<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107024727-1646335821751-gettyimages-1238904242-AFP_324E8XM.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415778" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107024727-1646335821751-gettyimages-1238904242-AFP_324E8XM.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107024727-1646335821751-gettyimages-1238904242-AFP_324E8XM-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107024727-1646335821751-gettyimages-1238904242-AFP_324E8XM-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>US President Joe Biden, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, speaks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2022. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.



It’s a long-awaited directive that has had the crypto industry on edge, not least due to growing regulatory concern around the world surrounding the nascent digital asset market.



There had been reports of a divide between White House officials and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen leading to delays in the policy rollout.



The crypto market got wind of the executive order overnight after the Treasury accidentally put out a since-deleted statement calling it “historic” and releasing some of the details ahead of time.



The order was finally signed Wednesday. It calls on federal agencies to take a unified approach to regulation and oversight of digital assets, according to a White House fact sheet.



Here are the key things to know.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-consumers"><a></a>Protecting consumers</h2>



The measures announced Wednesday will focus on six key areas:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Consumer and investor protection</li><li>Financial stability</li><li>Illicit activity</li><li>U.S. competitiveness on a global stage</li><li>Financial inclusion</li><li>Responsible innovation</li></ul>



Protecting consumers is an important part of the directive. There have been countless stories of investors falling for crypto scams, or losing huge sums of money through cyberattacks on exchanges or users themselves.



The Biden administration is calling on the Treasury to assess and develop policy recommendations on crypto. It also wants regulators to “ensure sufficient oversight and safeguard against any systemic financial risks posed by digital assets.”



While policymakers have been keen to downplay any systemic risks resulting from crypto, there have been increasing concerns over the role played by stablecoins. These are digital tokens that are meant to be pegged to the value of existing currencies like the U.S. dollar.



Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin with $80 billion in circulation, has attracted the ire of regulators over claims that its token is not sufficiently backed by dollars held in reserve. Tether says its coin is fully-backed, however the make-up of its reserves includes short-term debt obligations like commercial paper, not just cash.



The topic of stablecoins was notably absent from the White House’s announcement Wednesday, though Yellen has made clear she wants to see Congress introducing regulation for the sector.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Illicit activity</h2>



Another key area Biden’s executive order focuses on is rooting out illegal activity in the crypto space.



The president has called for an “unprecedented focus of coordinated action” from federal agencies in mitigating illicit finance and national security risks posed by cryptocurrencies. He is also urging international collaboration on the issue.



Last month, U.S. officials seized $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin — their biggest seizure of cryptocurrencies ever — related to the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex.



Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, authorities are now also concerned about the possible use of crypto in helping sanctioned Russian individuals and companies evade the restrictions.



Proponents of crypto say it is highly difficult for funds to be laundered through digital currency, however, as all transactions are kept public on an unchangeable record-keeping system known as the blockchain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Climate change</h2>



It’s a more subtle point, but Biden also dropped a mention of the sheer energy cost baked into digital currencies like bitcoin. He wants the government to study ways to make crypto innovation more “responsible,” reducing any negative climate impacts.



Bitcoin relies on a mechanism known as proof of work to confirm transactions and generate new units of currency. A decentralized network of computers competes to solve complex math puzzles in order to mine the cryptocurrency. The more computing power a miner has, the higher their chances of being rewarded in new bitcoin.



That has raised alarm bells for policymakers around the world, with China even banning crypto mining completely last year. That move led to an exodus of crypto miners from the country to the U.S. and other countries, such as Kazakhstan.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>U.S. competitiveness</h2>



Part of the language in the White House announcement focuses on giving the U.S. a competitive edge over other countries when it comes to crypto development. This is especially significant now that China has effectively banned cryptocurrencies.



Biden has tasked the Department of Commerce with “establishing a framework to drive U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of digital asset technologies.”



Several crypto industry figures have called for such action, including the bosses of Coinbase, Kraken and the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini exchange.



The Blockchain Association, an organization that represents multiple well-known crypto companies, said Wednesday that Biden “has the opportunity to&nbsp;ensure America remains the global leader for technological innovation for years to come.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Digital dollar</h2>



Finally, the Biden administration also wants to explore a digital version of the dollar.



It comes as China has led the charge toward central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, with more and more people using smartphones to make payments and handle their finances.



Biden isn’t saying whether the U.S. should launch its own digital currency. Rather, he’s calling on the government to place “urgency” on research and development of a potential CBDC.



The Federal Reserve last year began work on exploring the potential issuance of a digital dollar. The central bank released a long-awaited report detailing the pros and cons of such virtual money, but didn’t take a position yet on whether it thinks the U.S. should issue one.



While CBDCs could rapidly speed up the settlement of payments, policymakers are evaluating a number of issues around financial stability and privacy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>‘Watershed moment’</h2>



Delivery of the new policy agenda removes a key source of uncertainty for an industry that has already been rocked by numerous regulatory hiccups and scandals.



Earlier this year, crypto start-up BlockFi was hit with a record $50 million fine by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations it violated securities laws with its retail lending product. The penalty was part of a larger $100 million settlement which included payments to 32 states.



Coinbase has similarly run into trouble with the watchdog, though it managed to avoid punishment. The SEC threatened Coinbase with legal action over a product similar to BlockFi’s which offered users interest payments on their crypto holdings. The company subsequently dropped plans for the service.



“This is a watershed moment for crypto, digital assets, and Web 3, akin to the 1996/1997 whole of government wakeup to the commercial internet,” Jeremy Allaire, CEO of crypto firm Circle, said on Twitter.



Crypto investors appeared to agree. Prices of bitcoin surged above $42,000 Wednesday on optimism over the U.S. legislative action.

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From digital dollar to tackling illegal activity: Here’s what’s in Biden’s executive order on crypto

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI-820x523.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415757" width="828" height="528" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI-820x523.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/YI5OM746ZBM6FI3QWRL6KAQRRI.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px" /><figcaption>Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia drive tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine March 5, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko</figcaption></figure>



March 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Russia said it will provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for people fleeing Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities, as the number of refugees created by the biggest assault on a European country since World War Two surpassed 2 million.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2VC08I&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Ukraine must hold off Russia&#8217;s attack for the next seven to 10 days to deny Moscow claiming any sort of victory, a senior Ukrainian official said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-corridors">CORRIDORS</h2>



* Russian forces would &#8220;observe a regime of silence&#8221; from 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) to ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, the head of Russia&#8217;s National Defence Control Centre, Mikhail Mizintsev, was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency.



It was unclear if the proposed routes would pass through Russia or Belarus, conditions previously opposed by the Ukrainian government.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS</h2>



* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Turkey on Wednesday for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, Tass cited the Russian foreign ministry as saying.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2U002M&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SANCTIONS</h2>



* Britain unveiled new aviation sanctions on Wednesday giving it the power to detain any Russian aircraft and banning exports of aviation or space-related goods to Russia.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VC0DV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>*A U.S. ban on imports of Russia&#8217;s oil sparked a further increase in oil prices. Prices have surged more than 30% since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24.&nbsp;O/R<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VC08C&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



* Russia is reducing the use of U.S. dollars in its reserves and external settlements after the West slapped sanctions on Russia, the RIA news agency quoted the foreign ministry&#8217;s director of economic cooperation as saying.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2UP09C&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FIGHTING</h2>



* Ukrainian troops repulsed efforts by Russian forces to enter the eastern city of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said.



* Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize the southern regional capital of Mykolayiv in attacks that have been repulsed by Ukrainian troops, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.* Britain said Ukraine&#8217;s air defences were having success against Russian jets, likely preventing Russia from controlling the airspace.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2UL0IK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DEATH TOLL</h2>



* The United Nations human rights office said it had verified 1,335 civilian casualties so far in Ukraine, including 474 killed and 861 injured, but the true toll was likely to be higher.



* Ukraine says its forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops. Russia has confirmed about 500 losses. Neither side has disclosed Ukrainian casualties.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VB04T&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">NATO AIRCRAFT</h2>



* The United States rejected a surprise offer by NATO ally Poland on Tuesday to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. base in Germany as a way to replenish Ukraine&#8217;s air force in its defence against invading Russian forces.



<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VB2Q2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AID</h2>



* The International Monetary Fund&#8217;s executive board is poised to approve $1.4 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine on Wednesday to help it respond to Russia&#8217;s invasion, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VC06Q&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ECONOMIC IMPACT</h2>



* McDonald&#8217;s Corp&nbsp;MCD.N, Starbucks and L&#8217;Oreal are temporarily closing all outlets in Russia. Coca-Cola and Pepsi suspended soda sales in the country.



* Unilever&nbsp;ULVR.L&nbsp;became the first major European food company to stop imports and exports out of Russia.



