Needing Ammunition.

Not a ride.

1. For the first time, experiments demonstrate the possibility of sharing secrets with perfect privacy — even when the devices used to share them cannot be trusted. The technology is still too slow to be practical. It will be ubiquitous and lightning fast soon enough. (Source: quantamagazine.org)

2. Fierce fighting has broken out in Kyiv as Russian forces tried to push their way towards the city center and were met with resistance from the Ukrainian military. Throughout Friday night, explosions rocked the capital and artillery fire could be heard in the streets. As dawn broke on Saturday, Kyiv officials warned residents that street fighting was underway against Russian forces. They urged people to seek shelter, avoid going near windows or on balconies, and take precautions against being hit by debris or bullets. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked to evacuate from Kyiv at the behest of the US government but turned down the offer. “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelensky said, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described the leader as upbeat. (Source: the guardian.com, apnews.com, scmp.com)

3. Russia late yesterday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution of which it was the target, effectively blocking action by the panel, which is responsible for protecting and maintaining international peace. The resolution, written and presented by the United States and dozens of its allies, strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on Moscow to withdraw its troops immediately and provide safe access for humanitarian relief work. Eleven member countries voted in favor of the resolution. China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained. Russia, which has veto power as one of five permanent members of the council, voted against it.

4. China attempted to distance itself from Russia as the scale of the invasion becomes clear, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday saying it was “absolutely imperative” for all sides to exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from “getting out of control. China has been following the evolution of the Ukraine issue, and the present situation is something China does not want to see,” Wang Yi said in phone calls with top diplomats from the U.K., France and the European Union, according to a readout from the official Xinhua News Agency. “The safety of ordinary people’s lives and properties should be effectively safeguarded, and in particular, large-scale humanitarian crises have to be prevented,” the report cited him as saying. The comments came shortly after President Xi Jinping made his first remarks on the crisis, urging Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a phone call to solve the issue through talks with the Ukrainians. Putin later said he’s ready to authorize talks with Ukraine on a possible neutral status for the country, but it’s unclear when or if they will take place. (Source: bloomberg.com)

5. There is unease in China’s broader relationship with Moscow. “While there are several areas of strategic alignment between the two neighbors, including their mutual concern with the United States, there remains an underlying mistrust between them. China is a rising Eurasian power, Russia is declining. That alone creates unevenness in their relationship — one that Moscow resents and Beijing eyes with caution. In the past, China’s economic power complemented Russia’s military and historical power across Central Asia, leaving more room for cooperation than competition. But China’s growing military prowess, and its increasing political influence, challenge Russia’s traditional influence in its near abroad. Moscow may not be able to match China’s economic largess, but it continues to use historical and cultural ties, the Eurasian Economic Union, and its security relationships to try and temper Chinese influence. While Beijing tolerates this, it perpetuates a sense of mistrust. At its core, the fundamental difference between the two large neighbors is their differing visions of the future of Eurasia. Russia continues to see itself in light of an embattled Eurasian heartland power, one that needs to build a shell around itself to ensure its strategic security. This is about distinct spheres of influence and a division between Russia and Europe. China, on the other hand, sees the future of Eurasia as a vast corridor of trade — a crisscross of land routes that ease Beijing’s current vulnerability at sea, reorient its underdeveloped interior provinces away from their wealthier coastal neighbors, and enable China to use economic heft as a tool of influence and security across Asia, Europe and even into Africa.”  (Source: worldview.stratfor.com)