Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #4

[CoverMeCagney]

The Prime Ministers of UK, Canada & Netherlands are together today, and doing a joint press conference in half an hour:

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 7, 2022
‘We will be here until the end’: the fight to keep Ukraine’s news media alive | Ukraine | The Guardian
Roman Stepanovych is no stranger to war. In an award-winning career for English-language news outlets including the Associated Press and Vice News, the 32-year-old Ukrainian journalist has reported from Syria, Chechnya and Myanmar, as well as covering the conflict closer to home in the Donbas region.

[...]

“I’m from Donetsk, which is occupied by separatists, and my wife [Kateryna Sergatskova, Zaborona’s editor-in-chief] and I and have worked in dangerous places. She was in Iraq. But now I think it was just an introduction for this. It is completely different when it is your home,” he said.

Zaborona is one of dozens of small news outlets focusing on investigative journalism that sprang up in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2013 Maidan revolution. The protests eventually led to the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president accused of extensive corruption, political intimidation and abuse of those who demonstrated against his government.

[...]

For the 31-strong newsroom, however, the focus now is purely on surviving – both literally and figuratively. One Ukrainian journalist has already been killed, and another four injured. A Sky News crew was evacuated back to the UK from Ukraine on Sunday after the journalists were shot during an ambush by Russian snipers.

As Stepanovych knows well from his time working in Russia, Moscow has limited – and declining – tolerance for journalism which doesn’t conform to the Kremlin’s preferred narratives.

[...]

The repression has become almost total since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Last week the Russian government shut down the country’s last independent TV channel, TV Rain, as well as Echo of Moscow, one of its oldest radio stations. The BBC and other international news organisations have been blocked, as well as Facebook and Twitter, for allegedly spreading false information about the war.

Most of the journalism outlets remaining in Russia have suspended operations following a law passed on Friday punishing “fake war reports” with up to 15 years in prison.

The 2021 co-winner of the Nobel peace prize Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent Novaya Gazeta, told the New Yorker before the legislation was passed: “For now, we continue to call war war. We are waiting for the consequences.” The newspaper has since deleted content from its website.

[...]

“Before we would have been competitors, but we are not any more,” Stepanovych said. “If someone is in the right place and we need to write something or check something it doesn’t matter who they work for, we can call, because we are all working together collectively.”

[...]

But the newsroom still has hope. “It is hard to undo the gains we have made since Maidan,” Stepanovych said. “We will keep going. Maybe we will be fighting and writing at the same time. But we will be here until the end.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

How Putin, Zelenskyy and Musk Fight the Information War in Ukraine

“It is much harder to do a total lockdown in the tech era,” said Susan Chira, the former foreign editor of the New York Times and editor in chief of The Marshall Project, a journalism nonprofit focused on criminal justice. “They are tech-savvy and are trying to do what the Chinese have done. But people are determined to get the word out, and they are pretty creative.”

That said, Chira spoke to friends in Russia over the weekend who confirmed that police were stopping people on the street and in airports and demanding to view their text messages. “It may be a cat and mouse game,” she said, adding, “It’s fierce. It’s really fierce.

“In the 1980s, people were used to standing in bread lines. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. You have some wealthier Russians traveling to France, buying Louis Vuitton. You cannot undo that. Right now every single company is exiting Russia,” she said, noting that there was a rush on Ikea in Moscow when the company announced it was pulling out.

 

[Elley Mae]

Russian arrested in Raleigh could be connected to the stalled military convoy in Ukraine

Russian arrested in Raleigh could be connected to the stalled military convoy in Ukraine :: WRAL.com

Video circulating on social media reportedly shows a Ukrainian soldier mocking Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs, given to the Russian military. The packaging shows they were made in 2013 and expired in 2015, yet are on the battlefield today, 7 years later.


The label on the expired food, written in Cyrillic, translates to a tie back to an infamous criminal case in Raleigh. Federal investigators say Voentorg is the company Leonid Teyf used to get $150 million in kickbacks on Russian military contracts. Teyf and his wife were arrested back in 2018 when the FBI raided their mansion based on a murder-for-hire plot, bribing a public official, tax return issues and immigration violations.

…

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Everything is making me cry today, in this case, with pride:

An 11-year-old boy braved a 600-mile journey from southeastern Ukraine to the Slovakian border all by himself with only a plastic bag, passport, and telephone number scribbled on his hand.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...fugee-aged-11-travels-600-miles-Slovakia.html
Brave Ukrainian refugee, 11, travels 600 miles on his own to Slovakia

 

[PommyMommy]

Hearing At UN's Top Court Over Russia's Ukraine Genocide Claim Ends As Moscow Boycotts (rferl.org)
The International Court of Justice says it will rule "as soon as possible" after ending a hearing into a legal move by Kyiv to stop an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops despite Moscow's rejection of the proceedings.

