Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022

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  • #721
  • #722
Polish PM Chides Germany For Holding Back On Sanctions, 'Joke' Military Aid (rferl.org)
[...]

"There is no time today for the kind of unyielding egoism that we see in certain Western countries, including here in Germany unfortunately," Morawiecki told Polish reporters in Berlin ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on February 26.

"That is why I came here... to shake the conscience of Germany. So that they finally decide on sanctions that are actually crushing," he added, according to the Polish news agency PAP.

In particular, Morawiecki singled out Germany's failure to supply weapons to Ukraine, instead offering helmets.

"Five thousand helmets? That must be some kind of joke. There needs to be real help... weapons," he said.

[...]
 
  • #723
Polish PM Chides Germany For Holding Back On Sanctions, 'Joke' Military Aid (rferl.org)
[...]

"There is no time today for the kind of unyielding egoism that we see in certain Western countries, including here in Germany unfortunately," Morawiecki told Polish reporters in Berlin ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on February 26.

"That is why I came here... to shake the conscience of Germany. So that they finally decide on sanctions that are actually crushing," he added, according to the Polish news agency PAP.

In particular, Morawiecki singled out Germany's failure to supply weapons to Ukraine, instead offering helmets.

"Five thousand helmets? That must be some kind of joke. There needs to be real help... weapons," he said.

[...]

I agree . I feel like Germany’s response has been disappointing but that’s my opinion. People are dying helmets are not going to cut that…
 
  • #724
I feel drained....really....hoping....and hoping Kiev will stand, throughout the night...
 
  • #725
Today is day 3 of that nightmare.
I feel like many of you ..helpless. I haven’t had a good night of sleep since Thursday constantly thinking about poor people of Ukraine. Watching President of Ukraine makes me want to cry I can’t see his face without sobbing. I wish I could do something. I wish someone send them weapons to protect themselves.
As a European I’m so angry more then anything. Putin has been a bully for such long time and now it seems as he completely lost it, not that he ever had it very together in a first place but now seems different somehow . I’m worried about our future in the EU who is going to be next? Is he going to grab countries one by one? At least the ones not part of NATO and Union.
As of now I signed up to organisations helping refugees. I will volunteer when it’s needed. The least I can do for now.
Dearest Fika, I can't even begin to comprehend the stress and trauma you and our other European WS members are experiencing being so close to this conflict. Please know I'm thinking about all of you and praying for peace.
 
  • #726
Dearest Fika, I can't even begin to comprehend the stress and trauma you and our other European WS members are experiencing being so close to this conflict. Please know I'm thinking about all of you and praying for peace.

Thank you so much I really appreciate it.
It is stressful here in Europe but we will prevail and the madman can’t break us ( of course I include Ukraine )
 
  • #727
I feel drained....really....hoping....and hoping Kiev will stand, throughout the night...

Same, I really hope. I check news all the time. Kiev stand strong !
 
  • #728
Rutte speaks with Zelenski
18:30 <CET>| Prime Minister Mark Rutte telephoned Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Saturday and told him that the Netherlands will "provide additional military equipment in the short term for self-defense against Russian aggression". The Prime Minister wrote this on Twitter. He writes that it is an extra delivery, on top of the two hundred anti-aircraft missiles that the cabinet made available to Ukraine on Saturday. The Ministry of Defense and the Government Information Service were not yet able to say what additional resources the Netherlands will provide.

More than a week ago, it was already decided to supply a hundred sniper rifles and associated ammunition to Ukraine. The Netherlands also provides helmets, fragmentation vests and radars. Some of that stuff is now on its way, but the Netherlands is facing 'logistical challenges', the cabinet said on Saturday. The rest of the material will be 'shipped as soon as possible'.
 
  • #729
Yeah I’m not getting a good feeling about this China thing, at all. Jmo. :(

Another thought is they could maybe possibly really be working with Russia behind the scenes, in some capacity, OR NOT. There is nothing to outright support this statement at this time so just speculative conjecture and brainstorming on potentials and possibilities and WHAT IFS.

Whatever the case, Russia alone is a very formidable enemy in my opinion, with their weapons, crazy leader and especially with their proven ability to infiltrate and conduct successful major cyber attacks that some top entities still seem unable to thwart and defend against . Add other nations like China and Iran to this equation, and well, the tactical and destructive ramifications could be endless, not that they already are not. Like @gitana1 said, (hi friend), ready for anything at this point.

