Plus China’s effort to contain its biggest coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan.
Good morning. We’re covering Russia’s bombardment of Kyiv and China’s effort to contain its biggest coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan. Russia launched a flurry of artillery strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as its invasion headed into a third week. The attacks followed days of fighting in the suburbs of the city, and the Kremlin has insisted that “all plans” for the invasion will be fulfilled. Follow our live updates. In Kyiv, a missile strike hit a nine-story apartment building on Monday, severely damaging the structure and killing least two people. “We do not have a military target near us,” Yuriy Yurchik, a 30-year-old resident, told The Times. “We did not think we ourselves would be a target.” Military experts warn that the battle for Kyiv could be drawn out and decisive. Some estimate it could take two weeks for Russian forces to encircle the Ukrainian capital and at least a month of bloody, destructive fighting for them to take the city. Russian and Ukrainian officials concluded a meeting with little sign of progress. Negotiations were to resume today. China: The country is trying to shield itself from the economic and diplomatic consequences of the war in Ukraine — and to benefit from geopolitical shifts once the smoke clears. China dismissed allegations by U.S. officials that Russia had asked it for military equipment and economic support. The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Rome on Monday. Other developments: China is grappling with its largest surge of infections since the coronavirus first emerged there more than two years ago. The government is racing to impose strict containment measures, but sustained outbreaks in two-thirds of the country’s provinces are the toughest test yet of its “Covid zero” policies. Global commerce may soon take a hit. Several of China’s largest factory cities have ordered lockdowns or imposed new restrictions, halting production of Toyota cars and Apple phones. Shenzen, the hub of China’s tech sector and one of the world’s largest ports, imposed a weeklong lockdown, limiting all but the most essential movement. Last spring, an outbreak there held up port operations and caused a steep increase in global shipping rates that helped drive up prices for imported goods.
