Axios

The U.S. Treasury announced Friday it has sanctioned additional Russians, including Kremlin elites and political leaders who support Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Why it matters: The new wave of sanctions is part of a larger strategy aimed at crippling the Russian economy and leaders who have enabled Russia's unprovoked attacks.

Giant global businesses in every sector are abandoning Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

Why it matters: In addition to condemning the invasion, the companies see an impossible environment — from worker safety to the logistics of getting supplies, financial and sales disruption and the complexity of complying with sanctions.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, denounced Russia's claims that the U.S. is housing biological or chemical weapons facilities in Ukraine at a U.N. Security Council meeting Friday.

Why it matters: The U.S. said the claims, which have also been pushed by China, are false and are being perpetuated to either justify Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine or to prep a chemical or biological false-flag attack against Ukraine.

Chile’s new leftist president, whose promises of a renewed, social justice-focused nation inspired a historic voter turnout, is now in office.

What to know: Gabriel Boric, who just turned 36, is the youngest president in Chile’s history. His cabinet is majority female.

A senior Ukrainian official said that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday that he should take Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for ending the war. An official in the Israeli Prime Minster's Office denies the claim.

Why it matters: Bennett has emerged as a key mediator between Putin and Zelensky in the last two weeks. Israel has said it needs to remain neutral in the mediation, but the Ukrainian official told Axios that Bennett must present proposals and do more than act as a "mailbox" between the two sides.

The U.S. is moving to revoke Russia's "most favored nation" trade status in what President Biden called Friday "another crushing blow" against the country over its invasion of Ukraine.

Driving the news: "We're going to continue to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message. We'll defend every single inch of NATO territory with the full might of a united and galvanized NATO," Biden said.

President Biden said Friday that the United States will welcome Ukrainians displaced by Russia's unprovoked invasion "with open arms."

Why it matters: The United Nations estimates that so far more than 2.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its attack in late February, making it the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

The flooding in Australia is so extensive it's easy to spot via satellites.

Driving the news: Planet Labs captured the transformation of the environment in and around the deluged Gold Coast city of Coolangatta, Australia, from mid-February to early March.

Two weeks ago, middle-class Russians could work at and buy from the biggest global firms, plan holidays in the West, get their news from vibrant (if embattled) independent outlets, and post as they pleased on social media.

State of play: With a new law promising prison time for journalists who so much as call Vladimir Putin's war a "war," foreign and domestic outlets are ceasing operations. Western firms are leaving. Social media platforms are disappearing. Borders are tightening. Protesters are being jailed en masse.

The White House is sounding the alarm over a new Russian propaganda campaign that officials fear is a pretext for an appalling new phase of the war in Ukraine: the use of biological or chemical weapons.

Why it matters: Vladimir Putin has a history of deploying illegal nerve agents against enemies, including Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and former double agent Sergei Skripal. In Syria, Russia helped Bashar al-Assad cover up the use of chemical weapons against his own people.

Ukrainian officials reported Russian airstrikes on Friday near airports in the western cities of Ivano-Frankiivsk and Lutsk and more bombings in the eastern city of Dnipro, where at least one civilian was reported killed.

The big picture: Ukrainian officials say it's the first time Dnipro has been attacked, as Russia's military appears to be widening its assault to more cities. Ukrainian lawmaker Inna Sovsun tweeted Friday it shows there's "no safe city" in Ukraine.

Nuclear talks in Vienna between Iran and the world powers were officially "paused" on Friday, with no clear timetable for renewing them, according to the European Union's top diplomat.

Why it matters: Although a draft agreement is practically ready, Russia's new demands that sanctions imposed over Ukraine won't limit Moscow's ability to conduct trade with Iran have dramatically complicated the situation.

Facebook and Instagram have loosened some hate speech restrictions as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, parent company Meta said Thursday.

Driving the news: "[W]e have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders,'" a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. "We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians."

Over 1,300 people have died in Mariupol during Russian forces' 10-day siege in the port city, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Thursday, per AP.

The latest: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address Thursday evening that Mariupol and fellow southeastern city Volnovakha, in the Donetsk region, "remain completely blocked, saying "Russian troops did not cease fire" to enable civilian evacuations.

The massive convoy of Russian military vehicles that was slowly heading toward Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, appears to have largely dispersed and redeployed elsewhere, new satellite images show.

Driving the news: The convoy was previously estimated to stretch for 40 miles. It massed outside Kyiv last week. But U.S. and U.K. officials said it had "stalled" due to fuel and food shortages, amid reports Ukrainian fighter jets have been striking the vehicles.

Former President Trump told Fox News' "Hannity" on Thursday night that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "truly is a crime against humanity" that "has to end soon."

What he's saying: "The problem with Putin is he's got a very big ego," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The chair of one of the most prominent 9/11 family coalitions has written to President Biden raising concerns about potential renewed U.S. engagement with Saudi Arabia, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: 9/11 Families United chair Terry Strada wants Biden to uphold his campaign pledge to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah," after Axios reported this week the president's advisers are discussing a possible trip to convince the Kingdom to pump more oil.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday denounced Russia's claims that the U.S. is housing biological weapons in his country.

Why it matters: U.S. officials say the claims are "an obvious ploy" to justify Russia's attack on Ukraine and have warned that the move could foreshadow Russian deployment of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.