Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[LadyL]

'Part of the family': Ukrainians leave everything behind at the border, except their pets | Ottawa Citizen

 

[sunshineray]

Russians are blocked at US border, Ukrainians are admitted | The Star
''About three dozen would-be asylum seekers from Russia found themselves blocked from entering the U.S. on Friday while a group of Ukrainians flashed passports and were escorted across the border.

The scene reflected a quiet but unmistakable shift in the differing treatment of Russians and Ukrainians who enter Mexico as tourists and fly to Tijuana, hoping to enter the U.S. for a chance at asylum.

The Russians — 34 as of Friday — had been camped several days at the busiest U.S border crossing with Mexico, two days after city of Tijuana officials gently urged them to leave.''

,,,
''Within hours of arriving, the migrant, who identified himself only as Mark because he feared for his family’s safety in Russia, saw three Russian migrants admitted to the United States. After six hours, U.S. authorities returned his passport and said only Ukrainians were being admitted.

“Ukrainians and Russians are suffering because of one man,” Mark said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He fled shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.''

Good people fleeing war or a leader who's a monstrous dictator should have the same chance at getting into the US. My grandfather came as a very young teen trying to get away from violence and death. He was Polish-Russian and a smart, hard worker for his new country. All should have a chance...my heart aches for "Mark".

 

[whiterhino]

Good people fleeing war or a leader who's a monstrous dictator should have the same chance at getting into the US. My grandfather came as a very young teen trying to get away from violence and death. He was Polish-Russian and a smart, hard worker for his new country. All should have a chance...my heart aches for "Mark".

Apologies, my comment came across insensitive.

IMO those fleeing Ukraine are not on the same level as those from bordering countries even if they are fleeing from the same oppressor. Hadn't taken into account the fact that these sanctions against Russia are mostly effecting the citizens, such as internet, banking, job loss etc. Still, to me it's not the same as having your workplace bombed while you're administering medicine or some other example.

Having said that, I still feel that the Russian people (citizens) are not in danger in the same way and therefore shouldn't be afforded the same privilege as those who are fleeing Ukraine. Again, JMO, IMO, MOO.

 

[gregjrichards]

Ukrainian cat Stepan reveals on Instagram that he and his human escaped after bombing: ‘We’re all right now’

The account for Ukrainian cat influencer Stepan shared an update following the bombing of Kharkiv. Stepan’s followers were worried after his Instagram account went dark for two weeks.

“On February 24, early in the morning, we were sleeping at home,” the post began. “At 5 am, some explosion was heard, and I didn't even understand what it was.

After a while, after half an hour later, there were more explosions, the windows trembled. I jumped up and understood that something terrible was happening! The attack and shelling of Kharkiv (especially on the North Saltovka where we live). We realized that the war had come to our house.”

The post, from Stepan’s owner who is thought to be named Anna, explained how shells hit their neighbors's homes and that while they witnessed many houses burn down, their home stayed safe for a week before it was damaged after a shell hit another home's balcony.

The account described hiding in the basement for two days and spending a week without electricity before they were able to leave the city.

“Kharkiv volunteers helped by taking us to the railway station. We got on the train Kharkiv - Lviv (in 20 hours, we got to Lviv). Then we followed to the border with Poland. At the border, we stood in a line in a pedestrian crossing. There were a lot of people (4-5 thousand).

After 9 hours, we crossed the border,” the post continued. “When we reached Poland, we were offered help from the World Influencers and Bloggers Association from Monaco. They helped us get to France to wait for the very day when we could return home.”

I am really glad Stepan’s owner and Stepan have reached safety. It is incredibly heartbreaking and very distressing to think of all the women, men, children and animals who have died or are injured and those who remain in Ukraine in danger fearing for their lives.

