Weekend Papers Summary
NEW YORK TIMES
-Officials said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a limited cease-fire in Mariupol, but Ukrainian officials said that Russia was not upholding it.
President Vladimir Putin likened sanctions on Russia to a “declaration of war” and threatened Ukraine with the loss of its statehood.
-The West marshaled a stunning show of unity against Russia in a few frantic days, the West threw out the playbook it used for decades against the Kremlin and isolated Russia with unparalleled sanctions and penalties.
-Across the United States, small groups of military veterans are hungry for what they see as a righteous fight to defend freedom against an autocratic aggressor.
-The US and its allies discuss security of Ukraine’s leaders amid fears for Zelensky’s safety. Concerns about the line of succession were prompted in part because President Volodymyr Zelensky insists he will not be evacuated.
-A Russian news agency identified the Russian basketball League Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner as the American women’s basketball player detained in Russia after customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.
-President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke with more than 300 members of Congress on Saturday, imploring them to ban the importation of Russian crude oil and to send more jets to his country, according to lawmakers on the call.
-“Benevolent sexism: Many pregnant women cannot work remotely, and those who do tend to feel lucky. Not going into a physical office means getting to skip a lot of awkward small talk (“So, will you be breastfeeding?”) and unexpected belly rubs. It also means a chance to avoid a certain kind of seemingly well-intentioned but unwanted help from colleagues — like preemptively lightened workloads — that can make women feel suddenly less capable. This behavior is known as benevolent sexism in academic literature.”
-China calls for heavy government spending and lending, as its leaders seek to project confidence in the face of global uncertainty over the pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Critics accuse the ATF’s acting director, Marvin Richardson, of cozying up to gun industry leaders at a convention in Las Vegas and delaying enacting rules that would outlaw so-called ghost guns.
- Senior White House officials designing the strategy to confront Russia have begun quietly debating a new concern: that the avalanche of sanctions directed at Moscow, which have gained speed faster than they imagined, is cornering President Putin and may prompt him to lash out, perhaps expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
-Ukraine called off an attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol after accusing Russia of violating a ceasefire and attacking the escape route for hundreds of thousands of beleaguered civilians.
-Companies are finding it increasingly hard to extract staff from Ukraine and Russia, as President Vladimir Putin’s invasion cut travel routes. With more commercial flights being cancelled, companies have turned to private security groups.
-Russia gained ground in southern Ukraine and seized more cities while signs that its forces were moving west sparked concerns they could be preparing for an attack on the critical Black Sea port of Odesa.
-Over the past week, western nations have introduced unprecedented financial sanctions on Russia, including on the country’s central bank, which have the potential to decimate its economy. Experts say they amount to full-scale financial warfare of an unheard-of nature and scope.
-Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday that Chinese diplomacy will end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Kuleba told an online press conference that he had received assurances from Beijing that “China is interested in stopping this war”. He spoke to Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister, “a couple of days ago”, he said. The two did talk on March 1 and it was not immediately clear if they had a second conversation.
-President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Washington to provide Poland and other eastern European allies with American aircraft that would then enable those countries to send Russian-made military planes to Ukraine.
-The unprecedented economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine represented a calculated risk. The US, the EU and other governments moved in the face of warnings that their actions could foul up the short-term lending markets that underpin global finance.
-As the Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina steered Russia through a series of economic shocks over the past few years, investors anxiously watched her rotating collection of brooches for macroeconomic policy clues. A hawk signified a return to key interest rate hikes; a rain cloud meant she wanted to dampen inflation expectations.
-Russia is seeking written guarantees from Washington that US sanctions imposed on the country do not impede its ability to trade with Iran, a move that risks complicating efforts to revive the 2015 JCPOA nuclear accord.
-Another exceptionally strong US jobs report has kept the Federal Reserve on track to deliver a series of interest rate increases this year even as moderating wage growth mitigates the immediate need for aggressive tightening, according to economists.
-Western Luxury products makers such as Hermès, Chanel, and Cartier-owner Richemont and LVMH, as well as tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Ikea and Nike have temporarily suspended operations in Russia, citing operational challenges and concerns about staff as the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine spreads.
-China unveiled a growth target of about 5.5%, its lowest in three decades, as Beijing seeks to buttress its economy after a sharp loss of momentum in 2021 and fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
-Canada, the US and the UK want Aleksei Mozhin, Russia’s representative at the IMF, to relinquish or be stripped of his title as honorary head of the executive board of the multilateral lender, due to the invasion of Ukraine.
-Four executives of SMBC Nikko Securities have been arrested for alleged market manipulation after prosecutors raided the company’s Tokyo headquarters and the individuals’ homes.
THE NEW YORK POST
-Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the imposition of a NATO-backed no-fly zone and economic sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine are tantamount to declaring war against the Motherland. “That very second, we will view them as participants of the military conflict, and it would not matter what members they are.”
-China’s leader Xi Jinping is following the fighting in Ukraine and the world’s reaction closely. “There is no doubt Xi hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in taking the former Soviet country. After all, Xi hopes one day soon to launch his own “special military action” against the island of Taiwan.”
- Russian-backed grocery app Buyk abruptly furloughed the vast majority of its staff on Friday as sanctions against Russia left the company without funding. Buyk, which was founded by two Russians and has sizable operations in New York and Chicago, is furloughing about 98% of its employees until it can secure funding from American sources, said CEO James Walker.