Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #6

[sds71]

@alexweprin

On the same day that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to deliver his address to congress, his TV show "Servant of the People" is once again able to be viewed in the U.S. Netflix says the series is now available to stream


Ukrainian President Zelensky Addresses Congress
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Congress about the Russian invasion of his country.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?518685-1/ukrainian-president-zelensky-addresses-congress

https://www.youtube.com/cspan

Airing Details

• Mar 16, 2022 | 9:00am EDT | C-SPAN 1
• Mar 16, 2022 | 9:00am EDT | C-SPAN RADIO
• Mar 16, 2022 | 8:00pm EDT | C-SPAN 1
• Mar 17, 2022 | 6:00am EDT | C-SPAN 1

 

[Mo Thuairim]

‘Nowhere to return’: Ukrainian scientist in Antarctica watches war unfold from afar

Yan Bakhmut’s assignment to Ukraine’s only research base in Antarctica is almost over, but the home he left has been destroyed

Yan Bakhmut was 15,500km miles away from his home in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv when the Russian invasion began. Working as a geophysicist at the Vernadsky Station, Ukraine’s only research base in Antarctica, he has watched the horrors of the war unfold from an agonising distance.

Now his year-long assignment to the remote outpost is nearing its conclusion and he faces the bitter task of returning to Europe and a country that has changed forever.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been wrecked by Russian airstrikes. Ukrainian forces are still holding the city against the Russian advance, but it has suffered from Russian rockets and shelling, with dozens of civilians killed and injured and many buildings destroyed.

Bakhmut’s mother and girlfriend have left for Poland while his father and grandmother fled to western Ukraine. Professors at the institute where he worked before taking up his post in Antarctica have joined the territorial defence units.

“It’s impossible to describe, you can only live through it when you are thousands of kilometres away from everything and everyone you know and love, when you can’t influence anything,” Bakhmut said in a phone call with the Guardian.

"You just realise that you have nowhere to return, and all you can do is turn yourself to a new reality. Your life has divided into ‘before’ and ‘after’.”

(...)

Bakhmut plans to fly to Poland to reunite with his family. But he is not sure what his future will hold after that. He says, depending on the situation, he will either join the defence forces in Ukraine, or stay in Poland and continue his scientific work.

(...)

 

[dotr]

Snippets from lengthy article.
By Brian Klaas
March 16 2022 rbbm.
Vladimir Putin Has Fallen Into the Dictator Trap - The Atlantic
''In the span of a couple of weeks, Vladimir Putin—a man recently described by Donald Trump as a strategic “genius”—managed to revitalize NATO, unify a splintered West, turn Ukraine’s little-known president into a global hero, wreck Russia’s economy, and solidify his legacy as a murderous war criminal.

How did he miscalculate so badly?

To answer that question, you have to understand the power and information ecosystems around dictators. I’ve studied and interviewed despots across the globe for more than a decade. In my research, I’ve persistently encountered a stubborn myth—of the savvy strongman, the rational, calculating despot who can play the long game because he (and it’s typically a he) doesn’t have to worry about pesky polls or angry voters. Our elected leaders, this view suggests, are no match for the tyrant who gazes into the next decade rather than fretting about next year’s election.''

''For those of us living in liberal democracies, criticizing the boss is risky, but we’re not going to be shipped off to a gulag or watch our family get tortured. In authoritarian regimes, those all-too-real risks have a way of focusing the mind. Is it ever worthwhile for authoritarian advisers to speak truth to power?''

''As a result, despots rarely get told that their stupid ideas are stupid, or that their ill-conceived wars are likely to be catastrophic. Offering honest criticism is a deadly game and most advisers avoid doing so. Those who dare to gamble eventually lose and are purged. So over time, the advisers who remain are usually yes-men who act like bobbleheads, nodding along when the despot outlines some crackpot scheme.''

 

[dotr]

Ukraine: Putin will search for a way to save face - BBC News
By John Simpson World Affairs editor rbbm.
''So what will make President Putin come out of this disastrous war looking good in the eyes of Russia's majority?

