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Russian military forces escalated attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine’s largest cities Wednesday as the nation’s leaders pledged to repel the invaders and the citizenry joined the military effort to defend their battered country.
Russia’s invasion creates increasingly worrisome humanitarian problems, forcing nearly a million people to escape their homeland while those who stay take cover in bomb shelters, scramble to find food and sleep in subway terminals.
“During our entire journey, we did not find a place to feed the kids properly,” Natalia Zabolotna, a mother of two, said. “The food was gone from gas stations. It took us several hours to fill up diesel. Gas stations sold not more than 20 liters per vehicle. Our country could have never got prepared for this devastating exodus, hundreds of thousands of people escaping on the same day.”
Days into the Russian invasion, Ukrainians feel the cumulative impacts of the years-long conflict and go to great lengths to stay safe and survive, and observers worry about more hardship to come. Ukraine’s Ministry of Health reported 198 Ukrainians dead and 1,115 injured as of Sunday. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported 2,000 civilians dead as of Wednesday.
United Nations response: Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly voted 141-5, with 35 abstentions, to demand Russia halt the war. The vote came after the 193-member assembly convened its first emergency session in a quarter century.
It’s Amy and Chelsey with today’s top stories out of Washington.
Is Putin committing war crimes?
Russian troops have killed hundreds of civilians, including more than a dozen children, and shelled apartment buildings and neighborhoods in their assault on Ukraine, realities that qualify Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, observers say.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Putin’s overnight attack on the residential center of Ukraine’s second-largest city as “frank, undisguised terror. Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget. This attack on Kharkiv is a war crime.”
But can the urgency to bring Putin before the international bar of justice prevent him from killing more innocent civilians if Russia’s 40-mile military convoy reaches Ukraine’s largest city and capital, Kyiv?
The short answer is probably not, according to war crimes experts. They say that the post-World War II effort to create an international framework to thwart brutal dictators like Adolf Hitler is too toothless, caught up in power politics and focused on war crimes already committed to make a difference when it comes to Russia’s invasion.
While Putin may disregard this criticism, his allies are facing consequences.
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a special task force to go after the assets of billionaire oligarchs who support Putin and benefit from his regime.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the new unit, Task Force KleptoCapture, will surge federal law enforcement resources from various agencies, including the FBI, Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.
The primary goal of the task force, Garland said in a statement, will be to enforce the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.
Real quick: stories you’ll want to read
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Gov. Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke will run for Texas governor
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke will face off in the November general election for state governor. O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, is running for governor for the first time.
Abbott, who is facing criticism for introducing a bill in February to investigate gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender youth as child abuse, clinched his reelection bid Tuesday by beating seven challengers.
More than six months remain before election day, but polls conducted ahead of Tuesday’s primary showed Abbott leading O’Rourke by 10 percentage points in a hypothetical match-up.
Abbott attempted to label O’Rourke as “too liberal for Texas,” due to past policy decisions on guns, the U.S. southern border and the environment. O’Rourke, meanwhile, argues Abbott lost the trust of Texans after infrastructure failures during a devastating 2021 winter storm and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas AG primary results in runoff: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was pushed into a runoff after being denied outright victory against opponent George P. Bush during Tuesday’s GOP primary.
That’s all for today, OnPolitics readers. It’s Ash Wednesday. What’s the meaning behind this religious holiday? — Amy and Chelsey
