An Update on Russia & Ukraine

🇺🇦 Moscow ramped up its assault on the southern city of Mariupol yesterday, a day after one of its planes bombed a maternity hospital and killed at least three civilians.

• Russia’s foreign minister said the hospital was a legitimate target because it was held by “local radical militias,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the airstrike “proof of a genocide.”
• Talks in Turkey between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia concluded without any progress on a cease-fire or humanitarian corridors for civilians to evacuate.
• US officials now estimate Russia has lost 5,000 to 6,000 troops, while between 2,000 and 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.
• The president of Poland, where nearly 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled, asked VP Kamala Harris and the US for assistance to avoid a "refugee disaster." Harris also called for an international war crimes investigation into Russia.

How the invasion is impacting…

⚽ Sports: The UK froze the assets of Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, who was in the process of selling the team; he’ll now need government approval to move forward with any deal, which Abramovich isn’t allowed to profit from.

🐭 Entertainment: Disney is pausing all operations in Russia after previously suspending new film releases in the country; the company said its Russian workers will remain employed.

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