memeorandum: Watching the Russian Economy Collapse before Our Eyes (Jim Geraghty/National Review)

4:10 PM ET, February 28, 2022

Top Items:

Sanctions Leave Russian Economy Reeling — 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.

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

Associated Press:

Ukraine seeks to join EU as round of talks with Russia ends — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its bond with the West on Monday by signing an application to join the European Union, while the first round of Ukraine-Russia talks aimed at ending the fighting concluded with no immediate agreements.

Discussion: The Hill, KTLA, WKBN-TV, Newsy and Associated Press

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Watching the Russian Economy Collapse before Our Eyes — On the menu today: The good news is that, while the long-promised “swift and severe” sanctions from the U.S. and its allies took a while to arrive, they are quickly and intensely battering the Russian economy.

Discussion: WAVY-TV

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 …

Axios:

Russian forces shell civilian areas as first round of peace talks ends — As a first round of peace talks concluded at the Ukraine-Belarus border on Monday, Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv in the east were continuing to face some of the heaviest shelling of the war thus far, with reports of significant civilian casualties.

Discussion: Financial Times, Conservative Brief, Politico and Washington Examiner

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: Washington Post, BizPac Review, WFLA-TV, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Against the Grain, CNN and Foreign Policy

Michael Rubin / Washington Examiner:
Putin's next invasion will be sooner than you think

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Natasha Turak / CNBC:
Russia central bank more than doubles key interest rate to 20% to boost sinking ruble

Discussion: Reuters, Deseret, CDR Salamander, Newslit Daily, NBC News, HotAir, BBC, Forbes and TASS, more at Techmeme »

Allahpundit / HotAir:
Russia is taking off the gloves in Kharkiv

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Instapundit, PolisPandit and Lucian Truscott Newsletter

U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russia's Wealth

Discussion: Fox News, Reuters, OFAC, UPI, Musings of a Social Worker, Reason, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Daily Beast, Politico, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, TASS and REFORM.by

Yun Li / CNBC:
Bill Ackman says it's time for U.S. troops to defend Ukraine and set a ‘real red line’

Discussion: Fox News, American Purpose and Insider

Ben Judah / Slate:
The Terrible Truth So Many Experts Missed About Russia

Discussion: Emerging Markets …, Associated Press and Mediaite

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

Discussion: The Moscow Times, The Guardian, Insider, Washington Examiner, Financial Times, Washington Post, CNBC, Associated Press, Voice of America, Human Events, Nsbb, CBS News, New York Post, ABC News, UPI, HotAir, Metro.co.uk and The Guardian

Washington Post:
The war in Ukraine isn't working out the way Russia intended

Associated Press:
Live updates: US official: Belarus may join Ukraine invasion

Discussion: Insider, Reuters, Washington Post, New York Times, The Kyiv Independent, The Drive, RedState, Leary Letter, Wall Street Journal, BizPac Review, UPI, CNN, Newsy, Kyodo News+, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: CNBC, Insider, CNN, Washington Post, Breitbart, NPR, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, Sky News, Financial Times, Nsbb, Edward Slavsquat, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, UPI, New Statesman, Just The News and BBC

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

Discussion: HotAir, New York Post, Townhall, Twitchy, Erick Erickson's Confessions …, National Review, Washington Post, The Kyiv Independent, Euractiv and Associated Press

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: HotAir, Mother Jones, Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, The Federal Council, Insider, The Guardian, New York Post, Financial Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, The Local, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Live and Let's Fly and YouTube

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Russian oligarchs move yachts as U.S. looks to ‘hunt down’ and freeze assets — Some of Russia's wealthiest are moving their superyachts, potentially with the hope they can avoid having those items seized. — Data reviewed by CNBC from Marine Traffic shows that at least four massive yachts owned …

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: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, BizPac Review, CBS News, Rolling Stone, The Racket News and The Dispatch

Politico:

McConnell speaks out against Greene and Gosar's appearance at white nationalist event — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is condemning fellow Republicans who engage with white nationalist groups, just days after GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke at the extremist-backed America …

Discussion: Political Wire, Digressions and Dysfluencies and Newsweek

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

Discussion: Salon, Right Wing Watch, EgbertoWillies.com, IJR, HuffPost, CNN, Washington Times, The Guardian and Insider

Aviva Abusch / Deutch, Ted:

Rep. Deutch Announcement on the 2022 Election — f t # e — (Washington) Today, U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (FL-22), Chair of the House Committee on Ethics, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Jewish Insider and The Capitolist

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Rep. Deutch to leave House to lead Jewish advocacy organization

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, CNN and Washington Times

Jim DeFede / CBS Miami:
Florida Congressman Ted Deutch Not Running For Re-Election

Discussion: HotAir, Associated Press, RRH Elections, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Jewish Journal and The Daily Caller

Maxwell Strachan / VICE:

Crypto Exchanges Refuse to Freeze All Russian Accounts — Binance, the world's largest exchange, said “unilaterally” banning users “would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists.” — MS — Faced with a request by Ukrainian leadership to freeze the accounts of all people in Russia and Belarus …

Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg, New York Post and Nsbb, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

EXCLUSIVE: Prominent conservative judge who advised Pence on the 2020 election endorses Biden's Supreme Court nominee — The Biden White House is getting a major endorsement for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson from a prominent conservative.

Discussion: Insider

Kaelan Deese / Washington Examiner:
Supreme Court weighs major case on EPA's authority over greenhouse gases

Discussion: Grid News, CNN, USA Today, Politico, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Houston Public Media, UPI and Roll Call

Anita Hill / URL Media:
Ketanji Brown Jackson's Nomination to the Supreme Court Signals Historic Change

Discussion: MILLENNIUM, Vanity Fair and Fortune

David Ferrara / Las Vegas Review-Journal:

VIDEO: Nevada governor, first lady accosted, threatened at Las Vegas restaurant — ......We hope you appreciate our content. Subscribe Today to continue reading this story, and all of our stories. — A video obtained Sunday night by the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak …

Discussion: Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire

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: HotAir, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Wire, The Washington Current, National Review, Mediaite and Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Fox News's Jennifer Griffin fully loses her patience with Fox's Ukraine punditry — Among the many times in which punditry can go very wrong, few rank as high as wartime. And nothing demonstrates that better than some corners of Fox News right now. Tucker Carlson has spent years suggesting maybe Vladimir Putin isn't a bad guy.

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

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

American Greatness:

The Suicide of a January 6 Defendant: ‘They Broke Him’ — Matthew Perna was failed by the country he loved. — Matthew Perna did nothing wrong on January 6, 2021. — The Pennsylvania man walked through an open door on the Senate side of the building shortly before 3 p.m. that afternoon.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Patty Coller / WKBN-TV:

Local man charged in Capitol riot dies — SHARPSVILLE, Pa. (WKBN) - A local man charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has died. — Matthew Perna, 37, died February 25. Investigators said that Perna took his own life. — The Mercer County Coroner's Office said Monday his death is under investigation.

Discussion: Raw Story