War In Ukraine: Putin Is Going For Broke
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb 24, 2022, Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine.svg (Attribution: Viewsridge, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en, Presented at: WindermereSun.com)
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Russia activated sleeper cells or commando units to carry out attacks on Ukrainian positions deep behind the front lines in the early hours of the morning, soldiers told The Telegraph on Feb 24, 2022. Troops at Kramatorsk airbase told The Telegraph they came under fire from mortars believed to have been fired from inside the Ukrainian-held town moments before Russia’s air campaign began. The mortars, which landed at around 04:40, were the first rounds in a bombardment that struck the military airfield, a key Ukrainian command post, just before Russian President Vladimir Putin made his speech declaring war in the early hours of the morning, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Ukrainian soldiers on front line reveal how Russian invasion started| Kramatorsk dispatch“, below:
Ukrainian sources have reported Russian forces entering the country from multiple directions since Moscow launched an invasion of the country early Thursday morning, including from across the Russian border to the east, from the sea to the south and entering from Belarus to the north, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “War in Ukraine: Where has Russia attacked so far? – FRANCE 24 English“, below:
Military expert Professor Michael Clarke examines how the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfolded, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Analysis: Putin is ‘going for broke‘”, below:
Ukraine’s Prime Minister says Chernobyl is now under the control of Russian forces. The nuclear plant is just 80 miles from the capital Kyiv and the fall followed a fight with Ukrainian forces. It was the site of of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “BREAKING: Russian troops take control of Chernobyl nuclear plant“, below:
Ukraine’s Prime Minister says Chernobyl is now under the control of Russian forces. Ukrainian authorities say there have been 203 attacks carried out by Russian forces today – with fighting going on across the country. Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in at least five confirmed incidents of fatalities which include troops and civilians. It is now a full invasion of the entire Ukraine (North, East, as well as South).
Excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, below:
24 February
Shortly before 04:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 24 February, Putin announced that he had made the decision to launch a military operation in eastern Ukraine.[143][144][145] In his address, Putin claimed there were no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and claimed he supported the right of the peoples of Ukraine to self-determination.[143] Putin also stated that Russia sought the “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine—the latter a claim that CNN called “baseless”[146][147]—and urged the Ukrainian service people to lay down their arms and go to their homes.[148][149][150] In light of a request by the Russian Ministry of Defence asking air traffic control units of Ukraine to stop flights, airspace over Ukraine has been restricted to non-civilian air traffic, with the whole area being deemed an active conflict zone by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).[151]
Within minutes of Putin’s announcement, explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and the Donbas.[152] Ukrainian officials said that Russia landed troops in Mariupol and launched cruise and ballistic missiles at airfields, military headquarters, and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.[153][154][155] Military vehicles entered Ukraine through Senkivka at the point where Ukraine meets Belarus and Russia around 6:48 a.m. local time.[156] Video captured Russian troops entering Ukraine from Russian-annexed Crimea.[157][158] US senator Marco Rubio, the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, claimed that Russia’s initial objectives were to establish air superiority, launch a pincer movement from Belarus and Crimea to cut off Ukrainian ground forces in the east from Kyiv, and decapitate the Ukrainian government via attacks on buildings, leaders, and command and control systems.[159]
According to Ukrainian Minister of State Anton Herashchenko just after 06:30 UTC+2, Russian forces were invading via land near the city of Kharkiv[160] and large-scale amphibious landings were reported at the city of Mariupol.[161][162][163] At 07:40, the BBC cited other sources in saying that troops were also entering the country from Belarus.[164] The Ukrainian Border Force reported attacks on sites in Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr, as well as from Crimea.[165] The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed no resistance by Ukrainian border forces.[166] The Ukrainian interior ministry reported Russian forces captured the villages of Horodyshche and Milove in Luhansk.[163] The Ukrainian Centre of strategic communications and strategic security reported that the Ukrainian army beat off an attack near Shchastia (near Luhansk) and took back control of the town, claiming nearly 50 casualties from the Russian side.[167]
After being offline for an hour, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s website was restored. The Ministry claimed that it had shot down five planes and one helicopter in Luhansk.[168] Shortly before 07:00 (UTC+2), President Zelenskyy announced the introduction of martial law in Ukraine.[169] Later he ordered the Ukrainian Army to “inflict maximum losses” to the invaders.[170] Zelenskyy also announced that diplomatic relations with Russia were being severed, effective immediately.[171] Russian missiles targeted Ukrainian infrastructure, including hitting the Kyiv Boryspil airport. Ukraine closed its air space for civilian flights.[172]
A military unit in Podilsk was attacked by Russian forces, resulting in six deaths and seven wounded. Nineteen more people were also reported missing.[173] Another person was killed in the city of Mariupol. A house in Chuhuiv was damaged by Russian artillery; its occupants were injured and one boy died.[174][175] Eighteen people were killed by Russian bombing in the village of Lipetske (Odesa Oblast).[175]
