Researched & collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Prafula Grace Busi
The Russian invasion: The latest update
We have extensively tracked the Russia vs Ukraine conflict since December. If you need more context, we highly recommend reading our Big Story on the historical roots of the conflict and this timely explainer on the effectiveness of economic sanctions, the return of the Cold War, what is driving Vladimir Putin, and India’s “balancing act.”
Death toll: The latest UN estimate for civilians is 406 dead and 801 injured. As always, these are likely to be gross underestimates. Number of refugees: 1.7 million.
Peace talks: A third round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia ended in a stalemate. Moscow offered to create “humanitarian corridors” to evacuate civilians from six cities—most of which would lead directly into Russia or Belarus. Kyiv rejected the offer, while French President Macron accused Russia of “moral and political cynicism.” The two foreign ministers will meet in Turkey on Thursday—which will mark the highest level of talks between the two sides so far.
Russia’s terms: Moscow explicitly set out its demands for the first time ahead of the talks. Ukraine must cease all military action, amend its constitution to ensure it does not enter any bloc, recognise Crimea as Russian territory, and finally, acknowledge Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states. Interestingly, it did not demand regime change.
Indian students: PM Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Zelensky and thanked him for supporting the evacuation of Indians. Though 600 students still remain stranded in Sumy. Their evacuation was cancelled at the last minute—amid reports that Russia had violated the promised ceasefire.
State of the invasion: Russia is moving toward nighttime strikes—and remains focused on civilian targets. The Pentagon claims that Moscow is recruiting Syrian mercenaries for urban combat in the cities—especially Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukraine claims to have shot down two Russian airplanes over Kyiv. But there is no mistaking the devastation wreaked by the continual Russian strikes and shelling. These are scenes from Kharkiv:
Map to note: Here’s what the Russians control so far:
Military support for Ukraine: The latest US plan to send military support to Ukraine involves a plane swap with Poland. Warsaw will send its Soviet-era jets to Kyiv since Ukrainians know how to fly them—and Washington will replace them with F-16s. Least enthusiastic about this plan: Poland. The PM said bluntly: “Poland won’t send its fighter jets to #Ukraine as well as allow to use its airports”—since it will be seen as direct military interference by Russia.
About those sanctions: The appetite for new sanctions may be dimming—despite Zelensky’s demands—with Germany and Hungary balking at any plan to target energy imports from Russia. Hungary’s finance minister said bluntly: “Those who ask for the expansion of the sanctions, want the Hungarian people to pay the price of the war." Meanwhile, Moscow is leaning on China’s payments system to get around the financial bans on its banks. Quartz has that story.
Elsewhere in the world: Here’s a quick roundup of related developments:
- The hacker group Anonymous disrupted Russian TV channels to broadcast footage of the war.
- The US is desperately looking for alternative sources for oil—and sent a delegation to Venezuela to look for relief from high prices. Axios has more on how oil politics is forcing the Biden administration to cuddle up to governments it once scorned and even sanctioned—in Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
- The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also kicked off a tour of jittery Balkan states—Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia—who don’t think the US is doing enough to help Ukraine.
- Russian celebrities who spoke up against the war have paid an immediate price for their courage. Concerts and TV shows have been immediately pulled as punishment.
Related things to see: Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak won the bronze medal at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha—and wore a ‘Z’ on his chest. The letter represents support for Putin’s war in Russia. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) condemned the “shocking behaviour” and is seeking disciplinary action.
Sting posted a video of him singing the 1985 song ‘Russians’—saying: “I've only rarely sung this song in the many years since it was written, because I never thought it would be relevant again.”
A little girl in a bomb shelter sang ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen and made everyone tear up a little.
A Ukrainian couple tied the knot in their military fatigues on the frontline and made global headlines.
Related reads: BBC News looks at the global food crisis triggered by the war. Vanity Fair explains why all eyes are on cryptocurrencies in the midst of the financial isolation of Russia. The Guardian looks at Hollywood’s A-list who were once Putin’s BFFs.
Markets are tanking
The price of oil surged past $139 a barrel—their highest level since 2008, and marking a 60% jump since the beginning of 2022. That in turn shoved the rupee down to a record low of 76.96 per dollar. It is officially Asia’s worst performing currency. The big reason: India imports nearly three-fourths of its oil—which makes it most vulnerable to the Moscow effect. The stock markets aren’t looking healthy either. Sensex declined 2.74%, while Nifty dropped 2.35% to 15,863.15.
Meanwhile, economists warned that India may emerge as one of Asia’s biggest “losers” of the war in Ukraine. The Telegraph offers a very good and detailed analysis of the impact on the economy, defence deals and beyond. Indian Express has an explainer on the rupee’s plunge. And Quartz points to a silver lining: Soaring wheat prices which could spur our best export season yet.
Three interesting studies to note
Optimism rules! New research suggests that the ‘glass half full’ kinds of people may live longer, healthier lives. The reason: they have fewer stressful events in their daily lives. But why is that? The cause is still mysterious:
“How optimists minimise their dose of stress is unclear, but the researchers believe they either avoid arguments, lost keys, traffic jams and other irritations, or simply fail to perceive them as stressful in the first place.”
Guess it’s all about attitude? (The Guardian)
Climate change: A study shows that there are six key lifestyle changes that can help avert the climate crisis. The six steps—which include eating a mainly plant-based diet, flying only once every three years, buying three or less new pieces of clothing a year and switching to green energy—could reduce emissions by 25-27% to keep global warming levels from rising over 1.5°C. (Independent)
Covid: A new study shows that even a mild infection can damage the brain. People who were infected had a greater reduction in their brain volumes overall and performed worse on cognitive tests than those who had not contracted the disease. (US News)
Pet food: Here’s an unexpected and unwelcome bit of news about pet food. A new study found meat from endangered sharks in cans of pet food. While the labelling uses vague language like “fish”, “ocean fish”, “white bait” or “white fish,” the most frequently identified species were blue shark, silky shark and whitetip reef shark. The last two are categorised as “vulnerable” species. FYI: There has been a 71% decline in the number of sharks over the last 50 years. (Newsweek)
Japan’s ‘killing stone’ crisis
Sessho-seki is a famous volcanic rock that is said to kill anyone who comes into contact with it. And now it has split into two—spurring a frenzy of superstitious fear. The stone is said to contain the transformed body of a woman who is, in fact, “an evil nine-tailed fox whose spirit is embedded in the hunk of lava.” The likely reason for the collapse is rainwater that has seeped inside and weakened its rock. But to appease all those worried about its demonic contents, the local tourist officials plan to reseal the rock. (The Guardian)
A Californication video game
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1999 hit ‘Californication’ has been turned into a video game. What to expect, as per the developer: “I have selected some epic moments from the video and turned into seven levels each one with different game mechanics, I hope you like this game.” The game is free to download on the website. (NME)
One fun thing to see
The Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week featured an unexpected throwback cameo—from Mrs Doubtfire, herself. All thanks to drag queen Alexis Stone who does a mean Robin Williams—but with a lot more oomph:) (Vogue)
Good stuff to check out
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at whether brown lives matter in the time of war—and the inequality within the so-called creator economy. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
