Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #15

[JennieM]

'I want to see my kids walk the streets without hiding' - Zelensky​

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the BBC that he's not sure how he'll be remembered after the Ukraine-Russia war, but would like to see his children walk the streets "without hiding".

Zelensky was speaking during a panel interview in Paris with journalists from across Europe.

When asked by the BBC's Jeremy Bowen if he'll be remembered as the man who saved Ukraine, Zelensky said "I don't know what history books will write about me," he said.

"It's not my purpose or goal."

[video at link]

Watch: " I want to see my kids walk the streets without hiding" - Zelensky

President Zelensky asked what he wants to see after the war ends

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Witkoff, who met Putin 10 days ago, ... also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine

Steve Witkoff says the UK plans for an international force to support a ceasefire are a "posture".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Ukraine ceasefire deal looks like a Russian wishlist tied with a US bow

A moratorium on attacks on ships in the Black Sea seems to be contingent on sanctions relief – a key Kremlin demand

At first blush, the deal agreed by US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday offers concession on concession to the Kremlin, leaving observers to question whether Russia had given anything to secure its first offer of sanctions relief since the beginning of the war.

[…]

“The ‘Russian art of the deal’ is selling Russian demands as Russian concessions to the Americans, and then demand sanctions relief on top,” wrote Dr Janis Kluge, a researcher who focuses on the Russian economy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a thinktank. “The demand here is that Ukraine is not allowed to attack Russian warships any more and Russia gets to inspect Ukrainian ships.”

[…]

Tuesday’s agreement – and the separate statements that have emerged – will raise further questions of whether the US can mediate a conflict in which it appears to clearly sympathise with the Kremlin.

Ukraine ceasefire deal looks like a Russian wishlist tied with a US bow

A moratorium on attacks on ships in the Black Sea seems to be contingent on sanctions relief – a key Kremlin demand

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 26, 2025

Russia’s ‘Azov trial’ – one Ukrainian POW tortured to death, 23 given monstrous sentences

One of Russia’s most cynical ‘trials’ has ended with 23 men and women sentenced to huge terms of imprisonment on insane ‘terrorism’ charges for serving, some way back, in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Azov Regiment

khpg.org

Russia’s ‘Azov trial’ – one Ukrainian POW tortured to death, 23 given monstrous sentences​

... The only ‘sentence’ missing from this grotesque show trial was that against Oleksandr Ishchenko, who was 55 when he died in Russian prison, probably from the torture to which he had been subjected.

Although the nine women were all cooks, they too were convicted of the surreal ‘terrorism’ charges. Olena Avramova; Nina Bondarenko; Alyona Bondarchuk; Natalia Goldfiner; Lilia Lavrianidis; Vladyslava Maiboroda; Iryna Mohytych; Lilia Rudenko; and Maryna Tekin all received sentences, in absentia, of 13 or 14 years (in medium-security prison colonies). They had spent over two years in Russian captivity before their release in September 2024.

Of the men who remain imprisoned, and who received huge sentences, by no means all were serving members of the Armed Forces (within Azov) when taken prisoner.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 26, 2025

Witkoff comments 'very disturbing' to Ukraine, Zelensky says

Zelensky noted that U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff is not a military expert. "As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate."

kyivindependent.com

"Witkoff's statements are very disturbing to us," Zelensky said.

"Because we are fighting (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we really do not want him to have many assistants. This is definitely difficult for us, because we are already fighting a country that is 40 times larger in terms of territory — smaller in terms of dignity."

While Witkoff may be susceptible to certain Russian narratives, he is not a military expert, Zelensky noted.

"As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate."

US must not let Putin out of global isolation, Zelensky says

"He will die soon, that is a fact, and everything will be over," Zelensky said on March 26 in comments regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin.

kyivindependent.com

"It is very important that America does not help Putin to get out of this global isolation now," Zelensky said during a visit to Paris.

"I believe that this is dangerous. This is one of the most dangerous moments."

Putin hopes to "remain in power until his death," Zelensky said, and his ambitions are not limited to Ukraine, but could lead to "a direct confrontation with the West."

Return of Ukrainian children 'number one' aim in recent ceasefire talks, Zelensky says

"It somehow disappeared from the media field. Although I think that this is the number one thing we were going for. This is an exchange for the return of our children, whom the Russians stole."

kyivindependent.com

U.S. representatives held separate meetings with Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Riyadh March 23-25, after which Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea and temporarily halt strikes against energy infrastructure.

"There was also one very important point," Zelensky said in the interview.

"It somehow disappeared from the media field. Although I think that this is the number one thing we were going for. This is an exchange for the return of our children, whom the Russians stole."

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 26, 2025

Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine condition for easing EU sanctions, commission says

Russia's "unconditional withdrawal" from Ukraine is one of the main preconditions for changing or lifting EU sanctions, European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on March 26.

kyivindependent.com

Russia's "unconditional withdrawal" from Ukraine is one of the main preconditions for changing or lifting EU sanctions, European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on March 26.

