Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed Vladimir Putin is threatening to hit Ukraine with a "nuclear strike." In case you weren't glued to the grainy live-stream last night, Russian shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power facility, the Zaporizhzhya plant, caused a fire (now extinguished) in a training building at the plant. Russian forces reportedly occupied the nuclear facility; management says they are now working at gunpoint. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has requested a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying the incident is proof that the conflict "could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe." A "deconfliction hotline" has been established between Moscow and Washington to help avoid nuclear conflict. One of Russia's immediate goals may be to leave key cities without power — the Zaporizhzhya plant supplies 20 percent of Ukraine's electricity. The Council is set to meet at 11:30 a.m. ET today. IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL CLOSE (AGAIN): How many times have we been warned a deal is near? Too many to count. Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, will travel to Tehran on Saturday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has started a tour of Belgium, Poland, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia running through March 8. FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON LAUNCHED HIS REELECTION CAMPAIGN … with a letter — read it here. He's promising tax cuts and industrial investment. The reality check: Few care about the election, for now. The national discussion is now all about stopping Putin. The Le Pen dynasty formally splits. Marion Maréchal , niece of Marine Le Pen, will campaign for her aunt's far-right rival for the French Presidency, Eric Zemmour, according to an exclusive in Le Figaro. PUTIN END GAME GOOD USE OF TWITTER? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) showed his Shakespearean knowledge and called for a Russian national to assassinate President Putin, saying it was the only way he could see the conflict in Ukraine ending. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) publicly shot the idea down. Don't call it regime change: Read Nahal Toosi on U.S. efforts to push regime change in Moscow. Call a spade a spade: "We are now at the stage where the sanctions are implicitly aimed at regime change," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute For International Economics and the German Marshall Fund. GLOBAL IMPACTS TURKEY IN SPOTLIGHT: The NATO member's role is set to rise in prominence as the conflict continues, either as a mediator, or more likely as a supplier of weapons to Ukraine. Hudson Institute's Michael Doran writes "regardless of how the war ends for Russia, the prestige of Turkey is destined to increase . Militarily, Turkish equipment, especially the Bayraktar TB-2, an unmanned aerial vehicle, has yet again proven itself to be extremely effective against Russian equipment." GEORGIA, MOLDOVA APPLY TO JOIN EU: The two countries are highly unlikely to be admitted any time soon, but their applications reflected their deep alarm at Moscow's war on Ukraine, and they followed Kyiv's plea earlier this week to join the European Union. POLISH DEFENSE SPENDING SPREE: Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced Poland will increase defense spending from a planned 2.5 percent to 3 percent of GDP in 2023. ARCTIC BACKLASH: Arctic Council members Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and U.S. issued a joint statement opposing Russian aggression and said they would not cooperate with Russia's 2022 chairing of the council. "The core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on international law, have long underpinned the work of the Arctic Council," the governments said. See Foreign Policy's Arctic Competition Power Map for context. LONGER AND MORE EXPENSIVE FLIGHTS: With Russia closing its airspace to European, American and Canadian aircraft, Europe to Asia flights will be particularly hard hit. A flight from Frankfurt to Beijing would need to add around 700 miles to avoid Russia's airspace, while the route from Helsinki to Tokyo would be over 2,000 miles longer. Large planes can burn 5 gallons of fuel per mile, meaning passengers may face extra charges of $100 or more for airlines to cover their costs. FOOD SUPPLY CRISIS, MAY FOLLOW ENERGY PRICE SURGE: The attention has so far been on oil, gas and coal, but Russia is also a major grain exporter. "Everything is going up vertically. The whole production chain for food is under pressure from every side," said Abdolreza Abbassian, the former head of agro-markets at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. SHORING UP TAIWAN: Biden on Monday dispatched a heavyweight A-team of five former senior U.S. security and defense officials, helmed by Mike Mullen, a former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to meet with senior members of Taiwan's government. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told POLITICO "the administration must show the CCP that we won't tolerate violence based on their lies, that Taiwan's security, economy, and democracy are core national security interests for the U.S., and that we are drawing Taiwan more tightly into the family of democracies." McCaul wants the administration to bolster Taiwan's capacity to wage asymmetric warfare, while Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wants to hit the People's Liberation Army's supply chains by sanctioning suppliers of materials or equipment that facilitate Chinese Air Force harassment of Taiwan. Read (and subscribe to) Phelim Kine's latest China Watcher for more details on the GOP push to be less ambiguous about Taiwan's defense. QUAD LEADERS SPOKE BY PHONE: They attempted to align on Ukraine (India abstained in U.N. votes on the invasion in recent days) and agreed to meet in Tokyo in coming months. WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION: 38 countries have joined the referral of Russia to the International Criminal Court. The full list. SANCTIONS LATEST: As part of expanded sanctions, the United States will sanction Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and impose visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and 47 of their family members and close associates. There are also "full blocking sanctions on disinformation targets" including seven media/propaganda outlets: DN Strategic Culture Foundation and associated outlets Odna Rodyna, Rhythm of Eurasia, and Journal Kamerton; SouthFront; SDN InfoRos; New Eastern Outlook; Oriental Review; United World International; and Geopolitical. The problem with sanctioning oligarchs? Their lawyers. U.K. could take months to move ahead with its preferred sanctions list, Bloomberg reported. LUKOIL FINDS ITS VOICE, AFTER 99 PERCENT SHARE PRICE DROP: The board of directors of Russian energy giant Lukoil called for the "soonest possible termination" of the conflict in Ukraine, Interfax reported. Lukoil's share price this week fell to 72 cents, from a February high of more than $90 on the London Stock Exchange. BIG TECH AND LITTLE RUSSIA: Apple, Google, Meta and Netflix combined would lose just between 1 and 2 percent of their multibillion-dollar revenues if they were to remove all of their services from Russia. Emily Birnbaum on why American tech companies have little on the line in the debate about whether to cut Russia. UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN DATA POINTS — The peace negotiations may be going nowhere, but a humanitarian corridor may be established with joint support by Ukraine and Russia, to allow safe escape of civilians from conflict hot spots. — Ukrainians residing in the U.S. prior to March 1, have been granted "temporary protected status" for 18 months, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday. A relatively small number of Ukrainians will benefit — around 3,000 visas to Ukrainians have been granted each month, in recent months. — Three major oxygen plants in Ukraine shut down after Russia invaded, and the remaining supply that's desperately needed at hospitals is being depleted. The first shipment from outside stockpiles of supplies arrived from Poland Thursday. — Hospitals attacked: WHO officials also said one attack on a hospital had been confirmed. WHO is trying to raise $57 million to support Ukraine's health system. — The Open Society Foundations today are pledging an initial $25 million to launch the Ukraine Democracy Fund and hopes to raise $100 million. POLITICO owner Axel Springer is donating $600,000 "to assist the activities and investigative reporting of Ukraine-based media outlets."
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