Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #7

[CrimeAway]

The Kyiv Independent
@KyivIndependent
1h

Russia claims Ukraine plans to attack Western diplomats in Lviv. Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov accused Ukrainian fighters from the Azov battalion of preparing to attack the U.S. and other Western diplomats in Lviv and putting the blame on Russia.

More pre-emptive rhetoric for false flag operations?

 

[sunshineray]

The Kyiv Independent reported today that Russia is illegally forcing untrained men living in the Russian-controlled Donbas region to fight and putting them on the frontlines.

“These people have never even held a machine gun in their hands,” said Oleksii, a 24-year-old resident of Russian-occupied Khrestivka in Donetsk, speaking of friends, classmates and former colleagues that he knows have been conscripted.

One Donbas resident named Anastasia told the news outlet that these civilians from Donbas are forced to serve in frontline positions, with Russian forces threatening to shoot them if they don’t comply.

(Edited to add the next story in the live feed, below)

Journalist Neil Hauer, a freelancer journalist reporting in Kyiv, has an interesting Tweet thread about the intensifying anti-Russian sentiment among Ukrainians that is directed at the average Russian, not just Vladamir Putin.

Neil Hauer(@NeilPHauer)
Something I've noticed over the past week or so here: almost every Ukrainian I spoke to has made it clear that they blame not only Putin, but the average Russian as much (or more) for this war. The view is: we overthrew our corrupt government, and they accept their murderous one.

March 19, 2022
Neil Hauer(@NeilPHauer)
The amount of animosity from the average Ukrainian towards the average Russian is already huge and growing more with every single new airstrike, every new civilian death. The effects of this war will last for generations.

March 19, 2022
Neil Hauer(@NeilPHauer)
And I'm saying this from Kharkiv. I think I saw more virulently anti-Russian views here than anywhere else in the country. The sense of betrayal here, of 'how could they possibly do this to *us*', is incredible.

March 19, 2022
Neil Hauer(@NeilPHauer)
The people we watched crawl out of the rubble today told us their relatives in Moscow didn't believe them. Videos of their destroyed home were met with 'it's a fake' or 'Nazis did it.' *Every* bond between Ukrainians & Russians - familial, cultural, historical - is being broken.

March 19, 2022
Russia-Ukraine war latest: Boris Johnson criticised for comparing conflict with Brexit, as 190,000 civilians ‘evacuated from frontline’ – live

Snipped and BBM

March 19, 2022
Neil Hauer(@NeilPHauer)
The people we watched crawl out of the rubble today told us their relatives in Moscow didn't believe them. Videos of their destroyed home were met with 'it's a fake' or 'Nazis did it.' *Every* bond between Ukrainians & Russians - familial, cultural, historical - is being broken

It's unreal to me that relatives would even think that their own family would lie to them about such things!? For what purpose do they think?

When the Berlin Wall came down everyone was so hopeful. When Russia started to allow more of the world into theirs, it was all so hopeful. There were always those that looked to cheat within their new capitalism but I was hopeful about not having the cold war attitude anymore.

The reality now is the KGB lives and is bigger than ever. It's back to Stalinism, death and destruction.

AJMO and feeling very sad for it all

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 19, 2022

Communication Breakdown: How Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Bogged Down (rferl.org)
"We have no communication. We don't have walkie-talkies. Nothing," a bedraggled Russian soldier tells his interrogators in another of the videos published by Ukrainian defenders this month posted to YouTube.

Russian Space Agency, Cosmonauts Deny Suits Were Tribute To Ukraine (rferl.org)
Russian officials have denied reports in the West that suggested Russian cosmonauts who joined the International Space Station (ISS) had donned yellow suits with blue trim in support of Ukraine.

"The flight suits of the new crew are made in the colors of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from," the press service of Russian space agency Roskosmos said on March 19 on its Telegram channel.

Father Of Child Killed In Russian Shelling: 'What Is All This For? For What?' (rferl.org)
Video Caption: Two-year-old Stepan Shpak was killed in Novye Petrivtsy, near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on March 16 in shelling by the Russian Army. His father spoke to Current Time on March 17.

Telegram Trap: Minsk Snares Belarusians Seeking To Fight For Ukraine (rferl.org)
A Belarusian militia that calls itself the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion is using its Telegram channel to recruit men to fight against Russian forces in Ukraine and has set up a special chat within the social media app to exchange private, direct messages with potential volunteers.