Furthermore, with the toughness of the past couple years, thinking about this coming on back to back with the other catastrophe covid, at least with covid, each individual person usually has some element of control, as far as the risks and behaviors they choose. Something like this, we/people are totally and completely powerless when bombs/missiles, etc.are reigning down on you. The citizens of Ukraine, the missiles/Bombs they are trying to outrun...one has little/no control over that kind of thing, especially when you’re hunkered down in your own home.

Confession: I’ve feared Russia since the 80s. And honestly, China (and Iran) for quite some time now.

That China sympathizes with Russia shouldn't come as a surprise to any Americans, not if they've been paying attention for the last 20 or 30 years.
 
  • #730
Rutte speaks with Zelenski
18:30 <CET>| Prime Minister Mark Rutte telephoned Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Saturday and told him that the Netherlands will "provide additional military equipment in the short term for self-defense against Russian aggression". The Prime Minister wrote this on Twitter. He writes that it is an extra delivery, on top of the two hundred anti-aircraft missiles that the cabinet made available to Ukraine on Saturday. The Ministry of Defense and the Government Information Service were not yet able to say what additional resources the Netherlands will provide.

More than a week ago, it was already decided to supply a hundred sniper rifles and associated ammunition to Ukraine. The Netherlands also provides helmets, fragmentation vests and radars. Some of that stuff is now on its way, but the Netherlands is facing 'logistical challenges', the cabinet said on Saturday. The rest of the material will be 'shipped as soon as possible'.

Go Netherlands! Happy about that.
 
  • #731
Photo gallery w/18 photos

As Russian Attacks On Ukraine Intensify, Thousands Flee And Thousands Fight Back (rferl.org)

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Bodies of Russian servicemen, wearing Ukrainian uniforms, inside and beside a vehicle. They were shot during a skirmish in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on February 25.

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A Ukrainian soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv on February 25.

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Empty shelves in a Kyiv supermarket

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A woman feeding a child as people fleeing Ukraine arrive in Slovakia on February 25.

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An apartment building damaged by a missile strike in Kyiv on February 26.
 
  • #732
Yeah this is beyond horrific. I can’t stop crying. That’s the truth.

It’s nice to see some increased collectiveness and unity as far as the division that has so dramatically occurred, and still occurs. But at least we can all agree on one thing, this is messed up.

As far as US getting involved, IMO, I waver dramatically back and forth. I go from singing “give peace a chaaaaance...” to this is the USA and we need to stand up to this stuff.

Thanks for listening and sharing thoughts together. Trust me when I tell you I’m beyond traumatized and having a hard time posting.

There would be terrible consequences to ramping up a major ground war in central Europe. It's not a decision for the US to make, as we aren't the ones who will be affected by it. JMO

Working for a peaceful solution is the best option. Allowing the Ukraines to push Putin back out of Russia even better. Hopefully increasing economic sanctions will help cut off the cash flow to Russia will also help.
 
  • #733
Feb 25 2022
 
  • #734
Is anyone else really anxious about opening the news website? I’m scared to read that Kiev has fallen and President of Ukraine has been captured or killed. :(
 
  • #735
Path to Ukraine invasion was long and full of warnings | king5.com
[...]

In the conflict’s earliest days, each side has managed to surprise the other. Russia unleashed a broader, larger invasion than almost anyone had predicted. And Ukraine, at least by U.S. and other Western accounts, has put up a more tenacious fight than many thought possible against the neighboring superpower. Fortunes can turn at any moment.

“It’s not apparent to us that the Russians over the last 24 hours have been able to execute their plans as they deemed that they would. But it’s a dynamic, fluid situation,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday.

And so it has been for much of the past year. Russia alternately added and subtracted troops along the border, diplomacy seemed to make progress until it didn’t, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed restrained, then not, then maybe, then not.

[...]

It was back on March 31 of last year when the U.S. military raised an alert of a “potential imminent crisis” arising from Russian drills near the Ukrainian border. Not long after, Russian troops were ordered back to their permanent bases and the sense of alarm eased.

But those orders also required Russian troops to leave their heavy weaponry in Crimea and the Voronezh region bordering Ukraine, where it would already be in place if the forces returned — which they did. ...

[...]

The warnings from the Biden administration grew more pointed, and for the first time, U.S. intelligence officials started sharing specifics with Zelenskyy, European officials and eventually the public.

The White House realized that it was looking at the beginnings of what would probably turn into an enormous crisis by October. Officials were seeing a cascade of worrying intelligence strains, including troop movements, that suggested that Putin was looking to move on Ukraine.

[...]

