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

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Turkey says cannot stop Russian warships accessing Black Sea
Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu added that Turkish legal experts were still trying to determine whether the conflict in Ukraine could be defined as a war, which would allow the1936 Montreux
Convention mandates to be invoked and block Russian warships from passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits which lead to the Black Sea to continue to invade Ukraine from the sea.

Russia-Ukraine latest news: gunfights continue in Kyiv as Germany sends anti-tank weapons and missiles – live
Russian troops are approaching Ukraine’s nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia and have aimed their rockets at the site, Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on Saturday.

 

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How Ukrainian defiance has derailed Putin’s plans
"On a country road lined with birch trees, a Russian armoured vehicle had broken down.

He pulled up in his car and stopped. There was then a surreal conversation.

“Looks like you guys broke down,” he said to three Russian soldiers, standing by the road. “We ran out of fuel,” one replied. “Can I tow you back to Russia,” he joked. They laughed and asked him for news. “Do you know where you are going?” he inquired. “No,” they answered.

Further along the road other Russian vehicles had conked out. The driver told the hapless soldiers that “everything is on our side” and that Russians were busy surrendering. No one from Putin’s invading army seemed to know where they were going, or why they were even in Ukraine, he concluded.

... by Saturday, it was clear Putin’s blitzkrieg operation to remove Ukraine’s pro-western government had run into unexpected difficulties. Evidently, there were logistical issues. Re-supplying troops in a vast enemy country was proving a challenge.

So was seizing Kyiv, Ukraine’s defiant capital, home in normal times to three million people. The Kremlin’s original plan, according to Ukrainian intelligence, was to encircle the city with land forces and, during a night operation, to fly in 5,000 elite paratroopers.

They would storm the Mariinsky presidential palace, detain or kill Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and take control over key government buildings, including the foreign and defence ministries.

This has not happened. Instead, Kyiv remained under government control this weekend after Ukrainian forces repulsed a series of attacks.

Meanwhile, Russian parachutists who tried to seize an airfield in the city of Vasylkiv, as a bridgehead to grab Kyiv, were beaten back.

 

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Zelenskiy calls on 'all friends of Ukraine' to help fight Russian invasion

 

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PETA appeal: Simplify EU entry of animals from Ukraine
"The situation is shocking and affects us all very much. However, the EU must not forget that countless animals also suffer from the current emergency situation – they starve and die of thirst there when no one takes care of them anymore. We therefore call on the EU to temporarily suspend the legal provisions and to set up quarantine stations so that the family associations between people and their animal companions are not destroyed."
- Peter Höffken, PETA Germany

Special arrangements of individual countries
There is growing information that Poland, Romania and Hungary are making entry for animals less bureaucratic. At the borders, the traffic jams now seem to have a length of two to three days until the border crossing – so we were told of numerous places. We are constantly in the process of completing and verifying this information – our information is without guarantee.

 

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Cruise lines to avoid Russian ports after Russian invasion of Ukraine (usatoday.com)

Cruise lines are scrapping Russian and Ukrainian ports from their itineraries after Russian troops launched an attack on Ukraine.

Three cruise lines owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises – announced Thursday that they would adjust their itineraries and remove calls to Russian ports in 2022.

"The safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority," reads an emailed statement from Norwegian Cruise Line. "We are currently working to confirm replacement ports and will advise all impacted guests and travel advisors as soon as possible."...

 

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Karolina L Billing on Twitter
Despite great security and logistical challenges, @UNHCRUkraine
managed to deliver the first batch of blankets, sleeping mats and other core relief items today to Kryvyi Rig in central #Ukriane where more than 700 Ukrainians have arrived over the past days, seeking safety.

UNHCR Government Partners and 2 others

John Katsilometes on Twitter
#TheScene: @EvelPieLV
Russian vodka pour-out #DTLV (warning for loud sirens). Offering $5 shots of Ukrainian vodka, with all proceeds going to support humanitarian relief in #Ukraine through International Committee of the @RedCross … #RJNow
@reviewjournal #Vegas

 

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Alexandre Gagné on Twitter
Encore beaucoup d'activité aérienne autour de l'Ukraine. Ici, un avion ravitailleur américaine près de la frontière. Les USA collaborent à distance...

