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

[PommyMommy]

Cryptocurrency donations pour in after Ukraine puts out call on Twitter
Ukraine's government received more than $4 million in cryptocurrency on Saturday shortly after it began directly soliciting funds on social media, according to its accounts' public transactions.

Ukraine's official Twitter account, as well as its minister for digital transformation, tweeted Crypto wallet addresses where people can donate their bitcoin, ethereum and tether, a cryptocurrency whose value is tied to the U.S. dollar.

Within a few hours, those addresses had received more than $761,949 of bitcoin and more than $3.4 million worth of ethereum, the account showed.

Germany hold a out on SWIFT...
In a major shift, Germany announced it would join the list of countriessending military assistance to Ukraine — and said it was considering a "targeted" approach to disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT banking system

Texas governor asks businesses to voluntarily stop selling Russian-made products
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Saturday afternoon that he has asked businesses in the state to "voluntarily remove" all Russian products from their offerings.

Zelenskyy asks U.N. Secretary General to strip Russia of Security Council vote
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet Saturday he asked United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during a call to strip Russia of its vote on the Security Council.

 

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The UK's nuclear deterrent: what you need to know
The UK’s independent nuclear deterrent has existed for over 60 years to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, helping to guarantee our safety, and that of our NATO allies.

[...]

To help explain how some states are expanding their nuclear capabilities, NATO have prepared this graphic which uses Russia’s expanding arsenal as an example of this trend and compares it with the systems held by the UK and fellow NATO nuclear weapons states France and the United States. It shows that Russia is significantly increasing the variety of nuclear capable weapons that it possesses. This is in contrast to the work that the NATO nuclear weapons states have undergone to reduce and maintain relatively modest arsenals since the Cold War ended. China also continues to modernise and expand its nuclear capabilities.



[...]

 

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Anti-war sentiment grows in Russia despite govt crackdown
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said Moscow may respond to Western sanctions by opting out of the last nuclear arms deal with the U.S., cutting diplomatic ties with Western nations and freezing their assets.

He also warned that Moscow could restore the death penalty after Russia was removed from Europe’s top rights group — a chilling statement that shocked human rights activists in a country that has had a moratorium on capital punishment since August 1996.
…
If Russia opts out of the agreement now, it will remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces and raise new threats to global security.

 

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Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures | The White House
We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin’s war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. Russia’s war represents an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending. We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.

This past week, alongside our diplomatic efforts and collective work to defend our own borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their fight, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world, imposed severe measures on key Russian institutions and banks, and on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures within the coming days.

Specifically, we commit to undertake the following measures:

First, we commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.

Second, we commit to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.

Third, we commit to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.

Fourth, we commit to launching this coming week a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions. As a part of this effort we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families, and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world.

Finally, we will step up or coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.

We stand with the Ukrainian people in this dark hour. Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are prepared to take further measures to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine.

 

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Alexander S. Vindman on Twitter
The feared leader of the Chechen Republic, a constituent of the Russian Federation, say “he does not want to fight against Ukraine.” His forces were considered shock troops and meant to bread terror in Ukraine. He and his forces are out of Russia’s Ukraine war!

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Multiple reports suggest that Russian forces are about to conduct heavy airstrikes and rocket attacks against Kyiv.

Ukraine Official Says Russian Troops Approaching Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant | World News | US News
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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Protests Erupt In Russia, Worldwide Against Moscow's Invasion Of Ukraine (rferl.org)
[...]

"I want the people of Russia to hear me," he [Zelensky] said in a video address. "Absolutely everyone."

"[There are] thousands of dead [Russian] soldiers, hundreds of prisoners of war who don’t understand why they sent them to Ukraine, sent them to Ukraine to die and kill others. The sooner you tell your leaders that the war needs to be immediately stopped, the more your soldiers will survive."

[...]

In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, about 30,000 people hit the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, holding Georgian and Ukrainian and singing both countries' national anthems.

