Wall Street Journal," host Witt prompted. "That 'Mr. Macron noticed a change in Mr. Putin's demeanor when speaking to him on the phone over the course of the pandemic. He tended to talk in circles, rewriting history, a close aide to Mr. Macron said. if you look at the video of Putin talking to leaders across those long tables.' What does all this suggest to you, the level of isolation that he has endured due to his paranoia about Covid? "

"I completely agree with that," Walder replied. "That is one thing that I have noticed lately, even -- and I know this sounds superficial -- but if you really just look at pictures of him, which I tend to do quite a bit, the shape of his face has even changed. He looks different, he speaks differently, and he's crossed over to what I think I consider to be almost the dark side of history."

"Look, Putin was never a friend, if you will, but most of the things that he was doing was really sort of cyber, psychological operations, those kinds of things," she added. "Now he's really crossed over sort of that red line into, you know, this full military warfare, but then part of me wonders if we should be this surprised."