Hipper's statement follows Russia's demand that Western sanctions on its agricultural exports be lifted before implementing a ceasefire in the Black Sea.

Russia imports chemicals from fertilizer companies to evade sanctions, Bloomberg reports

A Russian explosives manufacturer has ordered tens of thousands of tons of nitric acid and other chemicals from fertilizer producers exempt from sanctions, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

kyivindependent.com

The Russian explosives manufacturer JSC Spetskhimiya has placed orders for tens of thousands of tons of nitric acid and a nitric-sulphuric-acid mix, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The chemicals are essential for the production of TNT, gunpowder, and other explosives the Russian military uses in its war against Ukraine.

JSC Spetskhimiya ordered the chemicals from subsidiaries EuroChem Group AG and UralChem JSC, fertilizer companies that are not subject to strict U.S. and EU sanctions due to their importance to global food security.

Both EuroChem and UralChem have ties to sanctioned Russian billionaires. The family of Belarusian-Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin controls UralChem, while EuroChem was founded by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko.

‘They Were Soviet, You A** Helmet’ – Backlash Over US Envoy’s Ukrainian Nukes Claim

Politicians and diplomats have blasted Trump’s special representative Richard Grenell over his claim that the nuclear weapons Ukrainians gave up weren’t theirs, they belonged to Russia.

www.kyivpost.com

US President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, claimed that Ukraine never had its own nuclear weapons and that the arsenal it once possessed always belonged to Russia – sparking an immediate backlash from politicians and diplomats.

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer, who helped broker the 1994 Budapest Memorandum by which Kyiv agreed to hand over its arsenal in return for security assurances, was quick to correct Grenell.

“Flat wrong,” Pifer wrote, saying that the nuclear warheads in Ukraine belonged to the former Soviet Union, of which Ukraine was a part, and not Russian.

 

[Lilibet]

"Witkoff's statements are very disturbing to us," Zelensky said.
<snip for space>

While Witkoff may be susceptible to certain Russian narratives, he is not a military expert, Zelensky noted.

"As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate."

BBM

Gotta love Zelenskyy!!

 

[Lilibet]

Witkoff, who met Putin 10 days ago, ... also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine

Steve Witkoff says the UK plans for an international force to support a ceasefire are a "posture".

www.bbc.co.uk

Rachel Maddow half-jokingly wondered if the Russian Trump portrait had been checked for a recording device.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 26, 2025

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/kroki-dlya-dosyagnennya-miru-oboronna-dopomoga-ta-rozvitok-o-96869

Steps to Achieve Peace, Defense Assistance, and Defense Industry Development: The President of Ukraine Met with the President of France in Paris​

The Ukrainian leader thanked France and Emmanuel Macron for their unwavering, highly principled and tangible support for Ukraine. In particular, for the provision of Mirage aircraft and a new defense package worth EUR 2 billion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron coordinated their positions on the eve of the meeting of European leaders scheduled for Thursday in Paris at the initiative of the French President. The Ukrainian side expects that, in particular, it will lead to substantive, operational content of the discussion on security guarantees and the deployment of partner contingents in Ukraine.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/u-gaazi-rozpochalisya-oficijni-peregovori-shodo-stvorennya-m-96865

Official Negotiations on the Establishment of the International Claims Commission for Ukraine Begin in The Hague​

On March 24–26, the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on an international treaty establishing the Claims Commission for Ukraine took place. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra.

“One of the areas you are helping us with is compensation for the damage caused by Russia. This is part of our joint campaign to restore justice – for Ukraine and for the whole world. After all, this concerns not just Ukraine but also the fundamental principles of international law,” said the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office.

...It will examine the claims submitted to the International Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and determine the compensation amounts for the victims.

 

[SouthAussie]

"European troops deployed to Ukraine would respond to a Russian attack, French president Emmanuel Macron warned.

After a meeting in Paris between Mr Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, he said European troops would fight Putin’s troops if attacked by them after any ceasefire agreement.

“If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” he said.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte warned Russia on Wednesday that a reaction to an attack on Europe would be “devastating.” "

Ukraine war live: Macron warns European force in Ukraine could ‘respond’ if attacked

Sir Keir Starmer has spearheaded plans for a ‘coalition of the willing’ to form a peacekeeping force in Ukraine

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Vern]

"European troops deployed to Ukraine would respond to a Russian attack, French president Emmanuel Macron warned.

After a meeting in Paris between Mr Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, he said European troops would fight Putin’s troops if attacked by them after any ceasefire agreement.

“If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” he said.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte warned Russia on Wednesday that a reaction to an attack on Europe would be “devastating.” "

Ukraine war live: Macron warns European force in Ukraine could ‘respond’ if attacked

Sir Keir Starmer has spearheaded plans for a ‘coalition of the willing’ to form a peacekeeping force in Ukraine

www.independent.co.uk

It's important to remember that this statement is just a reiteration of the right to self defence.