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"We have sympathy for the Ukrainians, perhaps more than other countries, because we've experienced Russia's barbaric aggression on our soil," 32-year-old taxi driver NT, told AFP.

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In a rare event in Iran siding with Western powers, video showed about 50 people in Tehran assembled near the Ukrainian Embassy, some holding candles and Ukrainian flags and chanting, “Death to Putin.”

In Switzerland -- which often prides itself on its “neutral” stance in conflicts, thousands of people gathered across the country, including about 1,000 outside the UN European headquarters in Geneva.

[...]

They demanded tougher actions from the Swiss government, which has not yet imposed strict measures against Russia, so far sticking its traditional stance of not taking sides.

Protests with crowds numbering into the low thousands were seen in many other countries, including in Russia's neighbor Finland -- where thousands of people gathered in the capital, Helsinki, shouting "Russia out, down with Putin!"

In Rome, protesters responded to a call of trade unions and nongovernment organizations and gathered around a podium with the words "Against War."

The night before, thousands had taken part in a torch-lit procession to the Italian capital’s famed Colosseum.

Protests were also seen in places as diverse as Britain, France, Greece, Argentina, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Kharkiv is under heavy air strikes now.
Video: Pravda Gerashchenko/ Telegram

Illia Ponomarenko on Twitter
Meanwhile, firearms and body armor coming from Lithuania

 

[PommyMommy]

Putin shunned by world as his hopes of quick victory evaporate

Russian troops facing fierce resistance as Germany abandons its postwar military stance to supply arms to Ukraine

Vladimir Putin was facing growing international isolation and the prospect of pariah status on Saturday night as long-term allies dramatically turned against him following the invasion of Ukraine, and western nations planned further decisive military and financial action against Moscow.

As his hopes of a quick victory evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and armies of citizen volunteers, Russia’s president was deserted by his key ally, China, and had his ultimatum demanding Kyiv’s surrender defiantly brushed aside by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In perhaps the most striking development, Germany announced on Saturday night that it would supply Ukrainian troops with 1,000 anti-tank weapons as well as 500 Stinger missiles from its own military reserves.

“The Russian assault on Ukraine marks a turning point,” Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said, signalling a major shift in his country’s postwar military stance. “It threatens our entire postwar order. In this situation it is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in its defence against the invasive army of Vladimir Putin. Germany stands closely on the side of Ukraine.”

Significantly, the German government was also said to be bowing to intense pressure from Britain, the US and Canada to ban Russia from the crucial Swift banking payments system after repeated appeals from Kyiv for the west to do so. Sources in Berlin said German ministers’ views were shifting on the issue and they were actively discussing measures that “would hit the right people”, having previously resisted, partly because of fears that a ban would affect the flow of funds to aid agencies in Russia.

In further blows to Putin, Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orbán, long seen as friendly towards Moscow, abandoned his support, saying he would back all EU sanctions against Russia, while Turkey was reported to be considering blocking the passage of Russian naval vessels into the Black Sea.

(...)

Having held off Russian forces for two nights, morale in Kyiv remained high among Ukrainians of all ages and from all walks of life, as many queued to take up arms. Many also gleefully shared videos of unarmed civilians rushing into the road to stop advancing convoys and fearlessly berating Russian soldiers about why they had come to Ukraine. Around the country, Russian forces were not confirmed as having control of a single major city, while Zelenskiy remained in Kyiv and told Americans who offered to evacuate him: “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.”

(...)

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Russian artillery fire has struck Kyiv's children's cancer hospital Okhmadyt, killing one child and wounding two, along with two adults, TSN reported.
Eyewitnesses reported that the city is under fire from multiple-launch rocket systems.

Idrees Ali on Twitter
Per @idreesali114 | Verified Reuters journalist
SEOUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday, in what is likely the latest missile launch by the nuclear armed country.

