Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022

[whitelilac]

An excerpt from a diary, Larisa Kalik documents the Russian invasion and being forced to leave the city she loves:

There seemed to be noise, speed, chaos and fuss everywhere, but inside the apartment it was very quiet. Then I heard a sound outside the window, moving at great speed. I thought it was a rocket. The sound seemed to cut through the air; it flew like a whistle and I lay down on the floor in horror. Trembling, I burst into tears. For a few seconds I waited for an explosion, but nothing happened. I still don’t know what it was.

I gathered myself and looked out of the window. People were wheeling suitcases along the street; a siren sounded; birds flew in flocks. I found a piece of paper and wrote my name, my best friend’s phone number and my blood type. It is still in the pocket of my jeans as I write.

Russia-Ukraine latest news: fighting on the streets of Kyiv; Zelenskiy vows ‘we won’t lay down our arms’

 

[Springrain]

The videos of newborn NICU babies in Dnipro being cared for in a bomb shelter horrifies me on a level I cannot describe. I am grateful for the heroic doctors and nurses caring for them, but this is NOT how it should be.

I saw a video of a young father having to tearfully bid goodbye to his little girl and his wife not knowing if he will ever see them again as he joined the Ukrainian military efforts. It made me sob for a long, long time. So many others are in the same boat. Families are getting torn apart as family members are lost in the violence, across country borders, in different cities, never knowing if they will see each other again, constantly terrified of the Russian military presence threatening to tear their lives asunder and kill and maim them.

So many pictures of young civilian men and women being trained to defend their country...people who, just last week, were at their jobs, at school, going to church, cooking nice meals, reading their favorite books...they are now marching right into the midst of it to fight not knowing if they or their loved ones will make it.

All this senseless violence sickens me. There is so much and so little to say. Ukraine deserves peace and safety and stability. There is no meaning for this bloodshed.

 

[AliceInPain]

I really don’t know what to say about this.
Ukraine invasion: Russian forces have mobile crematorium that can 'evaporate' soldiers killed in attacks

Not sure about this. The machine is apparently for getting rid of organic material, possibly intended for food waste and such. But of course, deceased humans are organic material too.
unverified by snopes:

The actual source of the above video appears to be an incinerator company and was posted as early as 2013. We know that it does not show crematoriums being used by the Russian army in Ukraine in either 2022 or 2015.

 

[whitelilac]

16m ago07:46

Two children among 25 killed in Kyiv, says mayor
35 people including two children have been killed in the heavy fighting overnight in Kyiv, according to the city’s mayor. No further details were available, but in a separate report from Reuters citing an interior ministry advisor, there were no deaths in the apartment block reportedly hit by a Russian missile.
Russia-Ukraine latest news: fighting on the streets of Kyiv; Zelenskiy vows ‘we won’t lay down our arms’

 

[Fika]

Ukraine invasion: UK and US among 27 nations which have agreed to give more weapons and military aid to country, Sky News understands

“The assistance includes lethal aid, like ammunition, anti-tank weapons and anti-air weapons, and non-lethal aid such as medical supplies.”

 

[whitelilac]

• Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian army to overthrow its leadership, whom he labelled as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have has lodged itself in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people.”

Russia-Ukraine latest news: fighting on the streets of Kyiv; Zelenskiy vows ‘we won’t lay down our arms’

Putin is delusional and a liar. Neo Nazis he claims. President Zelensky is Jewish for heaven's sakes. Zelensky lost relatives in the Holocaust.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/02/25/zelensky-family-jewish-holocaust/

 

[Fika]

• Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian army to overthrow its leadership, whom he labelled as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have has lodged itself in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people.”

Russia-Ukraine latest news: fighting on the streets of Kyiv; Zelenskiy vows ‘we won’t lay down our arms’

Putin is delusional and a liar. Neo Nazis he claims. President Zelensky is Jewish for heaven's sakes. Zelensky lost relatives in the Holocaust.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/02/25/zelensky-family-jewish-holocaust/

Exactly. It’s propaganda to excuse his unacceptable behaviour. He paints himself as a saviour of Ukrainian people from their horrible government. Yet he is killing the same people and destroying their whole livelihoods. Nobody will buy of what he is saying at least not in the West and many in Russia as well know the truth. There is no doubt of who the real monster is and it is NOT the Ukrainian government.

