Russia's Invasion of Ukraine - Consolidated Thread

[Pink Rose]

Putin deliberately targeted Ukraine's 'foreign legion' with strike 12 miles from NATO border: Kremlin warns it will continue to 'destroy mercenaries' and foreign weapon shipments after bombing raid killed at least 35


Russian airstrikes on military base at Yavoriv, 12 miles from Ukraine's border with Poland, killed 35 on Sunday

Defence ministry said base was targeted because it was hosting foreign fighters and foreign weapon caches

British intelligence said targeting a base so close to Poland, a NATO member, was 'highly deliberate' by Russia

Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, warned any strike on a NATO state would be met with 'full force'

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:28 EDT, 14 March 2022 | UPDATED: 07:55 EDT, 14 March 2022




Russia deliberately blew up foreign fighters and arms shipments at a Ukrainian base close to the Polish border on Sunday and has vowed to carry out more strikes in a direct warning to the West.



Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for Russia's ministry of defence, said the base at Yavoriv - 12 miles from NATO territory - was struck by 'long-range, high-precision' weapons because it was hosting 'foreign mercenaries and a large shipment of foreign weapons'.



He added: 'The destruction of foreign mercenaries who arrived on the territory of Ukraine will continue.'





Konashenkov said up to 180 people had been killed in the strike, though Ukraine says 35 people died and another 134 were wounded. Bombs fell on the base early Sunday morning, with witnesses saying many of the foreign recruits were sleeping when the strike was carried out. Foreigners are thought to be among the victims.



British military veterans at the base who survived the attack, described hearing the sound of incoming engines before several large blasts destroyed one building, damaged another, and sprayed shell fragments through the air. It is thought the base was hit by Russian cruise missiles as opposed to fighter jets.



It came just a day after Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, warned that foreign aid shipments to Ukraine are considered to be legitimate targets. British intelligence said overnight that striking a base so close to Poland was 'deliberate and designed to illustrate willingness to escalate should the West not cease its supplies.'



Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, warned Moscow that any strike on a NATO nation - including an accidental one - would prompt the alliance to respond with 'full force', meaning a direct confrontation between American and Russian forces that would likely spark World War Three.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

'Three British ex-special forces troops are feared to have died in Russian airstrike near Polish border'


The three Britons were at the Yavoriv military base hit by missiles yesterday

It is not believed they were part of the foreign legion being trained at the base

Russia said the base was targeted because it was housing 'mercenaries'

By JACK NEWMAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 12:35 EDT, 14 March 2022 | UPDATED: 13:06 EDT, 14 March 2022


Three British former special forces soldiers are feared to have been killed in a Russian airstrike near the Polish border.



More than 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the Yavoriv base yesterday, killing as many as 180 people.



The trio were not part of the foreign legion fighting unit being trained at the base six miles from the border, sources told The Mirror.


It is not known which branch of the special forces they had served in.


Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for Russia's ministry of defence, said the base was struck by 'long-range, high-precision' weapons because it was hosting 'foreign mercenaries and a large shipment of foreign weapons'.



He added: 'The destruction of foreign mercenaries who arrived on the territory of Ukraine will continue.'



Konashenkov said up to 180 people had been killed in the strike, though Ukraine initially said 35 people died and another 134 were wounded.



But a source told The Mirror today: 'There were many more killed within the site than has been claimed and bodies are still being found.



'I do not believe the three British ex-military personnel would have known anything about it, fortunately.



'This is extremely sensitive as there are believed to be no serving British military personnel inside Ukraine as politically that would be extremely controversial.'



Bombs fell on the base early Sunday morning, with witnesses saying many of the foreign recruits were sleeping when the strike was carried out.



British military veterans at the base who survived the attack, described hearing the sound of incoming engines before several large blasts destroyed one building, damaged another, and sprayed shell fragments through the air. It is thought the base was hit by Russian cruise missiles as opposed to fighter jets.


Around 1,000 foreigners were at the base at the time it was hit, Ukraine said, and are expected to be among the victims - though no official word has been given yet (pictured, a man wounded at the base)



The British Ministry of Defence said there were no serving personnel killed in the explosions.



James, a former British artillery soldier identified only by his first name, told Buzzfeed of hearing the sound of incoming missiles as he was in bed, saying: 'I just lied there and thought: I'm going to die.'



'A couple of buildings got hit... One they decimated and there was one that was on fire. And then there was just frag[mentation] everywhere. And a crater... in the middle of camp.'



A Ukrainian officer said there were around 1,000 foreigners at the camp - officially known as the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security - at the time. British and US regular military personnel had previously been stationed there to train Ukrainian soldiers, but were not thought to be present yesterday.



On Monday, a Russian air strike on the capital Kyiv killed at least two people and wounded others as it blew up and set light to an apartment building.



A town councilor for Brovary, east of Kyiv, was also killed in fighting there as shells fell on the towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel.



Ukrainian officials said two more people died and seven were injured after Russian forces struck an airplane factory in Kyiv, sparking a large fire.

Continued at the link

[Honoria]

“Ukraine is a Done Deal. It’s Flattened and They Lost” – Steve Harrigan from FOX News Upon Return from Ukraine

By Joe Hoft

Published March 14, 2022 at 7:45pm




FOX News reporter Steve Harrigan was on America’s Newsroom on FOX News this morning and he discussed his perceptions of Ukraine after returning from there recently.

Mediaite reported on Harrigan’s discussion on FOX:



Fox News reporter Steve Harrigan returned from Ukraine with a grim message about the future of Ukraine, but also a prediction that the Russian people “are going to rise up” and overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin.



“I think Putin is being bled. And he will be bled for years and it will take years. Maybe the oligarchs who are making as much money will hurt. Maybe the Russian people will rise up,” said Harrigan on America’s Newsroom on Monday. “I think for me, Ukraine is a done deal. It’s flattened and they lost. But the next story, I think, is Russia. The Russian people are going to rise up and throw this guy out.”


Co-host Julie Banderas, filling in for Dana Perino, asked Harrigan if he forecasts a coup and whether it’s “too late” for that.



“You know what, I think this is a long-term tragedy,” he replied. “We’re watching people get slaughtered. And we’re going to watch it for years to come.”



Since Russia invaded Ukraine 19 days ago, apartment buildings, hospitals and other civilian centers have been targeted. Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine in what has been Europe’s greatest refugee crisis since World War II. The United States and its allies, including in NATO, have made condemnations of Russia and have given military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.



