1. Russia-Ukraine latest: Russian forces escalate offensive on Kyiv
Russian military troops have intensified their bombardment of Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv overnight, perceived as the strategic target of its invasion operation. In tandem with the news, US President Joe Biden declared “measures against Russian oil, LNG and coal Tuesday while the U.K. plans to phase in the restrictions over several months. The U.K. ban won’t affect gas imports,” Bloomberg reports. The reality of outside involvement in the war beyond sanctions may be imminent as Poland considers sending its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US air base at Ramstein, Germany. However, “it’s not clear that the U.S. or NATO nations would support such an effort because moving the U.S.-made jets into Ukraine from Germany would likely be seen by Russian President Vladimir Putin as an act of aggression”.

2. Australian floods update: 40,000 NSW residents forced to evacuate
About 40,000 in eastern NSW remain under evacuation orders on Wednesday morning as a dangerous weather system stirs damaging winds before drifting off into the Tasman Sea. The NSW State Emergency Service has 60 evacuation orders in place and another 27 areas under warnings. The last of the orders were issued late on Tuesday as heavy rain from an east coast low tore through Sydney and regions further south to Shoalhaven and beyond. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds for a coastal strip from north of Newcastle south to Bega near the Victorian border.

3. Twiggy Forrest taking hydrogen plans to next level with Airbus deal
After establishing his hydrogen arm within the Fortescue Metals empire last year, Australian billionaire hydrogen crusader, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has taken his prospects up a notch after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with French aircraft manufacturing giant, Airbus. The MoU is not a speculative hydrogen purchase deal, rather a research and development partnership. “The two sides will set up a taskforce to study the regulations, infrastructure and supply chains needed to deploy “green hydrogen” – manufactured using only renewable energy, not carbon capture – as a zero-emissions jet fuel,” the AFR reports. Airbus is already working on several prototypes for a hydrogen-powered aircraft, with the ambition to produce a commercial model by 2035.

4. New Batman film takes new direction, and fans appear to be on board
Yes, it’s no The Dark Knight, but was it ever trying to be? For what many perceive as the first blockbuster of 2022, the latest film from the DC Comics franchise, somehow the first to be titled ‘The Batman’, has achieved primarily good ratings since its release in Australia last Thursday. Say what you will about the film’s 3-hour run time, or whether the plot feels more like a game of Cluedo than a typical superhero story arc, Director Matt Reeves establishes a fresh take on Gotham City that Robert Pattinson as Batman (or ‘Vengeance’) plays into masterfully with his moody, calculated, and at times vulnerable tendencies. Fittingly, Reeves imagined his protagonist as punk rock band Nirvana’s lead, Kurt Cobain, if the singer had been a billionaire whose tortured soul has Wayne Manor as an echo chamber, rather than the 90s grunge scene.

5. ASX to rise as Wall St ends volatile day of trading
ASX futures were up 38 points or 0.6% to 6982 near 6am AEDT, with the AUD -0.5% to 72.79 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +0.6% S&P 500 +0.4% Nasdaq +0.9%. Brent crude +2.7% to $US126.51 a barrel. 2-year yield: US +0.08% (1.62%) Australia +0.08% (1.18%). 10-year yield: US +0.11% (1.86%) Australia +0.09% (2.22%).