A Look At Russia/Ukraine

🇺🇦 More than 100 Ukrainian civilians were rescued from a blockaded steel plant in Mariupol yesterday, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky and the International Committee on the Red Cross. 

• Local officials said the evacuation was later paused due to “security reasons,” but pledged to resume their efforts early this morning.
• Ukraine's military has destroyed more than 1,000 Russian tanks so far, along with 200 aircraft and 2,500 armored fighting vehicles, per Zelensky; he also pegged the Russian death toll at more than 23,000.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a group of Democratic lawmakers met with Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday.
• The Russian ruble reached a two-year high against the US dollar on Friday, which experts attributed to countries buying Russian gas in rubles.

How the invasion is impacting…

🚀 Space: The head of Russia’s space program announced the country is pulling out of the International Space Station, blaming the move on sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine; Russia is required to give its partners one year’s notice before pulling out.

🛢️ Oil: The EU is set to approve a "phased embargo" on Russian oil as early as this week, which would lead to a complete ban by the end of this year, officials told Reuters; Germany, the biggest European buyer of Russian oil, is reportedly in favor of the move.