Here is Harrigan’s interview:

Continued with video at link

[OmegaMan]

Dozens Killed By Ukrainian Cluster Bomb Attack On Center Donetsk

(WARNING - Graphic video)



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[Pink Rose]

Russian state TV calls for REPARATIONS from the US over sanctions: Putin's lapdogs demand return of 'Alaska and California's Fort Ross', threaten nuclear strikes on US, and call for public hangings in Ukraine


Moscow-backed pundits have also begun normalizing the idea of publicly hanging Ukrainians who are fighting against Russia's war

State Duma member and Kremlin 'spin doctor' Oleg Matveychev appeared on a Sunday news program to share a list of demands 'after Ukraine’s demilitarization'

It includes the dissolution of NATO, lifting of sanctions, and extradition of 'war criminals' President Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Poroshenko and others

A Russian TV host railed against the US's sanctions after his two Italian villas were seized, offering a threat of nuclear strikes if not lifted in 24 hours

'You’re the thieves, our talk is short with you: a bullet to the head,' he said

By ELIZABETH ELKIND, POLITICS REPORTER and SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM



PUBLISHED: 11:14 EDT, 15 March 2022 | UPDATED: 14:01 EDT, 15 March 2022


A member of Russia's parliament called for reparations from the United States on Sunday -- including the return of historic settlements in Alaska and California -- over the west's vast economic sanctions.



The Kremlin has been flooding the airwaves of its state-run channels with pro-war propaganda that paints a vastly different portrait to reality and shields the Russian people from the horrors of Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine, the Daily Beast first reported.



Alaska and Fort Ross in California were part of the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries before they were sold to the United States.





Moscow's TV pundits and show hosts have also begun endorsing the idea of publicly hanging Ukrainians who are standing against Russia -- something the Kremlin has reportedly already mulled, according to Bloomberg.



Putin's 'spin doctor,' Duma member Oleg Matveychev, appeared on Russian state news on Sunday, outlining a series of demands for both Washington and Kyiv 'after Ukraine’s demilitarization is completed.'



It comes as Russian and Ukrainian officials meet for another round of peace talks Tuesday.



Meanwhile in the latest escalation of tension between the White House and the Kremlin, Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced new sanctions on Tuesday against 11 Americans including President Joe Biden himself, Hunter Biden, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki.



'We should be thinking about reparations from the damage that was caused by the sanctions and the war itself, because that too costs money and we should get it back,' Matveychev said on Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov.

Continued with pictures and video at the link

[Pink Rose]

'We weren't planning any Russian vacations!' Jen Psaki mocks Russia for BANNING Joe Biden, his son Hunter, top White House staff and Hillary Clinton in revenge for sanctions


Moscow on Tuesday slapped sanctions on 13 political figures in the U.S.

They range from Biden and his secretary of state and architects of the U.S. economic blockade of Russia, to his son Hunter and Hillary Clinton

It comes as the U.S. continues to step up the economic blockade of Russia

The State Department announced a fresh set of sanctions on Tuesday

By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ELIZABETH ELKIND, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM



PUBLISHED: 11:22 EDT, 15 March 2022 | UPDATED: 15:00 EDT, 15 March 2022




The White House mocked the Kremlin on Tuesday, saying it had bungled the imposition of sanctions on President Joe Biden and that they would make no difference to U.S. officials who didn't have Russian bank accounts anyway.



It came after Moscow slapped penalties on a string of senior officials - as well as the president's troubled son Hunter Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.



The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were being added to a 'stop list' in retaliation for the growing economic blockade on its economy.





But White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who also made the list, laughed them off.



'I would first note that President Biden is a "junior" so they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace,' she said during her regular daily briefing.



'The second piece I would say is ... that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia and none of us have bank accounts that we won't be able to access, so we will forge ahead.'



Clinton also saw the funny side.



'I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,' she said in a tweet.



They delivered their comments during a day of diplomatic strikes.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slapped sanctions on Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA director Bill Burns and a string of senior U.S. officials as President Vladimir Putin hit back at the growing economic blockade on his regime.



Just as the Russian announcement was released, Washington was unveiling fresh sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko, Moscow's ally in Belarus, and 11 key Russian defense officials.



The Russian move effectively bars Biden and 12 other U.S. figures - including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, C.I.A. director Bill Burns - from entering Russia.



Daleep Singh, an economist on the National Security Council who is seen as the architect of sanctions on Russia, also makes the list.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

'We know who our friends are': Zelensky says Ukraine must accept it WON'T join NATO and has 'learned who our true friends are' as Kyiv braces for 36 hours of hell under fresh Russian bombardments


President Zelensky said today it is 'a truth that must be recognised' that there is no path into NATO for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin had demanded ahead of the invasion that Ukraine be banned from joining the Western alliance

Remarks further open the door to some kind of peace deal, after negotiators hailed 'progress' at the weekend

Came as Kyiv mayor Vitali Kitschko told civilians to brace for 36 hours of shelling and put a curfew in place

By RACHAEL BUNYAN and CHRIS PLEASANCE and LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE and MARK NICOL DEFENCE EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL



PUBLISHED: 09:14 EDT, 15 March 2022 | UPDATED: 15:43 EDT, 15 March 2022


Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a statement that will be music to the ears of Vladimir Putin and could pave the way for some kind of peace deal between the warring nations.



Zelensky, who has become a symbol of resistance to Russia's onslaught over the last 20 days, said today that 'Ukraine is not a member of NATO' and that 'we have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised.'



His statement, while making no firm commitments, will be seen as further opening the door to some kind of peace deal between Ukraine and Russia after negotiators hailed 'substantial' progress at the weekend - without giving any idea what such a deal would look like.





Ahead of the invasion, Putin had been demanding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO along with the removal of all the alliance's troops and weapons from ex-Soviet countries. After being rebuffed by Kyiv, Washington and NATO he launched his 'special military operation' to 'demilitarise' and 'de-Nazify' the country.



Russian negotiators have softened their stance a little since then, saying they want Ukraine to declare neutrality, disarm, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the whole of the Donbass as independent. Ukraine has been demanding a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces. Talks have been ongoing this week and Moscow has made no mention of wider demands on NATO in recent days.



Zelensky again urged Western allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine and deplored NATO's refusal to do so thus far, adding that the dire situation in his country has 'allowed us to see who our true friends are these past 20 days'.



Speaking to the Canadian Parliament, Zelensky said: 'Can you imagine calling other friendly nations, and asking them "please close the sky, close the airspace, stop the bombing". And in turn they express their deep concerns about the situation.



'We talk to our partners and they say "please hold on a little longer",' Zelensky said. Military analysts have said a no-fly zone is unlikely because the U.S. and its allies believe it could escalate the war into a nuclear confrontation.


Any deal between Moscow and Kyiv would face a myriad of difficulties, including whether troops would honour a ceasefire and whether Russia could be trusted to keep its end of the bargain. But both sides appear to be warming to the idea of a ceasefire, which would allow Ukraine to get badly-needed humanitarian aid into cities, some of which have now been under siege for weeks.