The United Nations' top court opened the case on March 7 and heard arguments from Ukraine. It had scheduled a second session for March 8 to give Russia a chance to present its case, but Moscow boycotted the proceedings, leaving a conspicuously empty row of seats reserved for its lawyers in the Hague-based chamber.

[...]

In Photos: Ukraine's Odesa Turned Into A Fortress To Repel Russian Attack (rferl.org)

1The National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Historians recall that the last time it looked like this was in 1941, when Odesa was besieged by the Nazis.

2The people of Odesa could not help repeating the now-famous joke about what Ukrainian border guards on tiny Zmiinyi Island told a Russian warship when they were threatened with bombardment.

3Only those who live there are allowed into the city center.

6Checkpoints operate in several places. Volunteers say that half a dozen saboteurs have already been detained in the center. This cannot be officially confirmed.

9Czech hedgehogs are set up in the streets to repel Russian tanks and armored vehicles.

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine turning captured Russian equipment into weapons - Washington Times
[...]

On Sunday, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukrainian manufacturers and factories are focused on filling military orders and repairing equipment damaged in the fighting.

“To fight, the country has to work — everyone in their place,” Mr. Reznikov said, according to the Defense Ministry. “If you have been forced to evacuate, get a job in a new home. Your help is needed everywhere.”

[...]

In his address to the nation, Mr. Reznikov said Ukraine is turning war trophies into weapons by making use of the Russian tanks and armored vehicles often seen being dragged away by farm tractors. Moscow’s battlefield losses are helping Ukraine replenish its fleet of combat vehicles.

[...]

The Russians are focusing their wrath on women and children and pulverizing residential neighborhoods because they have been unable to overcome Ukraine’s military strength, Mr. Reznikov said.

“The Russians are ordinary terrorists, and terrorists will be destroyed,” he said.

Biden To Discuss Ukraine With French, German, British Leaders (rferl.org)
U.S. President Joe Biden is due to hold a video conference on March 7 with the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain to discuss "the latest developments regarding Russia and Ukraine," the White House said.

The call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will take place at 10:30 a.m. EST as Washington pushes its allies on a possible Russian oil ban amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to Europe, said the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil.

 

[Tiff23fr]

Russia reveals harsh demands for ending war; Ukraine calls evacuation routes 'unacceptable: Live updates

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is demanding Ukraine halt its military activity, change its Constitution to include neutrality so it can't join the EU or NATO, recognize Crimea as Russian territory and recognize independence of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Ukraine live updates: Proposed evacuation routes called unacceptable

 

[Tiff23fr]

The Prime Ministers of UK, Canada & Netherlands are together today, and doing a joint press conference in half an hour:

View attachment 335786

Any update on this?

 

[sds71]

@SkyNews
·
Watch live: Boris Johnson holds a news conference with Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau as intense diplomatic efforts continue in a bid to show a united front against Russia https://trib.al/QTC8as2

 

[Angleterre]

@SkyNews
·
Watch live: Boris Johnson holds a news conference with Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau as intense diplomatic efforts continue in a bid to show a united front against Russia https://trib.al/QTC8as2

It says link not working? Do you have any other information available please

 

[sds71]

It says link not working? Do you have any other information available please

I’m watching it on this one
They just took the last question

@MariekeWalsh


Trudeau says Canada is announcing new sanctions against 10 Russian government officials and oligarchs. He doesn’t name the people but says the list of names comes from those suggested by Alexei Navalny

Rutte says Russia has used cluster bombs in Ukraine. On energy, Rutte says Europe needs to “reduce dramatically” its dependence on Russia. But he says that needs to happen over time, suggests negative consequences outweigh the upside of quickly cutting off supply


Johnson says the West’s approach with Russian energy needs to be coordinated

Rutte: the painful reality is that we are very dependent on Russian oil and gas. Banning it now would have widespread ramifications. “This is a step by step approach,” he says. “That will take time.”

Trudeau: Canada imports a negligible amount of Russian oil but now it’s banned

Johnson is asked about if the wealthy Russians who live in London and send their kids to British private schools. He says the UK will continue to tighten the “vice” on Russia

Rutte says he agrees so far that the sanctions haven’t changed Putin’s behaviour. Trudeau says Russia’s “neo colonialism” is “not going to fly.”

