An Update on Russia & Ukraine

🇺🇦 As of Sunday morning, Russia had deployed two-thirds of its total troops to Ukraine and fired 320 missiles within the country, but still didn’t control any major population centers, according to a top Pentagon official.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that officials from both sides would meet for peace talks on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
• His announcement came as satellite images showed a 3+ mile long Russian convoy 40 miles away from Kyiv and headed towards the city, which Mayor Vitali Klitschko told the AP was “encircled” by Russian troops (though his spokesman later said he “misspoke”).
• Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior said at least 352 civilians had died as of Sunday, with ~1,700 more injured. Nearly 400,000 Ukrainians have already fled to other European countries.
• The US, EU and other Western nations announced several rounds of sanctions over the weekend, including freezing the assets of President Vladimir Putin and some of his cabinet and expelling a “certain number of Russian banks” from the global SWIFT financial system. The EU also said it would buy weapons for Ukraine, the first time in its history it will deliver weapons to a country under attack.
• Earlier this morning, Russia’s central bank more than doubled the country’s key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% as the ruble hit a record low against the dollar.
• Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia's deterrence forces, including nuclear weapons, to stay on high alert. The US called the decision an "unnecessary escalation."
• The sports and entertainment world has mostly reacted to Russia’s invasion by canceling upcoming events in the country (Formula 1, Association of Tennis Professionals, FIFA, Louis C.K., Green Day) or banning Russia from participating (Eurovision).
• More than 100,000 demonstrators marched in Berlin yesterday protesting the invasion.

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