Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #8

[Mo Thuairim]

New attempt to evacuate citizens from Mariupol, as hopes for Orthodox Easter truce fade

Ukraine has made a plea to the UN to help evacuate citizens from the city, after previous attempts failed.

UKRAINE WILL MAKE a new attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol at noon today, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said – as hopes for an Orthodox Easter truce faded.

“Today we will again try to evacuate women, children and the elderly,” Vereshchuk said on Telegram, calling for people to gather on the motorway close to the Port City shopping centre in the city.

"If everything happens as planned, we will start the evacuation around noon.”

Ukraine has had to cancel evacuation attempts out of Mariupol in recent days, because of a lack of agreement from the Russian side.

Yesterday evening, Vereshchuk vowed Ukraine will continue to try to get civilians out of the shattered city.

"I understand how difficult it is for you. Corridors have been broken so many times. But you and I should try as many times as necessary until it works,” she said on Telegram.

There has been hope for a weekend truce between Ukraine and Russia, as both countries celebrate Orthodox Easter. But hopes faded as talks between Moscow and Kyiv stalled and Russia said it aimed to take full control over the east and south of its neighbour.

The war enters its third month tomorrow, but a senior Russian military officer said “the second phase of the special operation” – as Moscow terms its invasion of Ukraine – had just begun.

(...)

Minnekaev said their focus was now to “provide a land corridor to Crimea,” which Russia annexed in 2014, and towards a breakaway pro-Russian region of Moldova, Transnistria, where the general claimed Russian-speaking people were “being oppressed”.

(...)

 

[Mo Thuairim]

More from the Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk on the Mariupol evacuation, which will be evacuating civilians towards Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier this morning, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram:

"I appeal to our citizens who are preparing for the evacuation today. We have just received information that the occupiers may be trying to organize their own corridor for evacuation to Russia in parallel with us.

"So, please be careful and vigilant. Do not succumb to deception and provocation.”

She said the Ukrainian corridor would lead exclusively towards Zaporizhzhia (via Mangush, Berdyansk, Tokmak, Orikhiv).

Russia-Ukraine war: Russian forces ‘frustrated’ in Donbas, says UK; new airstrikes on Mariupol steel plant – live | Ukraine | The Guardian

 

[CSIDreamer]

More from the Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk on the Mariupol evacuation, which will be evacuating civilians towards Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier this morning, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram:

"I appeal to our citizens who are preparing for the evacuation today. We have just received information that the occupiers may be trying to organize their own corridor for evacuation to Russia in parallel with us.

"So, please be careful and vigilant. Do not succumb to deception and provocation.”

She said the Ukrainian corridor would lead exclusively towards Zaporizhzhia (via Mangush, Berdyansk, Tokmak, Orikhiv).

Russia-Ukraine war: Russian forces ‘frustrated’ in Donbas, says UK; new airstrikes on Mariupol steel plant – live | Ukraine | The Guardian

I wonder how the civilians are getting word about this. From the situation updates, I'm assuming communication is dismal in Mariupol. JMO

 

[CSIDreamer]

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1517850728223625218?t=ERFxW-75IeXUOYfJUFSBog&s=19

️ SBU: Russian shelling likely to increase on Easter.

Security Service has called for Ukrainians to stay home during Easter festivities.

The SBU published a recording in which an alleged Russian soldier says his troops are writing “Christ is risen” on the shells.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Mariupol's evacuation did not take place - mayor's aide

The civilian evacuation planned from Mariupol on Saturday did not take place, an aide to the besieged city’s mayor has said.

The official blamed Russia for the failure of the evacuation effort. He said that while 200 residents of Mariupol had gathered to be evacuated, the Russian military told them to disperse and warned of possible shelling.

The evacuation was meant to begin at midday local time, according to Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

However, she said the evacuation would proceed “if all went well” and warned that Russian forces “may be trying to organize their own corridor for evacuation to Russia”. Hundreds of Mariupol residents are reported to have been forcibly deported to Russia since the invasion began.

Efforts to evacuate civilians from cities under seige, including Mariupol, have repeatedly collapsed.

(...)

Five people have been killed and eighteen injured in a missile strike in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, the president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.