It says it received no message from Hrybovich through the chat and warned he may have fallen prey to a fake chat set up by the authorities under Lukashenka. "If you are in Belarus or Russia -- do not use real names, hide your phone number from everyone, [or even] better -- buy a new SIM card," the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion wrote on its channel.

U.S. To Deploy Armored Unit To Bulgaria To Boost NATO's Eastern Flank (rferl.org)
The United States will deploy a Stryker armored-vehicle infantry company for a NATO battle group being established in Bulgaria as the Western alliance moves to shore up its eastern flank in the face of Russian aggression in the region.

WARNING: Viewers may find the content of this video disturbing
Ukrainian Team Collects Dead Russian Soldiers To Exchange For Ukrainian POWs (rferl.org)
Video Caption: Russian forces are meeting fierce resistance and taking casualties as they try to move towards the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. On March 18, a Ukrainian special search group collected the dead bodies of Russian soldiers in the hope they could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

 

[dotr]

We urge Russia to stop this invasion now: UK statement at the UN Security Council, 18 March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Location:
''UN Security Council
Delivered on:
18 March 2022 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

''Mr President,
Only yesterday, this Council discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We heard from UN briefers about the devastating impacts on Ukraine, its people and its cities. On the region, to which 3 million refugees have fled. And on the wider international community, facing higher economic prices, and the consequences for countries in need of this Council’s attention.

Today however, we’ve had a rehash of amateurish disinformation, which we discussed and debunked last Friday.

It was nonsense then, and it is nonsense now.

As I said then – laboratories in Ukraine carrying out research on public health hazards are not a threat to international peace and security.

By contrast, President Putin’s illegal and inhumane invasion of Ukraine is the most significant threat to international peace and security we face today.

So today’s charade is really not worthy of a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

The only thing this Council needs to hear from the Russian Federation - we didn’t hear it yesterday, we haven’t heard it today – the only thing this Council needs to hear is that Russia’s troops are leaving Ukraine.

Ukraine does not want war. Russians and Ukrainians – soldiers, civilians, mothers, children - are dying.

Russia is isolated diplomatically, isolated economically and bogged down in Ukraine.

So we urge Russia to stop this invasion now, before any more damage is done in Ukraine – and also to Russia.

I thank you, Mr President.''

 

[dotr]

Israeli flag raised at field hospital in Ukraine as gear, teams begin to arrive | The Times of Israel

Ukrainian workers construct tents for the Israeli field hospital being established in Mostyska, Ukraine. on March 18, 2022. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/The Times of Israel)
''MOSTYSKA, Ukraine – A week and a half after its advance team arrived, Israel’s field hospital in Ukraine began to take shape Saturday ahead of its planned Tuesday opening.

The hospital is being constructed in the small town of Mostyska, an hour-and-a-half outside Lviv in western Ukraine. On Saturday morning an Israeli flag was hoisted to fly alongside a Ukrainian one outside the elementary school whose grounds will be home to the NIS 21 million ($6.5 million) facility.

While the project was touch-and-go for days after the intention to erect it was first announced over two weeks ago, the Israeli hospital has overcome funding and security concerns, bringing its 17 tons of equipment from Israel into Ukraine on Saturday morning over the Polish border. The facility is a collaborative effort of the Health Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and Sheba Medical Center, which is operating the hospital.''

 

[cujenn81]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Mariupol council: Russian occupiers forcibly move thousands of Mariupol residents to Russia. The civilians were allegedly taken to camps where Russians checked their phones and documents and then forcibly moved some of them to remote cities in Russia.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Several thousand Mariupol residents were illegally deported to Russia over the past week Acc to Oblast Council, they were taken to filtration camps. After their phones and docs inspection, some were driven to remote Russian cities; others' fate is unknown https://t.me/mariupolrada/8913

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The deported Mariupol residents are mostly women and kids who were hiding in shelters in the Left Bank district. Fightings took place there. To save people's lives, Ukraine's army withdrew from these places of mass gathering. Russian army made use of it illegally deporting locals

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Chinese senior official calls sanctions against Russia 'outrageous.' According to Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng, the measures will only worsen the global economy and hurt ordinary people. He said during a security forum in Beijing that “sanctions cannot solve problems.”

