“President Biden intends to announce a new Russia sanctions package during his visit to Europe this week, including measures to crack down on sanctions evasion,” Axios reports.

“The leading theory for why Russia launched hypersonic missiles into Ukraine last week is that it’s running out of precision-guided weapons to strike faraway targets,” Politico reports.

“Russia said it shot Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles at a weapons depot in western Ukraine on Friday, though it remains unclear if that was actually the target. Still, President Joe Biden confirmed Russia’s use of the weapons Monday, stating the Russian military launched them ‘because it’s the only thing that they can get through with absolute certainty.’”

“Russian companies owned by sanctioned oligarchs say they are having trouble making payments to their foreign creditors, potentially setting them up for default even though they have the funds to pay,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“With a vote of no-confidence looming over his government, Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, warned those planning to vote against him that they risk social disgrace, and that ‘no one will marry your children,’” The Guardian reports.

“The no-confidence vote is expected to be tabled on Friday 25 March, backed by a coalition of politicians who accuse Khan of bad governance and economic incompetence. In January inflation reached 13% and the cost of fuel and food rocketed.”

Walter Mead: “In a development that suggests trouble ahead, China’s basic approach—not endorsing Moscow’s aggression but resisting Western efforts to punish Russia—has garnered global support. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the war on NATO. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, refused to condemn Russia. India and Vietnam, essential partners for any American strategy in the Indo-Pacific, are closer to China than the U.S. in their approach to the war.”

“Western arm-twisting and the powerful effect of bank sanctions ensure a certain degree of sanctions compliance and support for symbolic U.N. resolutions condemning Russian aggression. But the lack of non-Western enthusiasm for America’s approach to Mr. Putin’s war is a phenomenon that U.S. policy makers ignore at their peril.”

“One of the world’s top chess players, Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, has been banned for six months by the International Chess Federation for publicly declaring his support for Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine,” the Washington Post reports.