In an earlier statement reported by Reuters, Ukraine’s air command said that two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings in Odesa. Air defence destroyed two other missiles that were also targeting the city, according to its online statement.

Russia-Ukraine war: Mariupol evacuation ‘fails’; missiles strike residential buildings in Odesa – live | Ukraine | The Guardian

 

[Sundog]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Moscow on April 26. Guterres will meet Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss “urgent steps to bring peace to Ukraine.”

Glad to see this.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Odesa targeted with rocket fire

The southern port city of Odesa has been targeted with rocket fire, local Ukrainian officials say.

A multi-storey residential building was damaged, according to Ukraine's UNIAN news agency.

Details of the attack are still emerging.

Odesa has been shelled before by Russian forces, but much less than other cities such as Mariupol, most of which now lies in ruins after heavy Russian bombardment.

(...)

Russia trying to spread terror in Odesa - Ukraine foreign minister

Reaction is coming in after reports of a Russian missile attack on the port city of Odesa.

Anton Herashchenko, an aide to interior minister, said several missiles struck residential blocks and a man died when his car caught fire.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has tweeted to condemn Russia over the alleged attack.

Moscow itself has not yet commented.

(...)

Citizens escape residential block after Odesa comes under fire

The 14-storey block of flats is still smoking here in a residential part of Odesa.

The side of the building is blackened after what looks like an impact to the lower floors. The car park opposite is covered in blown-out glass and debris. Several vehicles are severely damaged.

One man we spoke to outside the block said he had been in his parents' apartment on the 12th floor when there was a huge explosion. All the windows were shattered.

To leave, they had to push aside the fragments of a door. He says he and his mother had to jump from the first floor to escape.

Rescue teams are on site, with several fire engines deployed to put out flames several floors up. Firefighters are smashing through flat windows.

The BBC team counted at least five ambulances at the scene, with several victims nursing head wounds. At least one person was taken out on a stretcher.

The bomb disposal unit is also on site, and authorities have pushed the cordon back.

(...)

Smoke billowing from Odesa building

Footage has emerged on social media of a building in Odesa that was struck by a Russia missile.

The footage, which has been verified by the BBC, shows thick black smoke billowing into the air.

Ukraine war latest news: Apartment block in Odesa hit after city is targeted with rockets - BBC News

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Mariupol defenders post new video of people trapped in Azovstal. The April 21 video shows Azov fighters bringing food to civilians, mostly women and children, who have been sheltering in the basements of the Azovstal plant for nearly two months.

Video linked in the above tweet:

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
In the video, civilians say that they are running out of food, ask for evacuation to the Ukrainian-controlled territories, saying that they want to see their relatives and sunlight. On April 22, Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova said that around 1,000 civilians are trapped at Azovstal.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
UK intelligence: Russia has made no major gains in the last 24 hours. According to the latest British Defense Ministry intelligence update, Ukrainian forces’ counter-attacks continue to hinder Russian occupiers’ efforts.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Despite Russia’s claimed conquest of Mariupol, heavy fighting continues there, disrupting Russia’s attempts to capture the city and slowing the occupiers’ advance in Donbas, the update said.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
Ukrainian forces liberate 3 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast. According to Governor Oleh Synehubov, Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a successful counterattack on April 22, liberating and securing their positions in Bezruky, Slatine and Prudianka villages in Kharkiv Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Russian occupiers dump victims of Mariupol Drama Theater attack in mass grave. According to advisor to Mariupol mayor Petro Andriushchenko, Russians are clearing debris at the theater that they bombed on March 16 and are taking dead bodies to the nearby Manhush village.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Russia forcibly deports 308 Mariupol residents to Vladivostok, including 90 children. The children will also be forced to learn Russian, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko said on April 21. Vladivostok is located over 9,000 kilometers east of Mariupol.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 45 min ago
Russian hits Odesa with airstrikes. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, multiple airstrikes were conducted against Odesa, with two missiles hitting the city’s infrastructure, including residential buildings.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Military intelligence: 2 Russian generals killed near Kherson. According to Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, the military hit a Russian command post near occupied regional capital Kherson, allegedly killing two Russian generals and wounding one.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian airstrike kills 5 in Odesa, including a three-month-old. The missile strike on April 23 also wounded 18 people, but the number of casualties is likely to increase, said Andriy Yermak, president’s chief of staff.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Ukraine's Air Forces said that Russian missiles were launched on Odesa from the area of the Caspian sea by TU-95 planes. 2 missiles were downed but others hit objects in the city, including apartment buildings. https://facebook.com/PvKPivden/posts/7223413874400678

