Politico Morning Update on War in Ukrarine

From Politico Playbook by Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels:

War in Ukraine

“Russian forces attacked civilian areas in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as terrified residents joined an exodus of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westward, heeding warnings by authorities that Russian troops were massing for a major assault,” NYT’s Cora Engelbrecht, David Zucchino and Jane Arraf report.

What’s next? 

— From Ukraine: “Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY warned Sunday in his nightly address to the nation that the coming week would be as crucial as any in the war, saying ‘Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,’” AP’s Adam Schreck and Cara Anna report. … David Cohen has more on Zelenskyy’s “60 Minutes” interview

— The global response: “European governments, having decided last week to phase out purchases of coal from Russia, are set to begin a debate this week about a more ambitious target: weaning themselves off Russian oil,” WSJ’s Laurence Norman writes.

— The ripple effect: Russia’s shelling of “a region known as Europe’s breadbasket,” has paralyzed harvests, destroyed granaries and crops, and “is creating a global food crisis ‘beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II,’ the chief of the United Nations World Food Program has warned,” the NYT reports.

NEWS THE WHITE HOUSE WILL LIKE — “As politicians spar over who’s to blame for recent increases in gas prices, a large majority of Americans say oil companies and Russian President Vladimir Putin are major culprits,” ABC’s Meredith Deliso writes of a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. White House chief of staff RON KLAIN tweeted a link to the story, saying: “Americans agree: it is Putin’s price hike at the pump.”