Today’s Russia/Ukraine Update

🇺🇦 Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory yesterday in the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol, despite one last remaining pocket of resistance inside a local steel mill.

• Putin said he told his troops to continue sealing off the facility via blockade instead of storming in to recapture it.
• Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said yesterday that ~80% of the eastern territory is now occupied by Russian forces. Prior to the invasion, Ukraine controlled about 60% of Luhansk.
• President Biden announced $800 million in additional military aid and $500 million in economic aid for Ukraine yesterday, raising the total US assistance since the invasion began to ~$4.4 billion.

How the invasion is impacting…

🇺🇸 Immigration: Yesterday, the Biden administration announced a new humanitarian program to streamline the admittance of up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

• The US is working with third-party organizations like Airbnb to recruit 100,000 US residents to open their homes or donate to cover housing and transportation costs.

📉 Markets: Carlsberg, the world’s fourth-largest brewer, said it would take a $1.4 billion write-down and cut 2,000 jobs over its decision to exit Russia. The global brewing giant has one of the largest employee exposures in the country among Western businesses, with ~8,400 local workers.