Johnson says he won’t comment on Canadas defence spending but says we can’t go back to status quo as happened after Russias invasion of Crimea. Rutte says new Dutch defence spending will bring it closer to the 2% target
Boris Johnson announces £175million support plan for Ukraine as PM hosts Trudeau and Rutte in London

 

[Angleterre]

I’m watching it on this one
They just took the last question

@MariekeWalsh



Rutte says Russia has used cluster bombs in Ukraine. On energy, Rutte says Europe needs to “reduce dramatically” its dependence on Russia. But he says that needs to happen over time, suggests negative consequences outweigh the upside of quickly cutting off supply


Johnson says the West’s approach with Russian energy needs to be coordinated

Rutte: the painful reality is that we are very dependent on Russian oil and gas. Banning it now would have widespread ramifications. “This is a step by step approach,” he says. “That will take time.”

Trudeau: Canada imports a negligible amount of Russian oil but now it’s banned

Johnson is asked about if the wealthy Russians who live in London and send their kids to British private schools. He says the UK will continue to tighten the “vice” on Russia

Rutte says he agrees so far that the sanctions haven’t changed Putin’s behaviour. Trudeau says Russia’s “neo colonialism” is “not going to fly.”

Johnson says he won’t comment on Canadas defence spending but says we can’t go back to status quo as happened after Russias invasion of Crimea. Rutte says new Dutch defence spending will bring it closer to the 2% target
Boris Johnson announces £175million support plan for Ukraine as PM hosts Trudeau and Rutte in London

Thank you so much @sds71

 

[sunshineray]

Why Putin calls Ukrainians 'neo-Nazis in a created country'

"Ukraine must be denazified to end the genocide in eastern Ukraine." Russian President Putin uses very strong words to justify the invasion of Ukraine. What exactly does he mean by the allegations? And what are they based on?

We present five of Putin's claims to historian Marc Jansen, author of Borderland, a history of Ukraine . Putin's quotes come from two recent speeches and an article he wrote. You can read those texts at the bottom of this article.

1. "The Ukrainian government is russophobic"
Ukraine has tried in recent years to strengthen Ukrainian unity and limit influences from Moscow, including through a new language law. "Education should be given in Ukrainian and newspapers should be published in Ukrainian." Such measures may be at the expense of Russian, but do not mean the 'elimination' of Russian, says Jansen.

(......)

2. "Neonazis rule Ukraine"
For the Nazi indictment, we have to go back to the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, who sided with Nazi Germany in World War II and whose movement contributed to the mass murder of Jews and Poles. "He did this in the hopes of proclaiming an independent Ukrainian state, which, incidentally, failed." In Western Ukraine in particular, Bandera enjoys cult status as a 'resistance fighter', much to Moscow's horror.

"There are far-right, anti-Semitist parties in Ukraine, but they play no significant role in national government." However, they were prominent in the Maydan revolution of 2014 and there are neo-Nazi militias that have been active in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, such as the Azov battalion, which is part of the Ukrainian armed forces.

That in no way makes Zelensky's government 'neo-Nazis', Jansen emphasizes. On the contrary: President Zelensky has a Jewish background, relatives were murdered during the Holocaust.

In Ukraine, an estimated seven million people were killed during WWII, the highest death rate of the total population after Belarus and Poland.

3. "Ukraine commits genocide against 4 million Russians"
Unfounded propaganda, according to Jansen. Eastern Ukraine has been at war for eight years between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists, with many displaced. "But that's different from genocide." Putin does not substantiate the genocide charge with concrete examples.

Putin also says that Ukraine wants to "destroy" Russian Orthodox churches under the Moscow Patriarchate. Although Kiev has had its own patriarch since 2018, who is separate from Moscow , there are no signs that Ukraine is opposing the Russian Orthodox Church, according to Jansen.

(....)

4. "Modern Ukraine was invented by Russia"
In Putin's over an hour speech last week , he said it after just one minute: Lenin created Ukraine. That is correct in a sense, says Jansen, because it was Lenin who gave Ukraine sovereignty. "He was afraid that the Soviet Union would become too Russian when he had just dealt with the tsarist Russian Empire." Later, the present territory of Ukraine took shape, when Stalin added parts of Poland (Lviv and environs) to the Soviet Republic and was 'handed over' Crimea by Khrushchev. That does not mean that Ukraine only came into existence then. Historians go back to the late Middle Ages.

(....)

Russian invention or not: Ukraine is now a united, autonomous nation, according to Jansen. "It is precisely because of the war in eastern Ukraine, which has been raging since 2014, that Ukraine has become a largely united country. Putin has done more for Ukrainian nation building than anyone else."

