memeorandum: Poll: 74 percent of Americans call Russia's Ukraine invasion unjustified (Andrew Romano/Yahoo News)

1:10 PM ET, February 28, 2022

Top Items:

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:

Poll: 74 percent of Americans call Russia's Ukraine invasion unjustified — 46th and current president of the United States — In the opening days of the war in Ukraine, the fractious American public is remarkably united in opposition to Russia's invasion, with 74 percent saying the breach …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Political Insider and The Blue State Conservative

New York Times:

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Rocket Attack on Civilian Target — Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow met in Belarus, even as Ukraine said dozens were killed in a Russian rocket attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The Treasury Department announced a freeze on Russian Central Bank assets.

Washington Post:

The war in Ukraine isn't working out the way Russia intended … The war in Ukraine isn't going Russia's way. — Videos posted on social media show whole columns of tanks and armored vehicles have been wiped out. Others have been stopped in their tracks by ordinary Ukrainians standing on the street to block their advance.

Wall Street Journal:

Putin Finds Himself Isolated, Out of Touch as Invasion of Ukraine Sputters — Russia's leader is peddling an alternative narrative to suit his needs, and his behavior is making his inner circle appear uncomfortable — With much of the world moving against him, economic sanctions piling …

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Foreign Policy, The Kyiv Independent, Washington Post and The Independent

Associated Press:

Live updates: US official: Belarus may join Ukraine invasion — The latest on the Russia's invasion of Ukraine: — WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.

Illia Ponomarenko / The Kyiv Independent:
Sources: Belarus to join Russia's war on Ukraine within hours

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, WFLA-TV, BizPac Review, Against the Grain, Balloon Juice and Washington Post

CNN:
CNN poll: Most Americans want US to do more to stop Russia, but most also oppose direct military action

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Post, National Review and Associated Press

Associated Press: Ukraine seeks to join EU as round of talks with Russia ends

Financial Times:
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to issue ‘war bonds’ to fund armed forces

Discussion: The Times of Israel, TASS and The Guardian

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: A presidency transformed

Discussion: Erick Erickson's Confessions …, Daily Kos, Twitchy and The Independent

Wall Street Journal:
Ukraine Leads the World

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, The Times of Israel, UnHerd, Making Sense …, Newslit Daily, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Current, Power Line and Comment is Freed, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

The West's Plan to Isolate Putin: Undermine the Ruble — Measures announced over the weekend aimed at restricting the Russian central bank's ability to support the ruble appear to be having an immediate impact. — By targeting Russia's central bank with sanctions, experts said …

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, HotAir, Financial Times, eurofieldnotes, Washington Post, Jacobin, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian, Pandemic Capitalism, Euro Weekly News Spain, One America News Network, Behind the Iron Curtain, t zero, lewrockwell.com and Japan Times

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russia's Wealth — In Coordination with Allies and Partners, Treasury Actions Restrict Access to Billions in Central Bank Assets and Sovereign Wealth Fund — Treasury Sanctions Russian …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, OFAC, Reuters, Reason, CBS News, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, Politico, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, TASS and REFORM.by

Natasha Turak / CNBC:

Russia central bank more than doubles key interest rate to 20% to boost sinking ruble — The bank also said it would be freeing 733 billion rubles ($8.78 billion) in local bank reserves to boost liquidity. — Russia's stock and derivatives markets will stay shut on Monday, the central bank said.

Discussion: Reuters, NBC News, BBC, The Times of Israel, Associated Press, Forbes, TASS and Financial Times

Caitlin Ostroff / Wall Street Journal:
Russia's Ruble, Financial Markets Are Hammered by Sanctions

Bloomberg:
U.S. Bans Transactions With Russian Central Bank, Wealth Fund

Discussion: The Moscow Times, CNBC, CBS News, ABC News, Financial Times, HotAir, One America News Network, Voice of America, Human Events, New York Post, UPI, Metro.co.uk and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:
Behind the Sweeping Russia Sanctions: Zelensky's Plea and a Mounting Crisis

Discussion: Breitbart

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
U.S., European allies freeze 'Putin's war chest' as Russia careens toward economic crisis

Discussion: Politico, San Diego Jewish World, CNBC and Deseret

Associated Press:
Ruble plummets as sanctions bite, sending Russians to banks

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, Yahoo News, The Record, ING Think, The Kyiv Independent, NBC News, CNN, Nsbb and The Times of Israel

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Two members of Congress spoke at a white nationalist convention. These corporations are supporting their reelection. — Over the weekend, two members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), addressed a white nationalist convention.

