World News

[MasterXtreme]

P.S. If the situation was not so dangerous, we could joke about long tables again.

I saw this picture on a news article and was thinking how strange this was too.  I guess he thinks very highly of himself. 

@kiku the story reported there about the people and the tanks is a nice one.  We can't forget many Russian's have family in Ukraine and many don't understand this whole war.  It's made worse that Russian people have been cut off from the outside world news and social media to see what is happening.

[Smiles2us]

In my lifetime, I have never seen the whole world so united against one man and the people involved in it.  Think of how uniting this situation has become.  Putin thought that NATO was weak, he thought Ukraine was weak and too divided to put up a fight.  Instead Ukraine united.  NATO united, and now even the whole world (minus a few countries) have united.  Businesses, sports leagues, and most importantly PEOPLE have all united against this sick man.

NATO was never going to attack Russia, most of us know this.  We don't want war.  We want a peaceful world with no war, no fighting, and no senseless death.  It seems Putin is on the wrong side of history. 

[Grapefoot]

Following the format of everyone else, here are some quick headlines.

* Ukraine's ambassador to the United States accused Russia of using vacuum bombs during their invasion of the country. These bombs are strictly outlawed. "They used the vacuum bomb today," Ambassador Oksana Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers, according to Reuters. "The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large."

* Russia has moved from having 50% of its forces inside Ukraine to around 75% according to US intelligence.

* Satellite imagery provided by Maxar shows a large Russian military convoy heading towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The convoy is approximately 40 miles long, stretching from Antonov airport in the south to Prybirsk.

* Okhtyrka military base was struck by a Russian missile and killed at least 70 Ukrainian soldiers on Sunday.

* The regional center of Kherson in southern Ukraine is surrounded by Russian troops, reports from the area say. Russian troops had launched a ground assault on the city, located near Moscow-controlled Crimea.

* Central Kharkiv has been hit by a Russian strike. The morning strike appeared to target government offices in Freedom Square in the city centre. No injuries or casualties have been reported yet.

* International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said Monday he will open an investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine "as rapidly as possible."

* Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union, in a bid to solidify his country's bond with the West. The paperwork is on its way to Brussels, where the 27-nation EU is headquartered. But EU officials stressed the adherence procedure takes years, dampening Ukraine's hopes of an early membership.  It was more symbolic than anything, and a slap in the face to Putin.

* Ukraine and Russia Fail to Agree on Cease-Fire at talks in Belarus.  Agree to talk later. [1]

* Russia is very likely to default on foreign debt and its economy will suffer a double-digit contraction this year after the West launched sanctions unprecedented in scale and coordination, a global banking industry lobby group said on Monday. [1]

[MasterXtreme]

* At least 21 people have been killed and 112 wounded in the shelling of Ukraine's second most populous city Kharkiv, according to the city's mayor.  Russia has assaulted the city with missile attacks, hitting the city center and firing into residential neighborhoods. Russian paratroopers have also landed in Kharkiv in an effort to take the besieged eastern Ukrainian city, according to Ukraine's military.  The Russian progress is unknown. A rocket attack in Kharkiv has struck the building of the regional police department in the city as well.

* A reported battle between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian paratroopers occurred at a military hospital in Kharkiv overnight. Kharkiv Region Police Chief Volodymyr Tymoshko told reporters on Wednesday that no Ukrainian troops were killed in the gun battle. "Currently the situation near the hospital is under control, security has been strengthened," he said, according to Ukrainian media.

* Ukraine says a Russian missile strike overnight has killed at least two people in the city of Zhytomyr, which lies 75 miles west of Kyiv.

* It appears Russian troops have captured the southern city of Kherson. It’s unclear what the exact situation is in Kherson, but local reports say that the Russian military is on the streets. The mayor,  Igor Kolykhayev, said many people had died including Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, and government officials were now trying to make sure people could leave or get to shelters.

* Ukraine’s Air Force, along with units of the army and territorial defense, destroyed a large Russian military convoy near the city of Bashtanka in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region. The convoy reportedly contained up to 800 Russian vehicles.  This report cannot be fully confirmed.

* Low-cost European airline Wizz Air has announced it will be offering 100,000 free seats on short-haul flights for Ukrainian refugees. The Hungary-based airline said on social media that it was "committed" to helping Ukrainian refugees reach their destination. The seats will be available on Wizz Air flights departing from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania during the month of March, the airline said.



* US President Joe Biden's annual State of the Union speech is billed as a message to Congress setting out his agenda. But in the shadow of war in Ukraine, the president spent the first 15 minutes on his biggest foreign policy challenge to date. And his comments on the invasion were tailored to four distinct audiences - Vladimir Putin, EU allies, Ukrainians and the American people. The most emotional moment came early in his speech, when Mr Biden thanked Ukrainian ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova, who was seated in the balcony next to Jill Biden and other distinguished guests. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said. But for Vladmir Putin, Mr Biden’s message was blunt - the Russian president had “badly miscalculated” and his nation’s economic pain was just beginning. And he added that the US would fight for “every inch” of Nato territory were the Russians to expand their attack.

* Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, has announced that it is leaving the European market as its subsidiaries there face large cash outflows. The bank said it was no longer able to supply liquidity to its European subsidiary banks but that its capital level and asset quality were sufficient to make payments to all depositors. Sberbank's European arm was ordered to close by the European Central Bank, which had warned it faced failure due to a run on deposits after Russia invaded Ukraine.

* Stock market trading on the Moscow Exchange will be suspended for a third day in a row on Wednesday, Russia's central bank has said in a statement.  It comes after the ruble slumped to a record low and Russian companies listed overseas saw their share prices slide.

* Russian citizens can no longer leave the country with more than $10,000 (£7,500) in foreign currency on hand after President Putin made the declaration in a decree. It comes as sanctions by Western nations have crippled the Russian economy and tanked the value of the ruble.  Most Russian's are in the dark of what is happening as they have been cut off from the world's social media and news outlets by the Russian government during the war.

* Republicans in the United States are pushing to ban all imports of Russian oil into the US.  Russian oil makes up only 6% of the US's oil and the US oil reserves and oil fields have reportedly enough to supply the country for hundreds of years.  The Trump Administration had allowed for oil drilling and processing of US oil, making the US no longer dependent on foreign oil.  The Biden Administration stopped all US oil drilling and made the US reliant on foreign oil within the first week of the Biden's administration.  Biden also shut down down the Keystone XL pipeline which would have supplied the US with Canadian oil.  Republican's are pushing the Biden administration to stop buying Russian oil and to supply European allies with US oil. Some Democrats are also now calling for an import ban, while rejecting the calls to boost domestic fossil fuel production.

* President Biden has confirmed his administration is blocking all Russian flights - commercial and private - from operating in US airspace. The move follows on from similar measures imposed by European nations and Canada.



* A team of elite Chechen commandos sent into Ukraine to hunt down and assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were "eliminated" by security forces, a top Ukrainian defense official told national media.  These Chechen commandos were sent by the Russians. Ramzan Kadyrov is the leader of the Chechen Republic, which is a semiautonomous part of Russia. He is an ally of Vladimir Putin, and his commandos are considered fierce, highly skilled fighters.

* Belarus will double its troop numbers on its southern border with Ukraine, its president has said. The five tactical battalion groups on the border will go up to ten over the next two days, President Alexander Lukashenko announced. Western nations have slapped sanctions on Minsk for Belarusian support to Moscow in the Ukraine crisis, backing up Russian troops with its own forces.

* Apple, Amazon, and Nike have locked Russian's out from buying from their storefronts online and physically.  Boeing also is cutting all ties with Russian businesses.  ExxonMobil announced that will discontinue operations in Russia and end further investments there.

* Russian's stuck with state owned media online.  Here is what Russian's are hearing from their media.

[MasterXtreme]

* The port city of Mariupol on the Black Sea coast continues to come under sustained attack by Russian backed rebels and Russian troops.  The city has seen constant shelling and many civilians are expected to be killed.  Russian shelling has been all over the city including throughout residential areas. Ukraine's military claims the city remains in Ukrainian hands at the moment.

* Russian paratroopers have been observed in the Black Sea region along with rocket boats, heading in the direction of the southern port city of Odesa.

* Russian's continue to shell Kyiv from afar. Powerful explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv Wednesday night into Thursday morning. It is unclear what the targets of the attack were, or how many people may have been hurt or injured. The explosions came hours after a massive blast near Kyiv's central train station shook the city. It happened very close to where hundreds of evacuees are sheltering from Russian shelling.

* Russian forces have seized control of the key port city of Kherson, according to local officials. It's the first major Ukrainian city to be taken since the invasion began. 

* Kharkhiv continues to be bombed by the Russian military.  The are reports of many civilian lives lost, but the Ukrainian military still has control of the city.  Videos have shown Russian's using bombs that are deemed illegal against civilians, yet they are using them anyways to cause mass damage.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a late-night video, praising the courage of citizens in defending their country.

* The hundreds of Russian armoured vehicles heading for Kyiv currently "remain stalled" en route, according to US Defense Department.  The convoy is roughly 40 miles long.  “They haven’t from our best estimates made any appreciable progress in the last 24 to 36 hours." Unverified reports indicate that the soldiers are running out of fuel and food. Officials in regions that have fallen to Russia have claimed that troops are ransacking supermarkets for provisions and that the meals provided to them by the military are expired.

