THE SQUIZ
Russia’s focus is no longer “only” the east of Ukraine, according to its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He says “the geography is different now” following the West’s supply of increasingly powerful, long-range weapons for Ukraine to use in its defence against the invading forces. “We cannot allow the part of Ukraine controlled by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky to possess weapons that would pose a direct threat to our territory,” he said. Using those weapons, Ukraine says it has taken out 30 Russian logistics and ammunition hubs. Lavrov’s statement hasn’t bothered the US or Ukraine much – America is sending 4 more incredibly precise rocket launchers to Ukraine as part of the ​​16th package of equipment from their military stockpiles.

WHAT’S RUSSIA’S END GAME HERE?
Insert shrugging lady emoji… So to recap: Russia invaded Ukraine in February, claiming falsely that Russian speakers in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region needed to be liberated. Almost 5 months on, Russia has control of parts of Ukraine’s east and south, but it failed in its original aim of capturing the capital Kyiv. Since then, Russian officials have claimed the main game was taking control of the Donbas. Yesterday, CIA Director William Burns said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “convinced that his destiny as Russia’s leader is to restore Russia as a great power. He believes the key to doing that is to recreate a sphere of influence in Russia’s neighbourhood, and he cannot do that without controlling Ukraine.” As a side note, Burns also poo-pooed speculation Putin is unstable or in bad health – America’s top intelligence official said “he’s entirely too healthy”…

SO WHERE ARE THINGS AT IN THE WAR?
Russian forces continue to grind through the Donbas – in total, they occupy around a 5th of the country. Strikes also continue to be targeted at cities beyond that eastern region, hitting apartment buildings and key pieces of infrastructure like bridges and manufacturing plants. That’s come at a high cost to Russia – the US estimates their casualties in Ukraine have reached around 15,000 killed and 45,000 wounded. “And, the Ukrainians have suffered as well – probably a little less than that,” Burns said. Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska yesterday became the first wife of a foreign leader to address the US Congress. She spoke about the increasingly dire security, economic and humanitarian conditions, calling Russia’s actions the “Hunger Games”. “Russia is destroying our people,” she said.