The Evening: Kharkiv Bombarded, U.S. Sanctions Oligarchs, Rebel Music, and More

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Good Evening,

It's Wednesday, March 2nd.

Note: CSIS is curating expert analysis surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and updating content frequently. Visit “Crisis Crossroads: Ukraine.”

In addition, we’re recording daily episodes of “The Truth of the Matter” podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Kharkiv Battered, Kyiv Holds

Russian forces pounded Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, with airstrikes in a bid to break the will of the country’s resistance as Moscow’s offensive toward Kyiv stalled amid fierce Ukrainian counterattacks and logistics mishaps, as the WSJ reports.

First Key Ukrainian City Falls

Russian forces captured the strategically important hub of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said, making it the first major city to be overcome by Putin’s forces since the invasion began last Thursday, as the NYT reports.

U.S. to Expand Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs

Senior Biden administration officials are preparing to dramatically expand the number of Russian oligarchs subject to U.S. sanctions, aiming to punish the financial elite close to Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, as the Washington Post reports.

Executive Education

Inside DOD's FY 2023 Budget, a CSIS executive education course, offers key insights from CSIS experts and practitioners on what the Biden administration's FY 2023 budget and strategy documents reveal about strategic priorities, major budget movements, force structure adds and cuts, and acquisition program changes.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

2,000

Ukrainian officials say Ukraine's civilian death toll has reached 2,000.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“They are destroying critical infrastructure, which provides millions of people across Ukraine with drinking water, gas to keep them from freezing to death, and electricity. Civilian buses, cars, and even ambulances have been shelled. Russia is doing this every day—across Ukraine.”

— U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken

iDeas Lab

CSIS analysis reveals that Russian forces have targeted several airports and airbases across Ukraine, including Antonov International Airport, approximately 27 kilometers northwest of Kyiv. Satellite imagery captured by Planet on February 28 shows significant damage to the airport’s hangars.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images.) Members of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment deploy to Germany to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression, and to be prepared to support a range of other requirements in the region on March 2, 2022, in Savannah, Georgia.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., join the CSIS Humanitarian Agenda as they host the launch of the February 2022 issue of the International Review of the Red Cross, “Counterterrorism, Sanctions and War.”

And, at 4:00 p.m., the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program hosts a discussion on the carbon border adjustment mechanism currently proposed in the EU.

Then, at 10:00 a.m., the Wilson Center holds a panel conversation on how the EU's most vulnerable Eastern European members can protect themselves amid Russian aggression.

Video

Several CSIS experts were recently joined by the Honorable Michael Vickers, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and a CIA Operations Officer, for a collective assessment of the Russian military's campaign thus far in Ukraine. Watch the event here.

Podcasts

“If winning for the Russians is either annexing Ukraine...or installing a pro-Russian puppet regime in Ukraine, I don't think the Russians can win,” explained Dr. Seth G. Jones in today's edition of The Truth of the Matter. This episode examines Vladimir Putin's miscalculations in the conflict up to this point and what the U.S. can and should do to help Ukraine.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

I’m pretty sure you all want a Bob Marley encore, so here it is.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Kendal Gee, Paige Montfort, and Christopher Healey.