* The London Metal Exchange halted trade in nickel after prices of the metal, a key component in electric vehicle batteries, doubled to more than $100,000 a tonne.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2VB0PJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Compiled by Tomasz Janowski, Gareth Jones, Cynthia Osterman, Michael Perry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026799-1646735980677-gettyimages-1238830206-UK_LME.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415731" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026799-1646735980677-gettyimages-1238830206-UK_LME.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026799-1646735980677-gettyimages-1238830206-UK_LME-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026799-1646735980677-gettyimages-1238830206-UK_LME-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Traders, brokers and clerks on the trading floor of the open outcry pit at the London Metal Exchange Ltd. in London, U.K., on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. Chris J. Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The London Metal Exchange on Tuesday suspended the trading of nickel after prices more than doubled to surpass $100,000 per metric ton.



The LME said in a statement that trading will be suspended for at least the remainder of the day.



“The LME will actively plan for the reopening of the nickel market, and will announce the mechanics of this to the market as soon as possible” it added.



The exchange said it had been monitoring the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine and it was evident that this had affected the nickel market, citing extreme price moves in Asian trading hours.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/african-union-suspends-burkina-faso-after-military-coup/">African Union suspends Burkina Faso after military coup</a></h3>



Commodity prices have been spiraling upward on supply fears related to Russia’s onslaught of Ukraine, with the ongoing war and an array of Western sanctions raising disruption fears.



Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange briefly jumped to a record high above $100,000 per metric ton on Tuesday, before paring some gains.



Alongside energy, Russia is a key producer and exporter of metals and grains. Indeed, Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of nickel — a key ingredient in stainless steel and a major component in lithium-ion batteries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-very-dangerous-market"><a></a>‘A very dangerous market’</h2>



Metal prices have soared as banks have cut their exposure to Russian commodities and as shipping giants avoid the country’s key ports.



Markets were already tight ahead of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning there’s little ability to absorb any output cuts.



Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, described the surge in nickel prices as “absolutely crazy.”



“It is a very dangerous market right now because this is a market that is not driven by supply and demand, it is driven by fear,” Hansen told CNBC’S “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/coffee-prices-are-at-10-year-highs-and-analysts-say-they-have-much-further-to-go/">Coffee prices are at 10-year highs, and analysts say they have much further to go</a></h3>



Hansen said market participants had been seeking to take advantage of rallying commodity prices on the assumption that Russian supplies would not be disrupted.



“Now, suddenly a major funnel of supply from Russia has been cut off, especially in the metals space. And that basically leaves these participants holding a naked short which they simply need to get out of,” he added.



Short selling is a bearish investing practice in which an investor bets the price of an asset will fall. A short squeeze occurs when a large number of investors are shorting an asset, the price rises sharply and the investors exit their positions at the same time, losing money. Because exiting a short position involves buy orders, the short squeeze pushes prices even higher.



Hansen said he expected the unwinding of global trade to lead to some major losses in these markets.



— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.

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Nickel prices double to record $100,000 a ton, trading suspended in London

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412680" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/25392653883_c566caf364_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Women of Color in Tech stock images, Women in Tech stock images
Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



(New York, 8 March)&nbsp;–&nbsp;Advancing gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=d786bc2337&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow</a>”, explores the ways in which women and girls are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response around the world, contributing powerful leaders and change-makers to a more sustainable future for all.&nbsp;



During the International Women’s Day official UN Observance, Secretary-General&nbsp;António Guterres&nbsp;emphasizes the important&nbsp;role of women and girls in fighting climate change. “We need more women environment ministers, business leaders and presidents and prime ministers. They can push countries to address the climate crisis, develop green jobs and build a more just and sustainable world. We cannot emerge from the pandemic with the clock spinning backwards on gender equality.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Women are increasingly being recognized as more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on the natural resources, which climate change threatens the most. However, despite increasing evidence, there is still hesitancy in making the vital connections between gender, social equity and climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the same time,&nbsp;progress made towards a more gender-equal world is being obstructed&nbsp;by multiple, interlocking and compounding crises, most recently, the ongoing aggression against Ukraine.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever the crisis, from conflict to climate, women and girls are affected first and worst.&nbsp;Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach.



“We have seen the impact of COVID-19 in increasing inequalities, driving poverty and violence against women and girls; and rolling back their progress in employment, health and education.&nbsp; The accelerating crises of climate change and environmental degradation are disproportionately undermining the rights and wellbeing of women and girls”, said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. “We have today the opportunity to put women and girls at the centre of our planning and action and to integrate gender perspectives into global and national laws and policies. &nbsp;We have the opportunity to re-think, re-frame and re-allocate resources. We have the opportunity to benefit from the leadership of women and girls environmental defenders and climate activists to guide our planet’s conservation. Climate change is a threat multiplier.&nbsp;But women, and especially young women, are solution multipliers”. As exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic and social fallout impacted women and girls disproportionately, further challenging their ability to withstand the impacts of the climate and environment crises. The pressures of juggling work and family, coupled with school closures and job losses in female-dominated sectors meant even fewer women were participating in the workforce, with about 113 million women aged 25–54, with partners and small children, out of the workforce in 2020.&nbsp;



Climate change also drives increased vulnerability to gender-based violence. Across the world, women bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water and fuel, tasks that climate change makes more time-consuming and difficult. Scarcity of resources and the necessity of traveling further to obtain them may open women up to more violence including increased risk factors linked to human trafficking, child marriage or access to resources to protect them from gender-based violence.&nbsp;



Women and girls are taking climate and environment action at all levels, but their voice, agency, and participation are under-supported, under-resourced, under-valued and under-recognized.



Continuing to examine the opportunities, as well as the constraints, to empower women and girls to have a voice and be equal players in decision-making related to climate change and sustainability is essential for sustainable development and greater gender equality.&nbsp;Solutions must integrate a gender perspective into climate, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes; promote and protect women environmental human rights defenders; build resilience of women and girls and their organizations; strengthen prevention, response and recovery from sexual and gender-based violence and improve; and invest in gender specific statistics and data to amplify the relationship between gender and climate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-commemoration-events-around-the-world">Commemoration events around the world:</h2>



International Women&#8217;s Day commemoration events globally will include ministerial meetings, rallies, marches, media workshops, storytelling and content production, photo exhibits, celebrities&#8217; engagements, and social media activations.



UN Women offices will join the commemorations through a variety of events including inter-generational cross-thematic dialogs in Thailand, a&nbsp;<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=f436c7dfdc&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">virtual gallery</a>&nbsp;telling the stories of climate champions from Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, a regional&nbsp;<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=126e50a7ac&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Youth Climate Smart Entrepreneurs Video challenge</a>&nbsp;in East and Southern Africa, field visits in Senegal and Jamaica, a panel to result in an official policy recommendation in Mali, an interactive photo exhibit in Lebanon, a collaboration with well-known illustrators form Europe and Central Asia, a rowing competition in Egypt, an award ceremony for local women eco-friendly businesses in Albania, a 5K Run in Mexico, and a media workshop on promoting gender equality and sustainable development in Liberia and a High-level commemorative event during&nbsp;<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=f8c1d0071a&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#LACForum</a>, among many more.&nbsp;



&#8211; Around the World,&nbsp;<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=981ece831d&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">over 110 Stock Exchanges</a>&nbsp;are hosting for the eighth consecutive year bell-ringing ceremonies to demonstrate their support for women’s rights and gender equality. In Abu Dhabi ADX Trading Hall, the ceremony was joined by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia during her official visit to UAE.



&#8211;&nbsp;<a href="https://unwomen.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4a4c7b832288dbbd2a91f5cfa&amp;id=493a923376&amp;e=7f34601071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In Photoville</a>&nbsp;in New York and at the World Expo in Dubai, the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and UN Women will present the photo exhibition “In Their Hands: Women Taking Ownership of Peace”. The exhibition profiles 14 women from around the world who have mediated with armed groups, participated in peace talks, advanced political solutions and advocated for women’s rights and participation. Their stories come from the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen and Colombia. The exhibit also profiles the local women photographers who took the photos, telling the story through their lenses.

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International Women’s Day celebrates the contribution of women and girls as climate solution multipliers

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026114-1646652442303-gettyimages-1381247962-europapress_4293917_civilians_soldiers_assault_rifles_during.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415722" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026114-1646652442303-gettyimages-1381247962-europapress_4293917_civilians_soldiers_assault_rifles_during.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026114-1646652442303-gettyimages-1381247962-europapress_4293917_civilians_soldiers_assault_rifles_during-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026114-1646652442303-gettyimages-1381247962-europapress_4293917_civilians_soldiers_assault_rifles_during-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Civilians and soldiers with assault rifles during training on March 5, 2022, in Lviv, Ukraine. Europa Press | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Less than two weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the country’s people and armed forces continue to mount a staunch — and undeniably brave — resistance against Russian forces.



