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

[PommyMommy]

Crypto exchanges deny Ukraine's request to freeze Russian accounts

Italy joins growing list of weapon donors to help Ukraine’s defense

Reddit restricts access to r/Russia subreddit due to misinformation

Mastercard and Visa cut off Russian banks from their networks | Daily Mail Online

The New York Times @nytimes 8m
Plagued by poor morale as well as fuel and food shortages, some Russian troops in Ukraine have surrendered en masse or sabotaged their own vehicles to avoid fighting, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia strikes Kyiv TV tower, killing 5 and damaging Babi Yar Holocaust memorial
''An apparent Russian airstrike hit Kyiv’s main television tower in the heart of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, knocking out some state broadcasting but leaving the structure intact.

After a blast sounded around the city and smoke was seen rising in the Babi Yar district, the interior ministry said equipment had been damaged and “channels won’t work for a while.”

At least five people died and five were injured in the missile strike, the Ukrainian emergencies service said.

Images from the scene showed charred bodies and cars damaged in the apparent Russian attack, which knocked out some broadcasts.''

“To the world: what is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish and had family members die in the Holocaust, wrote in a tweet.''

 

[PommyMommy]

“Nobody forgets that democracy was born in Ukraine after young Ukrainians were shot at for waving EU flags in Maidan (Square). We do not have short memories in Europe. We know that Ukraine is a part of the family and they are absolutely right and legitimate in their request to formally join the European Union,” Schinas said.
Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine

️CNN: Russia fired more than 400 missiles on Ukraine.
Citing an anonymous senior U.S. defense official, CNN wrote that Ukraine still has air missile defense systems that remain “viable and intact and engaged.”
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1498725128368267267?s=20&t=OaJ-bpJTDpU_0beLA6QvWA

AFP News Agency @AFP 8m
#UPDATE Russia's media watchdog has been ordered to "restrict access" to independent TV channel Dozhd TV and liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, both accused of spreading "deliberately false information" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine

 

[PommyMommy]

March 1 2022
Ukraine says Russia targeting civilians as missiles hit Kyiv TV tower | Ukraine | The Guardian
''Russia is planning a major psychological operation to try to persuade Ukrainians to capitulate, and is targeting civilians with missile strikes in an attempt to demoralise the population, the government in Kyiv said on Tuesday.

Two Russian missiles struck the TV tower in the Ukrainian capital, knocking out some access to news and broadcasts. Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said the Kremlin was preparing to cut off a large part of Ukraine from the internet and communications.

“Its goal is to break the resistance of the people and the army. They can arrange a breakdown of connection. After [that] the spread of massive fake messages that the country’s leadership has given up,” Reznikov posted on Twitter. He added: “No surrender! Only victory!”

 

[PommyMommy]

March 1 2022
Russia-Ukraine: Khamenei blasts U.S. 'mafia-like regime' | CTV News
''VIENNA -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday the war in Ukraine should be stopped and accused the United States, which he called a "mafia-like regime," of creating the conflict.

Iran's top political authority also said the roots of the conflict must be acknowledged.

"Basically, the U.S. regime creates crises, lives off of crises and feeds on various crises in the world. Ukraine is another victim of this policy," Khamenei said in a televised speech.''

''While Iran and the United States have been foes for decades, Tehran and Moscow are strategic partners. Tehran and Moscow are military allies in the conflict in Syria. Russia is also an important trade partner because of Western sanctions against Iran.''

Russia attacks Ukraine: Thousands approved to come to Canada | CTV News
rbbm.
''OTTAWA -- Nearly 4,000 Ukrainians have been approved to immigrate to Canada since conflict with Russia began, Canada's immigration minister said Monday.
The Canadian government prioritized existing immigration applications from Ukraine since thousands of people began to flee Russian aggression in the region.''

"The European Union, and most recently Ireland, have already waived the requirements for visas for Ukrainians''

''As for Canadians in Russia, the prime minister would not commit to repatriating those who could potentially face a backlash as a result of Canada's actions in support of Ukraine.''

 

[PommyMommy]

Zelensky urges Biden to send strong message on Russia and says: 'I'm not iconic. Ukraine is iconic' - CNN

Asked by CNN about his transformation from comic actor to world-famous wartime leader, Zelensky responded: "It's very serious, it's not a movie ... I'm not iconic, I think Ukraine is iconic."

"Ukraine is the heart of Europe, and now I think Europe sees Ukraine is something special for this world," he added. "That's why [the] world can't lose this something special."

The Ukrainian leader appeared tired and stressed but was friendly with crews from CNN and Reuters. He said he hadn't seen his family for three days; asked what his typical days are like, he said: "Work and sleep."

 

[PommyMommy]

Vast Russian military convoy may be harbinger of a siege of Kyiv

Analysis: convoy estimated to be 40 miles long raises fears of siege tactics and escalating civilian casualties

(...)