The hardest-hit is the Black Sea port city of Mariupol, which has been without water, food or electricity since March 1. Conditions continue to deteriorate there, but some evacuations have taken place in recent days - with 2,000 civilian vehicles leaving the city today along a 'humanitarian corridor'. It comes after a few dozen vehicles managed to leave yesterday.



But conditions in other cities continue to worsen. Shortly before Zelensky spoke, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko put a three-day curfew in place in the capital - barring civilians from going outside and warning them to prepare for heavy bombardment by Putin's men.



'Today is a difficult and dangerous moment,' Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram. 'This is why I ask all Kyivites to get prepared to stay at home for two days, or if the sirens go off, in the shelters.'



Zelenskyy later said Russian air strikes hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.

Continued at the link

[schwartzie]

Czech, Polish and Slovenian Leaders Meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiev in Courageous Display of Support

By Jim Hoft

Published March 15, 2022 at 9:15am




Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (middle) and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski (left), Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa (right) arrived in Ukraine and are headed to Kiev, the Polish PM’s office announced.



Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s twin brother Lech was killed in a plane crash inside Russia in 2010.



Poland later found other people’s body parts in Lech’s coffin when it was returned to Poland.

The Hill-Yahoo reported:



The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia will be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in Kyiv as the capital is set to undergo a 35-hour curfew, according to multiple reports.



Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša are meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday.



“The visit is organized in consultation with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The aim of this visit is also to present a broad package of support for the Ukraine and Ukrainians,” Fiala wrote in a Facebook post of the visit.



Morawieck expressed a similar sentiment in social media posts on Tuesday, underscoring European solidarity with Ukraine.

Continued at link


 

[Berean]

Blinken: We Have Real Concerns that Russia Could Use Chemical Weapons

PAM KEY15 Mar 202237


Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday on CNN’s “Situation Room” that the United States has “real concerns” Russia would use chemical weapons in Ukraine.



Blitzer said, “How real is the risk of this spiraling into nuclear war?”



Blinken said, “Well, President Biden has been very clear one thing Really? Sleepy Joe isn't even clear on what his name is!  that is for sure we are going to avoid getting into any kind of conflict with Russia and certainly avoiding anything that brings us to World War III. Some of Russia’s loose talk about its nuclear weapons is the height of irresponsibility. It goes against everything that we said, including that Russia said over many years and how a nuclear war is not winnable. Something that was reaffirmed as recently as the meeting between President Biden and Putin in the summer in Geneva. So we watched this very, very carefully. There is a lot of bad loose talk and bluster. At the same time, I have to tell you — we have real concerns that Russia could use a chemical weapon, another weapon of mass destruction. This is something we are very focused on.”

Continued at link

[Midnight]

Large Polish Cities Reaching "Capacity" As UN Says Over 3 Million Refugees Have Fled Ukraine

BY TYLER DURDEN

WEDNESDAY, MAR 16, 2022 - 04:15 AM

The Russian war in Ukraine has hit a grim milestone as the United Nations on Tuesday says that now more than three million refugees have fled the country since the invasion began late last month.



The UNHCR in its latest statement sounded the alarm that "In the coming days millions more lives will be uprooted, unless there is an immediate end to this senseless conflict." The agency said "This is now the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."


Via Sky News

The UN said that during the first 11 days, it recorded at least 1.7 million refugees that have fled, but now on the 20th day, the number has reached 3 million.



Ukraine's internal displacement problem is also rapidly growing, and is expected to fuel a broader exodus into neighboring EU countries like Poland in the coming days and weeks, even as some large Polish cities have begun warning they've reached "capacity".



Writing of Warsaw and Krakow, The Guardian reports that "The mayors of Poland’s two largest cities have said they are struggling to cope with the huge number of refugees arriving from Ukraine, as UN figures show more than 1.7 million people have crossed into Poland in the weeks since the Russia’s attack began." And further, the report says:



Kraków’s mayor, Jacek Majchrowski, said that the city was also reaching its capacity, with 100,000 people arriving in the past two weeks. "Kraków is slowly losing the opportunity to accommodate new waves of refugees," he said, adding that places were now being offered outside the city.



UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo described the rapidly worsening situation in a statement: "Access to conflict-affected communities in hard-hit areas like Mariupol and Kharkiv remains very restricted due to the ongoing military activities and increased presence of landmines, exacerbating humanitarian needs by the day."

Continued at link

[schwartzie]

Ukraine Rejects Russian Plan to End Fighting in the Country – Does Not Agree to Be Neutral Like Sweden or Austria

By Joe Hoft

Published March 16, 2022 at 1:30pm


Efforts to come to an agreement and end fighting in Ukraine have stalled.

It’s being reported that Ukraine has rejected a Russian plan to end the fighting in the country.



Ukraine has today rejected a Russian plan to become ‘neutral’ like Sweden or Austria as the warring sides try to hash out a deal to end the bloodshed in eastern Europe.



Moscow is thought to be demanding that Ukraine refuse to join any military alliance or host foreign military bases on its soil in exchange for a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops currently terrorising the country.


But Kyiv has said any deal will need to include security guarantees underwritten by ‘international partners’ who would agree to come to Ukraine’s defence in the event it is attacked again.



Mikhailo Podolyak, Ukraine’s top negotiator, said the international community cannot be allowed ‘to stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today’ should fighting restart.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today confirmed that neutrality is taking centre stage with Moscow and Kyiv ‘close to agreeing’ the wording of an agreement, as it was revealed a 15-point plan for peace is being discussed.



The plan includes ‘limits’ on Ukraine’s armed forces in return for Russia withdrawing from areas captured since the start of war on February 24, including along the Black Sea coast in the south, and Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders.



But it is unclear what would become of Crimea – which Russia insists must be recognised as part of its territory – and Donetsk and Luhansk – which the Kremlin says should be recognised as independent…



…Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, said the 15-point plan – which was obtained by the FT – only lays out Russia’s negotiating position, and does not take into account Ukrainian demands.



‘The only thing we confirm at this stage is a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees from a number of countries,’ he tweeted.



Summing up peace talks from the Russian side, one senior official told Reuters that there is ‘a small chance of a peaceful resolution,’ adding: ‘Something will be decided in the next three days to a week.’



More than a week ago we reported that Russia has offered terms to end the fighting in Ukraine.



The terms then were reported by Jack Posobiec and Zerohedge.

