Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #11

[JennieM]

Russia deliberately risked lives in downed plane - Kyiv

Russia deliberately risked lives in downed plane - Kyiv

Ukraine responds to Moscow's accusation that it shot down a military plane with 65 Ukrainian PoWs on board.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Russia accuses Kyiv of downing plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war
Moscow says aircraft that went down in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swapped

Russia accuses Kyiv of downing plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war

Moscow says aircraft that went down in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swapped

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 23, 2024

NATO signs key artillery ammunition contract to replenish allied supplies and help Ukraine

NATO has signed a $1.2-billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries.

apnews.com

NATO signed on Tuesday a $1.2-billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries as they supply ammunition to Ukraine to help it defeat Russia’s invasion.

The contract will allow for the purchase of 220,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition, the most widely sought after artillery shell, according to NATO’s support and procurement agency. It will allow allies to backfill their arsenals and to provide Ukraine with more ammunition.

Oscar nomination for ‘20 Days in Mariupol,' AP's first, comes as bombs fall on filmmaker's hometown

Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing chronicle of the besieged Ukrainian city and the international journalists who remained there after Russia invaded has been nominated for best documentary.

apnews.com

“20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing chronicle of the besieged Ukrainian city and the international journalists who remained there after Russia’s invasion, has been nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards, handing The Associated Press its first Oscar nomination in the 178-year-old news organization’s history.

The film, a co-production between the AP and PBS’ “Frontline,” was shot during the first three weeks of the war in Ukraine, in early 2022. Chernov, a Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker, arrived in Mariupol one hour before Russia began bombarding the port city. With him were photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 24, 2024

Russia says a plane with Ukrainian POWs crashes, killing all aboard, and accuses Kyiv of downing it

The authorities were investigating the cause of the crash, and a special military commission was on the way to the crash site, the Defense Ministry said.

apnews.com

A Russian military transport plane crashed Wednesday in a border region near Ukraine, and Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down, saying all 74 people aboard were killed, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war headed for a swap. Russia offered no evidence and Ukraine didn’t immediately confirm or deny it.

Video of the crash on social media from the Belgorod border region of Russia showed a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area, and a huge ball of fire erupting where it apparently hit the ground.

The UN refugee chief says that he's worried that the war in Ukraine is being forgotten

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says that he’s worried that the war in Ukraine has been forgotten as the country prepares to mark two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

apnews.com

Speaking at the end of a weeklong visit to Ukraine, Grandi said that the invasion, which was launched by Moscow on Feb. 24, 2022, continues to bring devastation to civilians with houses destroyed, health centers hit and many facilities not functioning.

“I think the big difference from last year to this year is that this year, this is not news anymore in the world,” Grandi said. “There is somehow a trend towards getting used to Ukrainian suffering.”

 

[JennieM]

Ukrainian intelligence does not rule out PoWs on downed Russian plane

A representative of Ukrainian defence intelligence has told the BBC that he "does not exclude" the possibility there were Ukrainian prisoners on board the Russian military plane that came down in Belgorod.

However, Andriy Yusov stressed that Russia had provided no proof to back its claims there were.

Ukrainian intelligence does not rule out PoWs on downed Russian plane

Intelligence officer says he cannot exclude possibility, but adds that Russia has provided no proof.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[PommyMommy]

Numerous Ukrainians are attempting to flee Russian-occupied territories due to propaganda targeting their children, forced issuance of RU passports, & explicit death threats. To escape, some resort to only currently operational border crossing between Ukraine and Russia.
The last Russia-Ukraine border crossing (ft.com)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751097448687129015

As long as Russia continues to attack and Ukraine continues to resist, the reality that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilian men must enter the ranks of the military is unavoidable. Ukraine struggles to ramp up mobilization as Russia's war enters 3rd year (kyivindependent.com)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751209832990781906

Russian forces keep trying to bypass Ukrainian defenses and enter Avdiivka. British Intel said that Ukrainian forces would remain in control over Avdiivka in the near future, as the main supply route remains undamaged and Ukrainian forces make local counter-attacks there. British Intel: Avdiivka likely to remain in Ukrainian control over coming weeks - Euromaidan Press

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751249953744179477

 

[PommyMommy]

How A Ukrainian Teen Found His Way Back Home After Being Abducted By Russia​

Jan 12, 2024
Denys Berezhniy was a student when Kherson was under Russian occupation. Russian authorities announced to his class that they were being taken to occupied Crimea for a two-week "health" camp visit. It took nearly a year for Berezhniy to get back home.