There have been many stories of people who are risking their lives to try and rescue their animals or people who are staying behind to care for the animals in the Zoo in Ukraine and animal rescue organisations in the country. Tragically there have been men and women who have been murdered because they went back home to rescue pets or refused to leave animals they were looking after. I read that in the Zoo in Ukraine they even have a keeper sleeping in the elephant enclosure trying to comfort the animals who are understandably very distressed and alarmed by the noises of the weapons being dropped close by. It is incredible how the war can show the best and worst of humanity at the same time.

My cat gets frightened by the noises of some fireworks going off on bonfire night and I have to comfort and calm him for a few hours. I can’t begin to imagine how much worse it must be in Ukraine with noise and flashes of light the explosives and shelling and how terrified everyone and the animals must be. It is just an unimaginable, horrific tragedy and I wish there was a way to stop the suffering immediately.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Zelenskiy calls for “Meaningful, fair” negotiations without delay
In the early hours of Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy released a video address in which he told Moscow that now was the time for urgent peace talks, warning that Russian losses will otherwise be so huge it will take generations to recover.

Here are some of the key points from his speech:

Russia has continued to block the supply of aid to besieged cities “in most areas”
Zelenskiy said that on Friday there were seven humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. Six in the Sumy region, one in the Donetsk region.

More than 9,000 people were evacuated from the besieged Mariupol, he said, and hundreds of tons of essential products were delivered. But he added: “The occupiers continue to block the supply of humanitarian aid to the besieged cities in most areas. This is a totally deliberate tactic. They have a clear order to do absolutely everything to make the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukrainian cities an ‘argument’ for Ukrainians to cooperate with the occupiers. This is a war crime.”

No new information on fatalities following a Russian airstrike on a theatre in Mariupol
Zelenskiy said people were being rescued from the rubble, and that more than 130 people had been rescued so far. “Some of them are seriously wounded. But at the moment there is no information about the dead,” he said. Hundreds of civilians were sheltering in the theatre.

He thanked those defending Mariupol, saying the city was experiencing “the greatest ordeal in its history, in the history of Ukraine.”

Russian forces had been stopped “in almost all directions”
Zelenskiy said Russian forces were halted across many areas of the country. He said there was heavy fighting in the Kharkiv region, especially near Izyum, but that Russian troops were unprepared.

“Meaningful, fair” negotiations were urgently needed
Zelenskiy told Moscow: “It’s time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise Russia’s losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound.”

He said: “Negotiations on peace, on security for us, for Ukraine - meaningful, fair and without delay - are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes.”

On the international response
Zelenskiy said he would continue to appeal to world leaders to call for peace in Ukraine, with plans to address Switzerland, Italy, Israel and Japan. He has spoken with Ukrainian ambassadors around the world “to intensify the supply of humanitarian goods” for displaced people in Ukraine. A coordination headquarters has also been set up to oversee the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, he said.

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Russia says it has used hypersonic missile; Zelenskiy urges ‘honest’ peace talks – live

 

[Bit of hope]

As it happened: Ukraine war latest: Gun battles as Russian troops reach Mariupol city centre, says mayor - BBC News

21:11 18 Mar
'Dozens have been killed' - Ukrainian MP on Mykolaiv attack
Many have reportedly been killed in a Russian missile attack on Ukrainian army barracks in the strategic southern city of Mykolaiv.

A Ukrainian MP in Odesa, Oleksiy Honcharenko, returned from Mykolaiv in the last 24 hours and has been speaking to the BBC.

"Unfortunately we had a big attack, missile attack on Mykolaiv. Dozens of people have been killed," he said.

"Dozens are wounded and we're speaking about missiles, ballistic missiles."

Ukrainians are reportedly continuing to defend the city, with Russian forces grouped outside, to the northeast.

The city of Mykolaiv, which is crucial to Russia's plans to take Ukraine's third city, Odesa, has been holding back a Russian offensive along the Black Sea coast.

"Mykolaiv is fighting fiercely on the ground and holding the ground and Russia just couldn't take it so they started terror against local people, civilians," Honcharenko added.

