The RECC’E - DAY 60 | 03.01.22 | CRISES

Day 60 / 365

8YEARS ago today Russia's upper house of parliament approved President Putin’s request to deploy troops in Ukraine; 17 days later the region of Crimea would be annexed and more than 14,000 Ukrainians would lose their lives in the fighting to follow. 

RECC’E OF THE DAY

70UKRANIAN soldiers have been killed by artillery fire at a military base in Okhtyrka. The Ukranian civilian death toll is currently confirmed as 102 but feared to be much higher. Russia has so far lost 5,700 soldiers. 

40%CRASH in the Russian Rouble against the U.S dollar is a record low and has caused Russia's central bank to raise its key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% in an attempt to shore up the currency. The Bank of Russia has already sold around $1 billion from its reserves.

80%OF FOREIGN currency revenues will now need to be sold by domestic companies in Russia after Putin signed into law an order demanding they do so, he has also ordered a ban on foreign exchange loans and transfers by Russian residents to outside of the country.

40MILE long convoy of Russian vehicles now sits just outside of Kyiv as of 00:30 (GMT) this morning, the convoy was only 17 miles long 6 hours earlier; prompting fears of an imminent full scale ground attack on the capital. 

400MERCENARIES from Africa’s private militia ‘The Wagner Group’ - were reportedly flown into Russia 5 weeks ago with a hit list of 23 key figures with President Zelensky and the Klitschko brothers topping the list.

300BRITISH citizens, many without a military background, are expected to be heading to Ukraine in the next few days, answering the countries call for volunteer fighters. 100+ are already preparing to make the journey as of today. 

100kPEOPLE have arrived at the Polish-Ukranian border in the last 24 hours with Poland accepting at least 350k Ukranian refugee’s in total. 

520kUKRANIANS in total have left the country and fled to neighbouring countries according to the UNHCR, it is thought this number could reach 4m if the conflict continues. 

5COUNTRIES - Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania - are currently bidding to join the EU; a process which takes years. Today Ukraine’s President signed an application to join the bloc under a ‘special procedure’ hoping to expedite the process but no such fast track procedure exists. Croatia, the last to be added in 2013 took 10 years and it requires a unanimous vote of the 27 member states. 

11CIVILIANS including 3 children have been killed in Kharkiv - arguably the most Russia-friendly city in Ukraine - when suspected 'cluster' munitions - which are illegal under international law - rained down on the city injuring scores and destroying a local school. 

123MEMBER states make up the International Criminal Courts but neither Russia nor Ukraine are members. However as Ukraine ‘accepts’ it’s jurisdiction the courts chief prosecutor has confirmed he will now open an investigation into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country.

€500bnWORTH of defensive arms, high-calibre arms, and anti-tank equipment will be sent by the EU bloc, Australia has added $70m to the Ukranian weapons fund and Taiwan has sent 27 tonnes of medical supplies to the country. 

2ndROUND of talks between Ukraine and Russia are now planned after no resolutions were reached during nearly 5 hours of negotiations on Monday.

NEED-TO-KNOW

270AUTHORS from 67 countries as part of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have now released a new report looking at the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change.

3.3bnPEOPLE - 40% of the world's population - have now been identified as very vulnerable to the crisis; this means they are highly exposed to it’s effects and the least able to adapt.

50%OF SPECIES assessed have already shifted polewards or to higher altitudes as damaged ecosystems are less able to cope with a changed climate. Increased extreme weather has already pushed parts of world far beyond ability to adapt.

9%EXTINCTION rate is ‘likely’ for all terrestrial and freshwater species who are already marked as “very high risk” if the world was to warm by 1.5C; the upper threshold being 14%. This rises to between 10% and 18% at 2C and between 12% and 29% at 3C. 

140mPEOPLE could be displaced by 2050 with millions already affected. In Africa around 30% of all the maize growing areas will go out of production and for beans this figure stands around 50% on the current emissions trajectory.

50%TO 70% of the global population could be exposed to periods of “life-threatening climatic conditions” due to extreme heat and humidity by 2100.

30%TO 50% conservation of the worlds land and water is essential to Earth's ability to cope over the next 30 years and the window in which to act on this will close by the end of this decade.

SHOULD-KNOW

8PEOPLE have died so far after intense rain and record-breaking floods hit eastern Australia in whats being described as an ‘unprecedented’ weather emergency. A river in northern New South Wales broken its banks and rose to 14.37m (47ft).

SIGN-OFF STAT

1IMMORTAL creature is known to exist; the 4.5 mm-wide species of jellyfish known as Turritopsis dohrnii. After they have reproduced, they transform themselves back into their juvenile polyp state essentially beginning the lifecycle again.

  

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