'Bring Our Husbands Back Home': Russian Women Call For Soldiers To Be Pulled From Ukraine​

Jan 12, 2024
After Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a "partial mobilization" in fall 2022, over 300,000 reservists were drafted into the war in Ukraine. A year later, women formed The Way Home initiative to demand that their family members be discharged and sent back home.

Latvian President: Russian Atrocities In Ukraine Are Causing Divisions In Society​

Jan 16, 2024
Russian atrocities in Ukraine have created an "emotionally charged" atmosphere in Latvia, according to its president, Edgars Rinkevics. Speaking to Current Time in Riga on January 9, he described divisions between those who had suffered repression in the Soviet era and some Russian-speaking Latvians.

 

[PommyMommy]

Children In Ukraine Go To Kindergarten In The Metro Station To Avoid Russian Air Strikes​

Jan 24, 2024 KHARKIV
Children in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv has opened kindergartens in the metro to help protect young pupils from Russian air strikes. Groups of children spend two hours every weekend at the makeshift facilities, where they learn the basics of math, writing, and drawing.

Ukraine Seeks Investigation As Details On Russian Plane Crash In Belgorod Remain Scarce​

Jan 26, 2024
A day after a Russian military plane crashed in the country's Belgorod region, many questions remain. Russia claims Ukraine downed the plane, which Moscow says was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine cast doubt on the presence of prisoners and is seeking an international investigation.

Presumed By Russian Media To Have Been Killed In Ukraine, Two Frenchmen Speak To RFE/RL​

Jan 26, 2024
Two French nationals have told RFE/RL they're both very much alive and living in France, despite Russian state media claims they were in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at the time of a Russian missile strike on January 16.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 24, 2024

Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles not a sign of Moscow's depleted domestic capacity

Russia’s missile campaign against Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure is no longer limited by the rate of domestic production as North Korea becomes its top weapons supplier. Pyongyang has allegedly sent Moscow more than 1 million artillery rounds and the mass strikes on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 provided

kyivindependent.com

Russia’s missile campaign against Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure is no longer limited by the rate of domestic production as North Korea becomes its top weapons supplier.

Pyongyang has allegedly sent Moscow more than 1 million artillery rounds and the mass strikes on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 provided the first direct evidence that Russia used North Korean missiles to attack a Ukrainian city, specifically Kharkiv.

Experts say this will allow Russia to intensify its attacks on civilian targets, killing people, doing costly damage, and putting a strain on Ukraine’s air defenses.

JAN 27, 2024

Ukraine says it has no evidence for Russia's claim that dozens of POWs died in a shot down plane

Officials in Ukraine say Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

apnews.com

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Lt. Col. Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane.

 

[PommyMommy]

In a recent missile assault on Kyiv, Russia reportedly used at least one North Korean-supplied ballistic missile, following a similar strike on Kharkiv City with a North Korean missile.https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/28/russia-targeted-kyiv-with-at-least-one-north-korean-ballistic-missile-in-recent-attack-photos/?swcfpc=1…

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751711803606708542

Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa told Sky News that the state of the war would have been very different if allies had not given restrictions to Kyiv on the use of Western weapons. Sky News: Ukrainian Navy Commander signals Kyiv would win faster if there's permission to fire Western weapons deep inside Russia (kyivindependent.com)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751585614107947519

The number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices in Russia has doubled over the past six months — British Intel

This may indicate people’s distrust of the government’s promise not to carry out a new wave of mobilization.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1751595480407318843

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 28, 2024

Ukraine says corrupt officials stole $40 million meant to buy arms for the war with Russia

Ukraine's security service says employees from an arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy mortar shells for the war with Russia.

apnews.com

Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security service reported.

The SBU said late Saturday that five people have been charged, with one person detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border. If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.

