Reports of massive Russian air strikes tonight on Kiev are starting to come out. This follows blasts reported from last night, including on the city’s main rail station and near the Ministry of Defense. I will keep readers posted as I learn more.

More Sanctions Fallout

A report from Antiwar.com details that the world’s two largest shipping lines are halting transport to and from Russia.  Exemptions are in place for food, medicine, and humanitarian goods. FedEx and UPS will halt also deliveries;

The Danish container shipping giant Maersk announced that it was temporarily suspending shipments to all Russian ports, although it is allowing exemptions for foodstuffs, medical, and humanitarian goods.

“As the stability and safety of our operations is already being directly and indirectly impacted by sanctions, new Maersk bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies,” Maersk said in a statement.

The Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) also announced Tuesday that it was stopping cargo booking for inbound and outbound shipments for Russia. MSC said the ban applies to “all access areas including Baltics, Black Sea, and Far East Russia.” MSC will also allow exemptions for food, medical, and humanitarian goods.

The suspensions mean Russia is now cut off from a significant chunk of the world’s shipping capacity. Maersk alone owns and charters over 700 ships and accounts for 17 percent of the globe’s merchant container fleet.

US mail carriers UPS and FedEx have also announced that they are suspending deliveries to Russia.

Boeing has announced it is suspending maintenance of its jets in Russia.

Gazprom, meanwhile, is paving the way for its biggest gas deal yet with China. And, in one of its measures to counter the effect of western sanctions, the Central Bank of Russia has ordered the Russian stock market to remain closed for a fourth straight day.

UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

 A UN General Assembly vote on a nonbinding resolution to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and to reverse its recognition of the DPR and LPR saw 141 vote in favor, 5 against, and 35 abstentions.

Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea opposed the resolution; China, India, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Mongolia, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Kazakhstan were among those abstaining.

Russia Releases First Casualty Figures

Earlier today, the Russian Ministry of Defense released for the first time since the military intervention began on 2/24, casualty figures.  On the Russian side: 498 dead and 1597 wounded.  On the Ukrainian side: 2870 dead, 3700 injured, and 572 taken prisoner.  Again, all of these figures are from the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukrainian Refugees; Evacuation of OSCE Monitors

Democracy Now! is reporting that, according to UN figures, over 800,000 refugees have fled Ukraine to the west over the past week:

The U.N. says some 836,000 people have fled Ukraine in the week since the invasion started, in what “looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.” Poland says more than 450,000 people have crossed its border.

Meanwhile, Russia’s National Defense Control Center has announced that it has evacuated over 140,000 from Ukraine, including 40,000 children – these are most likely from the Donbas region. 

As of yesterday, most OSCE SMM monitors had evacuated the Donbas area through Russia with those in Kherson (northwest of Crimea) – which is now reported to have been captured by Russian forces – were sheltering in place.  Today the OSCE reported the death of one of its SMM members from shelling in Kharkiv yesterday.

Western Punishment of Russian Athletes and Culture

The International Olympic Committee is recommending that athletes from Russia and Belarus be banned from competing in all international sports.

The Guardian has reported on various cancelations and suspensions of Russian art and culture throughout the west, including ballet and symphony.  The Glasgow Film Festival in Scotland announced Russian films would be withdrawn.  Dostoevsky has even been purportedly banned in Italian venues. Russian cats are not free of the Russophobic frenzy and have actually been banned from cat show competitions.

Pentagon Agrees to Not Push WWIII

On a positive note, the Pentagon is showing some signs of sanity by canceling a previously scheduled test launch of its Minuteman III ICBM missile so as not to risk an escalation with Russia based on misunderstanding. According to ABC News:

“In an effort to demonstrate we have no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood, or misconstrued, the Secretary of Defense has directed that our Minuteman-III intercontinental ballistic missile test launch scheduled for this week to be postponed,” said [Pentagon spokesman John] Kirby.

Also, further talks are supposed to occur on Thursday between Russia and Ukraine but there is wrangling over the venue.  I will provide an update on what happens if they actually take place.