1) Ukraine declares state of emergency and starts drafting reservists
Ukraine declared a state of emergency to start from midnight February 24 for 30 days, which would give authorities more powers to strengthen security of public places and locations that are critical for the public.
Ukraine reportedly started drafting reservists aged 18-60 and called on its citizens to leave Russia immediately.
2) Russia could engage in a full-scale invasion within 48 hours
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday evening that Russian forces could engage in a full invasion of Ukraine within 48 hours.
Since then there were reports of five explosions heard in Donetsk, Russia closed airspace on the northeast border of Ukraine and UNSC held an emergency meeting.
3) Hong Kong injects HKD170 billion to combat new Covid wave
The Hong Kong government announced that it will be spending more than 170 billion Hong Kong dollars to support the economy as the city is battling a new Covid-19 wave that is on a rise.
The city registered 2,662 new Covid-19 cases on February 22, 2022, with a 7-day average of 1,372.
4) Bank of Korea warns of faster inflation rate in 2022
The Bank of Korea warned that inflation will stay well above 3% for a considerable time, after keeping its policy normalization on hold, leaving its seven-day repurchase rate at 1.25%.
The Korean central bank sharply raised its inflation projection to 3.1% for 2022 from its earlier 2% forecast, a move that is likely to cement expectations for another rate hike in the second quarter.
