Russia under global pressure and Milwaukee attorney who backed Putin is fired

40-mile Russian convoy rolls toward Kyiv as Russia is under increased global pressure

• Russian forces closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 40-mile convoy that included hundreds of tanks and other military vehicles.

• Countries tightened the vise around Russia's economy on Monday, announcing new sanctions on its central bank and individuals, with even Switzerland breaking its neutral stance to join the EU in its actions. Battered by the sanctions, Russia's Central Bank dramatically hiked interest rates to try to slow the ruble's plunge.

• Russia’s conventional military assault on Ukraine moved toward the end of its fourth day with fighting in the streets of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

• The U.S. sees no reason to update its nuclear threat level despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert, the White House said Monday.

A Milwaukee assistant city attorney who backed Putin on Russia Today TV and worked for anti-Islamic groups has been fired

• City Attorney Tearman Spencer's termination notice cited only "Job performance. Poor fit." as the reason to end Jennifer DeMaster's employment with the office. The notice did not contain additional details, and neither DeMaster nor Spencer immediately responded to requests for comment Monday.

• Spencer hired DeMaster after a major exodus of attorneys from his office, with some citing a "toxic work environment" under the relatively new city attorney. DeMaster was hired last year and worked in the litigation division, which had struggled to meet court deadlines due to the staffing shortage. The division typically handles cases in state and federal court. In her position at the city, DeMaster made $71,780 per year, and online court records showed she had very limited court experience. DeMaster's history drew condemnation from advocacy and religious leaders at the local and national levels, as did the urging from Spencer's top deputy that staff have "an open mind" to DeMaster.

• Last week, as Russia was on the brink of attacking Ukraine, she went on the television network controlled by the Russian state to argue that Putin was within his rights to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and deploy troops to the area. "When people like Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken of the U.S. or (British Prime Minister) Boris Johnson or others or (President) Joe Biden come out and say this is a clear violation of international law, that's simply not true. It is not a clear violation of international law because they cannot name an international law that this violates.

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The Money

KWIK TRIP: How a neighborhood grocery store grew into today's Kwik Trip phenomenon.

COW MANURE: 'The poop is worth a lot': State's largest dairy farmers are cashing in by converting methane from cow manure into natural gas.

The Fun Stuff

PACZKI: Here are 13 places where you can get pączki for Fat Tuesday in the Milwaukee area.

CUDAHY: La Crema, a new breakfast and lunch restaurant, is now open in Cudahy's former Samano's building

The Games

BUCKS: The Bucks scored 44 points in the second quarter on their way to a romp over the Hornets.

PACKERS: The Green Bay Packers, the only NFL team that has not played a regular-season international game, are going to London this season. Here's how the Packers players reacted.

BADGERS: A victory over Purdue tomorrow would give UW, projected before the season to finish 10th in the league, at least a share of the league title. So tomorrow's game is big and here's a look at the most-hyped games in Kohl Center History.

Around Wisconsin

STURGEON: The sturgeon spearing season lasted a full 16 days with a heavy harvest reminiscent of the early 2010s.

STEVENS POINT: UW-Stevens Point will soon display an art installation honoring the Indigenous people buried under the campus.

BUTCH'S BAR: A 57-year-old resident of the apartments above Butch's Bar in Sturgeon Bay told police the fire that destroyed the historic bar and killed two people last week started when he was trying to fill a lighter and spilled the fluid on his bed. He then tried to light a cigarette and the bed caught on fire.

SURING: The superintendent of the Suring School District has been charged with six counts of false imprisonment related to the strip search of students on Jan. 18, Oconto County District Attorney Edward Burke announced Monday.

Today in Wisconsin History

On March 1, 1985, Herb Kohl, part of the family that built the Kohl's retail empire, bought the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise for $18 million, with the intent of keeping the team in Milwaukee. Three years later, Kohl was elected to the first of four terms in the U.S. Senate. (Kohl sold the team in 2014 for $550 million to New York hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens.) - Chris Foran

Today's Weather

Looks like March is in like a lamb with a high of 44 under partly cloudy skies. Plenty of time for the lion to return, though.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Russia under global pressure