Firstly, an assurance, perhaps even to be written into Ukraine's constitution, that it has no intention of joining Nato in the foreseeable future. President Zelensky has already prepared the way for this, by asking Nato for something it couldn't agree to (establishing a no-fly-zone over Ukraine), then criticising the alliance for letting him down on this, and finally musing out loud that he wasn't sure that if Nato behaved like this, it was actually worth joining.

As clever and wise political positioning goes, it doesn't get much better than this. Nato gets the blame, which it can easily cope with, and Ukraine gets the freedom to act as it wants.


But that's the easy bit. It'll be harder to finesse the urgent ambition which Zelensky and Ukraine have to join the EU, something Russia is almost equally hostile to, though there are ways around that too. Hardest of all for Ukraine to swallow will be Russia's outright theft of Ukrainian territory, in total defiance of the solemn international treaty it had signed to protect Ukraine's borders.

The loss of Crimea in 2014 is something Ukraine may well be forced to give its formal acceptance to, in some way. And Russia clearly intends to hang on to those areas in eastern Ukraine which are pretty much effectively under Russian control already - and perhaps more.''

 

[Dontknow?]

Jim Sciutto@jimsciutto
1h

New: US & NATO allies are sending several surface-to-air missiles systems to Ukraine. A senior US official tells me these systems include Soviet-era SA-8, SA-10, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems, w/range higher than Stingers, giving capability to hit cruise missiles.


Illia Ponomarenko
@IAPonomarenko
1h

Hahaha, classic… Ramzan Kadyrov did not come to the Kyiv region the other day with his goons. He lied. Two phone numbers he uses never connected to any of the mobile communications towers in Ukraine. In reality, he never left Grozniy.
https://t.co/6npYI2nIkn

 

[dotr]

Russia's state TV hit by stream of resignations - BBC News
''Some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest cheerleaders on state-run TV have already faced sanctions, including Vladimir Solovyov who presents a talk show on Russia's biggest channel Rossiya-1, and Margarita Simonyan who has accused anyone ashamed of being Russian at this point as not really being Russian.

Russia's state-run channels are required to toe the Kremlin line, so who has quit in response to the war?

Hours after Marina Ovsyannikova's on-screen resignation, three other resignations came to light.

Channel One colleague Zhanna Agalakova quit her job as Europe correspondent while two journalists have left rival NTV. Lilia Gildeyeva had worked for the channel as a presenter since 2006 and Vadim Glusker had been at NTV for almost 30 years.''

''Maria Baronova is the highest-profile resignation at RT, formerly known as Russia Today. Former chief editor at RT, she told the BBC's Steve Rosenberg this month Mr Putin had already destroyed Russia's reputation and that the economy was dead too.

BBC
There was a big love of my life, Russia, and now it's dead as well
Maria Baronova
Former chief editor, RT''

 

[Chelly]

I hope the Russian journalists and correspondents resigning state-run tv in protest of Putin's war can remain safe.

 

[GRT]

Hello Russia. Ukraine is a a sovereign nation. I think your actions and atrocities against her people have proven exactly why Ukraine would benefit from an international alliance and foreign based cooperation if she so wishes. Don't be surprised if she says, "nyet". You have proven that neutrality doesn't mean a thing when you attacked her; she already gave her nukes back to you post-Soviet era in agreement that you would never then attack her. You lied. You lie. You are a liar. You are not an nation who holds their word.

Stay strong Ukraine.

Yes, he lied. He lies, and he is among the nastiest of liars.

Still, it behooves Ukraine to negotiate a deal with Russia in order to save lives.

 

[Chelly]

Reuters
@Reuters
18m

Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian woman who burst into a TV studio to denounce the Ukraine war during a live news bulletin, told
@Reuters
she was worried for her safety and hoped her protest would open Russians' eyes to propaganda https://reut.rs/3tVaXGY

 

[cujenn81]

This is my summary of Zelensky's address to Congress (not verbatim unless in quotations).

