Notes Today:

 

• Ukrainian President Zelensky was asked to evacuate Kyiv at behest of US, Zelensky replied “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation- AP 

• American’s views of Russia are tanking. 85% now view it unfavorably -- the highest since the end of the Cold War. 

• At least two of China’s largest state-owned banks are restricting financing for purchases of Russian commodities. 

• “I believe the war must be immediately halted” - Communist Party State Duma deputy Mikhail Matveev becomes first Russian federal level lawmaker to oppose the Ukraine invasion. 

• The sums involved are mind-boggling. Novokmet et al. estimate that in 2015 the hidden foreign wealth of rich Russians amounted to around 85 percent of Russia’s G.D.P. To give you some perspective, this is as if a U.S. president’s cronies had managed to hide $20 trillion in overseas accounts.