An Update on Russia & Ukraine

🇺🇦 Russian airstrikes in Ukraine intensified over the weekend as their troops pushed towards Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing dozens of civilians according to the WSJ.

• Local authorities said plans for humanitarian corridors to evacuate Mariupol and Volnovakha in the south collapsed for the second straight day on Sunday due to Russian shelling in the area.
• The number of Ukrainians fleeing the country has topped 1.5 million in ten days, per the UN – nearly 3.5% of its total population.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly evaded three assassination attempts last week, per the Times of London.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN’s State of the Union yesterday that he’s “seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians [by Russia], which would constitute a war crime.”
• More than 4,300 antiwar protesters were arrested in Russia yesterday, the highest single-day total during the conflict so far.
• Several news orgs suspended or canceled operations in Russia after its parliament approved a new law that would imprison journalists for up to 15 years for publishing "fake" information about the invasion.

How the invasion is impacting…

🛢️ Oil & Gas: The national average for a gallon of gas rose above $4 yesterday for the first time since 2008. It’s jumped nearly 50 cents over the past ten days.

🌾🌽 Food: Ukraine and Russia combine to account for nearly 30% of global wheat exports and over 17% of global corn exports. Over the past month, wheat futures have climbed to a 14-year high and corn prices have risen 21%.

• Russia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of fertilizers like potash and nitrogen, and its internal ministry recommended suspending all exports on Friday.

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