Vladimir Putin’s forces over-ran their first major Ukrainian city last night after eight days of fighting that has displaced more than 1mn people.
The reported seizure of Kherson, a provincial capital of more than 250,000, would mark a significant breakthrough for Russia’s southern campaign, which has made steady territorial advances unlike its northern and eastern offensives.
Intense fighting was also reported further east along the coast in Mariupol, which has been heavily bombarded in recent days as Russian forces and pro-Moscow separatists from Donetsk enveloped the Sea of Azov port.
But the long armoured column that had been advancing on Kyiv has stalled in the face of unexpected resistance, logistical hurdles and shortages of fuel and food. Residents in the capital said they heard four huge explosions just before dawn.
Russia yesterday acknowledged heavy casualties for the first time, disclosing 498 deaths and 1,597 injuries.
The invasion has carried a heavy human toll, creating a fast-growing refugee crisis of a scale not seen on the European continent since the fall of Nazi Germany. The UN estimates that more than 1mn mainly women and children have fled Ukraine, mainly to the neighbouring countries of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova.
Military briefing: How Russia is tightening its grip on Ukraine’s southern coastline and encircling the strategically important port of Mariupol. Plus, the Russian soldiers who expected to be greeted as liberators but had a rude awakening.
Markets briefing: Global commodity prices are on track for their biggest weekly rally in more than five decades as the war in Ukraine triggers “exceptional moves” in raw materials from oil to wheat.
Financial services: Citigroup said yesterday it risked losing about $4bn because of its exposure to Russia at its first investor day for nearly five years.
Business: The corporate retreat from Russia marks the end of an era, says a professor of Russian history at the London School of Economics.
Explainer: Will the west place an embargo on Russian oil and gas supplies? Western leaders are weighing the previously unthinkable.
Sanctions: UK cabinet minister Michael Gove is drawing up plans to seize British property owned by Russian oligarchs with links to Putin. Roman Abramovich, meanwhile, has put Chelsea football club up for sale.
Opinion: The FT’s Gillian Tett shares what she learnt from dinner with Volodymyr Zelensky. London legal firms can no longer hide behind “the law” to justify continuing morally dubious relationships, argues Cat Rutter Pooley.
Track troop movements on our regularly updated map of the conflict and follow our live blog for the latest developments.
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Thanks for reading FirstFT Americas. Here is the rest of the day’s news — Gordon
Five more stories in the news
1. Trump ‘engaged in a criminal conspiracy’ The former president and his allies may have “engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the US” in their attempt to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, the congressional committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol building has concluded.
2. CNN makes a $350mn bet on streaming WarnerMedia has raced to launch the CNN Plus streaming service before its planned takeover by Discovery, placing a wager of about $350mn on the news channel’s digital future that was not originally disclosed to its incoming owner.
3. Ex-Goldman partner’s credibility questioned in 1MDB trial Tim Leissner, the government’s star witness in the 1MDB trial, came under scrutiny yesterday during the criminal trial of an ex-colleague charged in connection with the affair. Lawyers for defendant Roger Ng sought to focus on discrepancies between answers that Leissner gave to prosecutors and statements he had previously made to the FBI.
4. Peloton founder sells stock worth $50mn John Foley made his largest stake sale since stepping down as chief executive of Peloton to MSD Partners, which manages $20bn in assets on behalf of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and other outside investors.
5. Turkish inflation pushes past 54% Turkish prices rose at their fastest rate in 20 years as a currency devaluation fed inflation. Food prices climbed 64.5 per cent last month and transportation jumped 75.8 per cent, pushing the consumer price index to its highest level since March 2002.
The day ahead
Antony Blinken in Brussels The US secretary of state travels to Brussels for meetings with Nato and G7 allies, before moving on to Poland, the Baltic states and Moldova. Meanwhile, a second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is expected to take place today in Belarus.
Jay Powell testifies to Senate committee The Federal Reserve chair is to give a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill. Yesterday he told the House Financial Services Committee that he would support a “series” of interest rate rises from March despite the economic uncertainty surrounding Ukraine.
PMI surveys The Institute for Supply Management releases its non-manufacturing activity index for February and the Commerce Department is expected to report a rise of 0.7 per cent in factory orders for January, following a decrease of 0.4 per cent in the previous month.
Earnings The Singapore-based technology company Grab will share fourth-quarter and full-year earnings — its first set of results since listing on the Nasdaq exchange in December. Broadcom Inc releases first-quarter results. They are expected to have been driven by strong demand for chips used in data centres and 5G powered devices.
What else we’re reading
Cathie Wood didn’t come this far to quit A year ago, the founder of Ark Invest managed more than $60bn in assets. Now she faces the toughest battle of her career, as she fights against market momentum and tries to halt huge losses and outflows.
Investors can no longer afford to ignore geopolitical risk The idea that business can hold itself apart from politics is wrong, writes Helen Thomas. The legions of analysts and lobbyists employed by them in all sectors suggest large companies appreciate that they do not operate in a vacuum.
South Korea’s raucous politics The presidential election winner will take the helm of the world’s 10th-largest economy and a manufacturing powerhouse in East Asia. But he will also inherit an unhappy balancing act between the US and China and an unresolved conflict with North Korea.
‘Greedy work has been made less greedy’ In the latest part of our series “Economists Exchange”, Sarah O’Connor speaks to Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard University, over whether Covid-19 might make top jobs more compatible with family life.
How the influencer industry really works Conservative estimates suggest there are upwards of 3.5mn people engaged in the influencer industry. And according to the German data firm Statista, the market was worth $13.8bn in 2021. In Get Rich or Lie Trying, Symeon Brown takes a critical look at this and other forms of online “hustle”.
Obituary
The critic Clement Crisp, whose distinguished prose graced the arts pages of the Financial Times for six decades, has died at the age of 95. “To read him was to quote him”, writes Alastair Macauley in this appreciation of his life.
Source: Economy - ft.com