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Russian occupiers started mobilization in occupied parts of Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia Oblasts. They began with medical personnel, ordering to provide medical help for Russian soldiers on the frontline. In case of refusal, they shoot—UA Intelligence
https://facebook.com/DefenceIntelligenceofUkraine/posts/297511365893624

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 23, 2022
'A great pity': Ukrainian village faces a churchless Easter | AP News

A single metal cross remains inside the church of shattered brick and blackened stone. Russian soldiers used the house of worship for storing ammunition, residents said, and Ukrainian forces shelled the building to make the Russians leave.

[...]

Its bells fell onto unstable ground that is littered with ammunition casings and cans of Russian tinned meat. A stand for candles remains, along with a dented teapot and a pasta strainer.

Outside, the finned part of a rocket is stuck in the mud.

[...]

There is no gas available to bake Easter bread. At a bend in a road, a military chaplain, Volodymyr Vyshyvkin, and volunteers handed out food and verses.

[...]

Resistance never died during the local occupation of Lukashivka, said Valentyna Golyak, 64.

“I was telling the Russians, ‘You will stay in this land as fertilizer. If you want to kill me, kill me.’ They looked ashamed,” she said. “I think they don’t believe in God.”

[...]

But she celebrates new life, too. Her daughter gave birth in a village basement during the Russia occupation. On Saturday, the baby girl will be 1 month old.

She was named Victoria.

 

[sds71]

@ZekeJMiller

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine leader Zelenskyy says he will meet Sunday in Kyiv with US defense secretary Austin, secretary of state Blinken.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 22, 2022
2 burned Ukrainian children being treated at Boston hospital | AP News
[...]

Doctors at Shriners Children’s Boston said Friday that the two children are a 2-year-old girl and a 17-month-old boy who both sustained serious burns over the majority of their bodies from scalding hot water, MassLive.com reports.

Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov said the girl was injured about a month ago in Kyiv, leaving burns across 70% of her body, the news site reports. The boy suffered burns over about 55% of his body after being injured in Lviv, he said.

Doctors said they’ll continue removing dead tissue and constructing skin grafts to help the two recover, according to MassLive.com. They said it generally takes about a day to recover for each percent of the body that’s burned.

[...]

The two arrived in Boston late Wednesday, each one accompanied by one of their parents.

Shriners doctors said it took nearly three weeks to bring the children to the hospital as planes aren’t able to fly into Ukraine due to the war. The children were instead brought to Poland, where they received care until they could board a flight to the U.S.

[...]

 

[dotr]

rbbm
April 23 2021
Ukraine: Russians try to storm Mariupol plant, strike Odesa | The Star
''KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces in Ukraine tried to storm a steel plant housing soldiers and civilians in the southern city of Mariupol on Saturday while attempting to crush the last corner of resistance in a place of deep symbolic and strategic value to Moscow, Ukrainian officials said.

The reported assault on the eve of Orthodox Easter came after the Kremlin claimed its military had seized all of the shattered city except for the Azovstal plant, and as Russian forces pounded other cities and towns in southern and eastern Ukraine.

A 3-month-old baby was among six people killed when Russia fired cruise missiles at the Black Sea port city of Odesa, officials said.

The fate of the Ukrainians in the sprawling seaside steel mill wasn’t immediately clear; earlier Saturday, a Ukrainian military unit released a video reportedly taken two days earlier in which women and children holed up underground, some for as long as two months, said they longed to see the sun.''

“We want to see peaceful skies, we want to breathe in fresh air,” one woman in the video said. “You have simply no idea what it means for us to simply eat, drink some sweetened tea. For us, it is already happiness.”