But for all Ukraine’s heart and courage in facing down multiple, sustained attacks from Russia’s military in the north, east and south of the country, many analysts and strategists believe it is only a matter of time before Ukraine is overwhelmed by Moscow’s military might.



What comes next for Ukraine could be bleak, these experts say, with many expecting a long and drawn-out conflict, noting that even in the most positive scenario — that Russia withdraws its troops and Ukraine remains a sovereign nation — Europe is unlikely to return to the pre-war status quo.



CNBC takes a look at the possible outcomes for Ukraine and what might happen in each of them:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-patchy-control"><a></a>1. Patchy control</h2>



Close watchers of the Russia-Ukraine war say the fluid and rapidly changing nature of the conflict makes it hard to gauge what will happen next in Ukraine, with both Moscow’s and the West’s next moves unpredictable.



However it’s widely expected that Russian President Vladimir Putin, loathing Ukraine’s current pro-Western government and aspirations to join the EU and NATO, wants to install a pro-Russian regime in Kyiv.



Just how and when (and if) that happens is uncertain but Eurasia Group’s base-case scenario for the next three months is for Russia to gain “patchy control of eastern Ukraine, up to the Dnipro River, and a Russian-backed puppet government is established,” and for Russian forces to take the capital Kyiv after a protracted siege.



Eurasia Group’s Chairman Cliff Kupchan and colleagues added in a note Thursday that “a rump Ukrainian state” is likely to be led from Lviv, a city in Ukraine’s west and near the border with Poland, with the semi-exiled government likely to receive “heavy western support.”



The analysts predicted refugee flows of 5 million to 10 million people from Ukraine to Western Europe.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026122-1646652909644-gettyimages-1239000819-AFP_324M6LB.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415723" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026122-1646652909644-gettyimages-1239000819-AFP_324M6LB.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026122-1646652909644-gettyimages-1239000819-AFP_324M6LB-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026122-1646652909644-gettyimages-1239000819-AFP_324M6LB-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Ukrainian soldiers help an elderly woman to cross a destroyed bridge as she evacuates the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on March 7, 2022. Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



In such a scenario, Eurasia Group predicted that NATO, which has so far refused to intervene militarily in the conflict (Ukraine is not a member of the military alliance), would provide “significant military assistance to the western Ukrainian state and materiel [military materials and equipment] to support insurgency in eastern Ukraine.” But they added that this could lead to the risk of airborne clashes between Russian and NATO aircraft.



Russia’s military strategy has at times been beset with logistical problems, confusing the picture of what Russia’s main or immediate goals are.



To date, only one city has definitively fallen to the Russians since the invasion began in the early morning of Feb. 24 — Kherson — although others like Mariupol, in the south, appear to be perilously close amid food, water and power shortages.



Resistance to Russian forces is likely to get tougher as the war progresses and Russia pulls out the stops to seize more territory.



Scott Boston, a senior defense analyst at the&nbsp;RAND&nbsp;Corporation, told CNBC Friday that the Russians “have a whole lot of combat power left and a lot of capacity to scale up the violence, which seems to already be happening. This thing could really drag on for a long time.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>2. Purge and partition?</h2>



Some analysts agree that any patchy control over Ukraine by Russia could lead to some kind of partitioning of the country, particularly as Russia becomes firmly entrenched in eastern Ukraine — particularly in the Donbas region where it recognized the independence of two pro-Russian republics ahead of its invasion of the wider country.



Taras Kuzio, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, wrote in an article for the Atlantic Council on Thursday that Moscow has indicated that it is aiming at “the complete military conquest of Ukraine followed by a partition and a massive purge of the civilian population.”



“Putin’s apparent objective is to eradicate all vestiges of Ukrainian identity while condemning the country to a grim future as a military dictatorship locked firmly inside a new Russian Empire. This nightmarish vision tallies closely with Putin’s own stated objectives for the current military campaign along with his long record of public contempt and animosity towards Ukrainian statehood,” he said.



There are many questions over who could lead a loyalist regime in Ukraine, one that could resemble that of Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko. Kuzio noted that there has been speculation of Moscow seeking to install former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who was stripped of his powers by Ukrainian lawmakers during the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution and fled Kyiv for Russia.



“This would be entirely in keeping with Kremlin propaganda, which has insisted for the past eight years that Yanukovych was illegally removed by a Western-backed coup,” Kuzio noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>3. Insurgency</h2>



Most warn that Ukrainians would continue to fight against any puppet regime, with the conflict descending into an insurgency with those Ukrainians left in the country attempting to topple any such regime by any means available.



Close watchers of Russia like Tim Ash, an emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, have said that Russia is likely to face a long, drawn-out, pricey and painful occupation of Ukraine.



“Assuming Putin wins the military war the trillion dollar question is how he wins the peace in Ukraine &#8230; Ukrainians have had 30 years of freedom, which they relish, and how can Putin turn the clock back to 91′ [the collapse of the Soviet Union] without brutal suppression which would further make him, and his puppet regime in Kyiv, international pariahs. This is not 1945, 1956 or 1968 where Soviet troops/the NKVD [the Soviet law enforcement agency] did bludgeon civilians into submission, but 2022.”



“Ukrainians will resist long and hard even if the formal military battles end. And news 24/7 and the internet will expose Putin’s brutality for all to see,” Ash said in emailed comments on Feb. 25, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026115-1646652623467-gettyimages-1380795972-6f9a1106.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415724" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026115-1646652623467-gettyimages-1380795972-6f9a1106.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026115-1646652623467-gettyimages-1380795972-6f9a1106-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107026115-1646652623467-gettyimages-1380795972-6f9a1106-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Ukrainian soldiers clean their weapons as they prepare to head back to war in Irpin on March 5, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Dia Images | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



There’s of course the possibility that a Ukrainian fightback doesn’t pose a significant challenge to Russian forces that remain in Ukraine — after all, thousands of fighters are civilians that have taken up arms and have been hastily trained.



Other analysts warn of a “quagmire” — where there is no easy solution for what would likely be a heavily-destroyed Ukraine, or for Russia — if an insurgency continued long term.



In this scenario, strategists at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security program, Barry Pavel, Peter Engelke, and Jeffrey Cimmino, noted that Russia’s victory in Ukraine would be a “pyrrhic one,” that is, a victory not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it.



In this scenario, the strategists noted that a Ukrainian insurgency could force “a significant, sustained human and financial toll on Russia” as it would be forced to devote far more of its resources over a much longer period of time than it had anticipated. In the meantime, NATO countries “would likely provide covert but very robust defensive assistance to the Ukrainian resistance.”



In this scenario, “the conflict drains Moscow’s coffers and resolve, ultimately forcing a withdrawal after much violence and death,” an outcome that has echoes of Russia’s ill-fated, unpopular and costly invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, a conflict that lasted 10 years and led to the deaths of 15,000 Russian soldiers.



In this scenario, the strategists noted, Russia would realize it has “once again fought an unwinnable war, the proverbial quagmire that has trapped many powerful states through history.”



While this scenario might appear positive for Ukraine, with Russia becoming a pariah state at a global level and withdrawing after a costly invasion, Ukraine would be “devastated” in the process, the strategists said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>4. NATO vs. Russia</h2>



The Western military alliance NATO has repeatedly refused to directly intervene in the Russia-Ukraine conflict as doing so would likely bring it into direct conflict with Moscow which, for its part, has warned that any country that “interferes” in what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine will face untold consequences.



Countries on the EU’s (and NATO’s) eastern flank like Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, all of which have seen their NATO deployments bolstered in recent weeks, are extremely nervous about the potential for conflict to spill over into their own territories.



If Russia prevails in Ukraine, analysts including Ash have warned of a new “Iron Curtain” descending on Eastern Europe, creating two opposing geopolitical blocs reminiscent of those in the Cold War — the EU (and NATO nations) on one side of a potentially militarized border and Ukraine and other countries in Russia’s political orbit (such as Belarus and Moldova) on the other.



Such a situation is a tinderbox in Europe, Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group’s president said in emailed comments Monday. He noted that it’s a “non-starter” for the West to send troops to fight alongside Ukrainians or to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine “because that leads to direct confrontation between NATO and Russian troops and accordingly risks World War III.”



“Anything short of that is fair game: you can send fighter jets and other advanced weapons systems to the Ukrainians, provide Ukraine with real time intelligence on the disposition of Russian forces, and take economic measures without limitation to destroy the Russian economy,” he said.



But Bremmer believes that Putin still perceives this kind of help “as acts of war taken by the United States and NATO allies against Russia, meriting retaliation.”



Bremmer said Russia may therefore resort to more indirect attacks including cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, disinformation campaigns and even the possible sanctioning of terrorism in and against NATO countries.



