Ukraine invasion updates, Russia hit with new sanctions

A 36-ton shipment of medical supplies from the World Health Organization landed in Warsaw, Poland, for delivery to Ukraine, with more en route from a warehouse in Dubai.

The shipment includes trauma supplies for 1,000 patients who need surgical care, and other medical supplies to help 150,000 people, according to the WHO.

The WHO has called for a safe humanitarian corridor in Ukraine to deliver critical medical supplies, as the country faces shortages of oxygen, cancer medicine and insulin, among other supplies, as a result of Russia’s invasion.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned attacks on health facilities in Ukraine on Wednesday.

However, WHO officials declined to name Russia as the aggressor when asked.

— Spencer Kimball

Talks between Russia and Ukraine have yielded some common ground on the need for “humanitarian corridors,” possibly protected by ceasefire agreements, for civilians fleeing dangerous areas in Ukraine, representatives for both countries said.

A Ukrainian negotiator said that the two sides had reached an understanding on civilian evacuations, though the talks have yet to yield the results Kyiv wants, multiple outlets reported.

“The Ministries of Defense of Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the format of maintaining humanitarian corridors for the exit of the population, and on the possible temporary ceasefire in the humanitarian corridor area for the period of the release of the civilian population,” said chief Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky.

“I think this is a significant progress,” Medinsky said.

As the invasion enters its eighth day, Russia’s attacks have intensified in major Ukrainian cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Thursday claimed his military has provided civilian corridors “in all areas without exception,” and also asserted that Russian military operations are being carried “in strict accordance with the plan.”

— Kevin Breuninger

SpaceX chief Elon Musk warned that there is a high chance that its Starlink satellite broadband service could be “targeted” in Ukraine, which has been hit by Russian invasion.

“Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution,” Musk tweeted.

Ukraine on Monday said it had received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but an internet security researcher warned these could become Russian targets.”

– Reuters

JPMorgan said Thursday that it expects Russia’s economy will come to a virtual halt due to global sanctions against the country for its invasion of Ukraine.

The Wall Street firm expects Russia’s gross domestic product to contract by 35% in the second quarter of 2022 and 7% for the full year, a dramatic slowdown comparable to the financial crises of 1998 and 2008.

“Sanctions and decisions of foreign businesses to pause or halt Russia operations have led to a stall in international trade, reduced output, and supply-chain disruptions,” JPMorgan strategist Anatoliy Shal wrote in a note to clients entitled “Russia: A sudden stop.”

“The shock implies a lower potential output, which will be accompanied with a spike in prices — A credit crunch will add to pain, although there are signs that the run on banks is easing,” Shal added.

— Yun Li

The Biden administration announced new visa restrictions on certain Russian oligarchs, their family members and close associates, another step aimed at punishing allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging a war in Ukraine.

“These oligarchs are known to direct, authorize, fund, significantly support, or carry out malign activities in support of Russia’s destabilizing foreign policy,” the White House said in a statement on the measure.

Under this new policy, the State Department placed visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and 47 family members.

– Amanda Macias

Workers in Kyiv and Lviv scramble to build anti-tank barriers as Russian troops close in.

The Biden administration issued another round of sanctions against more Russian elites including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“The United States and governments all over the world will work to identify and freeze the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions – their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains,” the White House wrote in a statement.

A day earlier, the U.S. said it was launching Task Force KleptoCapture, a new unit aimed at enforcing sweeping sanctions imposed on Russian officials for Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine.

– Amanda Macias

India’s air force brings back students from Hungary who were stuck in Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia.

A U.S. Department of Defense official said Thursday that Russian forces have launched more than 480 missiles “of all sizes and stripes,” into Ukraine since the war began eight days ago.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says the majority of the missiles are being fired from mobile systems inside of Ukraine.

The person said that more than160 missiles have been fired from Russian soil, about 70 missiles were fired from Belarussian soil and less than 10 missiles have been fired from naval platforms in the Black Sea.

– Amanda Macias

Russia’s top billionaires have lost over $80 billion in wealth in recent weeks, with more to come as sanctions and seizures start to bite.

The economic turmoil surrounding President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has erased about a third of the wealth of Russia’s 20 richest billionaires in recent weeks, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Two megayachts have already been seized over the past day — Alisher Usmanov’s 500-foot “Dilbar” and Igor Sechin’s 280-foot “Amore Velo.” UK ministers are calling for the seizure of Russian properties in the U.K. and a new global task force has been created to hunt down and seize assets of Russian’s under sanction.

— Robert Frank

The Pentagon estimates that about 90% of…