In places, the military vehicles can be seen three abreast, almost blocking the road. Other images of the convoy seem to explain its belligerent purpose: fuel tankers and trucks carrying food, ammunition and soldiers.

Elsewhere, just visible are the shapes of towed and self-propelled artillery pieces, BMP3 armoured carriers and Russian main tanks. In places you can see the tracks of Russian vehicles that have gone off the road – perhaps to scout against attack from the flanks – visible in the fresh snow covering the fields.

Indications of smoke from burning buildings off the road, although not on it, backed up by thermal imaging data from Nasa’s global fire tracking service, suggest, perhaps, outgoing fire from vehicles in the convoy towards Ukrainian positions.

And in some images released by Maxar on Monday, troops appeared to have arrived at where they would halt, deploying in camps outside the city, including in and around the town of Zdvyzhivka, to the north of Kyiv.

All have been assembled for what western intelligence agencies and analysts believe is an imminent attempt to close Russia’s military encirclement of Kyiv and put the city under siege in its latest attempt to topple Ukraine’s government and install a Kremlin-friendly regime.

The presence of the convoy, growing and intact, prompts several conclusions as things stand. Despite its scale and the way it has blocked the road for miles, it appears largely unmolested. This suggests Ukraine’s air force is no longer sufficiently intact to target it in a meaningful way and that Ukraine has not been able to bring drones, used successfully elsewhere, to hit it.

(...)

There is mounting, urgent concern among western officials that Russian forces are planning to employ siege tactics against Kyiv, cutting off supplies and routes in and out, before moving in.

Already, faced with the threat of the buildup barely an hour away, some of those residents of Kyiv not attempting to leave have been digging trenches and setting up barricades to repel the expected assault.

(...)

 

[PommyMommy]

Al Jazeera English on Twitter - Video
Kyiv residents and reservists are digging trenches and preparing Molotov cocktails as the Russian army bears down on the Ukrainian capital

Russia strikes Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site in Ukraine - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
Russian missiles and shells struck the site of Babyn Yar, where tens of thousands of Jews were massacred during the Holocaust, during Moscow’s assault on Kyiv on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy took to Twitter to condemn the attack.

“To the world: what is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?” Zelensky wrote. “At least 5 killed. History repeating…”

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, tweeted: “These villains are killing Holocaust victims for the second time.”

 

[PommyMommy]

Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn)

Kids at school #7 in Chernomorsk are spending free time making camouflage netting for Ukrainian troops @unian https://t.co/9l8Ll0Lt48 https://twitter.com/ASLuhn/status/1498619604196810753?s=20&t=bdSvQ8plyN70WS0VrzWDOg

Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian units ‘surrendering’ without a fight as morale plummets: Pentagon
Russia-Ukraine news: Latest updates of war in Europe

 

[PommyMommy]

As an unprecedented raft of international sanctions began to bite, including crippling measures against Russia’s central bank preventing it from using its $630bn of foreign reserves to prop up the rouble, the oil giant Shell became the latest western firm to announce it was pulling out of Russia.

BP and Norway’s Equinor have also said they are quitting the country, which relies on oil and gas for export earnings, while multiple major banks, airlines and carmakers have ended partnerships, halted shipments and denounced the Russian invasion.

The shipping group Maersk followed other international transport groups on Tuesday in saying it was suspending all container shipments to and from Russia except those containing food, medical and humanitarian supplies.

In the cultural arena, three major film studios, Sony, Disney and Warner Bros, said they were pausing cinema releases in Russia, and YouTube is in the process of blocking Russia’s state-backed news channels RT and Sputnik in Europe.

Russia has also been barred from most major sporting competitions, while World Taekwondo has stripped Putin himself, who is passionate about martial arts and his athletic prowess, of his honorary black belt because of the invasion

Huge armoured column nears Kyiv as ‘barbaric’ missile strikes continue

 

[PommyMommy]

2 hours ago
Eric Schmitt

Some Russian troops are surrendering or sabotaging vehicles rather than fight, a Pentagon official says.
Image

Pro-Russian troops in the separatist-controlled settlement of Mykolaivka, Ukraine, on Tuesday.Credit...Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
WASHINGTON — Plagued by poor morale as well as fuel and food shortages, some Russian troops in Ukraine have surrendered en masse or sabotaged their own vehicles to avoid fighting, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

Some entire Russian units have laid down their arms without a fight after confronting surprisingly stiff Ukrainian defense, the official said. A significant number of the Russian troops are young conscripts who are poorly trained and ill-prepared for the all-out assault. And in some cases, Russian troops have deliberately punched holes in their vehicles’ gas tanks, presumably to avoid combat, the official said.

