Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #3

[PommyMommy]

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 4 hrs ago
In temporarily occupied Melitopol, the Russian military is visiting every school and forcing educators to start the Russian-language educational process on April 1 under an incomprehensible program,–Melitopol City Mayor https://facebook.com/IvanFedorovMelitopol/videos/718355179323007

Oleg Nikolenko on Twitter - Spokesperson for @MFA_Ukraine, 2 hrs ago
By forcibly deporting Mariupol citizens to its territory, Russia moves to the next level of terror. 6k Ukrainians already now in Russian camps where they may be used as hostages. Humanitarian convoys fleeing to non-occupied parts of Ukraine still being shelled. This barbarity must end

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Only 3% of Belarusians approve the deployment of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. Most Belarusians don't support - the concentration of Russian troops in Belarus - helping Russia in military action in any way Chatham House poll conducted on 5–14 Mar 2022 https://reform.by/304685-opros-chatham-house-belarusy-razdeleny-v-svoih-simpatijah-no-ediny-v-glavnom

Euromaidan Press on Twitter - 40 min ago
Ukrainians in Kherson hung the Ukrainian flag on the city council again despite the city being occupied by Russia. The flag was destroyed during the first days of war. PHOTOS by the city council

NEXTA on Twitter
80% of the city of #Irpen was liberated by the Ukrainian army, reports the Armed Forces of #Ukraine

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Russian leadership has decided to adjust its plans for further hostilities in Ukraine because goals were not met in time, acc to info received by Gen.Staff, 12:00 EET Russia is transferring weapons to Belarus and Crimea to make an attempt to encircle of Kyiv https://facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/279600371019715

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine live updates: US slams Russia's plans to partially reopen stock market - ABC News (go.com)
Mar 24, 8:30 am
''Zelenskyy addresses NATO virtually: Never tell us our army doesn't meet your standards
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned NATO leaders on Thursday that Russia's offensive will ultimately go beyond Ukraine, unless the Western defense alliance takes stronger action.

"Ukraine never wanted this war and does not want to fight for years. We just want to save our people," Zelenskyy said in an impassioned speech via video link from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. "I am sure you already understand that Russia does not intend to stop in Ukraine -- does not intend and will not. It wants to go further."

As all 30 NATO heads of state meet in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy lamented that "the worst thing during the war is not having clear answers to requests for help."

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 24, 2022
'No Room For Journalism': Russia's Independent Regional Press Fights To Survive Under Wartime Conditions (rferl.org)
"Pskovskaya Guberniya tried to continue working under wartime conditions," said the former editor in chief of the last independent media outlet in the northwestern Russian city of Pskov, Denis Kamalyagin. But on March 5, one day after Russia adopted draconian new laws on the "dissemination of information that discredits the armed forces of the Russian Federation," OMON riot police showed up in force at the online newspaper's offices.

"OMON put all these 'dangerous criminals' face down on the floor and ransacked the office over a supposed administrative offense," Kamalyagin said. "Continuing to work after they confiscated all our equipment, after their threats, after they blocked our website and our social media channels was impossible…. There is no room for independent journalism in Russia."

Russian stock market, crushed by war, opens with big limits | AP News
A U.S. official called the severely restricted market a “charade,” with only some listed shares trading and Russia making clear it would “pour government resources into artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading.”

“This is not a real market and not a sustainable model, which only underscores Russia’s isolation from the global financial system,” Daleep Singh, a deputy national security and economic adviser to President Joe Biden, said in a statement.

Zelenskyy pleads for aid as Biden, allies begin summits | AP News
The energy crisis exacerbated by the war will be a particularly hot topic at the European Council summit, where leaders from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are hoping for an urgent, coordinated bloc-wide response. EU officials have said they will seek U.S. help on a plan to top up natural gas storage facilities for next winter, and they also want the bloc to jointly purchase gas.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed calls to boycott Russian energy supplies, saying it would cause significant damage to his country’s economy. Scholz is facing pressure from environmental activists to quickly wean Germany off Russian energy, but he said the process will have to be gradual.

“To do so from one day to the next would mean plunging our country and all of Europe into recession,” Scholz said Wednesday.

 

[PommyMommy]

Anonymous claims it has hacked Russia's Central Bank | Daily Mail Online

International hacking collective Anonymous claims to have exploited Russia's Central Bank - and is threatening to release 35,000 files which include 'secret agreements' in the next 48 hours.

The bank is responsible for protecting and ensuring the safety of the ruble, the Russian currency which has plummeted in value since the invasion of Ukraine began last month.

