Ukraine Marks One Year

Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]( [OZY]() Your World. Bold & Bright [Presidential Daily Brief]( Start your day smarter with a dossier on the most important world news, rounded off with a shot of intriguing and offbeat stories. Like the president, you deserve no less. Feb 24, 2023 Today Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a somber and stirring video message. Moldova tapped friends in Europe and the U.S. for support as Russian soldiers gathered in a breakaway region. Parts of the U.S. lost power and the National Weather Service warned the worst is yet to come. And South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh told a court he did not murder his family. All this and more in today’s PDB. IMPORTANT Solidarity One Year On, Zelenskyy Stands Firm The last year has been “the longest day of our lives” but it’s not over yet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address marking one year since Russia invaded the country. It’s the 365th address in a row for Zelenskyy, setting a new record for world leaders and showing the depths of his dedication. Messages of support have flowed in from across Europe — Paris lit the Eiffel Tower yellow and blue in solidarity. “We didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but we clearly understood that for each tomorrow, you need to fight. And we fought,” Zelenskyy said. (Sources: [AP](, [DW](, [Reuters]() Pushback Moldova Holds the Line as Kremlin Eyes Breakaway Region Russia is conducting “psy-ops” by claiming an imminent Ukrainian invasion of Moldova, an official said as Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited neighboring Romania. Sandu has pushed for fast-tracking a floated European Union membership as 3,000 Russian soldiers stationed in Transnistria, a predominantly Russian-speaking breakaway area of Moldova, raise fears of an expanded Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week revoked a decree recognizing “sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status” of Moldova. Earlier this week, Sandu met with U.S. President Joe Biden during his tour of the region and he vowed U.S. support for Moldovan sovereignty. (Sources: [Reuters](, [BBC]() Lights Out! Cold, Dark Thursday Night Across US as Blizzard Conditions Approach Around 950,000 American households were left without electricity Thursday as heavy snow and ice struck various parts of the country. Michigan, no stranger to chilly winters, was the worst hit by outages during freezing rain and icy conditions. Across the country, Southern Californians are bracing for a rare blizzard. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a warning Wednesday — believed to be the first of its kind since 1989 — to expect tough conditions going into Friday. Mount Baldy, to the east of L.A., is predicted to be blanketed by 4.5 feet of snow by Saturday. (Sources: [NPR](, [USAToday]() Southern Family Murder Murdaugh Tells Court He Lied and Stole but Did Not Kill Family Alex Murdaugh took the stand Thursday in the double murder case. Murdaugh, the son of a wealthy legal dynasty, was charged with the June 2021 murder of his wife, Maggie, and youngest son Paul. Murdaugh sat quietly during much of the first four weeks of the trial but readily admitted to stealing millions of dollars from his law firm and orchestrating a suicide plot that would have left $10 million to his surviving son. “I didn’t shoot my wife or my son any time — ever,” Murdaugh told the court, adding that opioid addiction explained his hazy timeline in the aftermath. (Sources: [NYT](, [The State]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Illness. An 11-year-old girl in Prey Veng, Cambodia, died this week of suspected avian flu. It is Cambodia’s first avian flu death in years and is causing concern about an outbreak in the province. (Source: [DW]() Testing, testing. North Korea launched four strategic cruise missiles in a drill to demonstrate Pyongyang’s capacity to respond to a nuclear attack, the country’s state media said. Meanwhile South Korea and the U.S. held joint military training. (Source: [Al Jazeera]() Locked up. Senior opposition figure Pawan Khera was arrested in Delhi after being forced off a plane Thursday. Khera is alleged to have insulted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referencing his links with embattled businessman Gautam Adani. (Source: [CNN]() OZY Statement While we are shocked and disappointed by the US Attorney’s actions today, we fully support our CEO Carlos Watson. We believe in Carlos, and we believe in what our team has built here at OZY: a 21st century media company that highlights “the new and the next” and gives a platform to underrepresented voices. OZY is proud of what our team has accomplished in just a few short years – with five newsletters, 14 TV shows (including the Emmy-winning “Black Women OWN the Conversation”), 10 podcasts (five of which have made it to Apple’s top 100 podcast lists), four festivals, and the OZY Genius Awards supporting more than 50 young creators. We stand behind Carlos, and we’ll continue to pursue our team’s vision of bringing provocative and inspiring content to new audiences. To see what OZY and our hard-working team are all about, please go to [www.ozy.com](. INTRIGUING Finding a Way At Least 20,000 Abortion Pills Shipped Since Fall of Roe v Wade Suppliers working outside of the American healthcare system said demand — and under-the-radar shipping — is thriving, with tens of thousands of pills sent between the rollback of abortion rights by the Supreme Court in June 2022 and December. Other suppliers are also operating, suggesting the real figure is much higher. Those working in the space stress this doesn’t necessarily mean a surge in abortions and is more likely indicative of “stocking up” as rights are further eroded in some states. Self-administering an abortion isn’t explicitly illegal in many states, but rights activists warn that determined prosecutors will likely find a way. (Source: [Vice]() Eternal Invasive ‘Forever Chemicals’ Will See England Miss Toxicity Standards A 2027 target to rid England of toxic chemicals in the environment will be missed and in many areas not reached until the 2060s, officials warned this week. Mapping across the U.K. found so-called “forever chemicals,” or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in high levels across thousands of sites. There is no known way to fully dispose of the chemicals. “Monitoring data for rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters suggests it is likely that PFAS is widely present in English surface waters and groundwater,” England’s Environment Agency said in its report on the mapping project. (Source: [The Guardian]() Justice Chicago Federal Court Sentences R Kelly to 20 Years for Child Porn The former R&B star is already serving 30 years after being found guilty of trafficking and racketeering by a New York court in 2021. Kelly was convicted of three counts of production of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity by the court in September. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber ordered 19 of the 20 years to be served concurrently with the New York conviction, with the final year added. “I have lost my dignity due to Robert Kelly,” victim “Jane” said in a statement read to the court. (Source: [CNN]() Upcycling In Ecuador, the Streets Are Paved With Cocaine Sort of. Under President Guillermo Lasso the country, often used as a drug transit point between South America and Europe, has doubled down on its fight against cocaine and seen seizures almost double in 2021 from a year earlier. So what to do with all this excess powder? Officials have teamed up with the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime on a novel program that pulverizes cocaine and mixes the fine powder with cement, water and sand to make concrete platforms. The resulting concrete is impenetrable and guarantees no cocaine seeps through into the ground or water supply. (Source: [Reuters]() Prime Football Bezos Conquered Space, Now He Wants the Washington Commanders Amazon’s Jeff Bezos hired the investment firm Allen & Company to put out feelers for a potential purchase of the NFL giant. They oversaw the sales of the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. It’s likely worrying news for Josh Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, who has toured Washington’s facilities and looked set to place a bid. Bezos is the world’s third-richest man, giving him plenty of room to outbid any other would-be buyers. Current owner Dan Snyder indicated the team is on the table in November, with market watchers expecting a full franchise sale. 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