Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #2

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Evacuations are halted in an area of Ukraine where Russia had pledged a cease-fire
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an open meeting for Monday on the worsening humanitarian situation. The United Nations estimates that 12 million people in Ukraine and 4 million fleeing to neighboring countries in the coming months will need humanitarian aid.

More Russians, Ukrainians seek asylum at U.S.-Mexico border
And Russia will be cutting off those Aeroflot flights to/from Cancun, Mexico, and Punta Cana, DR on Tuesday.

 

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Priest who threw paint at Russian embassy calls for war protests to continue

A PRIEST WHO threw red paint over the Russian embassy in Dublin has urged people in Ireland to continue to protest against the war in Ukraine.

Fr Fergal MacDonagh was among speakers who addressed a rally in Dublin city centre that was attended by several thousand protesters on Saturday.

Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko also spoke to the crowds outside the GPO on O’Connell Street, warning that her country was on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

(...)

The cleric explained what motivated him to vandalise the property.

“Yesterday morning when I woke up I heard on the radio that a maternity hospital had been bombed in Ukraine during the night,” he said.

“It’s appalling and horrific and it’s the work of evil what is happening in Ukraine, it’s a war crime and Putin will face justice in this world or in the next.”

He added: “I’ve been frightened and worried and anxious all week, all the last 10 days.

“We must protest, the people of Ukraine must know that they are not alone.”

(...)

 

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The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 15 minutes ago
️Zelensky calls on Ukrainians to continue resistance.
In the recent address, he praised civilians for standing up to the Russian occupation.

"Every meter of our Ukrainian land won by protest and humiliation of the occupiers is a step forward, towards victory."

 

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MAR 5, 2022
Ukrainian Schools Reduced To Rubble In Russian Attacks (rferl.org) - Video
Across Ukraine, schools have been destroyed in Russian shelling and air strikes. In one, an injured child made a video on her Instagram feed saying: "I hope things are better where you are.... Send this video to all your Russian friends."

 

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Turkey's Erdogan is going to meet with Putin on March 6.

Erdogan To Speak With Putin As Turkey Pushes For End To Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet at his residence in Sochi in September 2021.
A spokesman for Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish president will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 6 and that Ankara is ready to do what it can to stop the war in Ukraine.

Turkey, a NATO member, has close relations with both Kyiv and Russia and has been urging an end to the fighting since Putin announced the full-scale invasion on February 24.

Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in Istanbul on March 5 that Turkey was ready to help resolve the crisis.

He repeated Turkey's offer to host talks between Russia and Ukraine and called for an immediate stop to the violence.

Kalin repeated Erdogan's desire to maintain ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.

Russia's ambassador to UN institutions in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, on March 4 welcomed Ankara's proposal to set up a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers during a diplomatic forum in Antalya on March 11-13.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Kyiv wanted "a responsible international mediator" because the Ukrainians "don't trust the Russian Federation at all."

Podolyak suggested that Turkey, Hungary, or Poland could possibly host talks.

Ukrainian delegates have held two rounds of talks with Russian counterparts since the invasion began.

Erdogan has held separate talks with Zelenskiy, who is in Kyiv leading the military and civilian defense of Ukraine, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who vowed on March 5 further legal measures next week to sanction wealthy Russians seen as close to the Kremlin.

Based on reporting by Reuters

 

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MAR 5, 2022
Ukrainian loses parent to Russian propaganda: 'I can consider myself an orphan' (kyivindependent.com)
“I woke up from a call from a friend. He told me Russia was bombing Kyiv,” says Artem Basistiy, a 29-year-old from Crimea, who had lived in Kyiv for the last four years.

“Then I heard a siren going off, quickly grabbed the dog, and ran to the shelter. After the air raid was over, I called my mom to tell her I was alive, she answered ‘what are you talking about? Of course, you are. Putin is trying to save you.’

[...]

“I begged my mom not to watch Russian propaganda and to open other sources — Ukrainian, American, or British, doesn’t matter. But she told me they were zombifying us,” Artem said.

[...]

On the fourth day of the war, he decided to join the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine. So far, he has not entered its ranks, waiting for his turn.