Discussion: BizPac Review, Rolling Stone, The Racket News, Newsweek, The Dispatch and HuffPost

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Romney is right: MAGA Republicans are ‘almost treasonous’

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, PRESS RUN, The Blue State Conservative, USA Today, Common Dreams, Morning Shots, Raw Story, Jihad Watch and Robert Reich

Jonathan Edwards / Washington Post:
Two Republican members of Congress participated in a white nationalist's conference. Mitt Romney called them ‘morons.’

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, CBS News, Orlando Sentinel, EgbertoWillies.com, CNN, HuffPost, The Guardian, Washington Times, Insider and The Daily Beast

Nick Cumming-Bruce / New York Times:

Switzerland says it will freeze Russian assets, setting aside a tradition of neutrality. — GENEVA — Switzerland, a favorite destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, announced on Monday that it would freeze Russian financial assets in the country, setting aside a deeply rooted tradition …

Discussion: New York Post, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Associated Press and The Local

New York Times:

Climate Change's Effects Outpacing Ability to Adapt, I.P.C.C. Warns — Countries aren't doing nearly enough to protect against the disasters to come as the planet keeps heating up, a major new scientific report concludes. — The dangers of climate change are mounting so rapidly …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Guardian, Politico, Choosing Eco, Common Dreams, Grist, CNBC, DIRECT LEFT, CBS News, UPI, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Japan Times and Financial Times

Seth Borenstein / Associated Press:
UN climate report: ‘Atlas of human suffering’ worse, bigger

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Newsy and Washington Post

France 24:
Russian official apologises for war in Ukraine at UN climate meet

Discussion: New Statesman, Тел … and Daily Kos

Manveen Rana / The Times:

Volodymyr Zelensky: Russian mercenaries ordered to kill Ukraine's president … More than 400 Russian mercenaries are operating in Kyiv with orders from the Kremlin to assassinate President Zelensky and his government and prepare the ground for Moscow to take control, The Times has learnt.

Discussion: Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, The Atlantic, The Kyiv Independent, The Times of Israel and emptywheel

Elizabeth Piper / Reuters:

Britain widens Russian ‘dirty money’ crackdown with new law … Britain will intensify a crackdown on what Prime Minister Boris Johnson called “dirty money” by introducing the government's Economic Crime Bill to parliament on Monday, a step brought forward in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Discussion: BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, New York Times, Associated Press, Berlin Takes, New York Times, Axios, Political Wire and Reuters

The Federal Council:
Switzerland adopts EU sanctions against Russia

Discussion: Insider, Financial Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, Politico, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Euractiv, The Moderate Voice, Euro Weekly News Spain, Live and Let's Fly, The Local, Euro Weekly News Spain and Reuters

Axios:

Scoop: Zelensky pushes Biden on no-fly zone — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is urging President Biden and NATO to impose a “no-fly zone” over “significant parts” of the country, telling Axios in a statement that Ukraine “can beat the aggressor” if the Western allies “do their part.”

Discussion: Washington Post and National Review

Andy Campbell / HuffPost:

Proud Boys Leader Yells Racist Slurs Before Attacking Black Woman — Andrew Walls, 26, was slapped with weapons and assault charges after he was seen on video sucker-punching a woman outside a bar in Akron, Ohio. — A chapter leader in the far-right Proud Boys extremist gang was charged …

Discussion: Akron Beacon Journal, Raw Story and Political Wire

David Dayen / New York Times:

Larry Summers Shares the Blame for Inflation — Mr. Dayen is the author of two books about Wall Street and the economy. He is also the executive editor of The American Prospect, whose latest issue focuses on the supply chain disruptions of the past two years, and the policies that led to them.

NBC News:

Facebook, Twitter remove disinformation accounts targeting Ukrainians — Facebook and Twitter removed two anti-Ukrainian “covert influence operations” over the weekend, one tied to Russia and another with connections to Belarus, the companies said. — One of the operations …

Discussion: TechCrunch, CBS News, The Verge, UPI, The Guardian, Lukasz Olejnik on Cyber …, NPR and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

John F. Harris / Politico:

Relax, Democrats, Biden's Presidency Isn't Screwed — After Democrats got routed in the 2010 elections, a reporter asked President Barack Obama if the results were a sign that voters considered him “out of touch” with their concerns and whether he was willing to change his leadership style in response.

Discussion: Insider, New York Times, Washington Post and Twitchy