 

[Sillybilly]

Apologies if this has already been posted:

Canadian telecoms waive fees for long-distance calls, texts to Ukraine amid Russian invasion

Canadian phone companies are waiving long-distance and text charges for calls to Ukraine amid Russia's assault on the country.

Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. have all announced customers will not be charged to help connect with loved ones in the embattled region.

Rogers and its mobile subsidiary Fido Solutions say long-distance and text charges will be set aside, as will roaming fees for clients in Ukraine until the end of March.

[...]

 

[Bit of hope]

I was watching RT (Russia Today, an English-language propaganda channel) earlier, on You Tube. It was almost as offensive as OANN, IMNSHO. Anyway, there was one of those crawls at the bottom of the screen that said that Russian media had been banned in Poland and Finland. Sure am glad the U.S. doesn't operate that way.

If you ask me: For now and as long Russia keeps trying to annex Ukraine, all countries should ban RT.

Europe increases pressure on Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT

PARIS — As the world responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT is facing renewed scrutiny in Europe.

On Thursday, Poland — a longtime foe of Moscow — announced the country would ban the Russian TV channel.

Within the past few days, European capitals have also ramped up the pressure, imposing sanctions on the TV network’s editor-in-chief. The U.K. has questioned whether the channel should be allowed to broadcast in the country, and French lawmakers formally asked for its license to be removed — only weeks after Germany imposed an outright ban.

Described in the West as a propaganda tool for the Kremlin, RT — formerly known as Russia Today — is part of an effort to disseminate pro-Russian rhetoric asserting that President Vladimir Putin is a peacemaker and that the NATO alliance is an aggressive warmonger. The Russian ruler has repeated that rhetoric in recent days to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

 

[sunshineray]

It's said below the picture her name is Mia <3 God bless and keep her safe.

https://twitter.com/ASLuhn/status/1497339577677144065?s=20&t=5VEkZ37QASywQlSjCBFSdA

 

[sunshineray]

An excerpt from a diary, Larisa Kalik documents the Russian invasion and being forced to leave the city she loves:

There seemed to be noise, speed, chaos and fuss everywhere, but inside the apartment it was very quiet. Then I heard a sound outside the window, moving at great speed. I thought it was a rocket. The sound seemed to cut through the air; it flew like a whistle and I lay down on the floor in horror. Trembling, I burst into tears. For a few seconds I waited for an explosion, but nothing happened. I still don’t know what it was.

I gathered myself and looked out of the window. People were wheeling suitcases along the street; a siren sounded; birds flew in flocks. I found a piece of paper and wrote my name, my best friend’s phone number and my blood type. It is still in the pocket of my jeans as I write.

Russia-Ukraine latest news: fighting on the streets of Kyiv; Zelenskiy vows ‘we won’t lay down our arms’

Brings tears, I can't ever start to imagine. We're so blessed...praying for those in fear and danger </3

 

[Bit of hope]

Two good articles about Zelensky…
https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/02/25/servant-of-the-people-zelenskyy-satire-review/
By his TV satire, you will know him: when Ukranian fiction became today's fact

So opens Servant of the People, a show about a non-politician who is swept unexpectedly to the Ukrainian presidency. It premiered in 2015, roughly four years before its star, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was swept unexpectedly to the actual Ukrainian presidency. Now that Russia has invaded and Ukraine is at war, the story of the naive but good-hearted man trying to change a system he doesn’t fully grasp plays as unbearably poignant.

Ukraine’s ‘servant of the people’ Zelenskiy leads them in war

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine — When he entered politics in 2019 as a wartime president, with the conflict against Russian separatists still simmering in eastern Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered his people a heartfelt pledge.

“Throughout my entire life, I’ve tried to do everything so Ukrainians smiled,” Zelenskiy, a former comedian and actor, said in his inauguration speech. “In the next five years, I will do everything so that you, Ukrainians, don’t cry.”