“It remains highly unlikely Russia would launch direct military attacks against NATO forces, given that’s understood by NATO to be a tripwire for a broader war &#8230; but support for Chechen terrorist attacks into frontline NATO states delivering all these weapons? That’s another matter. NATO would be unlikely to respond directly with military strikes against a nuclear power; the only way to prepare is greater intelligence efforts to prevent or at least blunt the effectiveness of the efforts,” Bremmer said.



Strategists based in Eastern Europe are under no illusion as to whether NATO could get dragged in to the conflict.



Michal Baranowski, director of the German Marshall Fund’s Warsaw office, told CNBC just hours into Russia’s invasion that Putin “told us what he wants to do, he wants to change the government in Kyiv and when he was laying out his demands he was talking about the eastern flank of NATO and the rest of Europe as well. So buckle up, we need to be deterring not only attacks on Kyiv but the rest of the lines.”



“The world has changed. There is no going back … we are in an entirely new era,” he said.



“We are in for a very long fight, this is not going to be short, this is not only going to be about Ukraine &#8230; This is probably the biggest challenge that we are seeing in Europe since World War II,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>5. A miracle?</h2>



Analysts of course agree that an unequivocal withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukraine would be best possible outcome for the country in its dire situation.



Analysts at the Scowcroft Center noted that, in their “rosiest” possible scenario for how the Ukraine conflict could end, Ukraine could see its own defensive capabilities bolstered by NATO, allowing its military and civilian resistance to “overcome the odds and grind Moscow’s advance to a halt.”



In this hypothetical scenario, Putin would be prevented from toppling Kyiv’s government and establishing a puppet regime, while “the determination and skill of the Ukrainian resistance forces a stalemate on the battlefield that favors the defenders,” the Atlantic Council’s strategists Barry Pavel, Peter Engelke, and Jeffrey Cimmino noted.



Indeed, in this “miracle” scenario, the analysts said that the Kremlin realizes that Russia “will pay an exorbitant price” for its invasion of Ukraine and, facing the prospect of a long and costly slog in Ukraine, coupled with economic collapse and diplomatic isolation, Putin would order a withdrawal of his troops.



Still, even this outcome where Ukraine remains a sovereign democracy and NATO is faced with an improved security situation could be “fraught with danger,” the analysts warned.



“The short war has claimed thousands of lives on both sides, leaving widespread bitterness in its wake. And although a democratic Ukraine emerges intact if not unscathed, its still-dangerous neighbor faces an uncertain future with the Russian political landscape at a tipping point. Whether the country leans toward greater authoritarianism under Putin, or away from him altogether, will largely determine how Russia behaves with the rest of the world,” they added.



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How will Russia’s war with Ukraine end? Here are 5 possible outcomes

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415681" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107006470-1643191219978-gettyimages-1237968413-UKRAINE_ODESSA-1-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>The oil and gas terminal at the Port of Odessa in Odessa, Ukraine, on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. Christopher Occhicone | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Oil prices continued to surge in Monday morning trade as the market reacted to supply disruptions stemming from Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the possibility of a ban on Russian oil and natural gas.



West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, spiked nearly 9% higher to $126.05 per barrel. At one point the price rose to $130.50 Sunday evening, its highest since July 2008, before retreating.



The international benchmark, Brent crude, soared 9.9% higher to $129.75. Brent hit a high of $139.13 at one point overnight, also its highest since July 2008.



“Oil is rising on the prospect for a full embargo of Russian oil and products,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital. “Already high gasoline prices are going to keep going up in a jarring fashion. Prices in some states will be pushing $5 pretty quickly.”



The U.S. and its allies are considering banning Russian oil and natural gas imports, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-oil-markets-hit-multiple-milestones-after-russia-sanctions">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/oil-markets-hit-multiple-milestones-after-russia-sanctions/">Oil markets hit multiple milestones after Russia sanctions</a></h3>



“We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets,” he said. “That’s a very active discussion as we speak.”



Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic colleagues on Sunday evening that the U.S. House of Representatives is “exploring strong legislation” to ban the import of Russian oil — a move which would “further isolate Russia from the global economy.”



“Our bill would ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States, repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and take the first step to deny Russia access to the World Trade Organization.  We would also empower the Executive branch to raise tariffs on Russian imports,” she wrote.



While Western sanctions against Russia have so far allowed the country’s energy trade to continue, most buyers are avoiding Russian products already. Sixty-six percent of Russian oil is struggling to find buyers, according to JPMorgan analysis.



The U.S. average for a gallon of gas topped $4 on Sunday, according to AAA, in a rapid move due to the conflict. The underlying cost of oil accounts for more than 50% of the cost of gas that consumers put in their cars.



—With reporting by Pippa Stevens, Samantha Subin and Patti Domm.

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U.S. crude oil briefly tops $130 a barrel, a 13-year high on possible Western ban of Russian oil

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="548" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI-820x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415651" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SLFBZ27ML5K6BFS3ONHFCDPVDI.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via Reuters</figcaption></figure>



March 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Russian forces seized Europe&#8217;s biggest nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine after fierce fighting which set an adjacent training facility on fire, a local authority said.



* No sign of radiation leak



Essential equipment at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was unaffected after the fire, with no change in radiation levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2U002J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



* &#8216;Europeans, please wake up&#8217; &#8211; Zelenskiy



Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said Russian tanks had shot at the reactor plants, though there was no evidence cited that they had been hit. &#8220;Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine,&#8221; he said in a video message.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2V700O&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



*Stop fighting around nuclear plant &#8211; Biden



U.S. President Biden and British Prime Minister Johnson spoke separately with Zelenskiy about the fire. The White House said Biden urged Russia to &#8220;cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site.&#8221;



*One million refugees



More than 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine in just seven days, the United Nations said.



*‘According to plan,’ Putin says &#8220;I want to say that the special military operation is proceeding strictly in line with the timetable. According to plan. All the tasks that have been set are being successfully resolved,&#8221; he said on television.



* Fake news?



Russia&#8217;s communications watchdog restricted access to BBC Russian service as well as Radio Liberty and the Meduza media outlet, the RIA news agency reported.



*Google pulls ads in Russia



Google said it had stopped selling online advertising in Russia, a ban that covers search, YouTube and outside publishing partners. Sneaker maker Nike and home furnishings firm IKEA shut down stores in Russia.



*France&#8217;s Macron tells Putin: ‘You are lying to yourself’ &#8211; French official In a phone call to French President Macron, Putin reiterated that he was seeking the &#8220;de-nazification of Ukraine&#8221;. According to a French presidential adviser, Macron replied: &#8220;You are lying to yourself.&#8221;



*MARKETS: Stocks slide, oil jumps



Asian equities and the euro weakened while oil prices jumped as investors took fright over reports of the fire at the nuclear plant.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2V704L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Editing by Stephen Coates)

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="790" height="444" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/595e0a39dda4c800228b4567.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415646" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/595e0a39dda4c800228b4567.jpg 790w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/595e0a39dda4c800228b4567-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/595e0a39dda4c800228b4567-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/595e0a39dda4c800228b4567-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px" /><figcaption>New Development Bank &#8211; Photo via Wikipedia</figcaption></figure>



SHANGHAI, March 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS group of emerging nations said it has put new transactions in Russia on hold.



&#8220;In light of unfolding uncertainties and restrictions, NDB has put new transactions in Russia on hold. NDB will continue to conduct business in full conformity with the highest compliance standards as an international institution,&#8221; it said in a statement posted on its website.



Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa &#8211; known together as BRICS &#8211; are members of the New Development Bank.



This is a developing story&#8230;



(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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New Development Bank says it has put new transactions in Russia on hold

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022697-1646135245248-GettyImages-1238247562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415607" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022697-1646135245248-GettyImages-1238247562.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022697-1646135245248-GettyImages-1238247562-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022697-1646135245248-GettyImages-1238247562-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia &#8211; Feb. 6, 2022: President of Senegal Macky Sall (Right at the rostrum) makes a speech during the 35th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 6, 2022. Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



As&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/01/huge-convoy-of-russian-vehicles-approaching-kyiv.html">Russia’s invasion of Ukraine</a>&nbsp;escalates, Moscow’s growing influence in Africa has led to divergent responses among the continent’s leaders.



Heads of state from around the world, including many from Africa, have lambasted the Russian attack over the last week, with the U.S., EU and U.K. imposing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/01/russia-ukraine-latest-updates.html">punitive economic sanctions</a>.



However, political analysts told CNBC that while a united African voice in opposition to Russia would be a powerful one, a number of countries will be reluctant to publicly detach themselves from Moscow given their strategic military ties.



Over the past few years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/13/russia-is-building-military-influence-in-africa-challenging-us-france.html">Russia has built a number of military alliances</a>&nbsp;with governments in African countries facing violent insurgencies or political instability, including Libya, Mali, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Mozambique.



The significance of these ties could now play a major role in these countries respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.



