Ukrainian Officials Urge Evacuation

Officials in Ukraine began urging people living in the eastern part of the country to evacuate Wednesday as new attacks on civilians were reported in areas where Russia is expected to step up offensives after withdrawing from Kyiv, as the Washington Post reports.

More Sanctions

The Justice Department said on Wednesday that it had charged a Russian oligarch with violating U.S. sanctions and unveiled additional measures intended to counter Russian money laundering and disrupt online criminal networks in an effort to enforce financial penalties on Moscow, as the NYT reports.

Fed Signals Half-Point Increase Could Be Warranted

Federal Reserve officials last month strongly considered raising rates by a half-percentage point and neared agreement on a plan to reduce their bondholdings as part of their most aggressive effort in years to curb price pressures. Officials would have preferred a larger half-point rate increase, but judged a smaller quarter-point increase would be appropriate “in light of greater near-term uncertainty associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” as the WSJ 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 YouTube Channel for the latest releases in our “Crisis Crossroads: Ukraine” video series.

In That Number

120 million barrels

The International Energy Agency plans a new reserve release totaling 120 million barrels of oil, the largest release in the IEA's history.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“I've made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there.”

— Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on this year’s G-20 meetings in Indonesia

iDeas Lab

A new brief from CSIS analyzes Asia's evolving subsea cable network, and the critical role these cables play in the global economy through their ability to transmit data. As shown above, there has been a strong rise in transpacific capacity since 2015, demonstrating the importance for the U.S. to bolster its interests in the region.

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: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images.) The mother of Ukrainian soldier Lubomyr Hudzeliak, who was killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, mourns over his flag-draped coffin during his funeral at the Lychakiv cemetery, in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on April 6, 2022.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., join the CSIS Korea Chair for special discussion with Mr. Syndey Seiler, the National Intelligence Officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council.

And, at 9:30 a.m., the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program has an event on the emerging requirements, challenges, and opportunities for commercial wireless networks and national defense.

Then, at 10:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council holds a conversation analyzing Pakistani PM Imran Khan's decision to dismiss a vote of no confidence against him.

Video

Today CSIS, in cooperation with the US-ASEAN Business Council, held its second day of the U.S.-Indo-Pacific Conference. Topics of discussion ranged from emerging partnerships in the Indo-Pacific to Covid-19 shifting from pandemic to endemic. Watch the event recap here.

Podcasts

Today's edition of The Truth of the Matter featured a discussion with CSIS's Bonny Lin on the implications of the invasion of Ukraine for Taiwan.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

The late Lowell George founded Little Feat in 1969 with keyboardist Billy Payne in LA. But, the band reengineered its sound in ’72 when second guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton joined the group.

The new band incorporated New Orleans funk into their already existing musical gumbo of rock, blues, country, jazz, and R&B. By ’73, Feat was releasing groundbreaking records like “Dixie Chicken” and “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.” Between then and George’s untimely demise (he died of a heart attack in a Northern Virginia hotel room) in ’79, Little Feat performed and recorded music that would influence artists like Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Garth Brooks, Steve Earle, Carly Simon, Joe Walsh, Robert Palmer, the Black Crowes, and New Orleans’ own Anders Osborne and the Radiators. More recently, bands like Blackberry Smoke and Government Mule have built on Little Feat’s legacy.

The live performances captured on video of George with the band in their prime are rare, which makes them even more special.

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.