* In the first new United Nations General Assembly emergency session convened in a quarter of a century, some 141 nations voted to call for an immediate end to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.  Only four countries backed Russia, five if you include Russia itself.  They were Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria.  Some great company to have...  Also backing Moscow's motivations was Venezuela, which was absent from Wednesday's vote along with Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bassau, Morocco, Togo, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The 35 who opted to stay neutral are comprised of a mix of nations that have also largely blamed the West for inciting the conditions that led to the conflict, and others who have chosen to remain neutral on the matter. These nations included Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi, the Central African Republic, China, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. While China and India stuck with their position after having previously abstained during a U.N. Security Council attempt on Friday to condemn Russia over its military activities in Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates shifted from abstaining in that round to supporting the measure on Wednesday.

* Defiant Russian demonstrators have once again taken to the streets of St Petersburg - the hometown of president Vladimir Putin - to protest against the invasion of Ukraine.  Police violently beat and arrested the protesters whom were peacefully stating their case.  It is unknown how many have been arrested yet.

* An investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine has been launched by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Russia.

* In a sign that Russia's central bank is trying to stop people from selling their rubles, it has reportedly made it more expensive for individuals to buy foreign currencies. It has imposed a 30% commission on such purchases on currency exchanges. Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin announced emergency measures to try and prop up the Russian ruble, including banning Russians from transferring money abroad, after the currency crashed to a record low.

* Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram) gives $1 million to Ukraine aid and denounces Russia's actions.  Ford to suspend operation and sales in Russia, donates $100k to Ukraine aid.  Volkswagen and Mercedes give $1 million to Ukraine aid. Volvo and Jaguar/Land Rover to suspend all sales in Russia. Mazda to stop new vehicle shipments to Russia.   Toyota and Honda to stop selling all products in Russia and halt production.  Will resume when situation changes.

[Rainberry]

I was reading an article that said Russian troops were throwing bombs at a nuclear power facility in Ukraine.  Also a Russian bomb blew up and caused a fire at the same nuclear power plant.  I don't know why Russia is playing with fire next to a nuclear facility, in the same country that had the Chernobyl incident. 

[timmelon]

Thank goodness this power plant has «normal» reactors with a tough concrete containment around. A fresh report says the fires are mostly gone, but nobody knows what else the invaders can do to the station .

[Soda]

I also read this plant doesn't have graphite () in it so it wouldn't lead to the same type of meltdown as the other plant.  Sorry, I'm no nuclear scientist. 

[Bumble]

I am very encouraged to see the world for the most part uniting against the Russian government and Putin.  What I don't think will age well is how Russian people in other countries are being targeted and fired from jobs (not happening in large numbers).  I can understand if they are part of the Russian gov or Putin sympathizer, but if they are just a private citizen, that isn't good. 

I was reading how Russian's are leaving Russia now in fears of Russia possibly imposing a martial law and requiring all males in a certain age to join the Army to fight in Ukraine.  Finland is having a back up at their border stations of Russian's trying to escape the country.

[Wolfwood]

It's time to stop saying that it is somehow unbelievable that this war can be happening in 2022. It is no more unbelievable now than it was in 1914 or 1939.
Peace is always fragile - and what happens even in the most distant corners of Europe will always affect the whole continent.

The question for our generation is whether or not we miscalculated how to handle Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed. Western Europe's main reaction to the end of the Cold War was to take a 30-year holiday from serious defense spending meanwhile the United States an ocean away continued to invest in their military.  How was Russia allowed it's seat back in the UN when it was the USSR that collapsed?

[MasterXtreme]

Some news updates...

* US intelligence has reported that Russia has launched more than 500 missiles since the start of the invasion and 92% of Russia's pre-staged combat power is now inside Ukraine. The main advance of Russian forces north of Kyiv are still about 16 miles outside the city.

* There have been fewer Russian air and artillery strikes over the past 24 hours than in previous days, the UK Ministry of Defence reported.

* Ukraine's President has condemned Western leaders for repeatedly ruling out the introduction of a no-fly-zone over his country. Volodymyr Zelensky said Western leaders knew Russian aggression against the country was likely to increase and accused them of granting Vladimir Putin licence to continue bombing towns and cities. Western officials have argued that a no-fly-zone would oblige NATO jets to fire on Russian fighters, potentially sparking World War Three.

* Major US news outlets pull out of Russia. It comes as a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin would impose prison terms of up to 15 years on people charged with spreading "fake news" about the war in Ukraine. The law would, in effect, stop independent reporting in Russia, where news outlets are not allowed to refer to the conflict in Ukraine as a "war."

* The nuclear power plant that Russia fired upon and caused a fire in the south of Ukraine is now under guard by Russian troops and has been fully taken over.