 

[GRT]

Apologies, my comment came across insensitive.

IMO those fleeing Ukraine are not on the same level as those from bordering countries even if they are fleeing from the same oppressor. Hadn't taken into account the fact that these sanctions against Russia are mostly effecting the citizens, such as internet, banking, job loss etc. Still, to me it's not the same as having your workplace bombed while you're administering medicine or some other example.

Having said that, I still feel that the Russian people (citizens) are not in danger in the same way and therefore shouldn't be afforded the same privilege as those who are fleeing Ukraine. Again, JMO, IMO, MOO.

.
The Russians who are fleeing are dissidents and being a dissident in Russia is a dangerous thing.

But, the Russian refugees aren't being picked on--they're being kept from crossing by Title 42, a policy implemented to slow the spread of covid. Title 42 offers an exception on "humanitarian grounds" which is being used by Ukrainian refugees to get across. When and if Title 42 is lifted, they'll all be treated the same.

 

[badgersmythe]

Three Russian cosmonauts wear Ukrainian colours during space mission


Three Russian cosmonauts wear Ukrainian colours during space mission | Daily Mail Online

 

[worldwatcher]

Article about the No Fly Zone :

"The choice is simple: We can confront Putin either now or later.

This is why the fastest and most effective support that NATO can offer Ukraine is a no-fly zone to keep Russian airpower out of play. Yes, Ukrainian resistance has been extraordinary so far. Frustrated by his military’s lack of progress, Putin is now bombarding cities and counting on terror to break the will of the Ukrainian people—whose fierce resistance has inspired the world. Sadly, though, despite the material assistance provided to Ukraine, Russia may well eventually prevail unless the West intervenes.... "


A no-fly zone over Ukraine? The case for NATO doing it.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I’ve said this before but I think Putin would rather be dead than face an international court. Fingers crossed.

I dunno... powerful autocratic leaders just become genius' of avoidance... he will know every angle how to delay, defy, and skirt....
and continue to laugh at the west. And probably still be cooking up a next conquest....

moo of course.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Article about the No Fly Zone :

"The choice is simple: We can confront Putin either now or later.

This is why the fastest and most effective support that NATO can offer Ukraine is a no-fly zone to keep Russian airpower out of play. Yes, Ukrainian resistance has been extraordinary so far. Frustrated by his military’s lack of progress, Putin is now bombarding cities and counting on terror to break the will of the Ukrainian people—whose fierce resistance has inspired the world. Sadly, though, despite the material assistance provided to Ukraine, Russia may well eventually prevail unless the West intervenes.... "


A no-fly zone over Ukraine? The case for NATO doing it.

He makes good points. I found the counter-argument (from the same article series) very persuasive though.

A no-fly zone over Ukraine? The case against NATO doing it.

The full article is worth a read but here's a snippet.

In the Gulf War, US and coalition forces hunted Iraq’s truck-mounted Scud missiles, but they failed to achieve a single confirmed kill. A few years later, in Kosovo, NATO failed to gain air superiority against the dispersed and mobile air-defense systems of the Serbian-led rump Yugoslav state. At a NATO defense ministers’ meeting held after that war, a European defense official offered that the most fundamental lesson of the war was that “we never want to do this again.” No one laughed in response.

The airspace over Ukraine would be even more heavily contested than in Kosovo or Iraq. Russian air defenses would kill or capture some US and NATO pilots. The mission would also require an immense investment of resources and would involve continuous combat air patrols, supported by command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets; aerial refueling planes; search-and-rescue helicopters; and maintenance and logistics. To enforce NFZs over Iraq between 1991 and 2003, American and coalition forces flew an average of 34,000 sorties per year, or the equivalent of fighting the Gulf War every three years. The enforcement of a no-fly zone is not war lite. It is war.

(...)

Then there's this:

A no-fly zone over Ukraine? The case for NATO helping in other ways.