NEXTA on Twitter - Video
The dog of #Chernihiv pyrotechnicians named Patron continues to serve Since the beginning of the war, together with sappers,he has neutralized about 90 explosive objects, according to the State Emergency Service of #Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter - Video, 43 min ago
Buses with wounded invaders in #Gomel. It is also reported that more than 2,500 dead were taken to #Russia from there.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 38 min ago
Despite the EU sanctions, a Russian cargo plane flew from Moscow to Slovakia and returned to Russia, Ukrayinska pravda reports referring to public online radar data. The purpose of the flight is unknown.

I know Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and maybe one other country expelled their Russian diplomats recently and gave them 72 hours to get out. Maybe the plane was fetching their diplomats?

 

[cujenn81]

The Kyiv Independent
@KyivIndependent
1h

Russia claims Ukraine plans to attack Western diplomats in Lviv. Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov accused Ukrainian fighters from the Azov battalion of preparing to attack the U.S. and other Western diplomats in Lviv and putting the blame on Russia.

Please. The lies just get more and more preposterous by the day.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Israeli flag raised at field hospital in Ukraine as gear, teams begin to arrive | The Times of Israel

Ukrainian workers construct tents for the Israeli field hospital being established in Mostyska, Ukraine. on March 18, 2022. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/The Times of Israel)
''MOSTYSKA, Ukraine – A week and a half after its advance team arrived, Israel’s field hospital in Ukraine began to take shape Saturday ahead of its planned Tuesday opening.

The hospital is being constructed in the small town of Mostyska, an hour-and-a-half outside Lviv in western Ukraine. On Saturday morning an Israeli flag was hoisted to fly alongside a Ukrainian one outside the elementary school whose grounds will be home to the NIS 21 million ($6.5 million) facility.

While the project was touch-and-go for days after the intention to erect it was first announced over two weeks ago, the Israeli hospital has overcome funding and security concerns, bringing its 17 tons of equipment from Israel into Ukraine on Saturday morning over the Polish border. The facility is a collaborative effort of the Health Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and Sheba Medical Center, which is operating the hospital.''

Praying that Israel flag keeps Russia from bombing it. JMO

 

[LadyL]

“We waited at the border for 20 hours”: A school principal on her harrowing escape from Ukraine

 

[PommyMommy]

NEXTA on Twitter - 1 hr ago
#Russian aviation has significantly reduced its presence in the #Ukrainian sky This is reported in the Command of the Air Force of #Ukraine. During the day, the Ukrainian air defense forces shot down three occupant helicopters.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian diplomat: "We have plans against NATO." Igor Kalabukhov, Russian ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in an interview with Bosnia's Face TV that Moscow is “assessing the geo-strategic situation" and will respond to threats.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Head of Donetsk Military-Civil Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said thousands of Mariupol residents who managed to escape from Russian bombs are starving to death in occupied Manhushi and Melekin. Russian occupying forces refuse to provide food, water and safe passage.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
There were no casualties from Russia's strike on a weapons stockpile in Ivano-Frankivsk Obl in morning of 19 Mar, Ukraine's Air Command spox says. Russians claimed they destroyed it with the 1st ever use of Kindzhal hypersonic missiles; Ukraine does not yet confirm https://pravda.com.ua/news/2022/03/19/7332813/

NEXTA on Twitter - 37 min ago
#Russian troops are approaching Belarus-Ukraine border and will try to cross it "I speak now my personal opinion but I would assess situation of introducing #Belarus into a military conflict as 60 to 40. A week ago it was 40 to 60." This was stated by Advisor to MIA of #Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter
He also called it an "alarming signal" that Belarusian diplomats left #Ukraine Denisenko believes that Lukashenko still does not want to be dragged into the war. "His army is small, about 40 000 soldiers. We are ready for their invasion but we certainly do not want it," he said.

 

[Arkay]

The reality now is the KGB lives and is bigger than ever. It's back to Stalinism, death and destruction.

100% agree.

This is who Putin is, a KGB agent. A Soviet-era KGB agent stationed in East Germany due to his fluency in German, a KGB agent who went back to Russia when the Berlin Wall fell, a KGB agent who became a powerful man in the new Russian Federation. A KGB agent who has ruled Russia with an iron fist for 22 years and counting.