For instance, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy leader of Sudan’s military junta, led a delegation to Moscow last Wednesday, while in the CAR capital of Bangui, a statue has been erected of Russian paramilitary personnel credited with quashing an armed rebellion in late 2020.



A draft United Nations resolution on Wednesday condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”



The resolution passed overwhelmingly with 141 nations voting in favor, but a host of African nations were among the 34 that abstained from the vote: South Africa, Mali, Mozambique, the Central African Republic, Angola, Algeria, Burundi, Madagascar, Namibia, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.



Eritrea, meanwhile, was one of only five countries to actively vote against the resolution, alongside Russia, Belarus, Syria and North Korea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dangerous-nostalgia"><a></a>‘Dangerous nostalgia’</h2>



Some African officials were quick to denounce Russia’s incursion, however.



On Feb. 22, even before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Kenya’s UN Envoy Martin Kimani delivered a stinging rebuke to Moscow that highlighted the potential significance of the continent in the global discussion.



“Kenya, and almost every African country, was birthed by the ending of empire. Our borders were not of our own drawing. They were drawn in the distant colonial metropoles of London, Paris, and Lisbon with no regard for the ancient nations that they cleaved apart,” Kimani told delegates.



He said African nations chose to look forward rather than “form nations that looked ever backward into history with a dangerous nostalgia.”



“We chose to follow the rules of the OAU (Organization of African Unity) and the United Nations charter, not because our borders satisfied us, but because we wanted something greater forged in peace,” Kimani added.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022695-1646134815162-GettyImages-1235853921.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415608" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022695-1646134815162-GettyImages-1235853921.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022695-1646134815162-GettyImages-1235853921-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022695-1646134815162-GettyImages-1235853921-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2021: Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations, Martin Kimani and Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, President of Kenya walk in hallway after SC meeting at United Nations Headquarters. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Meanwhile, Harold Agyeman, Ghana’s permanent representative to the UN Security Council, said that Ghana stands with Ukraine in the wake of the “unprovoked” attack, and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said that Nigeria is prepared to impose sanctions on Russia and will comply with any UN resolution.



Macky Sall, the current chair of the African Union and president of Senegal, along with Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, also last week expressed “extreme concern” at the situation. They called on Moscow to “imperatively respect international law, the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Ukraine.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Military influence</h3>



Steven Gruzd, from the South African Institute of International Affairs think tank, said the fact that not all countries were as forthcoming with their rebukes was to be expected.



“Do not expect strident condemnations from those countries where there is a large Russian presence, especially from PMCs [private military contractors] like the Wagner Group – CAR, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Libya,” Gruzd said. The EU sanctioned the Wagner Group – a paramilitary organization populated largely by ex-service personnel – in December after accusing it of committing human rights abuses in conflict zones and performing clandestine overseas operations on behalf of the Kremlin, a link the Russian government has denied.



Speaking before Wednesday’s UN vote, Gruzd also highlighted that South Africa was late to comment on the invasion.



The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation first released a statement on Feb. 23 calling for peace and dialogue, without acknowledging Russia as the aggressor, before explicitly saying Russian forces should withdraw in a second statement the following day.



However, the second statement also suggested that Russia’s security concerns should be seriously considered, and President Cyril Ramaphosa on Feb. 25 urged the UN to do more to mediate.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106376289-1580991457843gettyimages-1177985804.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415609" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106376289-1580991457843gettyimages-1177985804.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106376289-1580991457843gettyimages-1177985804-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106376289-1580991457843gettyimages-1177985804-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Delegates at the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum at the Sirius Park of Science and Art. Anton Novoderezhkin</figcaption></figure>



In a statement at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, South African permanent representative Mathu Joyini again called for “diplomacy and dialogue” and emphasized the importance of the “peaceful resolution of conflict,” without naming Russia as the aggressor.



“We urge all parties to approach the situation in a spirit of compromise, with all sides upholding human rights, abiding by their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law,” she added.



Gruzd suggested the uncertain approach from South Africa was indicative of the awkward position the government is in, torn between “political affinity for Russia” and displeasure at the “clear naked and brutal aggression on a friendly state” by the Kremlin.



“So the statements have been muted and measured, compared to South Africa’s regular vitriol against Israel, for example,” Gruzd highlighted.



South Africa’s government and Department of International Relations have not responded to CNBC’s request for comment.



Gruzd also noted that other African nations have focused their messaging on the welfare and evacuation of their citizens in Ukraine, rather than issuing direct condemnation of Russia.



“A rule of thumb is the closer the ties to Russia militarily, economically and politically, the more muted African responses are likely to be,” he added.



Harry Broadman, chair of emerging markets at consulting firm Berkeley Research Group and former economic adviser for the Africa region at the World Bank, highlighted that Russia’s relationships in Africa are largely tied to ruling elites in countries with vast chasms between leaders and the general population.



“It’s a relatively small number of countries, but they all have one characteristic which is that they’re quite shaky and resource-oriented, or they have military leaderships at the very top,” he told CNBC on Thursday.



He suggested the African Union will have difficulty establishing itself as a “powerful entity” in opposing Russia, since Moscow’s strategy is not continent-wide.



“They’re picking off certain countries based upon the elites, based upon minerals, based upon military interests – it’s a very different strategy than what China has been doing,” he added. China, in contrast, has developed an Africa-wide economic presence through decades of loan financing and infrastructure investment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The anti-colonial message</h3>



Kenya’s message at last week’s UN Security Council was widely praised for the parallels drawn between the anti-colonial struggles – and agreement that Africa’s borders be respected in the aftermath of decolonization – and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to roll back the years on Ukraine’s independence, prioritizing ethnic self-determination over territorial integrity.



“Africa’s voice in the UN General Assembly matters, with about 25% of the seats. If there is a strong, united push against Russia, this matters. International norms of sovereignty and territorial integrity are integral to Africa’s outlook,” Gruzd told CNBC on Saturday.



“If the continent chooses to, it can be a strong voice for these values in this case. The AU has come out with a terse statement opposing Russia. We need to see more of this.”

107022697-1646135245248-GettyImages-1238247562

African leaders condemn Russia, but some remain silent as Moscow’s influence hits home

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022712-1646136626111-gettyimages-1238847175-AFP_32487AT.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415573" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022712-1646136626111-gettyimages-1238847175-AFP_32487AT.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022712-1646136626111-gettyimages-1238847175-AFP_32487AT-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107022712-1646136626111-gettyimages-1238847175-AFP_32487AT-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Members of a Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new rifles to the opposite side of a blown up bridge on Kyiv’s northern front on March 1, 2022. Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The next phases of the war in Ukraine are likely to exact a tremendous cost on major cities as Russia turns to bigger, more indiscriminate weapons and prepares for brutal urban fighting.



Despite fierce Ukrainian resistance, cities are being encircled, and Russian forces are already resorting to weapons such as artillery to bombard them, retired U.S. Army Col. Jack Jacobs told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”



“The Russians are going to increase their indirect fire on population centers, particularly on Kyiv,” Jacobs said. Indirect fire refers to weapons that are aimed not at an individual target but at an area, such as a city. Weapons such as artillery pieces are used in large volume and destroy large areas.



“And in doing that, they’re going to do something that &#8230; they didn’t want to do, because they wanted to take the city intact,” Jacobs said. “They’ll use &#8230; rocket launch capability, artillery, missiles and other indirect fire in order to subdue the Ukrainians in the city. And then try to move in.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russias-isolation-intensifies-as-ukraine-fighting-rages/">Russia’s isolation intensifies as Ukraine fighting rages</a></h3>



At that point, the war switches from one that plays to Russian military strengths to one that plays to the strengths of the Ukrainians. But it’ll also be a much more destructive war, because it will be fought up close within urban areas.



Russia’s military culture focuses training on operations in open terrain, Jacobs said, whereas the Ukrainians — including many of its civilians — have long been preparing themselves for a door-to-door fight in the cities themselves.



The Ukrainians “have known from very beginning that ultimately, it may come down to their ability to destroy Russian forces inside the built-up areas,” said Jacobs, who experienced urban fighting as an officer in the Vietnam War.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enormous-cost"><a></a>‘Enormous cost’</h2>



Unfortunately, that scenario would come at a horrific cost to Ukraine’s cities, which are still full of civilians although many have fled.



John Spencer, an expert on urban warfare at the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, told NBC News that once Russian soldiers are in the cities in large numbers, “it’s going to get really ugly.”



“The Russians won’t be able to take Kyiv by just bombing it,” Spencer told NBC. “They’ll have to get soldiers in there.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107023487-1646195380382-gettyimages-1372979461-cm1_4444_e045bdf4-8d5b-4a34-bc37-aee981d7b62f.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415574" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107023487-1646195380382-gettyimages-1372979461-cm1_4444_e045bdf4-8d5b-4a34-bc37-aee981d7b62f.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107023487-1646195380382-gettyimages-1372979461-cm1_4444_e045bdf4-8d5b-4a34-bc37-aee981d7b62f-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107023487-1646195380382-gettyimages-1372979461-cm1_4444_e045bdf4-8d5b-4a34-bc37-aee981d7b62f-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Volunteers make molotov cocktails in the basement of a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine. Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Russian President Vladimir Putin has already demonstrated a personal willingness to destroy a city — even within Russia’s borders — if that’s what it takes to achieve his political goals.



