Today’s Russia/Ukraine Update

🇺🇦 Russian missiles struck Kyiv, Odesa, Mariupol and other locations across Ukraine yesterday, as Moscow appeared to signal a shift in its battle plan amidst a stalled military ground offensive.

• The Institute for the Study of War, a non-partisan DC think tank, said the war has now reached a “stalemate” after Ukrainian forces defeated the initial Russian campaign, which aimed to capture several major cities within days of invading.
• "Stalemate is not armistice or ceasefire... If the war in Ukraine settles into a stalemate condition Russian forces will continue to bomb and bombard Ukrainian cities, devastating them and killing civilians," the institute added.
• Ukrainian officials said that Moscow demanded Mariupol surrender by 5 a.m. yesterday morning, in exchange for sparing the lives of those who complied and allowing “peaceful civilians” to escape.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly responded that Russia would have to “destroy us all” before Mariupol would surrender.

How the invasion is impacting…

📱 Social media: Soccer star David Beckham handed his Insta account – and its 71.5 million followers – over to a Ukrainian doctor in Kharkiv for a day; Dr. Iryna, a child anesthesiologist, posted Stories using videos and photos from the front lines of the war.

🛢️ Oil & gas: Per the WSJ, there’s growing support for an EU-wide ban on the purchase of Russian oil, though several nations – including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands – have voiced their opposition.

• Last year, crude oil and petroleum product exports made up 37% of Russian export revenue, with around half of it going to Europe (for a price equivalent to $97 billion in euros).