Evening Briefing: Russian rockets batter Ukraine

February 28, 2022

By Matthew Cullen

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Monday.

A school destroyed in fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine, today.Sergey Bobok/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

1. Russia fired rockets at a residential area of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, just as envoys from Russia and Ukraine sat down for talks.

The bombardment of Kharkiv killed at least nine civilians and wounded dozens, according to Ukrainian officials. It was an ominous sign of Russia's escalating use of lethal force on the fifth day of its invasion.

Explosions were also heard in Kyiv, the capital, as the talks ended without a resolution; a Russian official said another meeting would be held in the coming days.

People stand in line for an ATM in Moscow.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

2. Western sanctions shook the foundations of Russia's economy.

The ruble fell by more than 25 percent against the dollar as Russia's stock market froze and Russians rushed to withdraw cash.

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In an attempt to limit the damage, the Russian Central Bank doubled its key interest rate, banned foreigners from selling Russian securities and ordered exporters to convert most of their foreign-currency revenues into rubles.

Over the weekend, the U.S., Europe, Canada and other allies took steps to impose sanctions on Russia's central bank — an unprecedented move that made it nearly impossible for Russia to defend its currency.

Switzerland, a favorite destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, announced that it would freeze Russian financial assets. Shell, Europe's largest oil company, said it would exit its investments in Russia, a day after BP said it would do the same.

Firefighters working in the aftermath of the Caldor fire in Meyers, Calif., last September.Max Whittaker for The New York Times

3. Climate change is harming the planet faster than we can adapt, according to a major U.N. report.

Unless governments act quickly and reduce the current level of greenhouse gas output, the effects of climate change could soon overwhelm both nature and humanity, causing catastrophic damage.

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The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the U.N., concludes that nations aren't doing nearly enough to protect cities, farms and coastlines. Adaptation measures like flood barriers are too often "incremental," the report said, while the looming climate threats require "transformational" changes.

Read our five main takeaways from the report.

Related: Members of the Supreme Court's conservative majority questioned whether the E.P.A. had the authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.

Erica Baber, center, helped her children with remote school work last month in Atlanta.Dustin Chambers for The New York Times

4. One-quarter of U.S. schoolchildren missed more than a week of in-person learning in January, according to a national survey conducted by The Times.

At the height of the Omicron wave last month, many students remained home for extended stretches of time, with no region of the country spared. The majority of students were home at least three days, and nearly one in 10 were out for half the month or more.

No more mandates: New York City said it would end school mask mandates by March 7 if new coronavirus cases remain low. California, Oregon and Washington will stop requiring masks in schools after March 11.

Other virus news: The Pfizer vaccine was found to be far less effective in preventing infection in 5- to 11-year-olds than in older children, possibly because the younger group received a significantly smaller dose.

Yalda Royan and her daughter, Bahara.

5. What would you grab to carry with you if you had only a few hours to flee?

More than 120,000 people who were airlifted out of Afghanistan last August were forced to make that choice after the Taliban swept into Kabul, the nation's capital, and took over.

Yalda Royan, a 42-year-old single mother and women's rights activist, took with her the family's pocket-size Quran. Worried for her daughters' lives in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, they burned all of their English documents and fled. Now the Quran, which one of her daughters held on to throughout the escape, sits on a small table in their house in Ashburn, Va.

Read Yalda's story and those of five other Afghans who had to decide what items meant the most to them when fleeing to the U.S.

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A statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va., was removed from its pedestal last September.Brian Palmer for The New York Times

6. At least 230 Confederate symbols have been removed, relocated or renamed since the murder of George Floyd two years ago. Here's how the movement was unleashed.

Some of the monuments were toppled in disorderly waves at the hands of protesters. Others were methodically unearthed, piece by piece, by government workers responding to the protests and fury. They came down like dominoes in the spring and summer of 2020.

The social justice movement quickly spread beyond one man's death because the kindling was already there. Activists pointed to the myriad ways in which racism helped create disparities, and they called for racial justice in many facets of American life. Others declared that the nation's history and Southern pride were unjustly under siege and in danger of being erased.

Catcher Jack Kruger at the Texas Rangers' minor league camp in Surprise, Ariz.Jesse Rieser for The New York Times

7. While big leaguers fight with owners about labor issues, minor leaguers are preparing for another slog of a season.

With spring training delayed and the regular season threatened, our sports columnist writes that there rarely has been a better time to celebrate the underdogs, overachievers and untested talents that make the minors hum — players like Jack Kruger, a 27-year-old catcher whose salary recently skyrocketed to $60,000 because he was able to play half an inning in the majors.

In other sports news, FIFA, soccer's global governing body, banned Russia from its events after the country invaded Ukraine.

Artwork at the headquarters of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps in Vista, Calif.John Francis Peters for The New York Times

8. A soap company is dipping into psychedelic drug lobbying.

Dr. Bronner's, the liquid soap company best known for the cosmic text on labels, has become one of the country's biggest financial supporters of efforts to win mainstream acceptance of psilocybin and other mind-altering drugs.

The company has donated more than $23 million to drug advocacy and research since 2015, helped fund activist groups pushing to decriminalize "magic mushrooms" in Oregon and Washington, D.C., and spent millions on efforts to legalize cannabis.

The company is now run by the grandsons of the free-spirited founder, Emil Bronner, whose loquacious genius often danced on the edge of madness. "He probably would have put LSD in his soaps," said David Bronner, the firm's chief executive.

Zendaya as Rue Bennett in the HBO series "Euphoria."Eddy Chen/HBO

9. HBO's "Euphoria" has millions of devoted watchers. But in the wake of a controversial finale, many of them aren't fans of the show's creator.

Sam Levinson, who wrote all 18 hourlong episodes of "Euphoria," and directed all but three, has emerged as a central figure in the narrative around the show, which just wrapped up its second season over the weekend. A portion of the show's sizable fan base — nearly 19 million people watched the first episode — routinely criticize Levinson, on Twitter and TikTok especially, for his portrayals of the characters.

Some critics say he inappropriately sexualizes the woman characters and appropriates experiences closely tied with marginalized groups, while others say he simply mistreats their favorite characters. However, it is unlikely that Levinson will ever leave the show, which operates without a writers' room. "This show can't be written by anyone else because it's so personal," said Zendaya, a star on the show.

A new line of nondairy beverages made from sesame seeds.Hope and Sesame / Specialty Food Association

10. And finally, we have not yet reached peak plant milk.

American shoppers have witnessed a proliferation of milk substitutes in grocery store aisles over the last decade — products made from a wide variety of nuts, seeds, grains and legumes — as more people have been converted by the health, environmental and ethical benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet. But experts say the trend of alternative milks is still on the upswing.

"I don't think there is an end in sight for dairy alternative innovation — or at least not anytime soon," said Sydney Olson, a food and drink analyst.

Next on the list: potato milk, which, according to a report from the British supermarket chain Waitrose, is "set to dominate coffee shop menus in the coming months."

Have an alternative night.

Angela Jimenez compiled photos for this briefing.

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