 

[PommyMommy]

Nieuwe Amerikaanse sancties tegen Rusland • Russisch oorlogsschip in brand

NOS = Dutch national broadcast/Dutch public broadcaster

AN HOUR AGO
Stoltenberg: Four New Combat Units to Eastern Member States
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced in a press conference after the summit in Brussels to continue to exert pressure on Russia and to provide further military support to Ukraine. For example, Ukraine will receive more drones and anti-aircraft systems from NATO countries. The countries also want to provide Ukraine with more humanitarian aid and cyber security.

NATO countries are sending four new combat units to eastern member states, in addition to the four battle groups already stationed in Poland and the Baltic States. The troops are going to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. NATO's military presence is also being strengthened in the air and at sea with jet fighters, combat ships and submarines, among other things.

Stoltenberg emphasized that the war has made it clear that security cannot be taken for granted and that more military investment is needed for the longer term. He said NATO countries are now coming up with plans to free up more money for military spending.

 

[PommyMommy]

Sergey Shoigu, where are you? Amid war against Ukraine, Russia’s defense minister hasn’t been seen in public for 12 days — Meduza

‘Visibly Furious’ Russian TV Talking Heads Rage at Arnold Schwarzenegger: ‘Don’t Side With Skynet’

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine War: NATO steps up support for Ukraine on land, sea and air

Ukraine War: Ukrainian forces beginning their counter-offensive

 

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Marina Butina, the convicted Russian spy who tried to infiltrate conservative political groups in the US, is among the hundreds of Russian lawmakers facing new sanctions from the Biden administration.

The US Treasury announced on Thursday that 328 members of Russia's State Duma — the lower house of its parliament — will be sanctioned for supporting Russia's month-long war against Ukraine.

In addition to Russian lawmakers, dozens of defense companies and the CEO of its largest financial institution Sberbank are being targeted by the sanctions.

Maria Butina, the convicted Russian spy who tried to infiltrate the NRA, was targeted in the latest round of US sanctions

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Russia’s Defense-Industrial Base, the Russian Duma and Its Members, and Sberbank CEO

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Not Seen for 12 Days
"Shoigu, 66, is said not to have been seen with Putin since he attended a meeting with the Russian president and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov in Moscow on February 27, just days after the Ukraine invasion began."...

"It is also reported that Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, has not been seen in public since March 11."

Did Ukraine kill Russian military chief Gerasimov's relative?
On March 7th, Russian Major General Vitaliy Gerasimov, the chief of staff with Russia’s 41st Combined Arms Army was eliminated by Ukrainian forces..."along with a host of top officers sent to Ukraine to fix the invasion."

 

[PommyMommy]

Maria Butina: alleged Russian spy appears to reach plea deal

BBC "Today" Maria Butina Interview

MARCH 9, 2022
Maria Butina Claims Ukraine, Not Russia, Is Bombing Ukraine - Rolling Stone
''In fact, Butina is so deep in Putin’s propaganda hole that she’s suggesting it’s Ukraine itself, not Russia, laying waste to Ukraine.

“We have tons of evidence that the Russia army does not touch, does not bomb civilian populations,” she told BBC Radio’s Nick Robinson on Wednesday.

The remark came at the end of a tense exchange in which Robinson pressed Butina on whether she believed Ukraine has been bombing itself. “I want to seriously see the evidence that these are Russians,” Butina said before touting Russia’s plan to create “humanitarian corridors” to evacuate people from Ukrainian cities under attack. The corridors, however, lead into Russia and Belarus. “They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,” a spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky told Retuers.''

 

[PommyMommy]

How dangerous is Putin? Hear ex-Russian oligarch's answer

Russian troops run for cover as 'Ukraine forces mortar enemy positions' in Mariupol

 

[PommyMommy]

Kyiv Woman Wants Godmother In Moscow 'To See' Her Damaged Home

Russian warship destroyed in occupied port of Berdyansk, says Ukraine - BBC News

 

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.U.S. has 'credible information' Russians are creating lists of Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps, ambassador to U.N. says

U.S. has ‘credible information’ Russians are creating lists of Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps, ambassador to U.N. says

The U.S. has uncovered "credible information" that Russian forces "are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps," and that Russian troops will "likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests," according to a recent letter to a U.N. high commissioner, sent by a U.S. ambassador.

The undated The Washington Post on Sunday and written by Ambassador Bathsheba Nell Crocker, U.S. representative to the Office of the United Nations, and addressed to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet—warns of a potential "human rights catastrophe" in the coming days.