Even when 'peacekeeping' . Peacekeeping as a NATO Force or as a UN Force. No one can ever take away a soldier's right to defend themselves. You shoot at me, I'm shooting back. Canadians and Macron are familiarized and well-acquainted with such a need while 'peacekeeping'.

UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) - Croatia. The Battle of Medak Pocket. French and Canadian Peacekeepers (my hubby amongst them) vs. the Croatian Army. 1993 and under blue berets.

Operation Medak Pocket - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Forgotten Fights: Battle of Medak Pocket | Veterans Affairs Canada

Sometimes peace can only be protected by fighting. The Battle of Medak Pocket was one of those times.

www.veterans.gc.ca

-

 

[Herat]

Witkoff, who met Putin 10 days ago, ... also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine

Steve Witkoff says the UK plans for an international force to support a ceasefire are a "posture".

www.bbc.co.uk

Just ludicrous. You can't make this up, nobody would believe it.

I'm gonna bet Putin is teasing Trump with a statue, next.

 

[Vern]

Just ludicrous. You can't make this up, nobody would believe it.

I'm gonna bet Putin is teasing Trump with a statue, next.

The Ruskies just love catering to his vanity don't they??

 

[Herat]

I would love to think this could be confirmed:

Zelensky says 'Putin will die soon' and vows 'it will come to an end'

Volodymyr Zelensky's damning assessment of Putin's health came during a sit-down interview with journalists in Paris.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[SouthAussie]

I would love to think this could be confirmed:

Zelensky says 'Putin will die soon' and vows 'it will come to an end'

Volodymyr Zelensky's damning assessment of Putin's health came during a sit-down interview with journalists in Paris.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I have to say (from your linked article) that Macron is very impressive during this anxious time .... he publicly says exactly what so many others need to say.


Macron also announced a new French two-billion-euro ($2.2-billion) military aid package for Ukraine, with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks.

He said Russia must accept a 30-day ceasefire offered by Ukraine 'without preconditions', accusing Moscow of still showing a 'desire for war' and hailing Kyiv for having 'taken the risk of peace'.

'Russia shall have no right of say regarding the support we are providing and will provide Ukraine, nor shall they set the conditions,' Macron said.

'There is just one aggressor and one party that is resisting,' he said.

imo

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I'm gonna bet Putin is teasing Trump with a statue, next.

I hope a statue of him, if any, doesn't end up replacing the Statue of Liberty.

I'm only half joking.
In this bizarre new world nothing is sacred.

 

[sds71]

@SecGenNATO
Met this morning with PM @Keir_Starmer and then together with President
@EmmanuelMacron @ZelenskyyUa to prepare today’s Paris conference and to coordinate our efforts in support of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine

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[Lilibet]

Just ludicrous. You can't make this up, nobody would believe it.

I'm gonna bet Putin is teasing Trump with a statue, next.

From the link, Witkoff says”

Asked about Keir Starmer's plans to forge a "coalition of the willing" to provide military security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine, Witkoff said: "I think it's a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic. There is this sort of notion that we have all got to be like [British wartime prime minister] Winston Churchill. Russians are going to march across Europe. That is preposterous by the way. We have something called Nato that we did not have in World War Two."
BBM

Witkoff certainly know how insult our “allies.” Give me Churchill any day. The Russians don’t need to “march across Europe.” They have previously threatened nuclear war if NATO gets involved.

 

[LoveyG]

From the link, Witkoff says”

Asked about Keir Starmer's plans to forge a "coalition of the willing" to provide military security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine, Witkoff said: "I think it's a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic. There is this sort of notion that we have all got to be like [British wartime prime minister] Winston Churchill. Russians are going to march across Europe. That is preposterous by the way. We have something called Nato that we did not have in World War Two."
BBM

Witkoff certainly know how insult our “allies.” Give me Churchill any day. The Russians don’t need to “march across Europe.” They have previously threatened nuclear war if NATO gets involved.

But, but, I thought we didn't like NATO anymore and wanted to leave?

 

[PommyMommy]

North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia to offset Ukraine war losses, South Korea says.

Pyongyang has also reportedly supplied Moscow with more short-range ballistic missiles, 170 mm self-propelled howitzers, and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers.

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Hungarian FM visits Moscow, eyes further economic cooperation with Russia.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited Moscow on March 26 to discuss continued economic cooperation between the two countries, Bloomberg reported.

Szijjarto has made at least 13 visits to Russia in the past three years, far more than any other EU diplomat, and even more than some of Russia’s closest allies.
https://kyivindependent.com/hungarian-fm-visits-moscow-eyes-further-economic-cooperation-with-russia/

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US finalizes Ukraine minerals deal, signing possible next week, treasury secretary says."

We hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

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