Six weeks in, Ukraine invasion bloody mess – ^

Heavy fighting and Russian air strikes continue in Mariupol, according to British military intelligence. “The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening,” Ukraine’s defence ministry said. “Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water. Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access, likely to pressure defenders to surrender.”

The Russian defence ministry says its forces will “liberate” Mariupol from Ukrainian “nationalists” putting ever increasing pressure on a city under a gruesome weeks long siege. US President Joe Biden approved a $100m transfer of Javelin armour-piercing missiles to Ukraine, according to administration officials. Authorities in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk urged residents to get out “while it is safe” through five “humanitarian corridors”.

New sanctions are to be announced by the US and its allies on Wednesday to target Russian banks and officials, and ban investment in Russia. US chipmaker Intel Corporation said it has suspended business operations in Russia. During her visit to Poland, British foreign secretary Liz Truss announces that Britain has frozen $350bn of “Putin’s war chest”, making more than 60 percent of the regime’s foreign currency reserve unavailable.
Putin retaliates by saying Moscow will “carefully monitor” food exports to “hostile” nations. He cites “global food shortages” for the need for caution in exporting “to countries that are clearly hostile towards us”.  A look back at Putin’s grim pre-invasion messaging.