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system providing internet access is now active in Ukraine. Satellite terminals are on the way to Ukraine. This could be useful if Russia’s attacks destabilize Ukraine’s internet.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Column of Russian special forces defeated near Hostomel "Kadyrovites," named so for the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.
According to Channel 24 sources, the Ukrainian military blew up an echelon of 56 tanks that included General Magomed Tushayev, who was killed.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia's war on Ukraine: Where fighting is on now (Feb. 26 live updates)
Kyiv is absolutely beautiful, I hope it is not destroyed in the war.

https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1497714554377228289?s=21
Kyiv Independent reporter:
Vasylkiv right now.
A local oil terminal has been targeted. Local population needs urgent evacuation.

U.S. Sanctions Russia for Chemical Weapons Use | Arms Control Association

 

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@IAPonomarenko
Vasylkiv right now. An oil terminal has been targeted. Local population needs urgent evacuation

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Oil depot catches fire in Vasylkiv, 40 kilometres south of Kyiv.
According to Vasylkiv mayor Natalia Balasynovych, the city and the airfield sustained heavy shelling from ballistic missiles. “The enemy wants to destroy everything around, but he will not succeed. Hold on!”

Jörg #StandingWithUkraine on Twitter
Seit 16 Uhr ist nun auch die Wetterstation am Flughafen Kiew-Zhuliany offline gegangen, so meldet als last airport standing nur noch Lviv.

Translated from German by Google:
The weather station at Kiev-Zhuliany Airport has now also gone offline since 4 p.m., so only Lviv reports as the last airport standing.

 

[PommyMommy]

Third day of Irish protests against Russian invasion

Hundreds of people have taken part in protests in Dublin in opposition to Russia's assault on Ukraine.

People taking part in the 'Stand with Ukraine' rally at the GPO marched from O'Connell Street via Leinster House to the Ukrainian Embassy in Ballsbridge, chanting "we need peace".

In speeches to a large crowd, the Georgian and Lithuanian Ambassadors to Ireland voiced their support for the Ukrainian people.

In another address, Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland Larysa GeraskoGerasko called on the Irish Government to expel her Russian counterpart.

The day of demonstrations ended with a candlelight vigil and prayers outside the Ukrainian Embassy.

(...)

Earlier, for a third consecutive day, demonstrators gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin calling for an end to the invasion.

Orwell Road, where the embassy is located, was closed to traffic due to the large number of people who attended the event.

(...)

There were chants of "stop the war" and "Ambassador Filatov, out, out, out."

The former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Justice, Charlie Flanagan, has also called on the ambassador to "leave our country."

Earlier, a number of protestors blocked cars from leaving the embassy.

(...)

 

[PommyMommy]

North Korea launches a apparent ballistic missile as world watches Ukraine | The Japan Times
Nuclear-armed North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile Sunday morning, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, as the world remains fixated on Ukraine and the Russian invasion of its neighbor.

The South Korean military also confirmed the launch of an unidentified projectile.

[...]

Amid concerns that the Ukraine crisis could take Washington’s focus off the North Korean nuclear threat, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied this would be the case last month, saying that the U.S. can “walk and chew gum at the same time” even as it faces down other global challenges.

BREAKING NEWS: North Korea fires MISSILE towards the Sea of Japan: Russia's invasion of Ukraine spikes tensions globally

North Korea fires MISSILE toward Sea of Japan Russia's invasion of Ukraine spikes tensions globally | Daily Mail Online.

 

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Still image of the fire at the oil depot...

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
The oil depot near Vasylkiv is on fire after the Russian missile strike,
@Liveuamap reports, image via @Victorius_Prime


Video from 16 minutes ago...

Christo Grozev on Twitter
Kyiv now. Continuous rocket shelling. And three convoys of tanks - almost 500 in total - approaching the city from different directions. It will be hellish tonight.

