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Russia has captured the city of Kherson. The Black Sea port has become the first major Ukrainian target to fall under the de facto control of Russia forces.
As the international criminal court said it had begun collecting evidence of possible war crimes in Ukraine, Kherson’s mayor, Igor Kolykhaiev, said in a Facebook post today Russian troops were in control of the city hall and that residents should obey a curfew imposed by “armed visitors”.
Russian artillery and missiles have continued to bombard other key cities including the capital, Kyiv, but the advance into the capital itself has stalled.
1 million people have fled Ukraine, UN refugee agency says
The United Nations said more than a million people had fled the country since the invasion began a week ago.
As the conflict entered its second week, the UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, said there had been an “exodus” from Ukraine to neighbouring countries of more than 1 million people, or about 2% of the population of 44 million.
How high could refugee numbers climb? The UN estimates there could be as many as 4 million refugees from the invasion, crossing the borders into neighbouring countries.
How many Russian soldiers have been sent to their deaths by president Vladimir Putin so far? Ukraine’s government said yesterday nearly 6,000 Russian troops had been killed. Moscow said the figure was 498.
How many international allies does Russia have over the invasion? Four. At yesterday’s emergency UN general assembly session, only Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria voted with Putin. 141 opposed and 35 abstained.
Moscow police detain children for laying flowers at Ukrainian embassy
Police in Moscow detained two women and five children who wanted to lay flowers at the Ukrainian embassy. Photographs of their detention showed the children holding a poster saying “No to war”.
The children, aged seven to 11, were held with their mothers in a police van before being taken to a police station. They were released hours later, according to the anthropologist Alexandra Arkhipova.
Meanwhile, Yelena Osipova, a 77-year-old artist and activist, was also marched away by a group of police while she protested against the war in St Petersburg.
How many Russian protesters have been arrested? Almost 7,000 people since the invasion began, according to monitoring organisation OVD-Info.
How is Russia’s economy being impacted? Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Russia’s 2022 growth forecasts from a 2% climb to a 7% contraction.
What about Russia’s global reputation? Russian and Belarusian athletes will be banned from the Beijing Winter Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee announced this morning.
Trump violated federal laws to try to overturn election, Capitol attack panel claims
The House select committee investigating the 6 January Capitol attack said Donald Trump violated multiple federal laws to overturn the 2020 election, including obstructing Congress and defrauding the United States.
The former president knew he had not won enough electoral college votes to win the 2020 election, but sought the then-vice-president, Mike Pence, to manipulate the results in his favor, the filing said.
Had the effort to pressure Pence into returning Trump to power succeeded, the certification of Joe Biden’s win would have been impeded.
The select committee said it believed Trump defrauded the US by interfering in the certification process, disseminating false information about election fraud, and pressuring state officials to alter state election results.
In other news …
A Texas judge blocked the state from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager over gender-confirmation treatments yesterday, but stopped short of blocking other investigations. The lawsuit marked the first report of parents being investigated after the Republican governor Greg Abbott’s order that officials view such treatments as abuse.
About 500,000 across New South Wales, Australia were under evacuation orders or warnings yesterday as wild weather battered the greater Sydney region. Emergency services received almost 12,000 requests for help since the start of the floods crisis.
Marilyn Manson filed a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood for defamation over the actor’s sexual abuse allegations against him. The LA superior court complaint accuses Wood of depicting him as “a rapist and abuser” that has “derailed” Manson’s career.
The Russian businessman Roman Abramovich confirms Chelsea soccer club is up for sale and writes off $2bn loans. Abramovich’s position had been under growing uncertainty since he announced plans to transfer stewardship to a charitable foundation on Saturday.
German authorities have seized the $600m superyacht belonging to the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. Usmanov was on a list of billionaires to face sanctions from the European Union.
Stat of the day: during Covid 26% of women reported loss of work compared with 20% of men globally
The impact of the pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress made towards gender equality, according to a study that reveals women have been hit much harder socially and economically than men. Research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found, among other things, the greatest and most persistent gender gap was seen in employment and uncompensated labour, with 26% of women reporting loss of work compared with 20% of men globally in September 2021.
Climate check: California wants to eradicate microplastics. But will its new strategy be enough?
California is trying to get ahead of the problem, becoming the first US state to put in place a comprehensive plan for tackling microplastics. The roadmap of 22 actions is focused on preventing plastic particles from getting into the environment, intercepting plastics pollution and educating the public about the problem. But Katharine Gammon asks, will it be enough?
Don’t miss this: how Viktoria gave birth to her first child in a Kyiv bomb shelter
“As I held him in the bunker, I said to him: ‘You’re lucky, you’re unique, you’re born in Ukraine, you’re a new Ukrainian’,” writes Viktoria about giving birth in a Kyiv bomb shelter.
“Every morning now I wake up a bit earlier just to look at him sleep, he looks like a small angel. I also look out the window to see if the buildings have stayed in their places or if they’ve been ruined. I hope my son will experience this war only from stories – that he will never, never feel what it’s like in real life. I don’t want him to know real war.”
… or this: the disorienting search to diagnose my mystery illness
“Throughout my early 20s, I spent a lot of time seeking to acquire knowledge about my body. It was unwell, this much was certain, and the question of how was one to which I applied myself studiously,” writes Will Rees in the Guardian long read.
“The doctor placed a stethoscope on my back in order to listen to my lungs, placing his other hand against my chest to steady himself. His grip tightened, signifying something. He cleared his throat and composed himself. ‘Did you have any plans today, Mr Rees?’ He instructed me to go to the emergency room.”
Last Thing: Blooming delicious! How to cook with flowers
Bringing flowers into the kitchen – in a recipe, not a vase – is a way to add a touch of flavur, as well as a feast for your eyes, writes Emine Saner. The trend for edible flowers has been blooming for several years but, for many of us, the idea of munching petals, instead of admiring them, is still a leap. Edible flowers include lavender, roses, hollyhocks, pelargoniums, nasturtiums and pansies. Try it, you will find pumpkin soup is suddenly stunning when garnished with violas.
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