Ukraine war

An employee is seen in the control center of one of the halted reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in March 2021. 
Ukraine war

Nuclear plant fire conjures Chernobyl nightmare

Russian forces take control of Zaporizhzhia site after dangerous fight

4 March 2022
U.S. trade restrictions covering products made with American technology could create pitfalls for Asian companies. (Source photo by AP and Ken Kobayashi)
Ukraine war

From Samsung to Sony, Asia tech grapples with Russia sanctions

Complying with U.S. clampdown now could invite China repercussions later

4 March 2022
The international hacker group Anonymous has vowed to take certain Russian websites offline. 
Ukraine war

Russia walls off government websites from nonfriendly countries

Moscow likely setting up defenses against Anonymous cyberattacks

4 March 2022
A cryptocurrency exchange point in Kyiv, pictured on Jan. 24: if the crypto world fails Ukraine, there may not be any future for crypto. 
Opinion

Ukraine war is crypto's biggest test yet

Essential for individuals to accept that freedom comes with accountability

4 March 2022
Stream article image
Podcast

Asia Stream: The China-Russia-India love triangle

Both China and India refuse to condemn Russia's actions. What's keeping Beijing and Delhi from ditching Moscow?

4 March 2022
An LNG carrier at port in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Ukraine war

Japanese utilities hunt for alternative LNG sources beyond Russia

Sanctions affect country that provides 8% of Japan's imports

4 March 2022
China is the largest shareholder of the multilateral development lender.
Ukraine war

China-backed AIIB freezes lending to Russia and Belarus

Development bank vows to 'safeguard financial integrity' as sanctions mount

4 March 2022
Bitcoin-ruble trading volumes swelled in late February as Russia was hit with sweeping financial sanctions.
Ukraine war

U.S., Japan and EU rush to close crypto loophole in Russia sanctions

Decentralized assets seen as haven with ruble crashing and banks cut off

4 March 2022
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Nikkei Asia that sanctions against Russia should include blocking its largest bank, Sberbank, and urged Japan to close its ports to Russian ships.
Interview

Russia's top bank must be hit with sanctions: Ukrainian minister

Kyiv seeks not NATO planes and pilots, but 'surface-to-air defense systems'

4 March 2022
More than half the world’s cross-border, large payment transactions relied on SWIFT in 2021.
Caixin

Analysis: China's CIPS cannot rescue Russian banks from SWIFT ban

Alternative settlement system lacks scope of Western counterpart

3 March 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida explains further sanctions against Russia on Mar. 3. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi) 
Ukraine war

Japan blocks 7 Russian banks from SWIFT, freezes oligarch assets

Separately, Kishida relaxes daily entry cap to 7,000 as part of COVID easing

3 March 2022
Russian attacks have emptied many of the homes and streets in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. (Photo courtesy of Maxim Kasianczuk)
Ukraine war

Life 30km from Russian border grows lonely for one Ukrainian

46-year-old holds on in city he grew up in to take care of aging father

3 March 2022
Maria Ressa told Nikkei Asia that "no one knows the reality at the time of war" and that disinformation "can change and shape reality."
Interview

Philippines' Ressa says Russia uses dual tactics to 'destroy truth'

Nobelist says lies spread 'bottom up and top down,' urges laws to fight back

3 March 2022
Russian tanks during military exercises in the Leningrad region, Russia, pictured on Feb. 14: many in Europe willfully refused to believe that Russia would invade until those tanks crossed the border. (Handout photo from Russian Defense Ministry)
Opinion

Ukraine war shows West's declining understanding of the world

Ignorance especially evident in much of the discourse about China

3 March 2022
An area of central Kharkiv lies in ruins after what authorities said was a missile attack on March 1. Russian experts say the violence risks turning any remaining pro-Moscow Ukrainians against them.
Ukraine war

One week into Ukraine invasion, Russian analysts weigh the costs

Unexpected Japan and Taiwan sanctions seen biting into industry

3 March 2022
Australian Ambassador to the U.N. Mitch Fifield speaks during the 11th emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.
Ukraine war

U.N. votes 141-5 to call for Russian withdrawal from Ukraine

China, India, Vietnam and 32 other members abstain; Myanmar votes in favor

3 March 2022
U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel: "The world is turning away from Putin. ...In this day and age in the 21st century, you do not bomb hospitals. You do not bomb universities."
Ukraine war

U.S. envoy to Japan sees world 'turning away from Putin'

Emanuel lauds Tokyo sanctions, calls Moscow's war a 'global confrontation'

3 March 2022
Documentary by director Kiwi Chow, right, now in self-exile from Hong Kong, hit theaters across Taiwan last Friday.
Arts

Hong Kong protest film strikes a chord in Taiwan

Documentary, and Ukraine conflict, spur debate on island's readiness for war

3 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has helped unite the West. 
Comment

Could Ukraine be the beginning of the end for Putin?

Russian leader faces much stronger Western response than after Crimea

3 March 2022
The war in Ukraine is forcing banks to reckon with their exposure to Russia.
3 March 2022
Toyota Motor's assembly plant in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Automobiles

Toyota to halt Russia production Friday as sanctions cut supply chain

Top automaker joins Honda in stopping exports to the country

3 March 2022
 Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich celebrates with team after winning the Champions League Pool in 2021.
Ukraine war

Abramovich to sell Chelsea FC as rich Russians feel pressure

Billionaire owner vows to donate sale proceeds to victims of Moscow invasion

3 March 2022
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center left, and Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak shake hands during a visit to U.S. troops in Poland on Feb. 18: India's leaders are sympathetic to the Russian fear of encirclement by NATO forces.
Opinion

Sorry, Eurocentrics, but defending Ukraine is not Asia's problem

Fealty to the old world order is no longer a regional priority

3 March 2022
The Ukraine crisis could bring back elements of "collective leadership" to China, unraveling Xi Jinping's one-man rule. (Nikkei montage of Xinhua, Kyodo, AP, Reuters photos)
3 March 2022
Strong Chinese exports have contributed to the unusual appreciation of the yuan during the Ukraine war.
Currencies

Yuan soars while ruble crashes during Ukraine crisis

Chinese currency seen as cross-border haven amid sanctions against Moscow

3 March 2022