>
Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

Putin's chilling warning to the West and oligarchs: Ranting president tells 'scum' traitors Russians will 'spit them out like a midge that flew into their mouths' and says Western 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end




Vladimir Putin warned 'scum' traitors that Russians will 'spit them out like a midge that flew into their mouths'

He said that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to end, that it's trying to 'cancel' Russia

He said that keeping Russia in check was a long-term policy of Western nations to prevent state being 'strong'

Russian president told citizens they are fighting for the country's 'sovereignty' and 'the future of our children'

Latest in Moscow's propaganda as it seeks to justify its Ukraine war, claiming it is a 'de-nazification' operation

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 10:01 EDT, 16 March 2022 | UPDATED: 15:32 EDT, 16 March 2022


Vladimir Putin today sent a chilling warning to the West and oligarchs telling 'scum' traitors that Russians will 'spit them out like a midge that flew into their mouths' - as he claimed Western 'attempts to have global dominance' is coming to an end.



The Russian President, speaking in a bombastic televised address from the Kremlin nearly three weeks into Moscow's invasion, warned the West would use 'those who earn their money here, but live over there' as a 'fifth column' to 'divide our society'.



'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called 'gender freedoms.' The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said. 'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia.'





He claimed that the conflict was merely a pretext for the West to impose sanctions because 'they just don't want a strong and sovereign Russia' and insisted the 'military operation' in Ukraine is going to plan despite his troops' advance remaining largely stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv. But he also told Russians, in words ironically reminiscent of Zelensky's speeches, that 'we are fighting for our sovereignty and the future of our children'.



It is the latest in the propaganda pushed by Moscow in a bid to justify their invasion of Ukraine to Russian citizens - including claims the war is about 'de-nazifying' the country and preventing a genocide of minorities waged by Kyiv.



Putin spoke as Zelensky spoke to US lawmakers in a landmark virtual address to Congress in which he invoked Pearl Harbour, the 9/11 attacks and Martin Luther King Jr as he called for greater Western intervention against Russia.



In a coordinated move last month Britain, the US, Canada and the EU, barred Moscow from the Swift international banking system to prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves 'in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions'.



The states have since imposed a sweeping range of sanctions on exports of champagne, high-end cars, fashion apparel, expensive electronics, sports gear and even vodka among other things as they attempt to bring the Russian economy to its knees in a punishment over Putin's war in Ukraine.



And in the most recent measures, hundreds of Russian oligarchs, organisations and individuals are set to be hit with sanctions from the Government after a fast-tracked bill to target 'dirty money' in the UK is passed. Several oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovitch, have already been targeted with sanctions.



Meanwhile on Wednesday, a new slew of allegations of war crimes were hurled at Putin after video of an attack that was later confirmed by Ukraine's prosecutor general showed at least 10 civilians gunned down while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv.



Ukraine's prosecutor general confirmed in a statement the attack by Russian forces who 'fired at people standing in line for bread near a grocery store.' While new drone footage appeared to show Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian as he held his hands up to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.



Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine but it comes after two residential apartment blocks in west Kyiv were hit in shelling overnight. Moscow's men started pounding the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia hours after around 20,000 refugees arrived through a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

No escape from Putin's bombs: Russia begins shelling Ukrainian city where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol where 500 hostages are being held in a hospital… as Kyiv is rocked by new explosions


Moscow has started shelling Zaporizhzhia, where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol

Around 20,000 civilians fled the southern seaport along a humanitarian corridor, which runs to Zaporizhzhia

Russian rockets hit two residential buildings in Svyatoshyn district of Kyiv on Wednesday, injuring two people

Comes after both Ukraine and Russia said on Tuesday progress is being made in talks on ending the fighting

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:45 EDT, 16 March 2022 | UPDATED: 11:16 EDT, 16 March 2022


Russian forces have started shelling the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol - where 500 hostages are being held in a hospital as human shields.



The bombardment came hours after an estimated 20,000 civilians arrived in Zaporizhzhia, the first port of call for those fleeing Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages which allow civilians to leave Ukraine.



Vladimir Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on the city near overnight, hitting a railway station, though there were no reports of casualties, the regional governor Oleksander Vasylyovych said in an announcement on Facebook.



Russian forces in Mariupol have rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.



Aid agencies have warned Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, since heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating, and food running short.



And Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces.



Three loud explosions were heard in western parts of the capital just before dawn, partially destroying the top corner of one building, damaging and scorching the other as thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.



Battles continue to rage in cities like Mariupol, Kharkhiv and Mykolaiv, as well as in suburban towns just outside Kyiv overnight nearly three weeks after Putin ordered an all out invasion of its western neighbour.



Taking Mariupol, which is situated 34miles (55km) from Russia's border, would mark a strategic breakthrough for Russian President Putin.



The city lies between territory held by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region and the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014 and from where it has launched its assault on key southern towns.



Ukraine on Wednesday demanded guarantees that international forces will 'prevent attacks' in the future and rejected Russia's proposal for Kyiv to become 'neutral' like Austria or Sweden as peace talks to end the war continued.



'Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. As a result, the model can only be "Ukrainian" and only on legally verified security guarantees,' its top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in comments published by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.



He called for a legally binding security agreement, signed by international partners, who would 'not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today.'





The Kremlin earlier Wednesday said that a neutral Ukraine along the lines of Sweden or Austria was being discussed at talks with Kyiv to end three weeks of fighting in Ukraine.



'This is an option that is being discussed now and that can be considered as a compromise,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.



His comments came after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said neutrality was taking centre stage at the talks and that Moscow and Kyiv were 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement on neutrality.



Zelensky, speaking in his early morning address on Wednesday, had said that peace talks with Russia were sounding 'more realistic' and that a deal could be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Moscow's forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Killed in cold blood: Putin's troops slay ten Ukrainians queuing for bread as drone video shows civilian 'shot dead by Russian soldiers after holding up his hands in surrender'


Footage posted online shows corpses lying in the street after they were shot dead by Russian armed forces

US Embassy in Kyiv condemned the 'horrific' attack in a statement on Twitter and said the assaults 'must stop'

Other video from Kyiv purports to show a civilian being gunned down despite raising both hands to surrender

Moscow has started shelling Zaporizhzhia, where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol

Vladimir Putin was officially declared a war criminal by the US Senate on Tuesday evening, the 21st day of war

Ukraine rejected Russian proposal to become 'neutral' like Sweden, requested future international protection

By DAVID AVERRE and LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 09:23 EDT, 16 March 2022 | UPDATED: 14:36 EDT, 16 March 2022


Vladimir Putin's troops have slain ten Ukrainian civilians while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv - the latest in a string of incidents which, if confirmed, would constitute war crimes.



It comes after drone footage emerged which purported to show Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian as he held his hands up to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.



Footage from Chernihiv, which was published by Ukrainian website Public, shows the lifeless bodies of ten people sprawled on the street after they were executed in cold blood.