Right now, Ukrainians are crying for help, and some are crying in terror — with Russian forces bombing Kyiv, the capital, and cities around the country in a military campaign that is obviously intended to topple Zelenskiy and his government, and destroy Ukraine as an independent state.

With his life clearly in danger, the 44-year-old president has appeared on television in recent days wearing an army green T-shirt and matching fleece jacket, looking utterly exhausted, exhorting Russia and the Russian people in their native language, which is also his own, to stop the killing.

I tip my hat big time for this man. He is doing a great job. I was very touched by his speech addressed to the Russian people. He just spoke to the people in a video message in Ukraine, saying "I'm right here", for reasons that people know he didn't leave and is still alive, against disinformation.

 

[Fika]

“
14 hr 12 min ago
First publicly acknowledged military aid arrives in Ukraine since invasion

From CNN's Paul P. Murphy and Josh Pennington

Poland has shipped a convoy with ammunition to Ukraine, according to the country's Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, making it the first publicly acknowledged shipment of military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.

“A convoy of ammunition we are donating to Ukraine has already reached our neighbors. We stand by the Ukrainians, and show solidarity against Russian aggression,"
First publicly acknowledged military aid arrives in Ukraine since invasion

I’m proud of the Polish people/government. They are stepping up for Ukraine .

 

[sunshineray]

Apologies if this has already been posted:

Canadian telecoms waive fees for long-distance calls, texts to Ukraine amid Russian invasion

Canadian phone companies are waiving long-distance and text charges for calls to Ukraine amid Russia's assault on the country.

Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. have all announced customers will not be charged to help connect with loved ones in the embattled region.

Rogers and its mobile subsidiary Fido Solutions say long-distance and text charges will be set aside, as will roaming fees for clients in Ukraine until the end of March.

[...]

Bless them for doing this. There are good people who care about other's mental well being so far away from loved ones in danger. If they can connect even a handful and ease minds and hearts, bravo <3

 

[Bit of hope]

Ukraine invasion: UK and US among 27 nations which have agreed to give more weapons and military aid to country, Sky News understands

“The assistance includes lethal aid, like ammunition, anti-tank weapons and anti-air weapons, and non-lethal aid such as medical supplies.”

The Netherlands has agreed to provide 200 Stingers.

Range up to 5 kilometers
The Stinger is a (portable) infrared-guided surface-to-air missile, according to the Ministry of Defense website . They are 1.5 meters long and weigh more than 16 kilos. With a speed of 2400 kilometers per hour, they can be used on targets within a radius of 0.5 to 5 kilometers.

Earlier, the cabinet agreed to send military goods to the country. (rivals and radar equipment) "The other goods will be shipped as soon as possible, but the Netherlands, like other countries, is struggling with logistical challenges."

Nederland levert 200 luchtdoelraketten aan Oekraïne

There are already two F35 fighter planes in the area to protect Nato allies on the border with Ukraine and Belarus.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

‘It’s not rational’: Putin’s bizarre speech wrecks his once pragmatic image

Looking dead-eyed into the camera on Friday, Vladimir Putin gave one of the most bizarre speeches of his 22 years as Russia’s leader, a directive that managed to sound alarming even in a week when he has ordered tanks into Ukraine and missile strikes on Kyiv.

“Once again I speak to the Ukrainian soldiers,” he said, addressing his enemy. “Do not allow neo-Nazis and Banderites to use your children, your wives and the elderly as a human shield. Take power into your own hands. It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”

The speech seemed to be ripped from an alternate reality – or from the second world war, where Putin appears to be spending more of his time as he launches the kind of broad military offensive not seen in Europe for nearly 70 years.

All this week, Putin’s megalomaniacal tendencies have been on display like never before. He has summoned his aides for a surreal national security council that resembled a television reality show and launched tirades about Lenin and decisions made nearly 100 years ago.

(...)

But Putin’s unhinged appearances and apparent drive to war have raised questions of whether he remains a rational leader.

