The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-02)

Full bloom The National Cherry Blossom

Festival will host a fully in-person festival this

year for the first time since 2019 as cases

trend down and leaders lift restrictions. B

FOOD

Speedy, cheesy

and incomparable

Spaghetti carbonara is

easy, but when you coat

pasta in a peppery, silken

sauce of egg and cheese,

the results can’t be beat.

In the News

THE WORLD

At least 10 people have

died in eastern Australia

amid flash flooding un-

leashed by record tor-

rential rains. A

THE ECONOMY

As Russia continues its

aggression, the partner-

ship that runs the space

station has come under

more strain. A

CONTENT © 2022

The Washington Post

Year 145, No. 87

BUSINESS NEWS.........................A

CLASSIFIEDS................................D

COMICS.........................................C

OPINION PAGES..........................A

KIDSPOST.....................................C

LOTTERIES....................................B

METRO..........................................B

OBITUARIES..................................B

SPORTS........................................D

STYLE............................................C

TELEVISION...................................C

WORLD NEWS.............................A

1

BY DAVID WEIGEL AND

MICHAEL SCHERER

T exas Republican Gov. Greg
Abbott and Democratic candi-
date Beto O’Rourke will face
each other this fall in a contest to
lead Te xas after each won his
party’s gubernatorial nomina-
tion Tuesday in the first primary
fights of the 2022 midterm cycle.

Abbott celebrated his victory

by tweeting a criticism of Presi-

dent Biden and the border pol-

icies he discussed in the State of

the Union address, a possible

nod to speculation that he might

seek the Republican presidential

nomination in 2024.

“It’s too little, too late,” Abbott

wrote. “In Texas, we’ll continue

securing the border & doing the

fed gov’t’s job.”

O’Rourke used the occasion of

his primary victory to rally Dem-

ocrats for the November fight.

“We’ve got to get past the

incompetence, the corruption

and the cruelty of Greg Abbott,”

O’Rourke told a crowd of support-

ers in Fort Worth after the polls

closed. “A re you with me on this?”

Primary contests for attorney

general, Congress and dozens of

other local jobs such as county

judge and justice of the peace also

were on the ballot in a state where

Republicans have found their

footing after some setbacks dur-

ing the 2018 midterm elections.

Besides determining the nom-

inees — or setting up runoffs —

the results Tuesday will help

determine the political staying

power of the Bush family name,

the potency of former president

Donald Trump’s endorsements

and the state’s future representa-

tion on Capitol Hill.

In a closely watched Demo-

cratic primary in the 28th Con-

gressional District along the

southern border, Rep. Henry

Cuellar (D) was in a tight contest

with his more liberal 2020 chal-

lenger Jessica Cisneros in the

most expensive Democratic con-

gressional fight of the cycle.

Cuellar had dipped into his war

chest after his home and cam-

paign office were searched by the

FBI. Cisneros has been support-

ed by liberal activists from Te xas

and farther north, including the

Justice Democrats.

SEE TEXAS ON A

Abbott, O’Rourke win Texas governor nominations in 1st midterm contests

BY SHANE HARRIS,

JOHN HUDSON,

MISSY RYAN

AND SOUAD MEKHENNET

As the Russian invasion of

Ukraine enters its second week,

U.S. and European intelligence

officials say that Russian Presi-

dent Vladimir Putin appears iso-

lated and reliant on a small

coterie of advisers who have not

told him the truth about how

difficult and costly conquering

Ukraine is turning out to be.

In Putin, analysts see a leader

on edge, fueled by paranoia after

underestimating the unified re-

solve of the West, and at risk of

lashing out when he feels cor-

nered. Those concerns have led

some policymakers to repeatedly

note that NATO will not inter-

vene in the war lest there be any

doubt in Putin’s mind.

Putin’s military campaign,

which has killed civilians, as well

as his order to place Russian

SEE PUTIN ON A

Analysts see

Putin as isolated

and on edge

Common ground: Lawmakers are

readying a major aid package. A

The displaced: A Ukrainian tourist

hub has become a refuge. A

Social media: Ukrainians deftly

wield a new kind of weapon. A

Weaponry: Russia is “regrouping,”

pivoting to siege warfare. A

A divide: Putin’s war i s drawing

battle lines within Russia. A

BY MAX BEARAK

przemysl, poland — The two

women look like sisters, but they

are actually childhood friends —

both 35 years old, both with relent-

lessly energetic 12-year-old sons.

And both now share a terrify-

ing reality as war refugees adrift

with no idea what the future

will hold amid waves of desper-

ate people streaming out of

Ukraine to Poland and other

countries — an exodus of more

than 660,000 people so far flee-

ing Russia’s invasion.

They recounted how the air

raid sirens would sound at least

twice an hour in their central

Ukrainian hometown of Vinnyt-

sia, meaning their minds could

only alternate between two

thoughts. One: Are we going to

die? And two: Snap out of it and

rush everyone to the basement.