Translated from French by Google:
Still a lot of air activity around Ukraine. Here, an American tanker plane near the border. The United States collaborates remotely...

 

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NATO Response Force activated for first time | CNN Politics

For the first time, the NATO Response Force has been activated as a defensive measure in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Tod Wolters activated the multinational force consisting of land, air, sea and special operations forces from the allies that can deploy quickly in support of the NATO alliance.
The activation of the response troops does not mean that any US or NATO troops will go into Ukraine, which is not a member. US President Joe Biden has been clear that US troops are deploying to eastern Europe to help bolster NATO countries nervous about Russia's aggressive actions, and they will not be fighting in Ukraine.

 

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Liverapportering: Ryska invasionen i Ukraina
Ukraine has regained control of Sumy in the northeastern part of the country, reports the Kyiv Independent.

The president's adviser Oleksiy Arestovych states that despite reports that half the city has been occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine has now regained full control.”

Alexander Khrebet/Олександр Хребет on Twitter (Video)
In Kyiv a group of #Russia's saboteurs has just been neutralized by #Ukraine police and army personnel. Unsuccessful attempt to break through the checkpoint. Policeman took a video.

 

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Japan, EU arrange additional LNG supplies to Europe over Ukraine (kyodonews.net)
Japan is discussing with the European Union about coordinating further diversion of part of its liquefied natural gas imports to Europe, government sources said Saturday, as the region faces the threat of Russia restricting its gas exports.

[...]

Russia accounts for around 40 percent of European imports of LNG, putting the continent in a highly vulnerable position. There is mounting concern that Russia could cut its gas supply to retaliate for international sanctions triggered by its invasion of Ukraine since Thursday.

 

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Abramovich Hands Control Of Chelsea Soccer Team To Foundation As Britain Steps Up Sanctions (rferl.org)
Abramovich did not mention the war in his statement.

Abramovich will still own the club but control of activities will go to the trustees.

Russia To Pay For Putin's Ukraine Invasion With Higher Inflation, Weaker Ruble, Slower Growth (rferl.org)
The Kremlin's February 24 invasion -- and expectations of severe sanctions response by the West -- drove economists to slash their economic growth forecasts for Russia. The developments also pushed investors to dump their Russian stock and bonds, triggering the biggest one-day stock market decline in the nation's history and sending the ruble to a record low.

 

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Michael A. Horowitz on Twitter
#Ukraine Ministry of Interior asks people to turn off geolocation on their cell phones - they say #Russia is beginning to track gatherings of people

 

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Zelenskiy Welcomes Offers By Azerbaijan, Turkey To Mediate Talks With Russia (rferl.org)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he welcomes offers by Azerbaijan and Turkey to organize talks with Moscow as Russian troops continue their invasion of Ukraine and drive on toward the capital, Kyiv.

In a video message on February 26, Zelenskiy said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev offered to help organize talks and that “we can only welcome that.”

However, hopes for an immediate move to talks appeared dim as residents of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, braced for a direct assault by Russian troops who were in the third day of an invasion of their country.

[...]

 

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SOTA on Twitter (Video)
️В Санкт-Петербурге задержали женщину с маленьким ребёнком на руках
Она развернула листок с символом мира. В задержании участие принимали как минимум шесть полицейских. На фоне — песня группы «Любэ» «От Волги до Енисея» из автомобиля полицейских.
Видео: Пётр Иванов, SOTA.

Translated from Russian by Google
️ A woman with a small child in her arms was detained in St. Petersburg
She unfolded the piece of paper with the symbol of peace. At least six police officers were involved in the arrest. In the background - the song of the group "Lube" "From the Volga to the Yenisei" from the car of the police.
Video: Peter Ivanov, SOTA.

 

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CGTN America on Twitter (China state-affiliated media) - Video
HAPPENING NOW: An oil depot in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine has exploded and caught on fire, with about 200 tons of diesel now burning. Luhansk authorities said people were injured, and that the explosion may have been caused by a rocket attack from Ukraine.

 

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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine says Russia will be disconnected from SWIFT - ABC News (go.com)
[...]

