The War Room:  Russian forces are now pounding military targets in western Ukraine as they also carry on with their assault on major cities. Explosions hit the capital city of Kyiv this morning and several apartment towers were burning. At least four people were reported killed

  The leaders of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia were on their way to Kyiv today to express the European Union’s “unequivocal support” for Ukraine.

  But even as peace talks have been under way, the Kremlin insisted that it will not pull back its forces until all plans for the invasion are fulfilled. A member of Ukraine’s delegation said the talks had taken a “technical pause” and would resume today.

  Nearly three million Ukrainians have fled the country to escape the Russian onslaught.

  Three weeks into the war, at least 67 towns and cities have been the targets of artillery, bombs, and missiles. The primary targets are Kyiv, the capital, Kharkiv, the second-largest city, and the vital port city of Mariupol on the Black Sea, which is now without water and electricity. Also on the target list is Irpin outside Kyiv.

  The mayor of Kyiv today has called for a two-day curfew, an indication that he believes things are about to get much worse.

  Despite its brutality, the Russian ground offense appears to be stalled on all fronts. The Ukrainian defenders have managed to turn back columns of tanks as the Russians run low on fuel and supplies. The Russians are reported to have called for help from China, which the Chinese deny. President Biden’s national security adviser met with a top Chinese official on Monday to warn the Chinese not to give Russia military or economic assistance. 

  The Russians in their attacks on civilians, on Ukraine itself, have ignored all expectations of international decency. They’ve established that they’re willing to do just about anything.  United Nations  Secretary-General António Guterres said yesterday that,  “The prospect of unclear war, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility.”

Information War: In a shocking display of rebellion and protest, a state television employee stepped onto the set of the live broadcast of Russia’s most-watched news show last night, yelling “Stop the war!” and displaying a sign that said “They’re lying to you here.” 

  The woman, Marina Ovsyannikova, worked for Channel 1, the state-run television channel. She also released a pre-recorded video that said, “Regrettably, for a number of years, I worked on Channel One and worked on Kremlin propaganda” and that she is  “Ashamed that I allowed the zombification of the Russian people.” 

  Under new Russian law, anyone who attempts to tell the truth about the war in Ukraine faces up to 15 years in prison. The state-run Tass news agency said, “Channel 1 is investigating an incident with an outsider in the frame during a live broadcast.” Ovsyannikova is now reported to be missing.

Deadline: Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded yesterday outside Kyiv and was taken to a hospital, the network said. There were no more details on his injuries. A veteran war correspondent, Hall was most recently the network’s state department correspondent until the Ukraine war broke out.

Order in the Court: Conservative activist Ginni Thomas, wife of the equally conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, admitted in an interview that she was present at the rally on the Ellipse before that January 6^th assault in the capitol. 

  Thomas told the conservative Washington Beacon that, she “played no role” in the events of the day and left before President Trump appeared at the Ellipse. The Thomases have been criticized by some who claim the Justice has a conflict of interest between his work handling cases involving the election turmoil and his wife’s political activism.

  Ginni Thomas told the Beacon that “Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles and aspirations for America,” but, she said,

“Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work.” 

  In other news related to the insurrection, federal prosecutors say they are in possession of a document that outlines the plan to storm government buildings around the Capitol on Jan. 6th last year. The document, titled “1776 Returns,” is cited by prosecutors last week in charging Enrique Tarrio, the former head of the right wing Proud Boys. 

The Spin Rack: Police in Washington say they have arrested a suspect in the shooting of five homeless people in New York and DC, two of whom died. The same gun is believed to have been used in both cities. The DC police say they are questioning the man. — Airline ticket sales have exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic levels for the first time. — Anna Sorokin, the fake heiress whose exploits were fictionalized in the Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” has been deported back to Germany. Sorokin, a native Russian who went by the name Anna Delvey, was accused of scamming New York’s social elite, bilking banks, stealing a private jet, and skipping out on ritzy hotel bills. 

The Paper of Record: The New York Times reports that in their never-ending effort to get to the bottom of the story, that “Over the course of 10 months, we tushy-tested 36 varieties of toilet paper.” 

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