“I called her again in a few days, hoping she followed my advice, read some independent news outlets, and watched videos I sent her,” Artem said. “Unfortunately, nothing changed at all. Even after the destroyed apartment buildings in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Sumy… She said we were hitting our own citizens with high-precision artillery.”

[...]

Later Basistiy posted a story on Instagram saying: “02/03/2022, the day I lost my mom.”

He was devastated, wanted to tear everything, throw things, cry, bang his head against the wall. He was having a nervous breakdown, he said. He hoped that at least his father would support and believe him, but he couldn’t know for sure as there was no way to reach him.

[...]

Basistiy’s father is from Grozny, Chechnya, the city war-torn by Russia twice, in 1994-1996 and 1999-2000, what is known as the First and Second Chechen War. His family fled to Crimea accompanied by soldiers, having only minimal belongings.

“My father knows what war is firsthand. I really hope that we will get in touch soon and he will understand everything and be able to convey this to my mom. Otherwise, I can consider myself an orphan with 100% certainty.”

 

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MAR 5, 2022
Kadyrovites leave psychoneurological hospital seized earlier today | Ukrayinska Pravda
Patients of a psychoneurological hospital in the Kyiv Region, seized earlier today by Kadyrovites, were evacuated.

Source: Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, in a comment to Ukrainian TV channels

Quote: "As of now, the special operations unit that entered the dispensary at about 1 p.m. has released the patients and left the premises of the hospital. Despite that, they have not left the territory of the town. Obviously, the people staying there, despite having suffered significant stress, are already feeling better."

Details: Kuleba added that people in the hospital were in extremely difficult conditions. In particular, "there is no water and light", but they were constantly receiving help. He reiterated that the city is currently controlled by the occupiers.

[...]

 

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https://www.usnews.com/news/world/a...-singapore-announces-sanctions-against-russia

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged U.S. lawmakers to sanction Russia’s oil and gas sector and suspend credit card access, and backed an idea to ban Russian oil imports to the U.S. that’s been gaining support in Congress.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said Zelenskyy emphasized during a private call Saturday with the U.S. lawmakers that the energy sector needs to be sanctioned.

“Anything that could hurt the Russian economy will help the Ukrainian people and may make this war more difficult” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Graham said in a video.

During the call, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia asked Zelenskyy about the idea of banning Russian oil to the U.S., according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the private call.

Zelenskyy indicated he was 100% on board with banning Russian oil to the U.S. and told the senators it would be very helpful, the people said.

Zelensky also asked them to suspend access to Visa and Mastercard credit cards in Russia, according to another person granted anonymity to discuss the call.

 

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Shell Says It Bought Russian Oil After Government Talk
Company will divert Russia profits to humanitarian fund

After taking a barrage of criticism for buying a cargo of Russian crude, Europe’s largest oil company Shell Plc says it’s navigating the market with government guidance.

 

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CNN on Twitter
CNN’s @clarissaward stops her live report to help elderly civilians trying to flee Kyiv evacuate as Russian forces close in on the capital city.

ICRC on Twitter
We’ve received thousands of questions on the Geneva Conventions.

So, we’re going to break down the rules of war you need to know right now.

All states have signed these – and are legally obligated to follow them.

Civilians.
They cannot be attacked.
They must be protected.
They are not a target.

Whatever wording you use – the message is the same. It is illegal.

Combatants.
Combatants must distinguish themselves from civilians in all military operations by wearing identifiable insignia and carrying arms openly. This helps protect civilians from harm.

Combatants must respect the rules of war. Period.

Civilian infrastructure.
This is schools, hospitals, civilians’ homes, water plants that supply clean water, and electricity lines.

Basically, everything that civilians need to go about their daily lives.

These are also not a target. We cannot stress this enough.

The sick and wounded.
They must be cared for, regardless of the side they’re on.

Parties to the conflict must also recover and identify those who have died and facilitate their return – in a dignified manner.

We can assist by acting as a neutral intermediary.

Prisoners of war and detainees.
The law states they must be protected. This includes from acts of violence, intimidation, and ill-treatment.

They also must be treated with dignity, and not exposed to public curiosity – like circulating images on social media.

