Total Fantasies.

News Items Part One: Ukraine Edition.

1. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is no longer transmitting data to the UN’s atomic watchdog, the agency said on Tuesday, as it voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard at the Ukrainian facility. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of a 1986 disaster that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost”, the agency said in a statement. “The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon,” it said. (Source: scmp.com)

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2. Humanitarian corridor:

Ukrainian soldiers rush to help family hit by Russian mortar fire in the village of Irpen. All five died. Photograph by Lynsey Adarrio)

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3. The number of people forced to escape Ukraine has passed a milestone of two million, as the civilian toll of the Russia-Ukraine war mounted along with international efforts to press President Vladimir Putin to halt the Russian offensive. A Russian military convoy opened fire near a checkpoint in the besieged northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, interrupting evacuations in violation of a brokered cease-fire. In many cities, Russia continued to obstruct civilians fleeing violence by firing in their vicinity and fighting nearby established humanitarian corridors. Russia late Tuesday again proposed opening evacuation corridors for civilians from five cities including Mariupol starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday. But efforts to implement a cease-fire in the southeastern city have failed for four days running. As heavy fighting continued across the country on Day 13 of the Russian invasion, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said an additional one million people have been displaced inside Ukraine after fleeing their homes. (Source: wsj.com)

4. In the space of two weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has set off one of the largest and fastest arms transfers in history. By road and rail, the Czech Republic sent 10,000 rocket-propelled grenades to Ukraine’s defenders last week alone. In Poland, the provincial airport of Rzeszow located about 60 miles from the Ukrainian border has been so crowded with military cargo jets that on Saturday some flights were briefly diverted until airfield space became available. On the country’s highways, police vehicles are escorting military transport trucks to the border, with other convoys slipping into Ukraine via snow-covered back roads through the mountains. (Source: wsj.com)