As Russian prime minister in 1999, Putin launched a brutal military campaign against Chechnya to keep that province under Moscow’s control. Russian troops largely destroyed its capital Grozny in the process. Thousands of civilians were killed there.



“I think Putin is going to have a hard time walking this back,” Jacobs said. “He’s going to keep going until he gets it done &#8230; at some enormous cost. To Ukraine, to Russia, and perhaps even to allies.”



Other major cities in Ukraine are likely already surrounded by Russian forces, according to a U.K. Ministry of Defence update released Tuesday.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russia-central-bank-more-than-doubles-interest-rate-to-20-to-boost-sinking-ruble/">Russia central bank more than doubles interest rate to 20% to boost sinking ruble</a></h3>



“Ukrainian forces continue to hold the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson and Mariupol however all three cities are now likely encircled by Russian forces,” the ministry said.



Ukraine’s government said on Tuesday that Kharkiv, its second-biggest city, was under intensifying shelling from Russian forces, NBC News reported. That city is home to around 1.5 million people.



At least 10 people were killed and 35 wounded on Tuesday by Russian rockets in the center of Kharkiv, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in a post on social media.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Stopping the convoy</h2>



Kyiv is not yet surrounded, but a huge, 40-mile Russian column is proceeding slowly from the north toward the city to link up with forces to the south and encircle the capital.



Ukrainian troops have put up fierce resistance against Russian invaders north of Kyiv, but without sufficient air power, they have not been able to force the convoy into retreat.



The ongoing fight around the convoy is critical for the Ukrainians and Kyiv. It’s important, Jacobs said, that more Western weapons get to the Ukrainians before they’re cut off.



“If the Ukrainians can &#8230; bring enough weapons to bear on that convoy, they’re liable to wind up stopping it long enough so that the Ukrainians can get resupplied by the West,” he said.

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‘Enormous cost’: Ukraine war is likely heading into a more destructive and deadly phase

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415563" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



AMSTERDAM, Feb 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday said it will seek court approval to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine.



The move comes just days after Russia&#8217;s invasion of its neighbour and prosecutor Karim Khan said on Friday he was following developments with concern.



Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, rights groups have alleged violations of international war crimes law, including the targeting of civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals.



Ukraine and its allies on Monday called for a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes committed by Russia during its military actions in Ukraine.



The United Nations Human Rights Council voted on Monday to accept Ukraine&#8217;s request to hold an urgent debate on Thursday on Russia&#8217;s invasion. A Ukrainian draft resolution will be considered at the urgent debate. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V30X7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-russia-s-isolation-deepens-as-ukraine-resists-invasion">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russias-isolation-deepens-as-ukraine-resists-invasion/">Russia’s isolation deepens as Ukraine resists invasion</a></h3>



Prosecutor Khan said his office would seek support and funding from the ICC&#8217;s 123 member states for investigations. &#8220;The importance and urgency of our mission is too serious to be held hostage to lack of means&#8221;, he said.



Khan said the investigation will look into alleged violations dating back to 2014, when Ukraine recognised the court&#8217;s jurisdiction following Russia&#8217;s annexation of Crimea.



Although neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the court in The Hague, Ukraine gave it authorisation over war crimes and crimes against humanity.



&#8220;There is a reasonable basis to proceed with opening an investigation,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;In particular, I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.&#8221;



&#8220;Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my Office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine,&#8221; it said.



The prosecutor will have to first obtain authorisation from a pre-trial chamber of the court.



(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling; Additional reporting by Stephanie Ulmer Nebehay in Geneva; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

3BY5TSMDRRJHZHA5GW76W5PBRI

ICC prosecutor to proceed with investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="619" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-820x619.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415556" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-820x619.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-300x227.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-119x90.jpg 119w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-768x580.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-1536x1160.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RYTG2FZQLVMXXGU3LSTMWNB4PM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: Servicemen are seen near the village of Zolote, disengagement area of government and Russian-backed rebel troops, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, Ukraine November 2, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



KYIV/MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Russia on Tuesday faced increasing isolation over its invasion of Ukraine, with fierce resistance on the ground denying President Vladimir Putin decisive early gains despite heavy shelling and a huge military convoy outside the capital, Kyiv.



Ceasefire talks between Russia and its southern neighbour held Monday failed to reach a breakthrough and negotiators have not said when a new round would take place.



Putin faces mounting international pressure for last week launching the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two, and the systemic impact of Western sanctions led to a near 30% collapse in the rouble on Monday before central bank intervention rescued the currency from its lows.



Staging a push for the capital, Russia has massed a convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and other military equipment that stretches about 40 miles (64 km), U.S. satellite company Maxar said.



Ukrainian officials reported heavy fighting on several fronts and said a Russian bombardment of Kharkiv, the country&#8217;s second largest city, had killed dozens.



&#8220;What I think is pretty certain is Russia is off their timeline. I think they thought that within 72 hours they&#8217;d hold Kyiv,&#8221; U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said after a classified briefing with top Biden administration officials.



The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia&#8217;s central bank, its top businesses, oligarchs and officials, including Putin himself, and barred some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V315S&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russias-isolation-deepens-as-ukraine-resists-invasion/">Russia’s isolation deepens as Ukraine resists invasion</a></h3>



NATO ally Turkey delivered another blow to Moscow on Monday by warning warring countries not to send warships through its Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits that separate the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, effectively bottling up Russia&#8217;s Black Sea Fleet.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AA4N2NM039&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Washington has ruled out sending troops to fight Russia or enforcing a no-fly zone as requested by Ukraine, fearing an escalation between the world&#8217;s top two nuclear powers.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V33NY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



But, the United States and its allies have instead promised military aid to Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned the capital was under constant threat.



&#8220;For the enemy, Kyiv is the key target,&#8221; Zelenskiy said in a video message late on Monday. &#8220;We did not let them break the defence of the capital, and they send saboteurs to us &#8230; We will neutralise them all.&#8221;



Zelenskiy said Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a &#8220;special operation&#8221;, was targeting a thermal power plant providing electricity to Kyiv, a city of 3 million people.



Human rights groups and Ukraine&#8217;s ambassador to the United States accused Russia of using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs. The United States said it had no confirmation of their use.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V33OI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Russia says its actions are not designed to occupy territory but to destroy Ukraine&#8217;s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.



Fighting has raged around the port of Mariupol and in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian officials said Russian artillery attacks had killed dozens of civilians, including children. It was not possible to verify those figures.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V33MK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-private-sector-pullout">PRIVATE SECTOR PULLOUT</h2>



More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations refugee agency, setting off a refugee crisis as thousands await passage at European border crossings.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V216E&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



At least 102 civilians have been killed since the invasion started Thursday, but the real figure could be much higher, the U.N.&#8217;s human rights chief said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V32X1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Canada said it would ban imports of Russian crude oil, and U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the Biden administration should target the Russian energy sector with sanctions. Oil and gas are Russia&#8217;s top export earners.



&#8220;We&#8217;re not using the energy sector as a weapon,&#8221; Graham told reporters. &#8220;We&#8217;re failing to hit Putin where it hurts the most.&#8221;



A stream of companies pulling out of Russia is expected to grow on Tuesday and deal further blows to the country&#8217;s economy.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/rouble-battered-em-currencies-down-as-west-imposes-new-russia-sanctions/">Rouble battered, EM currencies down as West imposes new Russia sanctions</a></h3>



Shell&nbsp;SHEL.L, BP&nbsp;BP.L&nbsp;and Norway&#8217;s Equinor&nbsp;EQNR.OL&nbsp;said they would exit positions in Russia.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2V34Z8&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Leading banks, airlines, and auto makers have cut shipments, ended partnerships and called Russia&#8217;s actions unacceptable, with more considering similar actions.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V33S4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Mastercard&nbsp;MA.N&nbsp;said it had blocked multiple financial institutions from its payment network as a result of sanctions on Russia and Visa&nbsp;V.N&nbsp;said it would take action too.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V406L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Moves to isolate Russia have extended to culture and sports, as well.



Three major studios, Sony, Disney and Warner Bros., said they would pause theatrical releases of upcoming films in Russia while FIFA and the International Olympic Committee moved to bar Russian teams and athletes from competing.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V32GZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V400V&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Putin, who takes pride in athleticism and is passionate about martial arts, had his honorary black belt from World Taekwondo stripped from him over the invasion, the group said.