Putin still has the mindset he developed when he was trained to be a KGB agent. The disinformation, the covert activities, the ruthlessness, the secrecy, the propaganda, the appetite for destruction to achieve a single-minded goal. The dearth of any humane impulse in service of obtaining an objective, with no attention at all to whom or what may be trodden underfoot. The ambition and the paranoia and the cold-hearted tactics mixed together, with chaos an effective tool.

The only difference between then and now is that the KGB is now called the FSB, and the KGB agent is now the president of Russia.

IMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 19, 2022
Ukraine war: Western agents seek to get inside Putin's head - BBC News
[...]

Understanding his state of mind will be vital to avoid escalating the crisis into even more dangerous territory.

There has been speculation that Russia's leader was ill, but many analysts believe he has actually become isolated and closed off to any alternative views.

[...]

Mr Putin's initial military plan looked like something devised by a KGB officer, one western intelligence official explains.

It had been created, they say, by a tight "conspiratorial cabal" with an emphasis on secrecy. But the result was chaos. Russian military commanders were not ready and some soldiers went over the border without knowing what they were doing.

[...]

"Putin is likely not mentally ill, nor he has changed, although he is in more of a hurry, and likely more isolated in recent years," says Ken Dekleva, a former US government physician and diplomat, and currently a senior fellow at the George HW Bush Foundation for US-China Relations.

But a concern now is that reliable information is still not finding its way into Mr Putin's closed loop. His intelligence services may have been reluctant before the invasion to tell him anything he did not want to hear, offering rosy estimates of how an invasion would go and how Russian troops would be received before the war. And this week one Western official said Mr Putin may still not have the insight into how badly things are going for his own troops that Western intelligence has. That leads to concern about how he might react when confronted with a worsening situation for Russia.

[...]

"Putin's self concept does not allow for failure or weakness. He despises such things" says Ken Dekleva. "A cornered, weakened Putin is a more dangerous Putin. It's sometimes better let the bear run out of the cage and back to the forest."

 

[Arkay]

[/QUOTE]Putin's self concept does not allow for failure or weakness. He despises such things" says Ken Dekleva. "A cornered, weakened Putin is a more dangerous Putin. It's sometimes better let the bear run out of the cage and back to the forest."[QUOTE/]


SBM
This is why I have such mixed emotions about what we in the US and other democracies should be doing to help Ukraine.

I definitely absolutely positively know that establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine will lead to shooting down Russians and then God knows what.

But I also feel that it is equally true that Putin despises weakness and he sees the West as weak. We are sanctioning this and that but Ukrainians are still being slaughtered every moment. Hospitals, schools, the elderly, no one is safe.

And of course it is a fact, not my opinion, that Neville Chamberlain did not want to stir Hitler up any further so he ignored much of what the Nazis were doing. It was Churchill who stood up to Hitler, but by then millions of innocents had been slaughtered, 6 million just for being Jewish.

I also know very well that “The Untouchables” is just a movie. Actors reading from a script.

But IMO there’s a reason that some movie lines resonate and have staying power, so I’ll just leave this dialogue from that movie here:



Malone : [talking privately in a church] You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I'm saying is, what are you prepared to do?

Ness : Anything within the law.

Malone : And *then* what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they're not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead.

Ness : I want to get Capone! I don't know how to do it.

Malone : You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That's* the *Chicago* way! And that's how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?

 

[dotr]

Dozens feared dead in Russian attack on Mykolaiv barracks, as Putin ‘panicked’ by revolution fear | The Independent
''Rescue work is ongoing at the site of a Russian air strike on a Ukrainian barracks where soldiers were sleeping.

Witnesses reported seeing dozens of bodies pulled from the rubble as one serviceman told AFP at least 200 soldiers were sleeping in the facility in the southern city of Mykolaiv when it was hit.''
Authorities are yet to release an official death toll.''
''It isn’t clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day. But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.''

''Meanwhile, Boris Johnson said Vladimir Putin has been “panicking” over the prospect that Russian people could overthrow his authoritarian government.

This fear was a factor in the Russian president’s decision to launch the invasion, the prime minister said, adding that Mr Putin feared civilians would demand the free press and free elections that Ukraine has.''

 

[Angleterre]

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".

