Ukraine War

• The NYT has a good map tracking Russia’s progress in Ukraine. See https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/world/europe/ukraine-maps.html.
• Ukraine says its forces have killed two Russian generals in the past week, but that seems like a minor morale boost when Russian forces are clearly making progress towards encircling Kyiv.

Foreign Fighters

• The WSJ reports that Russia is recruiting Syrians with urban combat experience to fight in Ukraine (under the guise of volunteering as “guards”) for a stipend of $200-300.
• U.S. intelligence thinks Russia’s aim is to leverage the Syrians’ experience in urban warfare to capture Kyiv and other big cities. It’s not clear how many Syrians have been recruited; some are reportedly already in Russia preparing for the fight.
• Pres. Zelensky says at least 16,000 foreigners have volunteered on Ukraine’s side as part of what he calls an “international legion.”

Energy

• U.S. gasoline prices reached an all-time high of $4.17/gallon yesterday on worries about a supply shock if Russian oil exports are blocked.
• Russia’s Deputy PM exacerbated those concerns when he warned of “catastrophic consequences” and $300/barrel oil if Russian supplies are cut off from the market.

Venezuela

• It sounds like this past weekend’s meetings between Pres. Maduro and senior U.S. officials weren’t entirely unproductive: Maduro described them yesterday as “respectful, cordial, very diplomatic,” and signaled willingness to expand Venezuelan oil production to make up for Russian supplies that could be shut out of the market.
• Some U.S. congressmen object to the idea of softening pressure on Maduro just to hurt Putin. Sen. Rubio tweeted: “The White House offered to abandon those seeking freedom from Venezuela in exchange for an insignificant amount of oil.”

Other News

• COVID has largely faded from the headlines, but yesterday popped back up when global confirmed deaths from the virus surpassed six million.