On Monday, they arrived in

Poland after a grueling 33 hours

on multiple trains in which their

children slept in the aisles with

hundreds of others. The vast ma-

jority of those on the move are

women and children, separated

from their boyfriends, husbands

and fathers because able-bodied

men 18 to 60 years old are prohib-

ited by Ukraine’s government

from leaving.

“Every moment I spend think-

ing about what is happening to

my husband,” said Anya Sie-

miechkina, who then picked up

her phone and called him. The

call was brief, straightforward.

Toward the end of it, her voice

caught and she inhaled deeply

through her nose, looking up at

the ceiling of the community cen-

ter theater now housing refugees.

She composed herself, and said

goodbye.

SEE REFUGEES ON A

They escaped Ukraine. Their ordeal has just begun.

SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: A Russian strike aimed at a TV tower in Kyiv also hit a Holocaust memorial, killing five people, Ukrainian leaders

said Tuesday. People help a woman wounded in Kharkiv, where the British Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces held the city even as it was

probably surrounded by Russian forces. A government building in Kharkiv was among those hit. Officials say Moscow has pushed into

Ukraine more than 80 percent of the combat power it staged within Russian border areas and in neighboring Belarus in recent months.

ABCDE

Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. M2 V1 V2 V3 V

Partly sunny 63/47 • Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, breezy 53/31 B8 Democracy Dies in Darkness WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 , 2022. $

BY ISABELLE KHURSHUDYAN,

MISSY RYAN,

SUDARSAN RAGHAVAN

AND DAN LAMOTHE

dnipro, ukraine — Russia in-

tensified strikes on cities across

Ukraine on Tuesday, but the ad-

vance of foreign forces ground to a

halt outside Kyiv as local troops

and volunteers steeled themselves

for a fierce battle for the capital.

U.S. and British officials said a

long column of tanks and combat

vehicles was stalled roughly 20

miles north of central Kyiv on the

sixth day of President Vladimir

Putin’s invasion, deepening ques-

tions about whether Moscow’s

assault will yield a protracted

war of resistance with its much

smaller, less powerful neighbor.

The convoy, stretching some

40 miles, has moved little over

the past day as the Russian forces

have grappled with fuel and food

shortages, a U.S. defense official

told reporters, speaking on the

condition of anonymity to dis-

cuss a sensitive situation. The

British Defense Ministry said

Ukrainian forces continued to

hold the cities of Kharkiv, Kher-

son and Mariupol, but all three

“are now likely encircled by Rus-

sian forces,” with air and artillery

attacks intensifying.

The United Nations has record-

ed the deaths of more than 130

civilians, including 13 children,

since the beginning of the fight-

ing last week, mostly because of

shelling and rocket fire. The actu-

al toll is probably far higher, the

U.N. High Commissioner for Hu-

man Rights said.

SEE UKRAINE ON A

Strikes intensify as battle for Kyiv awaits

BY ANNIE LINSKEY

AND TYLER PAGER

President Biden sought to rally
the country against war, inflation
and the pandemic during his first
State of the Union address Tues-
day night, using one of the biggest
moments of his presidency to
condemn Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and pitching a dimin-
ished agenda he hopes can win
bipartisan support.
The speech unfolded against a
brutal backdrop as fighting inten-
sified in what has become the
biggest European land war since
World War II. In the opening mo-
ments of his address, Biden noted
the rejection of Russia and em-
brace of Ukraine by Americans of
all stripes as evidence of the coun-
try’s underlying commonality.
“We fought for freedom, ex-
panded liberty, defeated totalitari-
anism and terror. We built the
strongest, freest and most pros-
perous nation the world has ever
known,” Biden said toward the end
of his address. “Now is the hour.
Our moment of responsibility. O ur
test of resolve and conscience, of
history itself,” he said, adding: “I
know this nation will meet the
test. To protect freedom and liber-
ty, to expand fairness and opportu-
nity. We will save democracy.”
SEE BIDEN ON A

STATE OF THE UNION

Biden asks

for a unity

beyond war

in Ukraine

RUSSIAN FORCES

STALL NEAR CAPITAL

Three major cities

are ‘likely encircled’

CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS

PAVEL DOROGOY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Monica Hesse: The strength of

Ukrainian women is on display. C

Sacrifice: Before Lent, movement

to fast for Ukraine gains steam. B

Congress: Ukraine-born lawmaker
criticized response to crisis. A

MLB pushes back Opening Day, cancels games as lockout drags on D

BY DAN BALZ

President Biden confronted a
world transformed by Russian
aggression in Ukraine on Tues-
day night, challenged in his
State of the Union address to
define the stakes of a new era in
international security.
Biden spoke as a president
weakened politically at home but
also as the leader of a world unit-
ed — perhaps surprisingly so to
Russian President Vladimir Putin
— against Russia’s invading
armies. Amid divisions over his
domestic agenda and warning
signs for his Democratic Party
ahead of the November midterm
elections, Biden spoke also as the
architect of an international co-
alition that has responded swiftly
to Putin’s decision to trample the
borders of a sovereign state with
tough sanctions on Russia and
weapons shipments to Ukraine.
SEE TAKE ON A

PERSPECTIVE

Speech juggles

pressing matters

abroad, at home