''Ukrainian officials have estimated that about 2,000 of their troops are inside the plant along with the civilians sheltering in the facility’s underground tunnels. Arestovic said the Ukrainian forces were trying to counter the new attacks.


Earlier Saturday, the Azov Regiment of Ukraine’s National Guard, which has members holed up in the plant, released the footage of around two dozen women and children. The contents could not be independently verified.

If authentic, it would be the first video testimony of what life has been like for civilians still trapped in Mariupol’s underground bunkers. The video showed soldiers giving sweets to children who respond with fist-bumps.

One young girl says she and her relatives “haven’t seen neither the sky, nor the sun” since they left home on Feb. 27.''

 

[worldwatcher]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Mariupol defenders post new video of people trapped in Azovstal. The April 21 video shows Azov fighters bringing food to civilians, mostly women and children, who have been sheltering in the basements of the Azovstal plant for nearly two months.

Video linked in the above tweet:

It was here on the news too, I feel so sad,truly heartbreaking - tbh I don’t think they ever see daylight again.
I hate VP
MOO

 

[CSIDreamer]

https://twitter.com/JohnReedwrites/status/1517973943206002688?t=wS3V-vBq_IkvQ0GTYS7ChQ&s=19

First church bells at midnight in Kyiv, and now the sound of an air raid warning too. Happy Easter #Ukraine

(Financial Times reporter)

 

[sds71]

Olga Rudenko
@olya_rudenko

"These were the best 40 weeks ever. Our girl is 1 month old now. Daddy got her her first flowers. It's a whole new level of happiness." (posted 11 weeks ago)

Today both the woman who posted it and the baby she's writing about were killed by a Russian missile in Odesa.

@olliecarroll

Zelensky on today’s Odesa rocket attacks, where at least 8 have died “One of victims was 3 months old! 1 month old when the war started. What has come of the world?! Scumbags! Stinking scumbags!

 

[LadyL]

2nd apparent mass grave site in Mariupol is also expanding, satellite photos reveal

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 7 hrs ago
Kuleba: 'Russia must be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and treated accordingly.' Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “the only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odesa is terror.” Earlier, two rockets hit Ukraine’s port city, killing five and injuring 18.

(^^^YES! At the very least. What in the world are they waiting on? )

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 5 hrs ago
US expert: Without national mobilization, Donbas is the last offensive Russia can afford. Whether the Donbas offensive succeeds or fails, the Russian military will be largely exhausted after it, military expert Michael Kofman said on April 23.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
President Volodymyr Zelensky is giving a press conference on the platform of a metro station in central Kyiv.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
Zelensky calls Russian military 'stinky bastards' after airstrike kills 3-month-old in Odesa. President Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t hold back during his press conference held hours after Russian missiles killed eight and injured 18 people in Odesa.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
“It’s simply horror,” Zelensky said. “During these (Easter) days, so they just don’t care.” He added that however difficult it is, Ukraine must continue peace talks to prevent more children from being killed by Russian attacks.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Zelensky: Ukraine will pull out of peace talks if Russia kills Ukrainian troops in Mariupol. Ukraine will also halt the talks if Russia holds pseudo-referendums in occupied territories, he said on April 23.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Zelensky: Ukrainian army not ready to unblock troops besieged in Mariupol. The city has been surrounded by Russian troops for almost two months, with Ukrainian soldiers still holding on to the highly fortified Azovstal steel mill.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 3 hrs ago
Zelensky: If Putin lost contact with reality, he may use nuclear weapons. "Is this possible?" he said at a news conference on April 23. "It is. Do I believe in this? To be honest, I don't want to believe in this."

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Russian statements interpreted as veiled threat to attack Odesa Oblast with chemical weapons. Russia's Defense Ministry on April 23 accused Ukraine of planning to use ammonia as a chemical weapon as part of a "provocation" at the seaport of Yuzhny in Odesa Oblast.

APR 23, 2022
First-hand account from Mariupol: “I begged God to let me die quickly!” | Euromaidan Press
“I just lay there, thinking I’d never get out of this hell alive. This will be my grave. I had lost hope. I could neither pray nor hope.” This is the first-hand account of 17-y.o. Mariya from Mariupol, who survived Russian occupation and a filtration camp and now tells her story from safety.