I agree however how do they know their actual intentions- they could present as Mark does ( and I am not accusing him of being anything other than a genuine asylum seeker but I am using the way in which he presents as a, what I believe to be the case, pertinent point).
But what if that is a guise and actually he is an actor who is trying to deceive the checkpoint staff that he is genuinely in need but what if he/they are being sent purposely by Putin for a specific aim and the US government has intelligence to suggest that this is an action that will be deployed to gain entry on Putins orders for nefarious intent?
It’s really difficult because ordinarily I would be agreeable wholeheartedly with your point of view but because of the often Machiavellian circumstances that Putin operates within, it is making me suspicious of everything and everyone and as you rightly say, those Russians that have left because of their leader being a monstrous dictator and they don’t agree with the war , should be allowed entry as much as the Ukrainian refugees are. But maybe it’s not as simple as that . Who knows? And Putins evil ways are rubbing off on some of us because certainly I am now questioning everything moreso than prior to the invasion of Ukraine and I have almost become paranoid which is sadly reflected in Putins behaviour. And this is not because I support him in any way whatsoever, he is an evil killer/ murderer of vulnerable adults and children all because he can kill them or order his troops to do so . It’s actually because I am trying to work through his behavioural traits that show how his brain ticks but by doing so, I fall into the same trap whereby I emulate his behaviour ( only in my mind) in order to work out his potential next moves but by doing so, I trust nothing and no one with regards to this illegal invasion of Ukraine and I am sceptical and cynical because I am mentally adopting his workings negatively. And I’m sure I’m not the only one to do so and that’s not normally who I am and therefore it’s such a difficult situation!

 

[PommyMommy]

[URL='https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/mar/19/russia-ukraine-war-latest-zelenskiy-urges-honest-peace-talks-without-delay-russian-forces-tighten-grip-around-mariupol-live?page=with:block-62364b108f08ee17b5372dc5#block-62364b108f08ee17b5372dc5']Russian-Ukraine war latest: thousands of Mariupol residents ‘being deported to remote parts of Russia’ – live | World news | The Guardian[/URL]

23m ago21:20
'Ukrainians have proved they know how to fight' - Zelenskiy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy published a video address just a short time ago. Here is an excerpt being reported by Ukrainian media.

The 24th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is over. After eight years of aggression, Ukrainians have proved that they know how to fight more professionally than an army that has been fighting for decades in different regions and under different conditions. We respond with wisdom and courage to the huge number of their equipment and soldiers sent to Ukraine.

That is why, for example, the Ukrainian Chornobayivka will go down in war history. This is a place where the Russian military and their commanders have shown themselves completely as they are: incompetent, able to simply drive their people to slaughter.

[...]

 

[whiterhino]

I agree however how do they know their actual intentions- they could present as Mark does ( and I am not accusing him of being anything other than a genuine asylum seeker but I am using the way in which he presents as a, what I believe to be the case, pertinent point).
But what if that is a guise and actually he is an actor who is trying to deceive the checkpoint staff that he is genuinely in need but what if he/they are being sent purposely by Putin for a specific aim and the US government has intelligence to suggest that this is an action that will be deployed to gain entry on Putins orders for nefarious intent?
It’s really difficult because ordinarily I would be agreeable wholeheartedly with your point of view but because of the often Machiavellian circumstances that Putin operates within, it is making me suspicious of everything and everyone and as you rightly say, those Russians that have left because of their leader being a monstrous dictator and they don’t agree with the war , should be allowed entry as much as the Ukrainian refugees are. But maybe it’s not as simple as that . Who knows? And Putins evil ways are rubbing off on some of us because certainly I am now questioning everything moreso than prior to the invasion of Ukraine and I have almost become paranoid which is sadly reflected in Putins behaviour. And this is not because I support him in any way whatsoever, he is an evil killer/ murderer of vulnerable adults and children all because he can kill them or order his troops to do so . It’s actually because I am trying to work through his behavioural traits that show how his brain ticks but by doing so, I fall into the same trap whereby I emulate his behaviour ( only in my mind) in order to work out his potential next moves but by doing so, I trust nothing and no one with regards to this illegal invasion of Ukraine and I am sceptical and cynical because I am mentally adopting his workings negatively. And I’m sure I’m not the only one to do so and that’s not normally who I am and therefore it’s such a difficult situation!

This is everything I did not and could not say in my reply to the same user. Not to single anyone out, we just exchanged posts earlier and were essentially saying similar things. But this was well put!

One thing though, if "Mark" were actually placed there by Putin, I'm thinking he would have had a different passport, gone elsewhere and gotten through successfully? Just speculation JMO etc.