Ukraine's prosecutor general confirmed in a statement the attack by Russian forces who 'fired at people standing in line for bread near a grocery store.' Head of the regional administration Vyacheslav Chaus, speaking on Ukrainian television, confirmed 'ten civilians were killed'.



'This is not the first such incoming shell [in the city] nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy. The Russians are shelling and destroying mostly civilian infrastructure in the city of Chernihiv and other cities in the region,' Chaus said.



The US Embassy in Kyiv condemned the attack in a statement on Twitter. 'Such horrific attacks must stop,' it read. 'We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine.'



Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine but it comes after two residential apartment blocks in west Kyiv were hit in shelling overnight.



And Moscow's men started pounding the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia hours after around 20,000 refugees arrived through a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol.



Reports also emerged overnight that Russian forces in Mariupol had rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and were refusing to let them leave in a bid to use civilians as human shields.



Battles continued to rage in cities like Mariupol, Kharkhiv and Mykolaiv, as well as in suburban towns just outside Kyiv on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after Putin ordered an all out invasion of its western neighbour.



The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict topped three million this week, according to the UN whose human rights body said 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 injured, thought it has acknowledged those numbers were likely an undercount.



Vladimir Putin was last night unanimously declared a war criminal in a vote late Tuesday night by the US Senate, which called for an investigation into the Russian president and his authoritarian regime amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Continued at the link

[Shoshanna]

“Ukraine is a Done Deal. It’s Flattened and They Lost” – Steve Harrigan from FOX News Upon Return from Ukraine

By Joe Hoft

Published March 14, 2022 at 7:45pm


FOX News reporter Steve Harrigan was on America’s Newsroom on FOX News this morning and he discussed his perceptions of Ukraine after returning from there recently.


Mediaite reported on Harrigan’s discussion on FOX:



Fox News reporter Steve Harrigan returned from Ukraine with a grim message about the future of Ukraine, but also a prediction that the Russian people “are going to rise up” and overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin.



“I think Putin is being bled. And he will be bled for years and it will take years. Maybe the oligarchs who are making as much money will hurt. Maybe the Russian people will rise up,” said Harrigan on America’s Newsroom on Monday. “I think for me, Ukraine is a done deal. It’s flattened and they lost. But the next story, I think, is Russia. The Russian people are going to rise up and throw this guy out.”


Co-host Julie Banderas, filling in for Dana Perino, asked Harrigan if he forecasts a coup and whether it’s “too late” for that.



“You know what, I think this is a long-term tragedy,” he replied. “We’re watching people get slaughtered. And we’re going to watch it for years to come.”



Since Russia invaded Ukraine 19 days ago, apartment buildings, hospitals and other civilian centers have been targeted. Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine in what has been Europe’s greatest refugee crisis since World War II. The United States and its allies, including in NATO, have made condemnations of Russia and have given military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.



Here is Harrigan’s interview:

Continued at link

[ExquisiteGerbil]

Russia is using secret 'decoy dart' missiles - which they have refused to export to stop the West reverse-engineering them – to strike Ukrainian targets


Iskander-M missiles are 'shot' through rocket launchers in Russia and Belarus

These powerful warheads can destroy big buildings and some fortified facilities

Darts are then used to fool Ukranian air defence so munitions land, its claimed

This works using heat-seeking and radar technology to confuse ground forces

By CHARLOTTE MCLAUGHLIN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 16:10 EDT, 15 March 2022 | UPDATED: 17:55 EDT, 15 March 2022


Russia is using secret 'decoy dart' missiles - which they have refused to export to stop the West reverse-engineering them – to strike Ukrainian targets, US intelligence has claimed.



Mobile rocket launchers in Russia and Belarus are believed to be shooting Moscow's Iskander-M missiles while deploying decoy systems to fool Ukrainian air defence.



These dart-shaped armaments, originally thought to be cluster bombs, have been seen on social media from almost the beginning of Russia's invasion.


To hit key targets, the Russian military use Iskander missiles that have a range of up to 500 kilometers, around 300 miles, and carry a much more powerful warhead that can destroy big buildings and some fortified facilities.



The darts protect the Iskander rockets from air defence missiles by using heat-seeking and radar technology to fool defence systems, a U.S. intelligence officer claims according to the New York Times .



They confirmed the darts used, and pictured, work with the Iskander missiles.



Continued at link

[schwartzie]

Ukraine claims ‘serious blow’ to Russia with ‘liquidation’ of another top general

By Lee Brown

March 16, 2022 9:30am Updated

Horrific drone footage reveals the extent of destruction in Mariupol




Ukraine has killed another Russian general in a further “serious blow to the morale” of the invading forces, a government adviser said Wednesday.



Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev died Tuesday during the storming of Ukraine’s most devastated city, Mariupol, according to Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko — who later posted a photo of the body.



Mityaev would be at least the fourth general killed during the invasion, which Kremlin officials are reportedly calling a complete “clusterf–k.’’



Premature babies who were left behind by their parents lie in a bed in a hospital in Mariupol on March 15, 2022.

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka


Mityaev, 46, commanded the 150th Motorized Rifle Division and had fought in Syria, Gerashchenko said, saying his body was found with “the shoulder straps of a major general.”



He was “one of the most promising and iconic Russian military leaders,” claimed Gerashchenko as he celebrated “the liquidation of the general.”



“This is a serious blow to the morale of Russian commanders. And the huge success of the Heroes of Mariupol,” the Ukrainian official wrote.


Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

‘Survivors begin to emerge’ from Mariupol theatre hit by Russian airstrike after bomb shelter withstood explosion that left people trapped beneath rubble


Rescuers are searching for survivors in the ruins of a theatre ripped apart by a Russian air strike yesterday

Up to 1,200 civilians were sheltering in the centre, which had been branded with the word 'children' in Russian

There have been no reports of deaths. There were conflicting reports about whether survivors had emerged

Meanwhile, video emerged of civilians inside the theatre shelter in the days before the devastating air strike

It showed people on camp beds in the basement of the building, and others boarding up the windows

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova repeated denials Moscow's forces targeted civilians

She branded the bombing of a theatre in Mariupol on Wednesday 'a lie' - as rescuers race to save any survivors

US President Joe Biden branded Putin a war criminal over the attack, which Kyiv said constituted a war crime

By NICK FAGGE IN UKRAINE and CHRIS JEWERS and LAUREN LEWIS and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:23 EDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 19:30 EDT, 17 March 2022



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Survivors have begun to emerge from the ruins of a theatre in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol this evening, one official has said, after its bomb shelter withstood the Russian air strike yesterday that ripped the building apart and trapped people beneath the rubble.