Members of congress give President Zelensky a standing ovation when he appears on screen.

“Glory to heroes!”

I’m proud to greet Congress, Americans, and friends from the capital city of Kyiv. It’s under strikes from Russian troops every day but doesn’t give up.

Ukraine and its freedom-loving people have been resisting Russia for eight years.

"Right now the destiny of our country is being decided."

Whether we will be free of a brutal offensive against basic human values, our desire for happiness, and the right to live freely in our own country.

Think of Mount Rushmore. The faces of your country’s founders. Their willingness to fight for freedom. Remember Pearl Harbor. The terrible morning when your sky turned black from planes attacking. Remember September 11. When innocent people were attacked from the air.

Our country is experiencing the same every day. Right now at this moment. Every night for three weeks.

1000 missiles have been fired at Ukraine by Russia. Drones have been used to kill us with precision.

We are asking for any answer. A humanitarian no-fly zone. If this is too much to ask, we offer alternatives. An air-defense system, S300. You know how much relies on their ability to fly aircraft.

I have a need – a need to protect our sky. I need your help. The same way you feel when you hear Martin Luther King say, “I have a dream.”

Ukraine is grateful for the United States, its overwhelming support and for everything your people have done to help us put pressure on Russia economically. We are thankful for President Biden. Grateful for the recognition of Russia's war crimes.

I call on you to do more. I need it, constantly. Every week until the Russian military mission is stopped.

Sanction all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their positions. The state dumas members who lack the morale to break from Putin.

"Leave their markets completely because it is flooded with our blood." Please take the lead if you have companies in Russian districts. You should put pressure on them. Peace is more important than income.

I’m asking they don’t receive a single penny that can be used to destroy Ukraine. All ports should be closed to Russia.

We need new tools to stop the war. We need new institutions and new alliances. And we offer them. A union of responsible countries to keep the peace, to save the world. to save lives. Such a union could provide assistance during disasters. If such an alliance existed today, we would be able to save many lives right now.

I ask you to watch one video of what they did to our land, to our people. Please watch the video.

The video plays and shows images of :

- different regions in Ukraine and Ukrainians living happy and peaceful lives
- the happy images are replaced with Ukrainians mourning -- crying and screaming
- civilians running from air strikes
- beautiful and historic buildings exploding
- large apartment buildings collapsing and turning to rubble
- city streets utterly destroyed
- injured and dying children
- dead bodies lying under covers in the street
- infants wrapped in bloody blankets
- overcrowded evacuation trains
- grieving mothers
- grieving children that appear to be all by themselves
- dead soldiers on the streets
- large fires in the sky
- the elderly struggling to evacuate
- planes dropping bombs over cities
- hospital wards full of critically injured children
- mass graves filled with dead bodies

The video ends with five words: Close the sky over Ukraine

"Strong doesn’t mean meek." It means brave and ready. We are fighting for the values of Europe for the future. That’s why American people are helping not just Ukraine but also Europe. To keep justice in history.

"I see no sense in life if we cannot stop the deaths." This is my main issue. My people, brave Ukraine.

President Biden, you are the leader of the nation. "To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of peace."

 

[Sundog]

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall safely out of Ukraine after suffering serious injuries

Good news, Benjamin Hall, Fox News correspondent, has been transported out of Ukraine and is being treated for his injuries, he is said to be alert and in good spirits.

In the meantime, we mourn the loss of his two colleagues who were killed, Pierre and Sasha.

 

[CSIDreamer]

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1504116950368235520?t=VDr480SwKWJ3TMAWAQIrEQ&s=19

️ FT: Ukraine, Russia draw up tentative peace plan to end war.

The deal includes a ceasefire and Russian troop withdrawal if Kyiv renounces NATO membership ambitions and accepts limits on its armed forces, the FT reported, citing unnamed officials involved in the talks.

(I'm assuming FT is Financial Times)

 

[dotr]

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1504116950368235520?t=VDr480SwKWJ3TMAWAQIrEQ&s=19

️ FT: Ukraine, Russia draw up tentative peace plan to end war.

