From WaPo: “U.S. officials say they have evidence that Russia has developed a plan, approved at high levels in Moscow, to create a pretext for invading Ukraine by falsely pinning an attack on Ukrainian forces that could involve alleged casualties not only in eastern Ukraine but also in Russia.” Meanwhile, Putin is heading to China to bolster ties with Xi before joining him to watch the Opening Ceremonies the US is diplomatically boycotting.

+ “When will it be time to stop partying, or to stop preparing and start acting? It’s often difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when a modern war has started, and it is particularly difficult to define a moment of substantive change in a country that has, in fact, been at war for eight years.” Masha Gessen in The New Yorker: A Moment of Excruciating Anticipation in Kyiv.