Weapons.
The use of illegal weapons and the illegal use of weapons is prohibited. No ifs or buts.

The use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas - so in cities - should be avoided.

Civilians only end up paying the price.

Aid workers and humanitarian organizations.
We must be allowed to operate safely. Our work is to bring aid and save lives.

Sanctions and other restrictive measures must be designed to allow humanitarian action to happen.

In all situations, lifesaving aid must not be blocked.

Red cross red crescent emblems.
They're protective emblems. In conflict, they must only be used for:

Medical staff and facilities, including army medics and vehicles.

Red Cross Red Crescent workers, vehicles, facilities and the humanitarian relief they bring.

 

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Ukraine Invasion: Conflict claims civilian casualties

DOZENS of British war heroes flock to Ukraine to take on Russia

 

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Kelly O'Donnell on Twitter - Video
With ⁦@SecBlinken inside Ukraine border, FM ⁦@DmytroKuleba says he expects
⁩NATO will change its position to do more to intervene because "the world has changed" and countries that never provided weapons are doing so now. It's a matter of when. Watch.

Al Jazeera English on Twitter - Video
Dramatic footage captures the moment a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv, knocking blogger Nikita Demenkov to the ground

War in Ukraine - Warnings of hostility against people of Russian origin in Germany (deutschlandfunk.de)

 

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March 5 2022
Conrad Black: How the Ukraine crisis could strengthen the West | National Post

''But there is no reason to believe that this is the beginning of a permanent decline. And as it goes through this torpor, which is unprecedented in its own history, NATO has shaped up with refreshing and unexpected vigour, Germany has announced its return to its rightful role as Europe’s leading power but in a positive and collegial context, and the long-festering issue of what would happen to the former republics of the U.S.S.R. will be substantially answered satisfactorily. Ukraine may go through a period of Finlandization, but will join the West. The little Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) now seem likely to escape the control of Russia, as do the Caucasian republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. If Putin were to succeed in taking back Ukraine and turning it into another primitive subsidiary of Moscow like Belarus, it would be another severe defeat for the West and a substantial disgorgement of our great and bloodless victory in the Cold War, but this scenario seems extremely unlikely given the level of resistance we’ve witnessed from the Ukrainians.''

''Ultimately, the West will emerge stronger from Ukraine’s ordeal, China will receive a substantial disincentive to any thoughts it might have entertained of a military occupation of Taiwan, which would be infinitely more difficult than the attack on Ukraine, and Russia will certainly tire before long of the overlordship of China, giving us another chance to attract it to the West, where it belongs.''

 

[PommyMommy]

Inside The Post-Apocalyptic Yet Oddly Flourishing Chernobyl Of Today

Live updates: Johnson to seek UN Security Council meeting | Miami Herald
The United Nations’ atomic watchdog says Ukraine has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that staff who have been kept at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant since Russian troops took control of the site a week ago are facing “psychological pressure and moral exhaustion.” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Thursday that the staff must be allowed to rest and rotate so their crucial work can be carried out safely and securely. Grossi received “a joint appeal from the Ukraine Government, regulatory authority and the national operator which added that personnel at the Chornobyl site ‘have limited opportunities to communicate, move and carry out full-fledged maintenance and repair work,’” the IAEA said in a statement.

 

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Videos:

'We'll Tear You Apart': A Mood Of Defiance In Ukrainian City (rferl.org)
Zaporizhzhya has so far been spared Russian air raids and shelling but heavily devastated towns further south, such as Mariupol or Melitopol, are not too far away and Russian forces are moving north. As air sirens sounded, defiant local residents told RFE/RL on March 2 that tension was ever-present.

Ukraine Shoots Down Russian Jet, Captures Pilot (rferl.org)
Video posted online showed a Russian jet being shot down near Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, on March 5. Later images showed the capture of the pilot, who ejected from his plane but was injured.

 

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MAR 5, 2022
Live updates: Ukraine reasserts that 10K Russians killed | AP News
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday echoed the president’s assertion that Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops.

[...]

“Russians keep bearing devastating losses on the ground, and I cannot understand how mothers, wives and daughters of these Russian soldiers bear this pain, seeing how President Putin sends more and more of their beloved ones to Ukraine,” Kuleba said.