"I would like to bring to your attention disturbing information recently obtained by the United States that indicates that human rights violations and abuses in the aftermath of a further invasion are being planned," Crocker wrote. "These acts ... would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.

"Specifically, we have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to campus following a military occupation. We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations."

The letter does not offer additional details.

On Sunday the Ukrainian city of Mariupol issued a statement claiming that its residents were being taken to Russia against their will, and a Ukrainian lawmaker said they were being forced into labor in remote areas of Russia, the Associated Press reported.

“Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents have been taken to the Russian territory,” the city statement said, according to the AP, adding that Ukrainians' cellphones and documents were examined by Russian troops before moving them.

Nearly 3,000 people have been taken from Mariupol to Russia since March 5, Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said Sunday, the AP reported.

Inna Sovsun told Times Radio that, according to the Mariupol mayor and city council, the citizens are going to so-called filtration campus, "where they’re being forced to sign papers that they will stay in that area for two or three years and they will work for free in those areas," the AP added.

A Thursday article in Foreign Policy reported that Russia has drafted "lists of Ukrainian political figures and other prominent individuals to be targeted for either arrest or assassination in the event of a Russian assault on Ukraine," according to four individuals familiar with U.S. intelligence.

 

[PommyMommy]

Pentagon: Russian defense officials have declined to take multiple calls from US counterparts

Ukraine says Moscow is forcibly taking civilians to Russia

UN blames Russia for Ukraine humanitarian crisis, urges aid

West pledges more Ukraine aid, but not all Zelenskyy seeks

 

[PommyMommy]

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1
15m
President Biden says Russia should be removed from the G20. He says if the other G20 nations don't agree, Ukraine should still be able to attend the G20 and observe.

Good Morning America@GMA
8m
Asked by @CeciliaVega
if the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine would trigger a military response from NATO, Pres. Biden says: "It would trigger a response in kind." https://abcn.ws/3J41yDx

 

[PommyMommy]

Rutte: geen nieuwe sancties tegen Rusland op EU-top • NAVO versterkt zijn oostflank
Stepfather buried among the ruined Mariupol flat flats
The journey to an official cemetery is too dangerous, so Viktoria temporarily buries her stepfather in a field between the flats. This is possible because, after a period of frost, the soil has thawed enough to be able to dig. "We are going to rebury him, but this is all we can do for now," says Viktoria.

Video embedded.

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent@KyivIndependent
20m
Russia claims to have 'evacuated' 402,000 Ukrainians to Russia, including 84,000 children. Source: Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmyla Denisova. Ukraine is not yet able to verify these statistics.

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine Starts Using Facial Recognition To Identify Dead Russians And Tell Their Relatives

Find a photo of a dead Russian soldier on social media. Upload it to facial recognition software. Get an identity match from a database of billions of social media images. Identify the deceased’s family and friends. Show them what happened to the victim of Putin’s war and Ukraine’s defense.

This is one of Ukraine’s strategies in trying to inform Russians, who have limited access to non-state-controlled media and information, about the death being wrought by their president’s invasion.

 

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NEXTA @nexta_tv
Armed Forces of #Ukraine reported about the release of #Lukyanovka As a result of the fighting in the #Kyiv region, about 40 #Russian invaders, 9 infantry fighting vehicles and 2 tanks were destroyed, and one tank was taken into service.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1507057048420294657?s=20&t=4zTcVXH-svk8DpnI_IucWg

 

[PommyMommy]

Solomon Islands has signed a policing deal with China and will send a proposal for a broader security agreement covering the military to its cabinet for consideration.

According to a copy of the draft security agreement circulating on social media on Thursday, it would allow China to base navy warships in the Pacific, less than 2,000km off Australia’s coast.

The arrangements are also likely to worry the United States, which said in February it would open an embassy in Solomon Islands after senior US administration officials expressed concern China wanted to create military relationships in the Pacific islands.

Australia has a bilateral security agreement with Solomon Islands, covering the deployment of police and armed forces, signed in 2018.

Australia’s minister for home affairs, Karen Andrews, told reporters on Thursday the Pacific was Australia’s “back yard”, when asked about the possibility of the Chinese military operating in Solomon Islands.

“In relation to China, in relation to the Pacific region, that is our back yard, that is our neighbourhood, and we are very concerned about any activity that is taking place in the Pacific islands,” she said.

China finalising security deal with Solomon Islands to base warships in the Pacific