The State of The War Against Ukraine

nytimes.com 

State of the War

At least eight people died in an attack on a mall in Kyiv.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Taking Kyiv remains Russia’s primary objective, British intelligence officials say. A missile strike reduced a shopping mall in the city to smoldering ruins. Russia also continued its strikes elsewhere in Ukraine. “My city is dying a painful death,” a resident of Mariupol said. The U.S. opposes Poland’s idea of sending troops into Ukraine. Biden will travel to Brussels tomorrow for a NATO meeting. Biden warned U.S. companies that Russia was considering cyberattacksin retaliation for sanctions.

More on Ukraine

A new generation of smaller nuclear weapons may raise the risk of their use. Companies in Europe are posting job openings for displaced Ukrainians. Two A.P. journalists who covered the siege in Mariupol have escaped the city after Russian forces tried to hunt them down. For two decades, the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich placed billions in American assets through secretive, roundabout setups. Vanessa Friedman, The Times’s fashion critic, on the symbolism of Volodymyr Zelensky’s olive green T-shirt.

Politics

The U.S. accused Myanmar of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims. Missouri Republicans called on Eric Greitens, a former governor running for the Senate, to drop out, after his ex-wife accused him of abusing her and their son. Indiana’s Republican governor vetoed a bill that would have bannedtransgender girls from competing in school-sanctioned girls’ sports.

Other Big Stories

Rescue workers haven’t found any survivors from the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in a mountainous region of China yesterday. The number of Americans who died of alcohol-related causes surged during the pandemic’s first year. Miami Beach officials installed a curfew after two shootings. “We don’t ask for spring break,” the mayor said. “We just endure it.” Portraits of three lives derailed: Two men who were shot to death and the man the police believe killed them had fought the same scourge: severe mental illness. A copy of the 1939 “Marvel Comics No. 1” sold at auction for $2.4 million.