The War Room: The Russian army appears to have halted its advance on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv and is focusing more on taking and holding ground and ports to the southeast on the Black Sea. It’s a major change.

   Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said Russia would now be focused on defeating Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting a war since 2014.

  Rudskoi said the “first stage of the operation” had been “mainly accomplished,” and that Ukraine’s combat power is “significantly reduced.” 

   The NY Times reports that a senior US defense official appears to agree, telling the paper, “We think they’re trying to cut off the Donbas area” where there is still heavy fighting. 

  The Ukrainians have been quiet about their military losses, but they’ve inflicted horrific casualties on the Russians and yesterday killed a 6^th general. Moscow now admits that 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed and claims that their forces have killed 14,000 Ukrainians.

  Western estimates say up to 14,000 Russians have been killed.

  Up around Kyiv, the Russian force of roughly 70,000 soldiers that had attempted to encircle the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is now nearly encircled itself by defenders. The Russian 35^th Combined Arms Army is cut off without re-supply of food and fuel.

  The Russians have been pushed back out of artillery range, but their rockets, missiles and aircraft are still hitting the city.

  The Ukrainian defenders say they need 1,000 missiles a day, the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons they have used so effectively to knock out Russian vehicles and aircraft. Less than two weeks into Russia’s invasion, the US and other NATO members had sent about 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 anti-aircraft missiles into Ukraine. The Ukrainians are reported to have shot down nearly 200 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

The Diplomatic Front: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is pushing for more talks with Russia, saying in his nightly television address that Ukrainian counterattacks are “leading the Russian leadership to a simple and logical idea: Talk is necessary.” Zelensky said, “Ukrainian sovereignty must be guaranteed. Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be ensured.”

  President Biden visited the Polish president yesterday and the US 82^nd Airborne which would be rushed into the fight if the war expands over the border. He circulated with the soldiers, shook hands, and ate pizza with them. The President told them, “Your generation, We are at an inflection point. I don’t want to sound philosophical here but you are in the midst of a fight between democracies and oligarchs.”

  Sitting next to the Polish president he said, “The single most important thing that we can do from the outset is to keep the democracies united in our opposition and our effort to curtail the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man who I quite frankly think is a war criminal,”

  Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a speech yesterday made an unlikely correlation between himself and Harry Potter author JK Rowling, claiming to be the victim of cancel culture. 

  During a television address on state television, Putin noted that Rowling had been criticized for statements about transgender issues and what is a real woman.  Putin said Rowling was canceled because she “didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights” and added, “They are now trying to cancel our country. I’m talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia.”

  He didn’t mention that he invaded Ukraine. 

Economic Warfare: The British government has placed sanctions on the stepdaughter of Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who somehow managed to buy a $5 million London flat for cash when she was just 21.

  Polina Kovaleva, now 26, appears to be a jet setter with no visible means of support. She is believed to be the daughter of Svetlana Polyakova, 51, Lavrov’s long term romance outside of his marriage. Kovaleva’s assets are frozen and she’s banned from entering the UK.

  The British have plenty of targets for sanctions. The UK is a popular place for the world’s rich and corrupt to park their money to avoid taxes and the law. It’s known as the “London Laundromat.”

Swish: In a stunning upset, 15^th seed St. Peter’s of Jersey City upset Purdue 67-64 to reach the final eight of the NCAA basketball tournament. It was a thrilling game and their 10^th straight win.

  St. Peter’s is the first 15^th seed to make it this far. They play again tomorrow.

The Obit Page: BJ Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer known for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,’ died of lung cancer at age 78. The song  written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David was made a hit when it was used in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, winning the Oscar for best original song.

  In another loss to music, the Foo Fighters announced that their popular drummer Taylor Hawkins has died at 50. He played on seven of the band’s albums. No cause or location of his death was included in the band’s announcement.

The Spin Rack: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is out of the hospital with no explanation for his eight-day stay. — A 14-year-old boy died falling from the “Orlando Free-Fall” at ICON Park in Florida. Thursday night. The riders are supposed to be strapped on a ring of seats around the 430-foot tower. — Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was found guilty this week of concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities regarding their investigation into illegal campaign contributions for his 2016 reelection campaign. Both have said he needs to resign. — The Utah legislature passed a law banning transgender athletes from girls sports, overriding a veto by the governor. It’s now the 12^th state with such a law.

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