(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic in Kyiv; Natalia Zinets, Matthias Williams and Pavel Polityuk in Lviv; Kevin Liffey and Mark Trevelyan in London; and other Reuters bureaux including Moscow; Writing by Rami Ayyub and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

FILE PHOTO: Servicemen are seen near the village of Zolote

Russia’s isolation intensifies as Ukraine fighting rages

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106112608-1567659337821gettyimages-1149971899.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415521" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106112608-1567659337821gettyimages-1149971899.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106112608-1567659337821gettyimages-1149971899-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106112608-1567659337821gettyimages-1149971899-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Russia’s central bank in Moscow. Gavriil Grigorov | TASS | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Russia’s central bank on Monday more than doubled the country’s key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% as its currency, the ruble, hit a record low against the dollar on the back of a slew of new sanctions and penalties imposed on Russia by Europe and the U.S. for its invasion of Ukraine.



The rate hike, the central bank said, “is designed to offset increased risk of ruble depreciation and inflation.”



This follows the central bank’s order to halt foreigners’ bids to sell Russian securities in an effort to contain the market fallout. The ruble fell as far as&nbsp;119.50 per dollar, down a whopping 30% from Friday’s close.



The bank also said it would be freeing 733 billion rubles ($8.78 billion) in local bank reserves to boost liquidity. Russian Central Bank Governor&nbsp;Elvira Nabiullina will hold a briefing at 1 p.m. London time Monday.



The dramatic developments underline fears of a run on Russia’s banks. Already, long lines to withdraw cash have been seen at ATMs in Russian cities. Sberbank Europe, which is owned by Russia’s state-run Sberbank, says it has experienced “significant outflows of deposits in a very short time.”



In a statement Monday, the Russian finance ministry and the central bank announced plans to order domestic exporters to sell their foreign exchange revenues starting on Feb. 28. The move will order exporters to sell 80% of all their forex revenues received under export contracts.&nbsp;



Over the weekend, the U.S., European allies and Canada agreed to cut off key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT, which connects more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions in over 200 countries and territories. The EU also announced Sunday it was shutting its airspace to Russian aircraft.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-biden-says-u-s-will-sanction-russian-banks-sovereign-debt-and-individuals-after-ukraine-invasion">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/biden-says-u-s-will-sanction-russian-banks-sovereign-debt-and-individuals-after-ukraine-invasion/">Biden says U.S. will sanction Russian banks, sovereign debt and individuals after Ukraine ‘invasion’</a></h3>



The volatility in Russian markets “does show that the freezing of the Russian central banks assets, which was decided over the weekend by the EU as well as the other western countries led by the U.S. — it shows what a significant move that is,” David Marsh, chairman of economic policy think tank OMFIF, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.



“That is actually much more significant than the SWIFT action, which was breaking a taboo by Germany when it joined in on that over the weekend,” he said, referring to sanctions that cut several Russian banks out of the global SWIFT payments system.



“It does mean that there is going to be this enormous scramble for dollars in Russia — we’ve seen the queues outside the banks and so on.” Russia over the past several years has amassed a war chest of some $630 billion in foreign reserves, its highest level ever, which analysts say will help it withstand sanctions and losses in export revenue. But if some of those assets are frozen, that changes the calculus for Russia.



“We will paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Sunday. “This will freeze its transactions. And it will make it impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate its assets.”



“The fact that the Russians cannot deploy a good part of this $600 billion worth of foreign currency reserves that the Russian central bank has been carefully building up does mean that we are onto an emergency war economy,” Marsh said. “And the idea of isolating Russia, which just a few days ago would have been thought of as unthinkable, it now is a reality.”



The ramp-up in punitive measures against Russia — the strongest that the EU has ever deployed against it — come as Russian forces deployed by President Vladimir Putin carry out offensives all over Ukraine. It follows several days of heavy shelling and missile strikes in major urban centers including Ukraine’s two largest cities, its capital Kyiv and Kharkiv, which together have a population of nearly 5 million people.



Ukrainian forces have so far managed to hold back the Russian advances and remain in control of the two cities, Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Sunday.

106112608-1567659337821gettyimages-1149971899

Russia central bank more than doubles interest rate to 20% to boost sinking ruble

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415510" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GCOWQP6MQJOVLOJ6X3EXITXSKY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Ukrainian service members are seen after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, at a check point in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi</figcaption></figure>



KYIV/MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Russia&#8217;s political and economic isolation deepened on Monday as its forces met stiff resistance in Ukraine&#8217;s capital and other cities in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.



President Vladimir Putin put Russia&#8217;s nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday in the face of a barrage of Western-led&nbsp;reprisals for his war on Ukraine, which said it had repelled Russian ground forces&#8217; attempts to capture urban centres.



Blasts were heard before dawn on Monday in the capital of Kyiv, breaking a few hours of quiet, and in the major city of Kharkiv, Ukraine&#8217;s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection said.



Ukraine said negotiations with Moscow without preconditions would be held at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. Russian news agency Tass cited an unidentified source as saying the talks would start on Monday morning.



U.S. President Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday to coordinate a united response, the White House said.



The United States said Putin was escalating the war with &#8220;dangerous rhetoric&#8221; about Russia&#8217;s nuclear posture, amid signs Russian forces were preparing to besiege major cities in the democratic country of about 44 million people.



As missiles rained down, nearly 400,000 civilians, mainly women and children, have fled into neighbouring countries, a U.N. relief agency said.



A senior U.S. defence official said Russia had fired more than 350 missiles at Ukrainian targets so far, some hitting civilian infrastructure.



&#8220;It appears that they are adopting a siege mentality, which any student of military tactics and strategy will tell you, when you adopt siege tactics, it increases the likelihood of collateral damage,&#8221; the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



He cited the Russian offensive on the city of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, where Ukrainian authorities said a residential building was on fire after being struck by a missile early on Monday.



Missiles also struck another northern city, Zhytomyr, Ukrainian Ground Forces command said.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by telephone on Sunday that the next 24 hours would be crucial for Ukraine, a Downing Street spokesperson said.



So far, the Russian offensive cannot claim any major victories. Russian has not taken any Ukrainian city, does not control Ukraine&#8217;s airspace, and its troops remained roughly 30 km (19 miles) from Kyiv&#8217;s city centre for a second day, the official said.



Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour&#8217;s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unprecedented-sanctions">UNPRECEDENTED SANCTIONS</h2>



Western-led political, strategic, economic and corporate sanctions were unprecedented in their extent and coordination, and there were further pledges of military support for Ukraine&#8217;s badly outgunned armed forces.



The rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low versus the dollar, after Western nations on Saturday unveiled harsh sanctions including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system.



Several European subsidiaries of Sberbank Russia, majority owned by the Russian government, were failing or were likely to fail due to reputational cost of the war in Ukraine, the European Central Bank said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V210L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Russia&#8217;s central bank scrambled to manage the broadening fallout of the sanctions saying it would resume buying gold on the domestic market, launch a repurchase auction with no limits and ease restrictions on banks&#8217; open foreign currency positions.



Japan said it had been asked to join in measures blocking Russia from SWIFT, and was also considering imposing sanctions against some individuals in Belarus, a key staging area for the Russian invasion.



A referendum in Belarus on Sunday approved a new constitution ditching the country&#8217;s non-nuclear status.



The European Union on Sunday decided for the first time in its history to supply weapons to a country at war,&nbsp;pledging arms&nbsp;including fighter jets&nbsp;to Ukraine.



Germany, which had already frozen a planned undersea gas pipeline from Russia, said it would increase defence spending massively, casting off decades of reluctance to match its economic power with military clout.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V212O&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



EU Chief Executive Ursula von der Leyen expressed support for Ukraine&#8217;s membership in an interview with Euronews, saying &#8220;they are one of us.&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V300O&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The EU shut all Russian planes out of its airspace, as did Canada, forcing Russian airline Aeroflot to cancel all flights to European destinations until further notice. The United States and France urged their citizens to consider leaving Russia immediately.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V20KL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V20HB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The EU also banned the Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik.



Corporate giants also took action, with British oil major BP&nbsp;BP.L&nbsp;BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia, saying it would abandon its stake in state oil company Rosneft&nbsp;ROSN.MM&nbsp;at a cost of up to $25 billion.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V21LU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



In New York, the U.N. Security Council convened a rare emergency meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, or all the United Nations&#8217; 193 member states, for Monday.



Rolling protests have been held around the world against the invasion, including in Russia, where almost 6,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests since Thursday, the OVD-Info protest monitor said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2V21FJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V20K7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Tens of thousands of people across Europe marched in protest, including more than 100,000 in Berlin.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2V20NI&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Aleksandar Vasovic in Kyiv; Natalia Zinets and Matthias Williams in Lviv; Alan Charlish in Medyka, Poland; Fedja Grulovic in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania; and other Reuters bureaux including Moscow; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Stephen Coates; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Ukrainian service members are seen at a check point in Zhytomyr

Russia’s isolation deepens as Ukraine resists invasion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="580" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-820x580.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415492" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-820x580.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-127x90.jpg 127w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-1536x1086.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W7745HKAQ5MKTKBMB23TQ25XU4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 4, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Kremlin via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second day.