[...]

PHOENIX — An Arizona-based ammunition company is offering to donate 1 million bullets to Ukraine’s military amid Russia’s invasion of its European neighbor.

CEO Fred Wagenhals of AMMO Inc. on Friday said it was his response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for international assistance.

[...]

MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Doctors relied on light filtering in through windows and emitted from cellphones to tend to wounded Ukrainian soldiers Saturday at a hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where a promised cease-fire collapsed.

Dr. Evgeniy said the hospital had no power or heat. Patients were lined up in beds along the corridors, and some people were curled up on the floor to protect themselves.

“We have some issues with supplies, not enough analgesics,” Dubrov said. “We’ve worked more than a week without a break.”

[...]

LVIV, Ukraine — Russian forces have now seized two Ukrainian nuclear power plants and are advancing toward a third, Ukraine’s president said during a call with U.S. senators Saturday.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the third plant currently under threat is the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Mykolaiv, one of several cities the Russians were trying to keep encircled Saturday.

One of the plants under the Russians’ control is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar, the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. The other is Chernobyl, which is not active but is still staffed and maintained. Previous Russian shelling sparked a fire at the Zaporizhzhia plant that was extinguished without a release of radiation.

[...]

 

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The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 12 minutes ago
️ Ukraine downs 2 Russian aircraft, 5 helicopters.

According to the Armed Forces, on March 5, Ukraine shot down two Russian aircraft, capturing three pilots and killing one. Ukrainian forces also destroyed five helicopters and an enemy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️ (Update) Ukrainian Air Force says 5 Russian aircraft, 4 helicopters were downed on March 5.

Ukraine now claims a total kill count of 44 planes and 44 helicopters.

Putin says Ukraine's future in doubt as cease-fires collapse

 

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MAR 5, 2022
Ukraine: the situation is "catastrophic" in Mariupol (ln24.be)
In Mariupol, the situation is catastrophic and getting worse by the day," Laurent Ligozat, the NGO's emergency coordinator in Ukraine, told AFP.

"Today there is no more water; people have a lot of problems accessing clean water and it becomes a bit of an essential issue. There is no more electricity, there is no more heating. Food is running out, shops are empty," he said from the western city of Lviv.

[...]

"It is imperative that this humanitarian corridor, which could have seen the light of day today but which has not really been set up following a non-respect of the ceasefire, is put in place very quickly to allow civilian populations, women and children to leave this city," he said.

 

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Israeli PM's visit to Moscow underlines talks' urgency

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett travelled to Moscow to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin earlier.

The urgency of Bennett's visit was underlined by the fact that the Israeli prime minister - who's an Orthodox Jew - broke Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest) in order to fly to Moscow. Exceptions can only be made under Jewish law in situations in which life is threatened.

Bennett's trip was also kept under wraps until he was already in the Kremlin holding some two-and-a-half hours of talks with President Putin.

The two men have met several times before and appear to have a good relationship. The Ukrainian President Vlolodymyr Zelensky had earlier called on the Israeli prime minister to mediate in the current conflict.

Among those accompanying Bennett was the Housing Minister Zeev Elkin, who has long served as a Russian translator for Israeli leaders. He was born in Kharkiv and has relatives still in Ukraine.

Following the talks, PM Bennett travelled on to Germany where he is set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Ukraine latest news: Russia continues full-scale attacks as residents trapped - BBC News

 

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Emilio Morenatti on Twitter
People crowd as they try to get on a train to Lviv at the Kyiv station, Ukraine, Friday, March 4. 2022. Ukrainian men have to stay to fight in the war while women and children are leaving the country to seek refuge in a neighboring country.

Emilio Morenatti on Twitter
A machine-gunned bus is photographed after an ambush where at least three ukrainian citizen were killed in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022.


[URL='https://twitter.com/EmilioMorenatti/status/1500097558248660996']Emilio Morenatti on Twitter
Ukrainian soldiers help a fleeing family crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Emilio Morenatti on Twitter
Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022.

Emilio Morenatti on Twitter
An exhausted woman is attended by Ukrainian soldiers after crossing the Irpin river as fleeing the city in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022.

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