“Despite Crimea and everything else, Putin had always seemed an extremely pragmatic leader to me,” said Tatyana Stanovaya, the founder of R.Politik. “But now when he’s gone in this war against Ukraine, the logic in the decision is all about emotions, it’s not rational.”

Those emotions are deeply rooted in history and the historical injustices suffered by Russia. Dmitry Muratov, the editor of Novaya Gazeta, said he saw Putin as a man with “a historical map in his mind and a plan to use his military to achieve it”.

(...)

What's going on inside Putin's mind? His own words give us a disturbing clue | Michel Eltchaninoff

The Russian president’s dangerous sense of victimhood draws on 20th-century ideas of his country’s frustrated potential

(...)

It is necessary, then, to understand that what is actually happening in Ukraine is the result of a vision of Russia that is deeply embedded in the mind of Putin. In 2008, he punished Georgia for its desire to leave the orbit of the old imperial power. In 2014, he annexed Crimea and prevented Ukraine from joining Nato by starting the Donbas conflict. But that is not enough for him. He wants a confrontation with – and a victory over – a west that he holds responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union, for the weakness of Russia in the 1990s, and for the autonomous tendencies of the old Soviet republics.

(...)

What should we think of this perpetual sense of victimhood that allows the Russian president to artificially create situations in which Russia appears humiliated and insulted? Are these the actions of a rational leader? The answer is both simple and worrying. Putin has developed, over decades, a vision of the world that is paranoid but coherent. According to this vision, Russia has for centuries been the victim of an attempt to contain and dismember it. These attempts must be resisted. The logic of this is based on a belief that Russia’s passionarnost (a “bio-cosmic” inner energy or passionate substance) must not be constrained.

(...)

 

[sunshineray]

If you ask me: For now and as long Russia keeps trying to annex Ukraine, all countries should ban RT.

Europe increases pressure on Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT

PARIS — As the world responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT is facing renewed scrutiny in Europe.

On Thursday, Poland — a longtime foe of Moscow — announced the country would ban the Russian TV channel.

Within the past few days, European capitals have also ramped up the pressure, imposing sanctions on the TV network’s editor-in-chief. The U.K. has questioned whether the channel should be allowed to broadcast in the country, and French lawmakers formally asked for its license to be removed — only weeks after Germany imposed an outright ban.

Described in the West as a propaganda tool for the Kremlin, RT — formerly known as Russia Today — is part of an effort to disseminate pro-Russian rhetoric asserting that President Vladimir Putin is a peacemaker and that the NATO alliance is an aggressive warmonger. The Russian ruler has repeated that rhetoric in recent days to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

I have to say I agree for at the moment does this region really need a bunch of Russian state sponsored Tokyo Roses in the mix? I don't think so, AJMO

I do not lean towards censorship...but right now spewed poisonous propaganda put out by an evil despot is NOT needed. Again AJMO

 

[AliceInPain]

sbm

“
I’m proud of the Polish people/government. They are stepping up for Ukraine .

I'm not surprised. I remember when they sent all those firemen to help fight the wildfires in Sweden. Just awesome.
Hopefully there will come more aid in whatever form from other countries soon.

 

[Fika]

The Netherlands has agreed to provide 200 Stingers.

Range up to 5 kilometers
The Stinger is a (portable) infrared-guided surface-to-air missile, according to the Ministry of Defense website . They are 1.5 meters long and weigh more than 16 kilos. With a speed of 2400 kilometers per hour, they can be used on targets within a radius of 0.5 to 5 kilometers.

Earlier, the cabinet agreed to send military goods to the country. "The other goods will be shipped as soon as possible, but the Netherlands, like other countries, is struggling with logistical challenges."

Nederland levert 200 luchtdoelraketten aan Oekraïne

Great! Let’s keep the help coming!

 

[Fika]

sbm

I'm not surprised. I remember when they sent all those firemen to help fight the wildfires in Sweden. Just awesome.
Hopefully there will come more aid in whatever form from other countries soon.

Exactly! That was really great, people were so happy and welcomed them with open arms waiting on the streets greeting.