 

[Angleterre]

This is everything I did not and could not say in my reply to the same user. Not to single anyone out, we just exchanged posts earlier and were essentially saying similar things. But this was well put!

One thing though, if "Mark" were actually placed there by Putin, I'm thinking he would have had a different passport, gone elsewhere and gotten through successfully? Just speculation JMO etc.

To answer the last part of your question, I did say that I did not mean Mark himself per se but I was just using him as an example from the point of appearing affable and genuine and desperate to seek out refugee status and what if others posed in the same vein but were sent by Putin with nefarious intent? Apologies, I maybe didn’t word it too well but essentially I didn’t mean Mark himself, just others coming through with a similar genuine appearing persona like Marks , but they are not genuine, they have been sent by Putin to infiltrate for nefarious intent and are just acting. Which begged my question as to how do we know which is which ?

Hope that helps and thank you for your kind compliment

 

[sunshineray]

I agree however how do they know their actual intentions- they could present as Mark does ( and I am not accusing him of being anything other than a genuine asylum seeker but I am using the way in which he presents as a, what I believe to be the case, pertinent point).
But what if that is a guise and actually he is an actor who is trying to deceive the checkpoint staff that he is genuinely in need but what if he/they are being sent purposely by Putin for a specific aim and the US government has intelligence to suggest that this is an action that will be deployed to gain entry on Putins orders for nefarious intent?
It’s really difficult because ordinarily I would be agreeable wholeheartedly with your point of view but because of the often Machiavellian circumstances that Putin operates within, it is making me suspicious of everything and everyone and as you rightly say, those Russians that have left because of their leader being a monstrous dictator and they don’t agree with the war , should be allowed entry as much as the Ukrainian refugees are. But maybe it’s not as simple as that . Who knows? And Putins evil ways are rubbing off on some of us because certainly I am now questioning everything moreso than prior to the invasion of Ukraine and I have almost become paranoid which is sadly reflected in Putins behaviour. And this is not because I support him in any way whatsoever, he is an evil killer/ murderer of vulnerable adults and children all because he can kill them or order his troops to do so . It’s actually because I am trying to work through his behavioural traits that show how his brain ticks but by doing so, I fall into the same trap whereby I emulate his behaviour ( only in my mind) in order to work out his potential next moves but by doing so, I trust nothing and no one with regards to this illegal invasion of Ukraine and I am sceptical and cynical because I am mentally adopting his workings negatively. And I’m sure I’m not the only one to do so and that’s not normally who I am and therefore it’s such a difficult situation!

I so understand what you're describing, your mind's workings on everything Putin. I get what you're fearful of, boy do I, I am too. All I can say is these people/families fleeing, they need to be taken in and helped like any refugees from destruction, IMO. If there is evil among them it will hopefully show itself and be dealt with.

A good friend of mine fled Castro's Cuba as a child when the US was not welcoming many from there. It's always been the same over the years from America's beginning. The good come with some bad.
We've got to remember and foster what we'll hopefully always try to represent...

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

AJMO

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian-Ukraine war latest: thousands of Mariupol residents ‘being deported to remote parts of Russia’ – live | World news | The Guardian

1h ago 22:32
The New York Times has some more detail on the claims by Mariupol City Council that residents are being taken to Russia against their will.

Pyotr Andryuschenko, an assistant to the city’s mayor, accused Russian forces of taking “between 4,000 and 4,500 Mariupol residents forcibly across the border to Taganrog” without their passports.

Andryuschenko said thousands of people had been sheltering at a sporting complex in the city centre, and he believed many of those inside were being taken to Russia.

Other Mariupol residents said they had heard from friends and neighbors who relayed having been taken across the border without their consent. Eduard Zarubin, a doctor who left the city on Wednesday, said he had been in touch with three families who had been forcibly taken to Taganrog by Russian soldiers.

“Now the Russians are walking through the basements, and if there are people left there, they forcibly take them to Taganrog,” Mr. Zarubin, 50, said.

[...]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 2 hrs ago
Russian troops halt convoy of buses traveling to evacuate residents of Mariupol.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
According to the Berdyansk city council, the convoy was heading to Berdyansk from Zaporizhzhia to pick up fleeing Mariupol residents but was stopped by Russian occupying forces near the village Azovske, three kilometers from Berdyansk.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The convoy was not allowed to enter the city limits and the drivers were not permitted to spend the night.