The deal includes a ceasefire and Russian troop withdrawal if Kyiv renounces NATO membership ambitions and accepts limits on its armed forces, the FT reported, citing unnamed officials involved in the talks.

(I'm assuming FT is Financial Times)

rbbm,
Ukraine and Russia draw up 15-point neutrality plan to end war (irishtimes.com)
''Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress on a tentative 15-point peace plan including a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal if Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts limits on its armed forces, according to three people involved in the talks.The proposed deal, which Ukrainian and Russian negotiators discussed in full for the first time on Monday, would involve Kyiv renouncing its ambitions to join Nato and promising not to host foreign military bases or weaponry in exchange for protection from allies such as the US, UK and Turkey, the people said.

The nature of western guarantees for Ukrainian security – and their acceptability to Moscow – could yet prove to be a big obstacle to any deal, as could the status of Ukrainian territories seized by Russia and its proxies in 2014. A 1994 agreement underpinning Ukrainian security failed to prevent Russian aggression against its neighbour.

Although Moscow and Kyiv both said on Wednesday that they had made progress on the terms of a deal, Ukrainian officials remain sceptical Russian president Vladimir Putin is fully committed to peace and worry that Moscow could be buying time to regroup its forces and resume its offensive.''

 

[Dontknow?]

BNO News
@BNONews
6m

BREAKING: International Court of Justice in The Hague orders Russia to suspend invasion of Ukraine

Володимир Зеленський
@ZelenskyyUa

Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further

New York Times World
@nytimesworld
11m

Doing “a year’s work in two weeks,” technical experts on Wednesday finished synchronizing Ukraine’s and Moldova’s power grids with continental Europe’s.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Financial Times correspondent

https://twitter.com/polinaivanovva/status/1504088980501012484?t=yMrD2YfawcefR3P2z14RlA&s=19

Russia exits the Council of Europe. A photo for the ages: https://t.co/4Z73FYVnST

 

[mickey2942]

I don't know what to say. My husband is a veteran. I have a lot of friends and family members currently in the military. My father came home from Vietnam permanently disabled.

The way we ended Afghanistan was terrible. And disheartening for everyone who served there.

I feel badly for Ukraine people. But this is a NATO decision. Not a United States decision.

 

[fred&edna]

Witnesses on Wednesday reported a huge bomb blast near the Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama. “No one can reach the blockages, we don’t know if there are any survivors,” one said. “The bomb shelter is also covered with debris, there are both adults and children there.”

Trapped in Mariupol: ‘They shoot hard, we sit in the basement’


Previous (March 11) video of civilians sheltering at the theatre

This is just so sad and sickening. jmo

 

[Dontknow?]

Kaitlan Collins
@kaitlancollins
1m

Biden announces the U.S. will send drones to Ukraine.

 

[sds71]

@JenniferShutt

Biden officially announces an additional $800 million in assistance to Ukraine, thanking Congress for providing the funds. Says this brings total new U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion "just this week."

Biden announces new US aid to Ukraine will include anti-aircraft systems & says US helping Ukraine identify & obtain longer-range air defense systems

Biden says drones are among the weapons the U.S. is sending to Ukraine, "which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for defense."

Biden: "I want to be honest with you, this could be a long and difficult battle. But the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine."


@John_Hudson

Zelensky doesn't get his No-Fly Zone but he gets quite a bit: Biden announces the U.S. will send Ukraine: -drones -9,000 Anti-armor systems - 800 Anti-aircraft systems -7,000 Small arms, 20 million rounds in ammunition

 

[dotr]

(7) President Biden gives special report - YouTube

(7) WATCH LIVE | Biden announces additional military aid for Ukraine - YouTube
''President Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine. The aid comes from a spending bill that Biden signed Tuesday that will provide $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine. Previous U.S. assistance has included shipments of antiaircraft and anti-armor systems. Libby Casey will anchor coverage from The Washington Post newsroom, with reporting and analysis from Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann, Jeff Stein and Jon Gerberg in Kyiv.''