 

[CSIDreamer]

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1505027822569631745?t=lSRyQn3dFbjRpBxSNB_5xQ&s=19

Some of the footage from yesterday's TV broadcast of the #Luzhniki concert strikingly matched a video from a year ago. https://t.co/VQnJNsqVU1

 

[AliceInPain]

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1505027822569631745?t=lSRyQn3dFbjRpBxSNB_5xQ&s=19

Some of the footage from yesterday's TV broadcast of the #Luzhniki concert strikingly matched a video from a year ago. https://t.co/VQnJNsqVU1

I watched the video, it looks pretty natural to me, until this bit, there's something odd with the outline of the back of his jacket/ hood, top of his head and chin.
I have my doubts he would put himself in the middle of a huge arena at this time when the majority of the world wants him gone.
But then I also think he's a lunatic.

 

[dotr]

Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine (cnn.com)
''6 min ago
Curfew in Zaporizhzhia begins Saturday afternoon and will last until Monday, local official says
Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional council, announced that a curfew in Zaporizhzhia will begin Saturday at 1600 local time (10 a.m. ET) and end on Monday at 0600 local time (midnight ET). ''
Zaporizhzhia has been the destination for thousands of people leaving Mariupol, the besieged city on Ukraine's southern coast. The nearby nuclear power station in Enerhodar was captured by Russian soldiers earlier in the month.''

''Russia says it has destroyed Ukrainian radio and electronic intelligence centers in south of country
Russia's Ministry of Defence said Saturday that the "Bastion" coastal missile system destroyed the centers of radio and electronic intelligence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the settlements of Veliky Dalnyk and Velikodolinskoe of the Odesa region along the Black Sea.
CNN is unable to independently verify Russia’s claims.
"On the night of March 19, Russian operational-tactical, army and unmanned aircraft hit 69 military facilities in Ukraine," the ministry said.''

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
NATO to send air defense systems to Slovakia. Germany and the Netherlands will deliver MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems to Slovakia. Prior, Slovak Defense Minister said that his country would transfer the Soviet-made S-300 air defense systems to Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter
There are so many #Russian prisoners of war in #Ukraine that full-fledged camps had to be set up for them. The first of them have already begun their work. Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova noted that these camps work within the framework of international humanitarian law.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Special detention camps for Russian prisoners of war are already established in Ukraine, as required by Geneva Convention, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said in her interview. However, she disclosed no additional details yet https://bbc.com/ukrainian/features-60794447.amp

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Armed Forces report another Russian general dead. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russian Lieutenant-General Andrei Mordvichev, who commanded the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, was killed in action in southern Ukraine.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
The blockade of trucks on the Polish-Belarus Kukuryki border crossing started today at 9:00 a.m. Protesters demand to halt trade between the EU and Russia. "Every euro that powers the Russian economy kills Ukrainians. We can stop it!" protesters say https://facebook.com/events/5442639549099044/

NEXTA on Twitter
The #UN openly denies information spread by #Russia about the "development of biological weapons" The organization believes that there is no evidence and signals of this.


The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
10 humanitarian corridors to open on March 19. This will include evacuation from the besieged port city of Mariupol, cities in Luhansk and Kherson oblasts, and several cities northwest of Kyiv. Delivery of humanitarian aid to various war-torn cities will also take place.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine's General Staff: Putin transfers troops from Far East to Belarus. The troops are being moved from Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in order to make up for casualties in Ukraine, the General Staff said.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Zinger Video at link

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1505120230376448004?t=XMIpQxrH6PEUdPVXAPYzJQ&s=19

A border guard, on the order of the Head of the #Ukrainian Border Guard Service, gave 30 pieces of silver through #Belarusian Ambassador Igor Sokol to the Chairman of the State Border Committee of #Belarus Anatoly Lappo. https://t.co/YcehIb3yah

 

[PommyMommy]

Very lengthy article. I have snipped it to smithereens.