Russian forces: 'We don’t know who to shoot, they all look like us'
A senior U.S. official told ABC News they've heard a Russian soldier on a radio call saying, “We don’t know who to shoot -- they all look like us.”

The official also said some Russian forces are disoriented, realizing the battles against Ukrainians are harder than they thought.

[...]

Germany drops opposition to sending lethal aid
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Germany is dropping its historic position of not providing lethal military aid to conflict zones, saying Russia's "invasion marks a turning point."

[...]

Ukrainians waiting 40 hours to cross border: UN
At a border crossing near Zosin, Poland -- due west of Kyiv -- Ukrainians are waiting for 40 hours to cross into Poland in a nearly 10-mile backlog, said Chris Meltzer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Meltzer said one woman with her two children told him it took her 12 hours to get out of Kyiv and then they spent another 38 hours waiting in their car without heat or a bathroom.

[...]

Zelenskyy says Russia will be disconnected from SWIFT
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday Western countries have agreed to disconnect Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) banking network.

"For Russia it will mean being cut off [from] normal financial civilization. This is a big diplomatic victory," he said. "Russia will suffer billions upon billions of financial losses -- their price for invasion."

Ukraine’s foreign minister said earlier that technical preparations have begun for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT and that the last holdouts, Germany and Hungary, have signaled they're no longer opposed.

[...]

 

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ABC News on Twitter
Ukrainian tanks move on a road in Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

LIVE UPDATES: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine says Russia will be disconnected from SWIFT - ABC News (go.com)


Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine)
Russian propaganda has gone off the rails and speculates Ukraine might be preparing to drop a ‘dirty bomb’ on the Russian territory. This is a sick fake. Ukraine doesn’t have nuclear weapons, doesn’t conduct any work to create/acquire them. We are a responsible member of the NPT.

 

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The New York Times on Twitter
Road service employees are dismantling road signs across Ukraine in order to complicate navigation for the invading Russian troops. Ukraine-Russia War Live Updates: News About Putin, Kyiv, SWIFT and Zelensky - The New York Times


“France will supply more military equipment to Ukraine and increase sanctions against Russia, according to President Emmanuel Macron's staff, reports AFP.”
Liverapportering: Ryska invasionen i Ukraina

The daughter of President Vladimir Putin's spokesman posted an anti-war slogan in her Instagram Live on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Elizaveta Peskova, 24, posted "HET BOЙHE" — "no to war," against a black background on her Instagram story.
The daughter of Putin's spokesman publicly opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, undermining her dad

 

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Russia invades Ukraine: LIVE UPDATES

Fast Facts
Russia announced Saturday that Vladimir Putin's army have been "given orders today to develop the offensive along all axes in line with the operation plan," with its main objective being the capture of Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, according to reports.

Brigadier General Blaine Holt says a cyberattack is ongoing against the Kremlin

Brigadier General Blaine Holt said a cyberattack is ongoing against the Kremlin, according to two unnamed sources.

Holt said that the attack is ongoing as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is ongoing, and in its third day

Ukraine crisis: Kremlin blocking Russians' access to Twitter amid protests, criticism: researcher

The Kremlin is reportedly blocking Russians' access to Twitter as people protest and voice criticism over its invasion of Ukraine.

Chelsea FC's oligarch owner hands off 'stewardship,' may look to sell ahead of sanctions

Russian conscripts reportedly forced to sign military contracts, losing contact with family

Parents of Russian conscripts who say they've lost communications with their loved ones are pleading with Kremlin officials for answers as to where family members have been sent amid concerns they have been forced to sign contracts to fight as part of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to the report.

Air raid sirens, explosions heard in Kyiv after curfew on third night of invasion
Video at link

 

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Josep Borrell Fontelles on Twitter
I am convening a virtual meeting of EU Foreign Ministers tomorrow at 18.00 to adopt further measures in support of #Ukraine, against aggression by #Russia.

I will propose a package of emergency assistance for the Ukrainian armed forces, to support them in their heroic fight.

Liverapportering: Ryska invasionen i Ukraina
People in Kiev are urged to seek refuge immediately.

According to the authorities, heavy airstrikes are expected soon, reports Kyiv Independent.”