* Russia's defence ministry has announced a temporary ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors for civilians from 10:00 Moscow time (07:00 GMT) on Saturday from two cities in south-eastern Ukraine, Mariupol and Volnovakha.  Official Ukrainian confirmation from the head of the Donetsk region military administration, Pavlo Kirilenko has acknowledged this is happening.

* America's top diplomat Antony Blinken has told the BBC he is convinced Ukraine can win its war with Russia. he credited the Ukrainian people for their resolve and said he expects it will become clear "over time" that Moscow cannot subjugate the country's people to its will. "If it’s the intention of Moscow to try somehow to topple the government and install its own puppet regime, 45 million Ukrainians are going to reject that one way or the other,” he said.

* Thousands of people in the Serbian capital of Belgrade have taken part in a massive demonstration to show support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and show support to Putin. Some 4,000 people joined the march after gathering in front of a monument of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, where they played the Russian and Serbian national anthems and hailed the two countries as brother nations.

* Smartphone maker Samsung is halting shipments of its phones and chips to Russia "due to current geopolitical developments". Microsoft and Apple have suspended sales of its products and services in Russia as well. UPS and FedEx are halting delivery services to Russia and Ukraine. Expedia ceased the sale of travel into and out of Russia as well.

[Silverwing]

This format seems to make the news more bite sized.  Maybe more will read it instead of just headlines.  I will continue it.

* Russian planes have been dropping bombs on residential areas in Mariupol in a relentless attack on innocents. The port city has been witnessing intense shelling for days as Russian troops have been trying to cut Ukraine off from this strategically important sea link. Russian forces have continued to shell Mariupol despite agreeing to a ceasefire, throwing an attempted mass evacuation of civilians into chaos.

* Russian's break their agreed to a temporary ceasefire within thirty minutes and fire upon Ukrainian's trying to leave Mariupol.  There are Russian ambush stations along nearly every escape point from the country with Russian troops firing upon any cars or people trying to leave the country.  This has been reported by several first-hand accounts by refugees. A five-hour pause, overseen by the Red Cross, was due to be held today to allow civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha, a smaller city to the north. Russia has not commented on the renewed shelling but its defence ministry said civilians had not used the escape routes from Mariupol, and accused Ukrainian authorities of preventing people from leaving.

* Vladimir Putin has warned the West that any country imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered to have joined the war

* Heavy bombardments have been reported in Irpin - a town on the north-western outskirts of Kyiv.  Heavy shelling hit Kharkiv and Sumy in the east overnight. Heavy fighting to the north-west of the capital Kyiv around the key Hostomel airport continued on Saturday.

* Around 2,000 people came onto the streets of Kherson to protest this morning. They marched through the city centre, waving flags and singing the Ukrainian national anthem as they shouted "Russians go home" and "Kherson is Ukraine". Russian military checkpoints have been set up all over the city and stop every driver as they go past.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Israel, at the request of Zelensky, has offered to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

* US Republicans gain more support among Democrats to banning Russian Oil purchases.  Roughly 6% of US oil comes from Russia.  Democrats have long said they will not cut off purchasing oil from Russia, therefore supplying Putin's war with more money.  Now both Republican and a growing number of Democratic lawmakers have publicly pressured the Biden administration to implement an embargo. The US is one of the world's biggest oil producers, whereas the EU relies on imports to meet 61% of its energy needs.  Republican's have offered to supply the EU with cheap oil instead of relying on Russia.

* Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett travelled to Moscow to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin earlier Saturday. The urgency of Bennett's visit was underlined by the fact that the Israeli prime minister - who's an Orthodox Jew - broke Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest) in order to fly to Moscow. Exceptions can only be made under Jewish law in situations in which life is threatened. Following the talks, PM Bennett travelled onto Germany where he is set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

* The payments giants Mastercard and Visa have announced that they are suspending their operations in Russia in protest over the invasion of Ukraine.

* Russia's state airline,  Aeroflot, has cancelled nearly all international flights from 8 March, because of what it called "additional circumstances" impeding its operations. International sanctions have also been directed at Russia's airline industry, making it difficult for Aeroflot and other Russian airlines to operate normally. Nearly all of Europe and North America have shut off flights from Russian airlines.

Ukrainian military shoots down a Russian attack helicopter.

[Rainberry]

What the hell?  How could Russia say they will hold a ceasefire then break it and immediately fire on innocents and bomb residential areas?  Do they not follow any form of conduct code?  Do they simply not follow rules of war?  How sickening!

[MasterXtreme]

^ You answered it.  They don't follow the rules and have no standard.  We've seen this in the past, even back in Georgia or with their bombings of Grozny.  They absolutely flattened that city and killed thousands of innocents without a care. 

[Silverwing]

Russia is purposely bombing residential areas and killing as many civilians that can.  This is to demoralize the public and to make them want to give in to Russia.  It's sick and a horrible tactic.  Putin thinks this is like the 1940s and not the 21st century.