MAR 19, 2022
Russian strategy of attrition in Ukraine requires firm stance from the West | Euromaidan Press
[...]

Situation
According to information from the General Staff as of 06.00 19.03.2022, supplemented by its [noon assessment]:

[...]

[During Friday 18 March the enemy fired 4 missiles strikes (14 missiles) and carried out more than 40 air raids.]

Ukraine’s anti-aircraft missile forces and fighter jets hit 12 enemy air targets – 2 planes, 3 helicopters, 3 UAVs and 4 cruise missiles.

Also, during the day, Ukrainian defenders destroyed several columns of equipment of the occupiers in Mykolaiv and Sumy regions, the losses of the enemy are currently being clarified. In addition, as a result of fire on the enemy by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev, was killed.

[The occupiers partially succeeded in the Donetsk operational area – temporarily deprived Ukraine of access to the Sea of Azov. On approaches to Mykolaiv the enemy was stopped by joint actions of divisions of defence forces.]

[...]

The enemy continues to suffer significant losses. It has problems with the logistics of units. The low level of the moral and psychological condition of the personnel leads to an increase in the number of cases of desertion and refusals of servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to take part in the war against Ukraine.”

[...]

Humanitarian
The world is only starting to grapple with the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Russian assault, the Washington Post reports. The United Nations said Friday that roughly 9.8 million people have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced as a result of the fighting, while 12 million are stranded or otherwise face dangerous living conditions.

According to UNHCR 3,270,662 refugees has been registered as of 18 March.

The UN says that so far Poland has taken in 1,975,449 refugees, Romania 508,692, Moldova 355,426, Hungary 291,230, Slovakia 234,738, Russia 184,563 and Belarus 2,127.

[...]

80-90% of Mariupol is today destroyed.

[...]

Legal
Gordon Brown and Sir John Major want a new international tribunal to be set up and investigate Vladimir Putin for his actions in Ukraine, BBC reports.

“The former PMs are among 140 academics, lawyers and politicians to sign a petition calling for a legal system modelled on the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is already investigating Mr Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. But some say its powers are limited. The ICC cannot pursue the crime of aggression without a referral from the UN security council, which Russia could veto.

[...]

Support
EU transfers another EUR 300M in emergency aid to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. ... For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to a country under attack.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that giving Ukraine air defence systems, as requested by Ukraine’s president in the U.S. Congress a day earlier, would be a destabilising factor that would not bring peace to the country, Euronews reports. President Zelensky urged American lawmakers on Wednesday to do more to protect his country from Russia’s invasion, pushing for the imposition of a no-fly zone and asking for aircraft and defensive systems.

[...]

New developments

1. On Friday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia made his first public appearance since ordering the invasion on Feb. 24. He told a crowd in the country’s largest stadium that Russians “have not had such unity for a long time”, the New York Times reports.

[...]

Assessment

On the War and Russian strategy of attrition
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev, has been killed. That makes him the fifth Russian general killed since 24 February.

[...]

Col. John Barranco, a U.S. Marine Corps fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said targeting Russian generals may prove to be an effective strategy for the Ukrainians. “I do think it hurts Russian morale, and I think it helps Ukrainian morale,” Barranco told Military.com. “I think it has an impact tactically. These guys are up front for a reason.”

Notably, Ukrainian special forces have been targeting Russian officers and military leaders with remotely piloted drones and special weapons such as high-powered sniper rifles provided by NATO allies.

Even as officers in the field face heavy fire, there are reports that those back in Moscow have their own problems. Last week, Ukraine Defence Secretary Oleksiy Danilov claimed Putin had fired as many as eight generals over his country’s military losses during the invasion.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

NEXTA on Twitter
A little bit of #Ukrainian army cats in your feed

@gregjrichards, @Cool Cats

 

[worldwatcher]

NATO ships in the southern Aegean sea

 

[Niner]

Here are the Russian Cosmonauts