In early December, national security officials shared information from an intelligence document with the press showing at least 70,000 Russian troops had massed near the Ukraine border. Much of the information could be gleaned independently but White House officials thought it was crucial to get the information out in the open “with U.S. government branding.”

[...]

At NATO, Germany blocked efforts to help Ukraine acquire military equipment. France and Germany objected to launching NATO’s crisis management system, but eventually relented at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Latvia on Dec. 1. The move was essentially symbolic. The system is used to identify whether there is a crisis and launch preliminary planning to respond.

[...]

With some satisfaction, Putin said the military buildup has caused a “certain stress” in the West. “It’s necessary to keep them in that condition for as long as possible” to secure long-term security guarantees for Russia, he added.

He laid down his demands on Dec. 15: a ban on NATO membership for Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations, a halt to the deployment of NATO weapons in those countries and a rollback of NATO forces from Eastern Europe. Meanwhile Russian troops kept arriving in Belarus to Ukraine’s north and on its eastern frontiers where heavy weaponry had been stockpiled since the spring.

[...]

... On Jan. 10, Russia’s deputy foreign minister insisted there were “no plans, intentions or reasons to attack Ukraine.”

The U.S. did not believe it.

Two days later, the United States and NATO rejected Russia’s demands, and the movement of troops and weapons accelerated. Ukrainian government websites went down en masse, many displaying a warning from the suspected Russian-linked hackers: “Be afraid and expect worse.”

[...]

On Feb. 4, Putin flew to Beijing, ostensibly for the Olympic Games although Russian athletes were banned from competing under their nation’s flag because of years of doping scandals. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their support for each other’s foreign policy, including Russia’s backing of China’s claim to Taiwan.

The unspoken message: These two world powers were on the same page or a similar page, and China would not stand with most of the rest of the world against Putin’s designs on Ukraine.

[...]

On Feb. 16, a Wednesday, Ukraine held a “day of national unity” after a date floated as the potential Russian attack failed to materialize. Russia’s ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, accused Westerners of “slander” for alleging an invasion was afoot and joined other Russian officials in ridiculing Biden’s prediction that it could start as soon as that Wednesday. “Wars in Europe rarely start on a Wednesday,” Chizhov said sarcastically.

[...]

The attack began before dawn on Feb. 24 — Thursday in Ukraine but, as it happens, still Wednesday in Washington.

It opened with the firing of more than 100 land- and sea-based missiles in the first hours, said a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to be identified and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the main targets of the air assault were barracks, ammunition warehouses, and 10 airfields. Russian ground forces began moving in from Belarus around noon.

[...]

In an impassioned speech, Zelenskyy implored his people to be firm in their resistance.

“This morning we are defending our state alone, as we did yesterday,” he said. “The world’s most powerful forces are watching from afar. Did yesterday’s sanctions convince Russia? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this is not enough.”

[...]

 
  • #736
Is anyone else really anxious about opening the news website? I’m scared to read that Kiev has fallen and President of Ukraine has been captured or killed. :(

It is what it is, and no matter what, the Ukranians have done things that will go down in history. Long live the people with honor, integrity and old-fashioned bravery, not like some of the snow flakes in other places.

MOO
 
  • #737
Russian vodka pulled from shelves in US, Canada bars, liquor stores: ‘Every small thing makes a difference’

Liquor stores across the U.S. and Canada have started throwing out their stocks of Russianvodka in protest of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

In Ontario, Canada, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy directed the provincial Liquor Control Board to have stores remove Russian vodka and other alcoholic products, according to the Canadian Press.

...
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation removed Russian products from its shelves and website because of the "terrible events taking place."

British Columbia was ceasing imports on Russian alcohol, Deputy Premier Mike Farnworth said.
...
In the U.S., the Jacob Liquor Exchange in Wichita, Kansas, decided to remove its more than 100 bottles of Russian vodka from the shelves and poured some of it on the ground.
 
  • #738
  • #739
  • #740
For Ukraine’s refugees, Europe opens doors that were shut to others
''Countries that have for years resisted taking in refugees from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are now opening their doors to Ukrainians as Russian forces carry out a nationwide military assault. Perhaps 100,000 Ukrainians already have left their homes, according to United Nations estimates, and at least half of them have crowded onto trains, jammed highways or walked to get across their country’s borders in what officials warn could become the world’s next refugee crisis''

''In Poland, government officials assisted by American soldiers and diplomats have set up processing centres for Ukrainians.''

''The military in Hungary is allowing in Ukrainians through sections of the border that had been closed''

''Farther west, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that “of course we will take in refugees if necessary” in light of the crisis in Ukraine.''
 
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