Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Italian parliament on Tuesday that Russian forces see Ukraine as a gate to Europe, per Reuters.

Zelenskyy asked the Italian parliament to back more sanctions on Russia and not allow exceptions for any Russian banks. "How can we sow crops under Russian artillery fire," Zelenskky said and noted that they were on the brink of surviving the war with Russia.

Market reaction

The market mood remains upbeat on Tuesday with US stock index futures rising between 0.2% and 0.5%.