Battle For Kyiv | The Trouble With Telegram | Red States' Vaccine Pass

Plus: Richest Ukrainians With Billions To Lose Close Ranks As Putin Unleashes War

Good morning.

The Russian army advances into Ukraine, entering the outskirts of capital city Kyiv, despite the imposition of new international sanctions and anti-war protests in Russian cities. We’re also covering why Telegram isn’t as secure of a messaging app as it may be perceived, and the increased adoption of a national vaccine pass in various U.S. states, including Republican-governed ones. Finally, we’ve looked at how Ukraine’s billionaires have put aside their disagreements with President Volodymyr Zelensky to support the government at a time of utmost need.

In The News Today

Russian troops entered Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, a city of nearly 3 million people, where gunfire, explosions, and rocket attacks were reported Friday morning. Follow our live blog for real-time updates.

British airlines will be banned from flying over Russia’s airspace or landing at its airports as Moscow retaliates against sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine. 

Top Take-Aways

The EU and the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia but one measure has yet to be implemented: blocking Russian institutions from accessing international payment network SWIFT, necessary to seamlessly conduct financial transactions. Meanwhile, stock market losses have already wiped nearly $90 billion from the fortunes of Russian billionaires, some of whom were also personally targeted by international sanctions. Among the Russian oligarchs yet untouched by sanctions is metal magnate Roman Abramovich—his ownership of U.K. leading soccer club Chelsea FC may prove to be a solid insurance policy.

Pledges of support for Ukraine’s cybersecurity have proven too little, too late, as the country’s websites were attacked alongside physical targets. One of Ukrainians’ favorite messaging apps, Telegram, is also vulnerable to Russia’s spying whims, as it lacks end-to-end encryption.

One of the most senior partners at London-based venture capital firm Atomico, Hiro Tamura, was dismissed following complaints from staff over his management style. The Midas List Europe investor was an earlier backer of startups Stripe, MasterClass and Telegram.

Suicide prevention hotline Crisis Text Line span off a for-profit arm in 2018, in part to keep the lights on—but its data-sharing arrangements soon proved controversial, and medical experts recruited to the organization’s data ethics advisory board say they weren’t consulted about its practices.

In the absence of a federal digital vaccine pass, a national standard has emerged. Already available in 21 states with four more soon to join, the SMART Health Card was developed through the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), a global coalition of public and private stakeholders including health and tech giants such as Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic.

New Jersey banned indoor smoking in 2006, with a loophole for casinos and simulcast locations. But as a new law plans to change that, the impact of a smoking ban on Atlantic City’s casinos is now the subject of intense debate.

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