Ukraine Briefly

March 09, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

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• The United States banned the import of Russian gas and oil in an effort to target “the main artery of Russia’s economy” following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, NBC reported. The United Kingdom said it would phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year. European Union countries, which rely more heavily on Russia for energy, have been more reluctant: On Monday, Germany rejected a ban on Russian oil and gas. Still, the bloc plans to reduce its dependence on Russian energy by cutting gas imports by two-thirds this year, Al Jazeera added. Meanwhile, Russia threatened to cut off Europe from gas.

• After dozens of nations responded to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine with sanctions, Russia became the world’s most sanctioned country, according to Axios. Meanwhile, despite massive protests against the war at home, a new poll showed that about 58 percent of Russians support the invasion of Ukraine, the Washington Post reported.

• German prosecutors began an investigation into suspected war crimes perpetrated by Russian troops in Ukraine following an international outcry over attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure, Agence France-Presse reported.

• The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven more than 2 million people out of the country, the United Nations said Tuesday. Half are children.

• A US Defense Intelligence Agency official told lawmakers that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war to date, NBC News reported. Meanwhile, Poland announcedit would give Ukraine all of its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter planes and asked for other NATO nations to do the same.

• Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire in the northeastern city of Sumy early Tuesday, allowing civilians to escape the area after another night of heavy shelling there by Russian forces. About 1,000 foreign students were also evacuated, the Economist wrote.

• McDonald’s said it would temporarily close its 850 restaurants in Russia after coming under heavy pressure on social media to quit the country. The company, along with Starbucks, Coca-Cola and KFC, were among the last large US firms left in the country. Starbucks announced it was halting its business Tuesday and Coca-Cola and PepsiCo followed soon after. Also disconnecting are the US-based internet service providers Cogent and Lumen, which allow “data to flow through the guts of the internet,” Reuters said. A list of companies and organizations that have left Russia can be found here.

This story originally appeared in the March 09, 2022 newsletter, War Games.