JAN 29, 2024

UN's top court will rule Friday on its jurisdiction in a Ukraine case over Russia's genocide claim

The United Nations’ top court will rule on Friday whether it has jurisdiction to hear a case brought by Ukraine against Russia.

apnews.com

The United Nations’ top court will rule on Friday whether it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law by using a false accusation of genocide as the pretext for its 2022 invasion.

Kyiv launched the case at the International Court of Justice days after the start of the full-scale war in 2022, arguing that Russia breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by wrongly claiming Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian-speaking people in the country.

Ukraine's strikes on targets inside Russia hurt Putin's efforts to show the war isn't hitting home

Ukrainian strikes on a Russian border city and elsewhere have damaged President Putin’s attempts to reassure his countrymen that their lives have been largely untouched.

apnews.com

“Ukraine has increased its capacity to strike back against Russia,” Michael Kofman, a military expert with the Carnegie Endowment, said in a recent podcast.

“You see increased Ukrainian attacks against Russian critical infrastructure, retaliatory attacks against cities like Belgorod and greater strikes against Russian military base in Crimea,” he said.

As Putin ramps up his campaign ahead of the presidential election in March, he wants to maintain an air of normalcy. But the increasingly frequent Ukrainian attacks have raised the visibility of the war on Russian soil, and there are other signs the conflict is increasingly challenging the Kremlin’s tight control of the political scene.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 30, 2024

UK lawmakers are annoyed that Abramovich's frozen Chelsea funds still haven't been used for Ukraine

U.K. lawmakers have expressed frustration that funds from the sale of the Chelsea soccer club have not yet gone to support Ukrainian war victims as was promised nearly two years ago by the former owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

apnews.com

Abramovich sold Chelsea in 2022 after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called his enabling of Russia’s “brutal and barbaric invasion” of Ukraine.

He pledged to donate the £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) from the sale to victims of the war. But almost 20 months later, the funds are still frozen in a bank account in an apparent disagreement with the British government over how they should be spent. The stalemate highlights the difficulty for Western governments to use frozen assets for Ukraine — even those that have been pledged by their owner.

JAN 31, 2024

Rumors that Ukraine's top commander may be dismissed expose rifts in Ukraine top brass

Reports have emerged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to fire the country's popular top military leader.

apnews.com

The rumors that Valerii Zaluzhnyi would be sacked were denied by Zelenskyy’s office and the Defense Ministry this week and the immensely popular top commander still retains his post. But the reports have fueled expectations of his imminent resignation, which could be a boon for Russia as the war approaches its second anniversary.

His departure would be the most severe shakeup of Ukraine’s top military brass since the Russian invasion as the country grapples with dire ammunition and personnel shortages following a failed summer counteroffensive. It also could hurt the morale of Ukrainian troops, who have been fighting grinding battles for nearly two years.

FEB 1, 2024

European Union overcomes threat of Hungary veto to seal $54 billion aid package for Ukraine

A top European Union official says the 27 EU countries have sealed a deal on aid to Ukraine just over an hour into a summit of the bloc’s leaders.

apnews.com

The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal on Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for its war-ravaged economy after Hungary backed down from its threats to veto the move.

European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement that was reached in the first hour of a summit that he was chairing in Brussels.

“We have a deal,” Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said the agreement “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” and demonstrated that the “EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 6, 2024

UN nuclear chief says security is still fragile at Ukraine's Russian-occupied nuclear power plant

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid recent staff cuts enacted by Russian authorities occupying the facility.

apnews.com

[...]

The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

Rossi said he would also check the stability of the facility’s cooling function in the wake of the Kakhovka Dam collapse over the summer, and the presence of mines in and around the plant.

The plant suffered yet another blackout last month, highlighting continuing nuclear safety concerns as battles rage nearby.

“All these things tell us that the situation in Zaporizhzhia continues to be fragile and it requires constant care,” Grossi said.

Of particular concern is the Russian decision to block access for Ukrainian staff employed by Kyiv’s national operator, who refused to sign contracts with the Russian operator at the site.

The staff working at the plant now are former Energoatom workers who adopted Russian citizenship and signed new contracts with Russia’s operator at the site.

[...]