Hundreds of civilians had been living in the grand, columned theatre in the city centre after their homes were destroyed in the three weeks of fighting in the strategic port city since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded.



After Russia's bombs hit the theatre, the central part of the building collapsed, burying large numbers of people under rubble, Ukrainian officials said. The debris also blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located inside.





Nearly a day after the air strike, there were no reports of deaths, but many are fearing the worst.



As Ukraine held it's breath for more news on the attack, haunting footage was released showing people - men, women and children - taking shelter inside the theatre in the days before the air strike.



The displaced families were shown boarding up windows and sleeping on camp beds in the basement, clutching the few belongings they could take with them when they fled their homes.



One woman, wrapped in a winter coat and woolly hat and holding a hot drink in one hand, was shown smiling at the camera - despite the dire situation. Candles and camp lights illuminated the rooms.



With intense street fighting cutting off much of the city from the flow of information, there were conflicting reports about whether survivors had emerged from the rubble.



Ukraine's ombudswoman Ludmyla Denisova offered hope, saying that the shelter had withstood the impact of the airstrike, and that the rescue of civilians from under the rubble is underway.



'The building withstood the impact of a high-powered air bomb and protected the lives of people hiding in the bomb shelter,' she said on the messaging service Telegram on Thursday.



'Work is underway to unlock the basement' and surviving adults and children are coming out, she wrote. She said there is no information on casualties so far.



But an update from Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor's office, was not as clear.



'We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theatre could survive,' he said, adding that the building had a relatively modern basement bomb shelter designed to withstand air strikes.



Satellite imagery on Monday from Maxar technology showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the theatre spelling out 'Children' in Russian - 'Deti' - to alert warplanes to those inside. It was hit anyway.



The strike against the theatre was part of a furious bombardment of civilian sites in multiple cities over the past few days. In the northern city of Chernihiv, at least 53 people had been brought to morgues over the past 24 hours, and at least 15 were killed when Russian artillery destroyed a school and a community centre in Merefa.



Earlier today, Russia continued to lie through its teeth claiming that the Kremlin's forces 'don't bomb cities' and dismissing the Mariupol theatre bombing as a 'lie'.



Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, speaking in a briefing from Moscow, repeated claims that Moscow's forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population.

Privacy Policy Feedback

Thursday, Mar 17th 2022 7PM 60°F 10PM 55°F 5-Day Forecast

‘Survivors begin to emerge’ from Mariupol theatre hit by Russian airstrike after bomb shelter withstood explosion that left people trapped beneath rubble

Rescuers are searching for survivors in the ruins of a theatre ripped apart by a Russian air strike yesterday

Up to 1,200 civilians were sheltering in the centre, which had been branded with the word 'children' in Russian

There have been no reports of deaths. There were conflicting reports about whether survivors had emerged

Meanwhile, video emerged of civilians inside the theatre shelter in the days before the devastating air strike

It showed people on camp beds in the basement of the building, and others boarding up the windows

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova repeated denials Moscow's forces targeted civilians

She branded the bombing of a theatre in Mariupol on Wednesday 'a lie' - as rescuers race to save any survivors

US President Joe Biden branded Putin a war criminal over the attack, which Kyiv said constituted a war crime

By NICK FAGGE IN UKRAINE and CHRIS JEWERS and LAUREN LEWIS and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:23 EDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 19:30 EDT, 17 March 2022



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1k

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439



View comments

Survivors have begun to emerge from the ruins of a theatre in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol this evening, one official has said, after its bomb shelter withstood the Russian air strike yesterday that ripped the building apart and trapped people beneath the rubble.



Hundreds of civilians had been living in the grand, columned theatre in the city centre after their homes were destroyed in the three weeks of fighting in the strategic port city since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded.



After Russia's bombs hit the theatre, the central part of the building collapsed, burying large numbers of people under rubble, Ukrainian officials said. The debris also blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located inside.





Nearly a day after the air strike, there were no reports of deaths, but many are fearing the worst.



As Ukraine held it's breath for more news on the attack, haunting footage was released showing people - men, women and children - taking shelter inside the theatre in the days before the air strike.



The displaced families were shown boarding up windows and sleeping on camp beds in the basement, clutching the few belongings they could take with them when they fled their homes.



One woman, wrapped in a winter coat and woolly hat and holding a hot drink in one hand, was shown smiling at the camera - despite the dire situation. Candles and camp lights illuminated the rooms.



With intense street fighting cutting off much of the city from the flow of information, there were conflicting reports about whether survivors had emerged from the rubble.



Ukraine's ombudswoman Ludmyla Denisova offered hope, saying that the shelter had withstood the impact of the airstrike, and that the rescue of civilians from under the rubble is underway.



'The building withstood the impact of a high-powered air bomb and protected the lives of people hiding in the bomb shelter,' she said on the messaging service Telegram on Thursday.



'Work is underway to unlock the basement' and surviving adults and children are coming out, she wrote. She said there is no information on casualties so far.



But an update from Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor's office, was not as clear.



'We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theatre could survive,' he said, adding that the building had a relatively modern basement bomb shelter designed to withstand air strikes.



Satellite imagery on Monday from Maxar technology showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the theatre spelling out 'Children' in Russian - 'Deti' - to alert warplanes to those inside. It was hit anyway.



The strike against the theatre was part of a furious bombardment of civilian sites in multiple cities over the past few days. In the northern city of Chernihiv, at least 53 people had been brought to morgues over the past 24 hours, and at least 15 were killed when Russian artillery destroyed a school and a community centre in Merefa.



Earlier today, Russia continued to lie through its teeth claiming that the Kremlin's forces 'don't bomb cities' and dismissing the Mariupol theatre bombing as a 'lie'.



Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, speaking in a briefing from Moscow, repeated claims that Moscow's forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Scores feared dead as Putin bombs 'hundreds' of sheltering families: Biden brands Russian leader a 'war criminal' after theatre packed with 'up to 1,200' terrified civilians is destroyed - despite having CHILDREN written outside


Russian forces bombed the Mariupol Drama Theatre where civilians, including children, were sheltering

Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in attack because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city

Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word 'children' written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the theatre building in an apparent effort to stave off any attack by Putin's forces

Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians on Wednesday

At least 10 civilians gunned down by Russian troops while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv

The strikes on civilians drew strong condemnation from the West, with US President Joe Biden for the first time describing Putin as a war criminal

By RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 14:26 EDT, 16 March 2022 | UPDATED: 05:41 EDT, 17 March 2022


Scores of people are feared dead after Russian forces last night bombed a theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in the encircled port city of Mariupol, the city council said.



Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those trapped in the rubble.



Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word 'children' written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the theatre building, where up to 1,200 civilians are believed to have been sheltering, in an apparent effort to stave off any attack by Vladimir Putin's forces.


But two days later, Russian forces bombed the theatre where hundreds - including sick children and women - were sheltering.



The targeting of civilians drew strong condemnation, with US President Joe Biden for the first time branding Putin as a war criminal and Ukraine saying the attack was a war crime.



After Russia's bombs hit the theatre, the central part of the building collapsed, burying large numbers of people under rubble, Ukrainian officials said. The debris also blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located inside the building.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy condemned the attack on the theatre, saying: 'My heart is broken because of what Russia does with our people.'



Petro Andruishchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said the theatre was the city's largest shelter 'in number and size'. He told CNN: 'More than a thousand people were hiding there but the probability of getting there to dismantle the rubble is low due to constant shelling and bombing of the city.'



The number of people inside the theatre at the bombing is currently unknown. Ukrainian authorities said as many as 1,200 civilians had sought refuge in the building, while Human Rights Watch said the theatre had been housing at least 500 civilians.



Last week, footage showed scores of people - mainly women and children - sheltering inside the theatre. 'There are so many children,' a volunteer told the Times. 'All the children have a fever, I don't know what to do. Help us.'



Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine. But there have been repeated attacks on residential areas by Putin's forces, with three people killed and five wounded after Russian shelling on Wednesday in Kharkiv.



Putin faced further allegations of war crimes on Wednesday after video of an attack that was later confirmed by Ukraine's prosecutor general showed at least 10 civilians gunned down while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv.



Ukraine's prosecutor general confirmed in a statement the attack by Russian forces who 'fired at people standing in line for bread near a grocery store.' While new drone footage appeared to show Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian as he held his hands up to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.



Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians, including children, on Wednesday after earlier strikes targeted a nearby hub for displaced people. It is not yet known how many were killed in the shelling but an image from the scene showed a burnt out car, with a damaged door blown open.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Ukrainian man breaks down beside the body of his mother killed by artillery strike on a Kyiv apartment block as Putin's hands are stained with blood once more


Russian missile shot down over Kyiv early Thursday, but pieces hit an apartment, causing extensive damage

One woman was killed, and her son was later seen weeping over her body laid out in the street

Putin is increasingly relying on shelling cities after attacks ground to a halt

Civilian death toll is unclear, but Ukraine believes thousands have been killed during the bombardments

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:48 EDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 10:25 EDT, 17 March 2022


In a carpark strewn with broken glass, a man huddles over a bloodstained sheet - weeping. Underneath it is the body of his mother, killed in a Russian airstrike. Behind him, three people help an elderly lady on to the pavement. They don't look over.



This is Kyiv, on the 21st day of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.



With the Russian army fought to a standstill on all fronts, Moscow's generals are relying on the indiscriminate shelling of major cities to project and image of strength which is slaughtering innocents in the process.


One missile, fired at the capital early Thursday, was shot down by Ukrainian air defences. That likely prevented further carnage. but could not stop pieces of the rocket slamming into an apartment block - killing the man's mother and wounding dozens of others.



It came as the city, which has now been under bombardment for days, emerged from a 36-hour curfew. Fighting continues in the outskirts to the east and northwest as Russian troops try and fail to push inwards.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russian soldier leaps out of his tank as it is blown to pieces in ambush: Videos show how Ukrainian resistance continues, with devastating attacks on armoured vehicles


Two videos show Ukrainian soldiers ambushing Russian troops with strikes

The first, in Mariupol, shows a Russian tank coming under aerial bombardment

Multiple missiles make direct-hits on the tank as Russian soldiers tried to escape

One Russian soldier was able to narrowly escape death between the strikes

In a second video, a Russian personnel carrier is broadsided by rocket in Kharkiv

The rocket was fired by a Ukrainian soldier just yards from the vehicle

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:58 EDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 13:14 EDT, 17 March 2022


This is the extraordinary moment a Russian soldier leapt from his tank after it came under aerial bombardment from Ukrainian anti-tank missiles - as Kyiv's forces continue to resist Putin's forces.



Two separate clips recorded in recent days in the besieged cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv have shown Russian military vehicles being ambushed.



In the first video, Ukraine's Azov Battalion launched artillery strikes on a Russian tank in Mariupol, killing at least one soldier and destroying the vehicle.





The second video showed a Ukrainian soldier lying in wait for a Russian personnel carrier driving through Kharkiv, broadsiding the truck with a rocket from close range.



In the Mariupol attack, one Russian soldier was able to cheat death by fleeing the vehicle between strikes, one of which narrowly missed him by a matter of yards.



The tank was struck directly at least five times, with missiles also hitting close to the Z-branded Russian hardware - throwing the desperate operator to the floor as he ran for his life.

Continued at the link

[maybetoday]

Russia is facing 'unprecedented' cyber attacks with Aeroflot and major bank among websites hacked, Kremlin admits

Russian government websites have been hacked as huge cyber attacks continue

Crashes are said to be 'two to three times' more severe than previous outages

Affected sites include big lender Sberbank and state-owned firms like Aeroflot

Moscow is now rushing through legislation to protect its flailing IT sector

By REUTERS and ADAM SOLOMONS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:20 EDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 06:16 EDT, 17 March 2022


Russian government websites including the Kremlin's own have been hit by unprecedented cyber attacks, with desperate efforts made to filter foreign web traffic.



State entities and Kremlin-owned companies have been targeted since the start of the war in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported via the digital ministry on Thursday.



Flagship carrier Aeroflot and major lender Sberbank are among those which have seen outages or temporary access issues in recent weeks.

Desperate refugees sheltering in the Mariupol Drama Theatre (centre) were targeted by air strikes despite writing 'children' in Russian on the pavement outside the building



It follows vicious air strikes on Ukrainian cities including Mariupol, where refugees were targeted despite desperate graffiti warning there were 'children' inside.





Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those trapped in the rubble.



Up to 1,200 are estimated to have been sheltering inside.



Meanwhile, Moscow's digital ministry said it is working to adjust to the new cyber conditions as attacks ratchet up.



The ministry was working to adjust to the new conditions, it said, as cyber attacks ratchet up.



'If previously their power at peak moments reached 500 gigabytes, then now it is at 1 terabyte,' the ministry said.



'That is two to three times more powerful than the most serious incidents of this kind that have been previously reported.'

Continued with pictures at link

[maybetoday]

'Mother of 12' is killed on Ukrainian frontline: Heroic combat medic, 48, left her six children and six MORE adopted orphans to help repel Putin's invasion

Medic Olga Semidyanova, 48, was killed in a gun battle near Donetsk on March 3

Her family say they have been unable to collect her body due to ongoing hostility

Olga has served in the army since 2014 and died from a wound to the stomach

By KATIE FEEHAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 20:39 EDT, 16 March 2022 | UPDATED: 20:41 EDT, 16 March 2022


Tributes have been paid to a combat medic and mother who was killed battling Russian troops in Ukraine.