At 10:00 (UTC+2), it was reported during the briefing of the Ukrainian presidential administration that Russian troops invaded Ukraine from the north (up to 5 km deep). Russian troops were said to be active in Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, near Sumy.[176] Zelenskyy’s press service also reported that Ukraine repulsed an attack in Volyn Oblast.[177] At 10:30 (UTC+2), the Ukrainian defence ministry reported that Russian troops in Chernihiv Oblast had been stopped, a major battle near Kharkiv was in progress, and Mariupol and Shchastia had been fully reclaimed.[178] It was reported that 6 Russian planes, 2 helicopters and dozens of armoured vehicles were destroyed.[178] Russia denied having lost any aircraft or armoured vehicles.[179] Ukrainian commander in chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi published photos of 2 captured Russian soldiers saying they were from the Russian 423rd Guards Yampolsky Motor Rifle Regiment (military unit 91701).[180] Russian airborne troops seized the Antonov International Airport in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, after being transported by helicopters early in the morning; a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture the airport was launched later in the day.[181][182]
Belarus gave its territory to Russian troops to invade Ukraine from the north: at 11:00 (UTC+2), Ukrainian border guards reported a border breach in Vilcha (Kyiv Oblast), and border guards in Zhytomyr Oblast were bombarded by MLRS (presumably BM-21 Grad).[175] It was also reported that a helicopter without markings bombed Slavutych border guards position from Belarus.[183] At 11:30 (UTC+2) a second wave of Russian missile bombings began on Ukraine: among the targeted cities were Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv and Lviv. Heavy ground fighting were reported in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.[184] Civil rights activists in Poland have reported an increase in the crossing of migrants from Belarus to Poland.[185] Belarus is considered by observers to be taking orders from Russia and using migrants at the Polish-Belarus border as a weapon (see also 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis).[186]
At 13:00 and 13:19 (UTC+2), Ukrainian border guards and Armed Forces reported two new clashes—near Sumy (“in the direction of Konotop“) and Starobilsk (Luhansk Oblast).[175] At 13:32 (UTC+2), Valerii Zaluzhnyi reported four ballistic missiles launched from the territory of Belarus in the southwestern direction.[175] Several stations of Kyiv Metro and Kharkiv Metro were used as bomb shelters for the local population.[175] A local hospital in Vuhledar (Donetsk Oblast) was reported to have been bombed with four civilians dead and 10 wounded (including 6 physicians).[175] Ukrainian border guards reported that two Russian ships Vasily Bykov (Project 22160 patrol ship) and Moskva attacked and tried to capture the small Snake Island near the Danube Delta.[175] At 16:00 (UTC+2) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces had erupted in the ghost cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat.[187]Meanwhile, Russian troops advancing from Crimea were reported to have established control over the North Crimean Canal.[188] At 18:20 (UTC+2) it was confirmed by Ukrainian officials that ChNPP had fallen under the control of the Russians.[189][190]
At 16:18 (UTC+2), the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, proclaimed a curfew lasting from 22:00 to 7:00.[191]
At approximately 19:40 (UTC+2) multiple Ukrainian government sources reported that Russian forces had gained control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant and surrounding areas.[192][193][194][195]
Unfounded accusations of genocide, comparisons to the Nazis and a chilling warning to Ukraine’s allies: A closer look at Russian president Vladimir’s address early Thursday morning in which he announced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Ukraine: The speech that launched war in Europe – FRANCE 24 English“, below:
Russian helicopters have attacked Hostomel, a military airport near the capital of Kyiv, and Ukraine downed a number of them, Ukrainian officials have said, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Russian helicopters fly close to Kyiv after an airport attack“, below:
Long lines of cars jammed the road leading outside Kyiv and residents massed at the railway station as Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Ukrainians flee the country as Russia launches wide-ranging attack“, below:
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin joined Vladmir Duthiers and Anne-Marie Green to discuss the Pentagon’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the latest on the region, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “U.S. troops in Poland assist with Ukrainian refugees“, below:
Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Foggo joined CBS News’ Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers with more on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Retired U.S. Navy admiral on Russia attack against Ukraine“, below:
Ukraine’s president says Russian forces are trying to seize Chernobyl’s “exclusion zone,” and that Ukrainians are giving their lives to avoid another disaster there, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Russia launches attack on Ukraine“, below:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukrainians who were able to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, and said Kyiv would issue weapons to anyone who wanted to use them to defend the country’s sovereignty, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls on citizens to take up arms for ‘future of Ukraine“, below:
In a tense exchange with the Russian ambassador, Ukraine’s representative to the United Nations has told the security council that Russian president Vladimir Putin has ‘declared war on Ukraine’, in the video published on Feb 24, 2022, “Tense exchange between Ukraine and Russia at UN security council“, below:
The head of Russia’s spy service has a tense exchange with Vladimir Putin during a security meeting about the Russian-controlled territories in east Ukraine, in the video published on Feb 22, 2022, “‘Speak directly!’: Putin has tense exchange with his chief spy“, below:
One of the Russia’s top spy chiefs was pressed by President Vladimir Putin to clarify what he was saying and to speak clearly, in a meeting on the recognition of rebel-held Ukraine states, in the video published on Feb 23, 2022, “Vladimir Putin dresses down Russia’s spy chief – BBC News“, below:
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