Live Updates: Explosions Shake Kyiv and Ukraine’s Second-Largest City

 

[PommyMommy]

Illia Ponomarenko
@IAPonomarenko
6m
Defense reporter with The Kyiv Independent. War, weapons, beer & heavy metal. A village guy from Donbas in a crusade for something better.

Burn, motherfuxxer, burn. Russian Pantsir S1 missile system destroyed in Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1498751669374533636?s=20&t=PH6vQP0msjPiS4jgAsB_vQ

 

[LadyL]

dbm wrong thread

 

[PommyMommy]

Ukraine gets Starlink internet terminals - and friendly warning about safety | CP24.com
''Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday said it had received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals from SpaceX, but an internet security researcher warned these could become Russian targets.''

''The terminals look like home satellite television dishes and can provide relatively fast internet service, by residential standards, by connecting to a fleet of satellites in low orbit.

But John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab project, took to Twitter to warn the terminals could become Russian targets.

"Re: @elonmusk's starlink donation. Good to see. But remember: if #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users' uplink transmissions become beacons ... for airstrikes," he tweeted.

"#Russia has decades of experience hitting people by targeting their satellite communications," he added in a series of 15 tweets detailing the risks.''

 

[PommyMommy]

Putin looks bloated and ashen at Kremlin amid global condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine | Daily Mail Online

 

[PommyMommy]

From Syria - with compassion

'Eleven years after the war and western sanctions, Assad is still in his palace in Damascus and Putin supports him and directs him from his palace in Moscow'

- Aziz al-Asmar, Syrian artist

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-russia-ukraine-war-how-civilians-feel-idlib

Syrian Street Art: Painter works to lift the spirits of his city

 

[PommyMommy]

She had bought tickets for six different trains, but soon realised they counted for nothing. Instead, there was a boarding algorithm: first mothers with children, then women, then old people. Others were kept away by the police and soldiers standing guard.

Quickly, the train was crammed full. Families had to make split-second decisions, as mothers and children were allowed to board but grandparents told to wait behind.

........

But Yuri and his wife were far too low down the priority list, and far too polite, to have any chance of boarding the train. His wife tried to make the case that he had high blood pressure and had passed out the previous day, but he shushed her out of embarrassment, and nobody was listening anyway.

Yuri and his wife were left behind on the platform along with thousands of others, hoping they might be luckier next time. An elderly man with an amputated leg stumbled on crutches, as his wife tried to rouse his spirits to wait another few hours and try for a spot on the next train west. A young couple hugged each other in support, both of them crying. A woman leaned against a pillar, dejected, tears falling on the cat she was cradling in her arms.

‘It might be the last chance to get out’: citizens flee Kyiv as assault intensifies

 

[PommyMommy]

..... footage has emerged of unarmed people in Ukraine attempting to stop Russian vehicles with their bodies in a string of defiant acts.

In the south-eastern city of Melitopol, people pushed on Russian military vehicles with their bare hands, while in the north-east, Kupyansk residents jumped on a Jeep with Russian markers to fight the Russian occupation.

There were reports of fierce shelling in the northern city of Chernihiv, where people were filmed singing the Ukrainian national anthem and standing in front of tanks.

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Kyiv TV tower hit, killing five, as Moscow threatens ‘high-precision strikes’ – live

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Kyiv TV tower hit, killing five, as Moscow threatens ‘high-precision strikes’ – live
Russian officials have threatened to block Wikipedia following the publication of an article about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The agency is accusing Wikipedia of “illegally disseminated information” about the Russian military, Ukrainian civilian casualties, and bank runs.

Apple suspends all product sales in Russia - CNN
The company said in a statement that it is "deeply concerned" about the Russian invasion and that in response, it has "paused all product sales" in the country. Apple also said it has moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, inside Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media applications outside the country

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian talkshows dismiss ‘fake’ reports of military losses

Pundits and officials turn to ‘mythbusting’ as evidence of Ukraine destruction undermines official line

Russian state television talkshows are describing videos of missiles striking Ukrainian cities and reports of Russian soldiers killed in action as “fakes”, as the country’s media try to account for photos and video emerging from Ukraine that contradict official reports of the invasion.

The “mythbusting” is one of the adjustments that TV propaganda shows have had to make as evidence of the growing destruction in cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv makes it increasingly difficult for the government to present the fiction of a concentrated offensive in the Donbas region.

On Channel One’s Vremya Pokazhet (Time Will Tell), pundits and officials took on the reports that hundreds of Russian soldiers had died, in a sign that the information about casualties could no longer be kept from the public.

That followed stories over the weekend of Russian relatives describing shock and anger at finding out that their husbands, brothers and sons had been sent to fight in Ukraine.

“There’s an enormous wave of information,” said the Russian MP Boris Chernyshev. “People are showing fakes, they’re showing what are allegedly our dead soldiers. All of that needs to be stopped.”

(...)