100 days of war

In the 100 days since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he has caused immense death and destruction for few military gains and at hu [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( In the 100 days since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, he has caused immense death and destruction for few military gains and at huge economic cost. Yet he shows no sign of cracking even as Russia’s war aims have proved illusory. Putin appealed to Ukraine’s army to “immediately lay down arms and go home” on the first day of the war, apparently convinced Russia’s neighbor would welcome his troops as liberators from a neo-Nazi “junta.” Instead, fierce Ukrainian resistance broke Russian attempts to seize the capital, Kyiv, and has forced a retreat to focus on the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has emerged as a global symbol of democratic resistance to tyranny. Key reading: - [US Wavers Over Next Russia Sanctions as Fears of Divide Grow]( - [Russia’s $285 Billion Oil and Gas Bonanza Is Funding Putin’s War]( - [Putin Bets on Ukraine Victory Before His Economy Grinds to Halt]( - [Russian Wins in Eastern Ukraine Spark Debate Over Course of War]( - [EU Approves Partial Russian Oil Ban, Sanctions on Sberbank]( - Follow our rolling Ukraine coverage [here]( Putin declared the invasion was a response to NATO’s “unacceptable” expansion. Yet Sweden and Finland are now poised to join, greatly increasing Russia’s border with the military alliance. After vowing to “demilitarize” Ukraine, Putin has prompted the US and Europe to deliver massive quantities of modern weapons to help Ukrainians defend themselves — all this while incurring unprecedented sanctions that may push Russia toward its deepest recession in decades as foreign investors flee. The challenge facing the US and its allies now is how to ratchet up the pain for Putin while avoiding divisions that may let him claim a Pyrrhic victory if his army succeeds in taking the Donbas and absorbing it into Russia. Zelenskiy said yesterday Russia now occupies 20% of Ukraine. Rising energy prices are already causing political difficulties for US President Joe Biden and in the European Union, where a partial ban on Russian oil was agreed yesterday after weeks of division. Russian blockades of Ukrainian grain exports threaten a global food crisis that may add to calls for concessions to end the war. Ukraine confounded Russian expectations of a quick and easy victory. The question now is whether the West or Putin will have greater staying power. A man inspects a destroyed Russian tank in Dmytrivka village near Kyiv. Source: SOPA Images/LightRocket [Click here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Gun plea | Biden called for a ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, [pleading]( with Congress to toughen laws following a spate of mass shootings. Still, he acknowledged that Congress is unlikely to restrict them, with Republican lawmakers, who can block the passage of bills in the Senate, vowing to prevent sweeping gun-control measures. - The New York state legislature approved raising the legal age to buy semiautomatic rifles to 21 from 18 and tightened [rules]( on purchasing firearms and other military equipment. Jan. 6 hearings | The US Congressional committee investigating last year’s insurrection at the Capitol will lay out its [findings]( in hearings starting next Thursday. The panel said it will detail how former President Donald Trump and allies attempted to overturn the 2020 election results. At issue is whether Trump and his associates organized and incited the mob, which he and his former top advisers deny. Saudi nod | OPEC+ agreed to open its oil taps faster in the summer months, a gesture of [reconciliation]( to the US that nevertheless keeps Russia at the heart of the cartel. The White House welcomed the deal, which came after months of diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to mitigate the surge in energy prices that’s battered the global economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The proportion of Italians who don’t bother to seek work is among the [highest]( in Europe. It poses a challenge for unlocking the jobs potential in the euro zone’s third-biggest economy, which is one of the few options available to fight the impact of a demographic decline so stark that the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has warned the country risks having no people left. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Is Biden’s White House Really ‘Adrift’?: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [Redressing Two Centuries of Indigenous Injustice: David Fickling]( - [The Queen Has Had More Triumphs Than Failures: Martin Ivens]( Radical warning | Colombian voters will reject the socialist “Venezuelan model” when they vote in a runoff election in just over two weeks, outgoing President Ivan Duque said in an interview. Duque, who is term-limited and deeply unpopular in polls, didn’t identify specific candidates, but left-wing senator Gustavo Petro, 62, is running against construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez on a platform that centers on a [radical]( shift in the economy. Explainers you can use - [What OPEC+’s Production Decision Means for Global Oil Markets]( - [What You Need to Know About the Baby Formula Shortage]( - [Understanding Monkeypox and How Outbreaks Spread]( Price rival | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has no [clear rival]( for elections next June, with the opposition yet to agree on a candidate to challenge him. But as [Selcan Hacaoglu]( writes, runaway inflation is the most urgent threat to his nearly 20-year grip on power, and it’s a formidable one: A survey by MetroPoll shows public support for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has fallen close to the lowest level since it was established. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1 p.m. ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. News to Note - The US Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions [targeting]( what it said were yachts linked to Putin and his allies in the latest set of penalties over the war in Ukraine. - The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Africa [may fall]( 94% to 22,563 this year if current variants and transmission rates remain the same, according to a World Health Organization model. - Sweden’s prime minister may have to put her [fate]( in the hands of a Kurdish-born lawmaker who has drawn the ire of Turkey, just as the Nordic country seeks to overcome Erdogan’s veto of its bid for NATO membership. - Sudan’s military will hold direct [talks]( with civilian politicians and activists next week for the first time since October’s coup, the United Nations envoy said. - Kim Jong Un [congratulated]( Queen Elizabeth II on the anniversary of her ascension to the throne, as the young North Korean leader sent his first public message to the 96-year-old monarch. Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). In which country has a 26-year-old woman become interim co-chair of a top political party and the inspiration for millions enraged by a rash of high-profile sexual harassment cases? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... After not broadcasting its location for almost two weeks, a $150 million luxury superyacht linked to Leonid Mikhelson — a sanctioned billionaire and Russia’s second-richest person — reappeared, transmitting that it was headed to the Bahamas and Barcelona. But its final destination was actually Turkey, a favored destination for superyachts connected to Russian tycoons facing [scrutiny]( as countries look to step up sanctions for Putin’s war. The superyacht Pacific at Cruise Port Harbour in Marmaris, Turkey, in 2020. Source: Anadolu Agency Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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