EU Toughest Sanctions

The European Union is set to impose its toughest sanctions yet on Russia, banning imports of its oil and blocking insurers from covering its cargoes of crude, as the WSJ reports.

Russia seizes half of key Ukrainian city

Russian forces now control “around half” of Severodonetsk, one of the last major Ukrainian-held areas of the eastern Luhansk region, as the Washington Post reports.

Omicron Higher Death Rates for Seniors

Despite strong levels of vaccination among older people, Covid killed them at vastly higher rates during this winter’s Omicron wave than it did last year, preying on long delays since their last shots and the variant’s ability to skirt immune defenses as the NYT reports.

Executive Education

Understanding Washington offers embassy, business, and nonprofit professionals the tools and knowledge necessary to better navigate the Washington policy ecosystem. Course instructors will share their extensive knowledge about navigating the city's distinctive culture, policy dynamics, and political constructs.

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

40

The Biden administration plans to provide Ukraine with a guided-rocket system capable of hitting targets from a distance of more than 40 miles.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“Yesterday, in the middle of the night we decided to have a ban on de facto 90 percent of Russian oil imports to the European Union by the end of the year. And this comes at a time when we see that Russia has disrupted supplies to by now five member states. So our answer has to be very clear.”

— Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission

iDeas Lab

In this episode of PreView, CSIS's Seth Jones and Catrina Doxsee discuss the significant rise in the number of domestic terrorist attacks and plots at demonstrations in the United States, according to new CSIS data.

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: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images.) U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern in the Oval Office at the White House on May 31, 2022 in Washington, DC.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., please join the CSIS Economics Program for the last of three public events on major issues for a potential digital dollar.

At 9:00 a.m ., please join the CSIS Economics Program and Ghadar Family Foundation for the last of three public events on major issues for a potential digital dollar.

And, at 12:00 p.m., join the Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative for a virtual discussion of the linkages between oil, gas and international security.

Video

CSIS hosted a conversation with Pekka Haavisto, the Finnish minister for foreign affairs, on Finland's historic decision to join NATO.

Podcasts

Stanford professor Dr. Ian Morris joins the podcast to discuss Russia and China’s strategic goals amid the war in Ukraine and issues surrounding Taiwan.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

When I heard that Carlos Santana and his wife Cindy Blackman Santana, re-recorded “Oye Como Va” for Playing for Change, I was just so stoked! America has been fascinated with Carlos Santana and his band (Blackman is Santana’s drummer) for well over 50 years. As a guitarist, Carlos Santana’s collaborations are the music dreams are made of. When Santana would come down to New Orleans to perform with the Neville Brothers in the late-80s, we used to scramble to be wherever they were jamming. The sound was a magical roux unlike any other.

Which is why I love this Playing for Change video so much—the combination of musicians here with Santana is eclectic and complementary. Enjoy!

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.