Olga Semidyanova was fatally injured during a firefight in the city of near Donetsk in the south of the country and it was reported the 48-year-old continued fighting after much of her unit had been killed.



According to Ms Semidyanova's family, she was killed by a shot to her stomach but her body has yet to be recovered because of continued fighting in the area which has left her family distraught.

Continued at link

[shalom]

Russia-Ukraine war: Russian casualties near 14,200 - Ukraine

Russia has established a no-fly zone over Ukraine's Donbas region * At least 816 civilians killed in Ukraine since conflict began, UN says.

By REUTERS, AARON REICH Published: MARCH 18, 2022 07:16

Updated: MARCH 18, 2022 21:57



Russian missiles struck destroyed an airplane maintenance plant near the airport of Ukraine's western city of Lviv on Friday, its mayor Andriy Sadovy said as the Russian invasion continued into its 23rd day.



Black smoke rises over Lviv as mayor reports strike by Russian rockets, March 18, 2022 (credit: Reuters).

Speaking on Facebook, the mayor first stressed that what was struck was "definitely not the airport" and urged people to not share photos of the targeted area.


Later, he clarified that the repair plant was struck and destroyed in the attack.



There were no fatalities, however, as the site's work had already stopped. However, one person was injured in the attack, according to the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Interfax reported.

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

Hell in Mariupol: Chechen special forces fight house-to-house in city while 'hundreds' of women and children are still trapped in rubble of destroyed theatre as one woman who escaped describes horror of watching people bleed to death in the streets


Mariupol has been under heavy Russian shelling for three weeks, as Putin's troops move into the battered city

Rescue workers are trying to free 'hundreds' of people thought to be trapped under the rubble of a theater

Survivors who managed to flee told of people being left to bleed to death in the streets due to lack of medics

Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv also came under bombardment today as Russia relies on long-range strikes to batter Ukrainian forces and terrorise civilians, with its offensive stalled 'on all fronts'

Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov released video of Chechen special forces fighting house-to-house in city

By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:56 EDT, 18 March 2022 | UPDATED: 23:08 EDT, 18 March 2022


Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders.



Video said to have been released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers.



The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians.


The footage emerged as hundreds of people were still feared trapped under the rubble of a theatre in the devastated city. Evacuees have also told of the 'hell' they have been subjected to at the hands of Vladimir Putin's men.



Russian troops have now reached the city centre and civilians remain hiding in bunkers while fighters battle on the streets.



Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said: 'Tanks and machine gun battles continue. There's no city centre left. There isn't a small piece of land in the city that doesn't have signs of war.']



Nick Osychenko, the CEO of a Mariupol TV station, said that as he fled the city with six members of his family, aged between 4 and 61, he saw dead bodies on nearly every block.



'We were careful and didn't want the children to see the bodies, so we tried to shield their eyes,' he said. 'We were nervous the whole journey. It was frightening, just frightening.'



Serhiy Taruta, a Ukrainian politician, said that around 130 people had been rescued from the theatre but hundreds of others are unaccounted for - possibly buried under rubble in one part of the bomb shelter, and cannot be evacuated because rescue services have been destroyed by Russian troops.



'No one understands. Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services... are physically destroyed. A lot of doctors have been killed. This means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theater, or have already died,' he wrote on Facebook.



Ukraine war: The latest

Russian forces destroy an aircraft repair plant near Lviv airport. The city is just 45 miles from the border with NATO member Poland

President Biden will warn his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of 'costs' if Beijing helps Russia in its invasion of Ukraine in a call today

Putin accuses Ukrainian authorities of stalling talks, but added that Moscow is ready to search for solutions as he speaks with German Chancellor Scholz

Antony Blinken says he believes Russia is guilty of war crimes over attacks on Ukrainian civilians

The European Union issues a statement accusing Moscow of 'serious violations and war crimes'

Russia cancels plans for a UN security vote on a 'humanitarian' resolution over Ukraine, after allies fail to line up in support

Russian troops and their separatist allies are fighting in the centre of Mariupol, Moscow says

Britain's broadcasting regulator revokes the licence of Russia's state-funded television channel RT

US House of Representatives votes to suspend Russia's 'most favoured nation' trade status, tightening the Western chokehold on Moscow's economy

Poland's border guards say that more than two million refugees have crossed since fighting broke out

Canada announces it is offering Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion temporary residence permit for up to three years





Dmytro Gurin, a Ukrainian MP from Mariupol, told the BBC that some people have managed to evacuate but that others are trapped in the shelter and rescuers are struggling to reach them because Russian troops continue to shell it. A rescue mission is underway, he insisted.



Meanwhile survivors of the siege who managed to flee described the city as 'hell', saying that people are being left to bleed or burn to death in the streets because doctors cannot reach them and hospitals have been destroyed, with the bodies covered by a thin layer of soil in makeshift burials.



Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that its troops have now entered the city and are fighting in the centre, amid fears that it could soon fall into Putin's hands after three weeks of shelling weakened the defences. If the city does fall, it will be the largest captured so-far - albeit at the cost of near-totally destroying it.



Svitlana Zlenko, who said she left the city with her son on Tuesday this week, described how she spent days sheltering in a school building - melting snow to cook pasta to eat while living in constant terror of Russian bombs which flew overhead 'every day and every night'.



She described how a bomb hit the school last week, wounding a woman in the hip with a piece of shrapnel. 'She was lying on the first floor of the high school all night and prayed for poison so that she would not feel pain,' Svitlana said. '[She] was taken by the Red Cross within a day, I pray to God she is well.'



She added: 'There is no food, no medicine, if there is no snow with such urban fights, people will not be able to go out to get water, people have no water left. Pharmacies, grocery stores - everything is robbed or burned.



'The dead are not taken out. Police recommend to the relatives of those who died of a natural death, to open the windows and lay the bodies on the balcony. I know you think you understand, but you will never understand unless you were there. I pray that this will not happen again in any of the cities of Ukraine, or of the world.'



Despite the pleas, shelling was well underway in other Ukrainian cities on Friday - with Lviv, in the west of the country, the capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv, in the east, coming under fire.



The war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin ground into its fourth week as his troops have failed to take Kyiv - a major objective in their hopes of forcing a settlement or dictating the country's future political alignments.



But back home in Moscow, Putin today gave a tub-thumping speech to tens of thousands of banner-waving Russians in an attempt to drum up support for his stalled invasion.

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