SACRAMENTO—As tensions rise over Russia’s war with Ukraine, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to halt the state’s top pension funds investments with Russia. Newsom sent a letter (pdf) on Feb. 28 asking the leaders of the state’s three top pension funds—which jointly hold $970 billion in funds, according to the governor’s office—to halt the flow of money into Russia and ban the purchase of Russian debt. Newsom also asked the companies to protect current investments in Russian markets, which total over $1.5 billion in stocks and debt, according to the governor’s office. These pension funds are the state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the State Teachers’ Retirement System, and the University of California Retirement System. “Russia’s brazen and lawless military assault on Ukraine demands our support for the Ukrainian people and exacting an immediate and severe cost upon the Russian government in response to its continuing aggression,” Newsom wrote …