Axios

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday addressed Stanford students and offered his condolences to Americans after the Uvalde elementary school shooting.

Driving the news: In a video address to Stanford University students, Zelensky reiterated his condolences, saying the Texas shooting is "impossible to understand at all."

At least 75 people have been killed and 59 injured in attacks on Ukrainian health facilities and personnel since Russia began its unprovoked invasion, according to World Health Organization data this week.

Driving the news: The WHO has verified over 240 attacks on Ukrainian health care since Feb. 24. On Thursday, it passed a resolution condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine, particularly on the country's health system.

The Russian military assault on Severodonetsk has left some 1,500 people dead and destroyed 60% of buildings, the eastern Ukrainian city's mayor said Thursday, per AP.

The big picture: Russian forces have for days been trying to encircle Severodonetsk, the last remaining major city in the Luhansk region of the Donbas under Ukrainian control. Stryuk said there were up to 13,000 residents in the city and only 12 were evacuated on Thursday, AP reports.

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday said its investigation found Israeli forces deliberately shot Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed this month while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

State of play: Israel rejected the findings and reiterated earlier comments that "only a ballistic analysis of the bullet ... and the soldiers’ guns can determine who fired the fatal shot."

DAVOS, Switzerland — Ukraine dominated the official and unofficial agendas at Davos, and it will likely continue to do so at upcoming global gatherings — G7, G20, UN General Assembly.

Yes, but: Some Davos participants, particularly from non-Western countries, worry that the war is not only exacerbating other global challenges, but taking attention away from them.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in a speech Thursday that despite the current focus on Russia and the war in Ukraine, China poses the "most serious, long-term challenge" to the international order.

What he's saying: “China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order — and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do it,” Blinken said. The U.S., however, is "not looking for conflict or a new Cold War."

Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata will travel to Washington, D.C., next week for talks with his White House counterpart Jake Sullivan on Saudi Arabia, President Biden’s upcoming visit to Israel, and the stalled nuclear talks with Iran, three Israeli officials told Axios.

Why it matters: Hulata is the Israeli point of contact as the White House quietly meditates between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on finalizing security arrangements for two strategic islands in the Red Sea.

Painful memories of the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that killed 23 and wounded dozens are flooding back for city residents and leaders, who say Uvalde will have a lot of work to do to heal from Tuesday's massacre.

Flashback: A gunman who authorities say was motivated by hate for Hispanics killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso on Aug. 3, 2019. The alleged shooter, a young white supremacist who drove to El Paso from the Dallas area, has yet to face trial.

Uvalde, Texas, may have been unknown to most Americans before Tuesday's mass shooting, but this town has deep roots in the Mexican American struggle for civil rights.

The big picture: The massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead on Tuesday took place in a school district home to one of the most crucial school walkouts in civil rights history.

Two Russian soldiers on Thursday pleaded guilty to war crimes in the second such trial of the unprovoked war in Ukraine.

Driving the news: State prosecutors asked for Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov to be jailed for 12 years for shelling a town in eastern Ukraine, a violation of the laws of war, Reuters reports.

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban are moving to make women "invisible in society" with gender segregation and strict clothing policies, a United Nations official warned during a visit to the country on Thursday.

Driving the news: Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, in a statement criticized other measures, including the suspension of girls' high school education, "severe barriers to employment, no opportunities to participate in political and public life, limits on freedom of movement, association, and expression."

Just 12% of Americans think companies should be operating in Russia as normal, while nearly one third (31%) say multinational firms should never do business in Russia again, according to new data from the annual Axios Harris Poll 100.

The big picture: The vast majority of Americans think companies should place some limitations on their operations in countries with authoritarian regimes, according to the poll.

The World Bank is warning the Russian military invasion of Ukraine may cause a global recession as food and energy prices rise, per multiple reports.

What he's saying: "As we look at the global GDP ... it's hard right now to see how we avoid a recession," World Bank president David Malpass said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, according to Sky News. "The idea of energy prices doubling is enough to trigger a recession by itself."

U.S. and Japanese forces have held a joint fighter jet exercise over the Sea of Japan, Japan's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Why it matters: Wednesday's flights took place a day after China and Russia sent military jets near Japanese airspace while President Biden was visiting Tokyo.