 

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Радіо Свобода on Twitter
Пожежа на нафтобазі у Василькові

Translated from Ukrainian by Google:
Fire at the oil depot in Vasylkiv


Jaqueline Hurtado on Twitter
#NEWS: Czech Republic, Netherlands and Portugal commit reinforcements to assist Ukraine against #Russia #UkraineRussia #Ukraine

 

[PommyMommy]

Armed with hammers and pistols, Ukrainians wait at barricades for the Russians

At makeshift checkpoints, motley crews of citizens vow to do everything in their power to halt the Russian advance

The barricade started as a few men waiting nervously in the road on Friday, and grew gradually over the course of Saturday. By the afternoon, this modest attempt to stop a Russian advance on the capital of Ukraine was complete: sandbags, wooden crates and bricks piled high, with a blue-yellow national flag flying above them.

The motley crew had no illusions about the level of resistance they would be able to offer to one of the world’s most ruthless and technologically advanced armies, but like thousands in and around Kyiv they were determined to do what they could anyway. “I practised shooting yesterday and I came out here today for my first shift. I’ll be honest, I’m terrified,” said Alexander, 50.

(...)

Recruiting stations were overwhelmed by citizens of all ages, some well into their retirement, signing up to take weapons for the fight. “I planned to plant tulips and daffodils on my backyard today. Instead, I learn to fire arms and get ready for the next night of attacks on Kyiv,” said MP Kira Rudik on Twitter. “We are not going anywhere. This is our city, our land, our soil. We will fight for it. So next week I can plant my flowers. Here.”

(...)

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia's war on Ukraine: Where fighting is on now (Feb. 27 live updates) (kyivindependent.com)

1:00 a.m.

Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast: Column of Russian special forces defeated near Hostomel “Kadyrovites,” named so for the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. According to Channel 24 sources, the Ukrainian military blew up an echelon of 56 tanks that included General Magomed Tushayev, who was killed.

Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: Russian TV channel Dozhd reported intense shelling in Kharkiv.

Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast: This town 33 kilometers outside Kyiv is under heavy assault, according to several eyewitnesses who spoke to the Kyiv Independent. The town’s mayor confirmed that Russia has bombed an oil storage depot.

One eyewitness described the sound of small explosions, each followed by a plume of flames. The smoke is extreme, the eyewitness said. A second eyewitness said they heard a roar that sounded like thunder, followed by loud fireworks, leading them to believe that shelling has begun.

A third eyewitness who lives near Demiivska Street in Kyiv can see the explosions in Vasylkiv from their house.

Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: A loud explosion rang out near the Paton Bridge connecting Kyiv’s left and right bank, followed by fire, according to an Ukrinform correspondent who witnessed the event.

CNN reported that two large explosions lit up the night sky to the southwest of Kyiv with one detonation that appeared to be approximately 20 kilometers from the city center.

 

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U.S., EU, U.K. Lead Agreement To Block Russia's Access To SWIFT Banking Network (rferl.org)
A group of Western nations led by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have agreed to block access for "selected" Russian banks to the SWIFT financial system and impose "restrictive" measures against Russia's central bank to punish the Kremlin for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine earlier this week.

A senior U.S. administration official warned the measures -- among the toughest announced yet against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine -- will pierce Russia's financial defenses built over the past eight years and send the Russian ruble into "freefall."

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In their joint statement announcing the measures, the group of nations -- which also includes France, Germany, Italy, and Canada -- did not say which Russian banks will be selected, but von der Leyen said more could be added.

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The group of nations will leave some Russian banks connected to SWIFT in order to pay for Russian oil and gas exports. Russia is the biggest supplier of energy to Europe.

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Von der Leyen said the measures aimed at Russia's central bank would paralyse its assets and making it impossible for the central bank to liquidate its assets.

A senior U.S. official said the moves would prevent the Russian central bank from selling its $630 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves to Western countries and is likely to send the ruble into a "freefall." The impact will be felt immediately, the official said.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️Russians blow up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv.
A video posted by TSN news shows a powerful explosion in the shape of a mushroom cloud in the sky over the city in eastern Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The footage shows a gas pipeline on fire in Kharkiv after a Russian attack. Video: State Special Communications Service of Ukraine