The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for nearly 18 months and produce no electricity but still hold large amounts of nuclear fuel that must be cooled. The collapse of the dam in June jeopardized access to the reservoir where water was drawn for cooling. To compensate, the plant administration dug wells. “Now we want to see how this has evolved,” Grossi said.

[...]

Access to the entire plant facility for IAEA experts permanently based there is still limited, with Russian authorities denying requests to see certain areas.

[...]

 

[AliceInPain]

Amazing work!

Ukraine's missing children tracked down in Russia by digital sleuths (BBC News)

"An international team of investigators say they have tracked down eight Ukrainian children, believed to have been abducted during Russia's invasion.

More than 60 detectives used digital open source techniques to trace the missing children who are understood to have appeared in Russian propaganda.

...
They used advanced facial recognition to find recent images of the children online.

As investigators are unable to travel to Russia or Belarus, geolocation experts analysed photos and videos and used satellite data to determine where they were taken.

Network data analysis was then able to establish whether multiple children were in the same location."

 

[sds71]

Navalny has died in Putin’s prison, as per Russian media.

Russian opposition leader Navalny felt sick during a walk, fainted and died quickly after that, as per Russian prison services statement.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758451602187325700

 

[Dotta]

Alexei Navalny 'has died' Russian reports claim

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence said on Friday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[cujenn81]

Navalny has died in Putin’s prison, as per Russian media.

Russian opposition leader Navalny felt sick during a walk, fainted and died quickly after that, as per Russian prison services statement.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758451602187325700

This makes me so angry I could scream! Putin and his goons tried desperately to end his life four years ago, but he refused to allow them to keep him from his homeland. He bravely and voluntarily returned to Russia despite knowing that he would be arrested the moment his feet touched the ground, despite knowing they would treat him inhumanely. He's been treated as if HE were the one guilty of attempted murder rather than merely exposing Russian intelligence for poisoning him.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the 2022 documentary, Navalny. His courageousness is truly inspiring. At the end, just before his arrest, he says, "If they decided to kill me, then it means we are incredibly powerful in that moment. You have to use that power. Don't give up."

 

[sds71]

Mass arrests happening throughout the country after people came out to mourn Navalny's murder by the Kremlin regime. This is in Saint Petersburg.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1758557237428281841

 

[PommyMommy]

World leaders blame Putin for Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian prison | Live updates

The fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison, Russian authorities said.

apnews.com

In a social media post relayed from prison last month, Navalny said that since returning to Russia from Germany in 2021 following his poisoning, he had been repeatedly asked by fellow inmates and jailers why he came back.

He said he returned to stand for his beliefs and that he was annoyed by the question, noting it reflected that Russia’s repressive politics had “instilled cynicism and conspiracy theories to such an extent that it made people reluctant to believe simple motives.”

“I have my country and my beliefs,” Navalny wrote. “And I don’t want to give up either my country or my beliefs. And I cannot betray either the first or the second. If your beliefs are worth something, you must be willing to stand up for them. And if necessary, make some sacrifices.”

Navalny said he promised not to abandon the Russian people, and that by returning, he fulfilled that promise.

 

[Arkay]

This makes me so angry I could scream! Putin and his goons tried desperately to end his life four years ago, but he refused to allow them to keep him from his homeland. He bravely and voluntarily returned to Russia despite knowing that he would be arrested the moment his feet touched the ground, despite knowing they would treat him inhumanely. He's been treated as if HE were the one guilty of attempted murder rather than merely exposing Russian intelligence for poisoning him.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the 2022 documentary, Navalny. His courageousness is truly inspiring. At the end, just before his arrest, he says, "If they decided to kill me, then it means we are incredibly powerful in that moment. You have to use that power. Don't give up."

I saw it about a year ago and I was bowled over.
His courage, his humor, his faithful family, his charisma, his intelligence…breathtaking.

The way he was able to improvise on that phone call to one of the poisoners..amazing.

His anti-corruption team, the Bellingcat guy, he and Yulia with the donkeys…just the way he forced himself to get well after his near death on the plane..all of it incredibly triumphant.

But I watched it again last night as it aired on CNN and it hit so differently now.

Putin won. Alexei is dead. I cried throughout the entire film.
.