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
April 23 2022
Russia’s war on Ukraine amplifying risks of human trafficking: experts - National | Globalnews.ca
“The problem is that these women fled from hostilities. They have been on the road for days. They are stressed out. They don’t know what the future holds,” she said.

Dmytrieva said posters have been mounted between bordering countries to warn people of the threat of human trafficking. “You cannot reasonably expect these women will be in any condition to assess the risks.”

View image in full screen
A volunteer at the international humanitarian group Save the Children sits next to a banner giving advice on personal safety at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Siret, Romania, Monday, March 7, 2022. As millions of women and children flee across Ukraine’s borders in the face of Russian aggression, concerns are growing over how to protect the most vulnerable refugees from being targeted by human traffickers or becoming victims of other forms of exploitation. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Demand for explicit Ukrainian videos rising
And not just human trafficking, according to Dmytrieva, but the demand for explicit graphic videos of Ukrainian women have also skyrocketed since the start of the invasion.
“We know that the demand for videos with Ukrainian women are now trending on resources. And we know that some of those videos are tagged ‘Ukrainian girl’ that depict adults who look like teenagers, or actual teenagers,” she said.

Earlier on in Russia’s invasion during the beginning of March, terms such as “Ukrainian ,” “war ” and “Ukrainian girls,” became trending searches on PornHub, according to Exodus Cry, a organization committed to internationally fighting sexual exploitation.

On Google Trends, “Ukrainian Girls Reddit” has also had a huge spike in searches since Feb.''

''While working in Ukraine during the invasion, Dmytrieva has seen an “overwhelming” amount of support from other women around the world.

“They’re sending money. They’re sending support. They are sending kind words. They are sending morning-after pills and menstrual cups,” she said, expressing gratitude.''

 

[dotr]

Last Updated: 5 minutes ago
Ukraine's Zelensky accuses Russian troops of mass civilian killings, coverup in Mariupol | CBC News

''Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said during a briefing on Saturday that the Russian forces have resumed air strikes on Azovstal and were trying to storm it.''

''Putin ordered the Russian military to not storm the plant and instead to block it off in an apparent attempt to stifle the remaining pocket of resistance there.

Ukrainian officials have estimated that about 2,000 of their troops are inside the plant along with about 1,000 sheltering in the facility's underground tunnels.

Arestovich says the Ukrainian fighters are still holding on despite the resumed attacks and are even trying to counter them.''

 

[PommyMommy]

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 4hrs ago
Two little actresses Yelyzaveta and Sonia have died in the besieged Mariupol. They both played Lucy in the Mariupol Theater "Konceptsiya" play based on the book "The Chronicles of Narnia",–Mariupol Mayor Advisor https://t.me/andriyshTime/413

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukraine’s airforce destroys 17 Russian aerial targets. Yuriy Ignat, a Ukrainian air force spokesman, said Ukraine shot down three Russian planes (according to preliminary estimates those are Su-25, Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft), five missiles and 9 UAVs over the past 24 hours.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Russians abducted a civilian woman from the market in Rubizhne. She was repeatedly raped, interrogated, and beaten for several days. When released, she found out that her children had been taken by Red Cross in an unknown direction,–Luhansk Oblast Police Telegram: Contact @police_Luganschina

NEXTA on Twitter - 35 min ago
In the last days, members of the "Freedom of #Russia Legion", a unit of #Russians fighting alongside #Ukraine, underwent tactical training to practice cohesion in ambush and offensive operations.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ukrainian forces liberate eight settlements in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Operational Command South reported on April 24 that the Ukrainian army has liberated eight settlements in Kherson Oblast.

CNN France on Twitter
Ukraine says Russia is sending Ukrainians in the besieged city thousands of miles away to Primorsky Krai, in Russia's far east Live updates: Russia's war in Ukraine (cnn.com)

The New Voice of Ukraine on Twitter
100,000 tulips begin to bloom in the center of the Ukrainian capital. These flowers are a gift from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ukraine as a sign of honor and respect for Ukrainian heroes. Photos: KO "Kyivzelenbud"