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⏳ Monday Fix: Civilian Casualties

⏳ Monday Fix: Civilian Casualties

Morning all,

A shocking pro-war display, an extraordinary video of childhood innocence, and some shattering photographs - the war in Ukraine continues, as do the expressions of horror at what is unfolding.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers


GOOD LISTENER?

Click the screenshot below to access the podcast version of today's NewsFix.


UKRAINE - WHAT'S THE LATEST?

CNN leads with a headline this morning saying "95% of Russia's amassed firepower now in Ukraine".

CNN's headline Monday morning

Over the weekend, the Biden administration in the US said they have seen evidence in Ukraine of Russian attacks on civilians that "would constitute a war crime".

The place probably being discussed the most is the city of Irpin, just ten miles outside of the capital, Kyiv. Russian shelling killed a family fleeing the city.

Lynsey Addario - a revered New York Times photojournalist - was near the scene at the time, and later uploaded the most harrowing images to her Instagram account. Here is a link to them, but we should note they are very graphic.

As one person commented online; "shattering photographs... and necessary for us to see".

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen fronted an extraordinary report on what happened, including the moment of the attack. Click the screenshot 👇🏽 to access it, a very important watch.

In the last hour, Russian state media said a number of humanitarian corridors across Ukraine will be opened to allow civilians to evacuate. As BBC News noted, Ukrainian officials "have yet to confirm this", and a number of those corridors reportedly lead to Belarus and Russia.

There is a significant amount of skepticism around these reports. That is because over the weekend shelling continued in the south eastern city of Mariupol, during what was supposed to be a ceasefire.


REFUGEES

  • More than a million refugees have now left Ukraine and crossed the border into Poland. According to The Guardian, 142,300 arrived on Sunday alone.
  • The UK has so far granted 50 visas to Ukrainian refugees, according to a report in BBC News. France accused the UK of showing a "lack of humanity" on this, to which the British government replied saying "the process has only just started".
  • The Biden administration said they "will of course" look at taking in refugees, but according to a CNN report they would not specify a number.
  • An Irish Minister suggested the country could take in more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. According to a report in The Irish Times, 671 people have already arrived to the country, "but they have gone straight to family" already living in Ireland.

RUSSIAN RAMIFICATIONS

The fallout in Russia continues. For example, over the weekend Netflix pulled out, and TikTok limited its services.


COVERING THE COVERAGE

Many, if not most, international media outlets have now been restricted in Russia.

BBC News even tweeted advice on how to access it from inside Russia.


TRENDING ONLINE

A Russian gymnast went viral and was widely criticised online for wearing a 'z' - a national war symbol - while standing on the podium alongside a Ukrainian athlete over the weekend.

Context: The letter 'Z' has been seen painted on the sides of Russian military tanks. BBC News noted it was also worn "by pro-war politicians in Russia".

Following the move, the International Gymnastics Federation condemned it, describing it as "shocking behaviour".


On that note, a video of people - presumably Russian - wearing "President Putin team" clothing has been widely circulated online.

Guy Chazan, Berlin burea chief for The Financial Times, described it as "chilling".


In an extraordinary video, Ukrainian soldiers were captured playing the country's national anthem with a backdrop showing the damage that has occurred. We are not sure where exactly in Ukraine this was filmed.


Amidst all of the ongoing turmoil, the interruption during the tv report below is really sweet.


THE ENERGY ANGLE

Oil prices have now soared "to the highest level since 2008".

Over the weekend, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they are speaking with European allies "to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil in world markets".

This morning, The Guardian reported Japan was also involved in the talks.

Axios published a scoop this morning, saying President Biden's advisors "are discussing a possible visit to Saudi Arabia this spring" with an aim to "convince the Kingdom to pump more oil".

Meanwhile, a New York Times report from Saturday suggested US officials travelled to Venezuela to meet with President Maduro, in an effort to "separate Russia from its remaining international allies". This is highly significant because Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, and also because the US "broke off diplomatic relations" with Venezuela in 2019, after accusing Maduro of election fraud.

Ever wanted to know more about Russia's role as an 'energy giant'? Read our Saturday piece - Bad Energy? Europe's Reliance on Russian Oil and Gas.


ON TODAY'S AGENDA...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host his Canadian and Dutch counterparts - Justin Trudeau and Mark Rutte - in London today, with the Ukraine crisis the most important topic for them.


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ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

A young girl singing Frozen's 'Let It Go' in a shelter in Ukraine.