Russia is assaulting its neighbor by air, land and sea, appearing to home in on the capital of Kyiv. Early Friday morning, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs said the capital was struck by “horrific Russian rocket strikes.”



After a string of failed attempts at diplomacy, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have moved to take a bite out of Russia’s economy and isolate President Vladimir Putin from the world.



Escalating rounds of sanctions will try to cut off key Russian banks and the government itself from markets abroad, and freeze the assets of some of Putin’s allies.



U.S. stocks seesawed to a positive close Thursday despite the invasion. Oil prices rose as Biden again tried to assure Americans he would limit the effects of rising gas prices.



This is a developing story&#8230;

Russian President Putin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Russia pounds Ukraine as U.S. and European sanctions mount

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106898635-1623928568153-gettyimages-1233498487-SWITZERLAND_BIDEN_PUTIN.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415358" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106898635-1623928568153-gettyimages-1233498487-SWITZERLAND_BIDEN_PUTIN.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106898635-1623928568153-gettyimages-1233498487-SWITZERLAND_BIDEN_PUTIN-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/106898635-1623928568153-gettyimages-1233498487-SWITZERLAND_BIDEN_PUTIN-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>U.S. president Joe Biden (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during the U.S.-Russia summit at Villa La Grange on June 16, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Peter Klaunzer | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) &#8211; As Russia prepared this week to invade Ukraine, chanting crowds celebrating France&#8217;s decision to withdraw from Mali held placards thanking the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group and newspapers in Kenya worried about the impact a conflict would have on the local cost of fuel and food.



From the chatrooms of China’s normally rigidly controlled Weibo social media platform to the newspapers of Latin America and the corridors of the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognise the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and deploy troops there has been unsettling a globally connected world.



On Thursday, Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast, officials and media said, after Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east. Russia&#8217;s military intervention was rapidly and widely condemned abroad.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2UZ089&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



For at least a decade, there has been an understanding that after years of largely unquestioned globalisation led by the United States, the world is more in flux and geopolitical tensions are on the rise, particularly in the face of a more assertive Moscow and Beijing. What has happened in the last week, however, looks to be prompting a sometimes dramatic reappraisal of how disruptive that might be, a realisation that what happens in eastern Europe will have implications for every part of the globe.



In some places, Russia is doing well. The withdrawal of France and military allies from Mali is widely seen as a victory for the Kremlin, with demonstrators in the capital Bamako photographed holding placards reading &#8220;Merci Wagner&#8221;, although Putin has said the Wagner Group does not represent the Russian state and is not paid by it. Two senior U.S. defence officials have said there are between 800 and 1,000 contractors from the Wagner Group in Mali and that the number of Russian mercenaries in the West African country is expected to increase.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2US2QG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Moscow has also increasingly been supplying arms to Myanmar&#8217;s military, according to a report by the United Nations human rights expert on the southeast Asian country, and has signed a new friendship treaty with Azerbaijan to deepen its influence in Central Asia.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2UX0F0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



More broadly, however, Putin’s actions are seen as dangerous and unsettling.



Within Europe, condemnation has been widespread. The most damaging shift from Russia so far is likely to be Germany’s decision not to certify the Nordstream 2 pipeline. But even Hungary, which has moved closer to Russia under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has shown its concern by announcing it will move troops near its own border with Ukraine for security purposes and humanitarian tasks. Budapest also did not block new European Union sanctions against Russia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenya-comments-lauded">KENYA COMMENTS LAUDED</h2>



For those further from Ukraine, the most immediate impact is likely to be from the knock-on effect on global markets and on food and fuel. Ukraine is the world’s largest grain exporter, with several other major exporters also shipping through Black Sea routes that could be blocked. Oil prices have risen on expectations Russia’s energy exports will also be hit.



That will hurt poorest countries hardest – and major newspapers in Kenya ran stories on the impact on the cost of living. Kenyan Ambassador Martin Kimani&#8217;s comments to the United Nations Security Council, in which he called on all nations to learn to live within their borders, even those drawn by other countries, received global coverage and widespread praise.



Some countries have been more cautious. India, for example, has long sought to maintain friendly links with Russia even as its tensions with China worsen and it moves closer to Washington on other matters. Putin’s actions this week, however – including his speech on Monday night in which he questioned Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation – may have raised eyebrows even in Beijing.



While Beijing has been broadly supportive of Moscow, Chinese media have largely talked down the prospects of a serious conflict. But this week there was an unusual level of debate over the international situation among social media users on Weibo. A hashtag on a statement from Ukraine’s embassy in Beijing was among the most viewed on the platform, with separate statements from Russia, the United States, Britain and France.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WORLD “IN TENSION”</h2>



Initial sentiments on Weibo were largely negative on Russia’s actions even before Thursday&#8217;s military action, with one user describing them as &#8220;shameless&#8221;. Over the course of Tuesday, these were gradually replaced with more anti-U.S. comments. Some other users continue to make negative comments on Moscow’s long-term relationship with China, with one user asking if Beijing could use similar grounds to take back nearby territory such as Vladivostok in Russia.



Others noted Beijing’s broader quandary on Ukraine. A successful Russian military intervention might set the tone for similar Chinese action on Taiwan, but there are also concerns that Putin’s recognition of the two separatist self-proclaimed people&#8217;s republics in eastern Ukraine could set a precedent that might ease the path to Taiwan’s outright independence.



While Chinese pundits might sometimes talk up Beijing’s own prospects in a war to push back U.S. influence, the last week has been a reminder that in the rest of the world such behaviour remains frowned on almost without exception. Across Latin America – another area where Moscow has looked to increase its influence, particularly through vaccines since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic &#8211; coverage outside its immediate allies of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba has been almost entirely negative.



Newspapers in Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil blamed Putin for raising what Argentina&#8217;s La Nation called the &#8220;phantom of war&#8221; in Europe. Mexico&#8217;s left-wing, normally anti-U.S. La Noranda accused the Russia leader of putting the world &#8220;in tension&#8221;.



That tone extends across much of the world, at least for now. Some commentators, however, seemed to welcome Putin’s blurring of the rules earlier this week. In Egypt, locked in a row with Ethiopia over the construction of a huge hydrophone dam on the Blue Nile, some saw Putin’s actions as something their own government should choose to emulate. &#8220;The Egyptian people want a positive move,&#8221; wrote one user on Facebook earlier this week, talking positively of &#8220;what Russia has done with Ukraine&#8221;.



Such views, however, are likely to remain limited. This week, as always, all the signs are that there is dislike, fear and resentment of unnecessary wars across the world. It is something Putin might do well to remember in the days and weeks ahead. *** Peter Apps is a writer on international affairs, globalisation, conflict and other issues. He is the founder and executive director of the Project for Study of the 21st Century; PS21, a non-national, non-partisan, non-ideological think tank. Paralysed by a war-zone car crash in 2006, he also blogs about his disability and other topics. He was previously a reporter for Reuters and continues to be paid by Thomson Reuters. Since 2016, he has been a member of the British Army Reserve and the UK Labour Party.



(Editing by Timothy Heritage)

106898635-1623928568153-gettyimages-1233498487-SWITZERLAND_BIDEN_PUTIN

Unsettling effects of Russian’s actions in Ukraine felt around the world

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415476" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-768x433.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-1536x866.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107019786-16456785012022-02-24t045416z_1886735586_rc24qs9y0k6p_rtrmadp_0_ukraine-crisis-russia-putin-1-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Russia has turned its military buildup along Ukraine’s border into a full-fledged conflict.



President Vladimir Putin announced an attack on Ukraine early Thursday local time, days after he recognized two breakaway regions of Russia’s neighbor as independent. The long-feared&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/23/russia-attacks-ukraine-as-vladimir-putin-announces-military-action.html">Russian invasion of Ukraine began</a>, as explosions were reported in the capital of Kyiv and other cities around the country.



The U.S. and Europe had scrambled to prevent an attack this week, slapping a series of sanctions on Russian individuals, financial institutions and sovereign debt. U.S. President Joe Biden promised more measures to hit Russia’s economy after the invasion started. Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelenskyy late Wednesday Eastern U.S. time.



The attack roiled financial markets, sending <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/23/stock-futures-are-little-changed-after-dow-sinks-to-its-lowest-level-of-the-year-amid-ukraine-crisis.html">U.S. stock futures tumbling</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/oil-prices-jump-as-russia-launches-attack-on-ukraine.html">global oil prices spiking</a>.



This is a developing story&#8230;

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