5. "Ukraine Is Working To Develop Nuclear Weapons"
"This too is a figment of the Russian propaganda", says the historian resolutely. Ukraine had nuclear weapons at its disposal after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but these were given to Russia, partly under pressure from the West, in exchange for recognition of the Ukrainian borders. "This 1994 agreement turned out to be worthless 20 years later, when Russia annexed Crimea."

Zelensky likes to recall this broken promise , but there are no signs that the country is actively developing nuclear weapons at the moment. "Maybe they want it, but you don't have just any nuclear weapon."

Truth or not: the above claims are believed by a significant part of the Russian population, says Jansen. "That is the power of propaganda: Russians have been hearing on state television for eight years that there are Nazis in power in Kiev, and they must be stopped."

Waarom Poetin Oekraïners 'neonazi's in een gecreëerd land' noemt

The reason is really quite simple. Ukraine wants to be it's own free country. Putin wants "the" Ukraine to be in the "Russia World" and have no freedom.

Everyone should watch "Winter of Fire" if they have the time.

 

[sds71]

Thirteen people have reportedly been killed after Russian forced bombed a bakery.
Five people were said to be pulled from the rubble alive.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russia-ukraine-putin-war-live-26401326

 

[JerseyGirl]

Russia publishes an official list of 'unfriendly' states

A list of foreign states that Russia considers as having committed "unfriendly actions" against "Russia, Russian companies and citizens" was published on the Russian government's website on Monday. The countries, international organizations and territories considered "unfriendly" include:

Australia, Albania, Andorra, United Kingdom including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, the member states of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan. Russia lists Taiwan as being part of China.

A complimentary item of legislation from Sunday states that Russian citizens and companies must apply for a special permit to deal with "unfriendly" foreign entities.

While Israel has condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, it was not included on the list. Israel has taken on a mediation role during the conflict, seeing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flying to Moscow on Saturday to speak with Putin.

 

[Herat]

I keep reading the obtuse and psycholgically twisted responses Putin gives to his failure in this assault.

1. Russian soldiers too young/conflicted to do the job? Bring in a dastardly mercenary crew. The Wagner Group.

2. Russian soldiers losing morale? Bring in hardened Syrian fighters well-versed in Putin's cruetly?

3. Criticism over attacking nuclear power plants? Take the Ukranian workers hostage and declare them to be Ukranian radical terrorists.

4. Hear about international outrage over civilian deaths? Offer evacuation routes that still being attacked.

5. More international outrage about civilian targets? Offer faux-evacuation routes right into your own hands, likely sending refugees to some sort of camps or Siberian internment.

6. Massive protests in Russia? Jail them and then declare martial law.

etc, etc, etc

And now my point:
This is not a man who can possibly accept defeat, conditions, surrender, criticism, or humiliation. His overwhelming ego and pyschopathology and internal hubris has caused him to back himself into a corner. His Ukranian attack is causing more dangerous precedents. He has backed his own country into a cascading economic downturn and spiral into pre-1990 deprivations and hardship, with the eventual loss of the money for his military protection.

I think Putin has no way out but death. And that makes him the most dangerous rat of all.

 

[Herat]

Russia publishes an official list of states 'unfriendly' to it

A list of foreign states that Russia considers as having committed "unfriendly actions" against "Russia, Russian companies and citizens" was published on the Russian government's website on Monday. The countries, international organizations and territories considered "unfriendly" include:

"Australia, Albania, Andorra, United Kingdom, including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan."

Russia lists Taiwan as being part of China.

I don't have access to the entire list in that article, but it's curious who is excluded:

Turkey
All of the mideast, including Israel
India
Pakistan
Malaysia
Indonesia
Sri Lanka
Everywhere on the African continent
Phillipines
Micronesia
All of Central and Latin America

Looks to me like someone is looking to create large geo-politcal blocks of Anti-Western Nations

 

[dotr]

March 6 2022

''Ukrainian peace negotiator shot dead amid claims he was a ‘double agent’''
March 7 2022
''Russian tanks swarm Kyiv region as it promises to open 'safe corridors'''

 

[sunshineray]

Yesterday this happened...

Russian military strike Vinnitsya airport from Black Sea.

March 6, 2022 8:24 pm by The Kyiv Independent news desk

A total of eight missiles were launched by Russia’s strategic missile carriers in the Black Sea, according to Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the country’s Air Force Command. The missiles have a range of up to 5,500 kilometers. The airport was completely destroyed.

Russian military strike Vinnitsya airport from Black Sea.

Today, 4 hours ago this happened...

https://mobile.twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/1500797084726964231