Thread: Russia launches Ukraine invasion

Ukraine: Lage an der Front – Angriff auf Kinderkrankenhaus in Mariupol - WELT

Ukraine: Lage an der Front – Angriff auf Kinderkrankenhaus in Mariupol - WELT

Attacks on children's hospitals in Mariupol

Russia has admitted using thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, says UK

Russia has confirmed it has used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

The MoD said Russia admitted deploying the TOS-1A weapon system, which uses thermobaric rockets.

Also known as vacuum bombs, they suck in oxygen and generate a powerful explosion that can have a devastating impact on victims – especially in an enclosed space.

“The Russian MoD has confirmed the use of the TOS-1A weapon system in Ukraine,” the MoD wrote on Twitter. “The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects.”

The MoD has not said where or when Russia issued the confirmation. A spokesperson could not provide further information when contacted by The Independent.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the US previously claimed Russia used a vacuum bomb on the fifth day of its invasion. Oksana Markarova did not reveal where it was allegedly used.

Earlier, the Pentagon said Russian mobile launchers for thermobaric weapons were spotted inside Ukraine, but could not confirm their use.

Russia has also been accused of firing cluster munitions, which release smaller ‘bomblets’ over a wide area and can lead to mass casualties among civilians in populated areas.

Amnesty International said cluster bombs were used in a Russian attack that killed a child and two adults hiding in a pre-school in northeastern Ukraine.

A second child was wounded in the shelling on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the city of Okhtyrka on 25 February.

Amnesty said the strike may constitute a war crime.

“There is no possible justification for dropping cluster munitions in populated areas, let alone near a school,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s Secretary-General.

More: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-thermobaric-weapons-ukraine-uk-b2032537.html

Hopefully it's Puffy Putin's death throes and will be quick.

Absolutely gut-wrenching. RIP.

‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine

When Russia first invaded Ukraine just over two weeks ago, the near-unanimous global assumption was that it would score a quick and easy military victory over its neighbor to the west.


But now — with the Ukrainians waging a fierce resistance and Russian forces bogged down outside nearly every major city — the Biden administration and its allies say they see no clear end to the military phase of this conflict, according to interviews with 17 administration officials, diplomats, policymakers and experts. The situation seems destined to result in an even deadlier and more protracted slog, wreaking devastation on Ukraine and causing a massive humanitarian crisis.


As the war enters its third week, President Biden and his team are also entering a murkier, more difficult stage of the conflict, where the new challenge is how to control the largely uncontrollable: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his endgame, whatever that may be.


The Biden administration has successfully encouraged NATO and other Western allies to use nearly every available lever of power to sanction and punish Putin, but those efforts so far have had little discernible influence over the Russian president, who has only escalated his military offensive on cities and towns across Ukraine.


Any outcome represents a lose-lose proposition, as even an eventual Russian defeat is likely to leave Ukraine decimated and its European neighbors bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis. So far, the United Nations human rights office reports that 516 civilians in Ukraine — including 37 children — have been killed since Feb. 24, adding that the actual toll is likely much higher. And during that same period, as many as 4,000 Russian troops may have died, a senior U.S. military officer said.

MORE MSN

After Ukraine, Europe wonders who’s next Russian target

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — For some European countries watching Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, there are fears that they could be next.


Western officials say the most vulnerable could be those who aren’t members of NATO or the European Union, and thus alone and unprotected — including Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova and Russia’s neighbor Georgia, both of them formerly part of the Soviet Union — along with the Balkan states of Bosnia and Kosovo.


But analysts warn that even NATO members could be at risk, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Russia’s doorstep, as well as Montenegro, either from Moscow’s direct military intervention or attempts at political destabilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “has said right from the start that this is not only about Ukraine,″ said Michal Baranowski, director of the German Marshall Fund’s Warsaw office.


“He told us what he wants to do when he was listing his demands, which included the change of the government in Kyiv, but he was also talking about the eastern flank of NATO and the rest of Eastern Europe,” Baranowski told The Associated Press in an interview.

As Ukraine puts up stiff resistance to the two-week-old Russian attack, Baranowski said “it’s now not really clear how he’ll carry out his other goals.”


But the Biden administration is acutely aware of deep concerns in Eastern and Central Europe that the war in Ukraine may be just a prelude to broader attacks on former Warsaw Pact members in trying to restore Moscow’s regional dominance.


EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that “Russia is not going to stop in Ukraine.”


“We are concerned for neighbors Moldova, Georgia, and the Western Balkans,” he said. “We have to keep an eye on Western Balks, particularly Bosnia, which could face destabilization by Russia.”


A look at the regional situation:


MOLDOVA


Like its neighbor Ukraine, the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova has a separatist insurgency in its east in the disputed territory known as Trans-Dniester, where 1,500 Russian troops are stationed. Although Moldova is neutral militarily and has no plans to join NATO, it formally applied for EU membership when the Russian invasion began in a quick bid to bolster its ties with the West.


The country of 2.6 million people is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and it’s hosting tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled the war. The invasion has prompted heightened concerns in Moldova not only over the humanitarian crisis, but also because of fears that Putin might try to link the separatists east of the Dniester River with Ukraine via the latter’s strategic port of Odesa.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova last week and pledged: “We stand with Moldova and any other country that may be threatened in the same way.”


Moldovan President Maia Sandu said there was no indication yet the Russian forces in Trans-Dniester had changed their posture, but stressed that the concern was there.


“In this region now there is no possibility for us to feel safe,” Sandu said.


___


GEORGIA


War erupted between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 when Georgian government troops tried unsuccessfully to regain control over the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia. Russia routed the Georgian military in five days of fighting and hundreds were killed. Afterward, Russia recognized South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia, as independent states and bolstered its military presence there.


The government of West-leaning Georgia condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but hasn’t shown the same solidarity that Kyiv displayed during the Georgia-Russia war. Hundreds of Georgian volunteers were stopped by authorities from joining an international brigade fighting Russia in Ukraine.


Georgia’s seemingly neutral stance has turned out thousands in nightly rallies in central Tbilisi in solidarity with Ukraine. Last week, Georgia’s government applied for EU membership just days after declaring it wouldn’t accelerate its application as fears of a Russian invasion grew.


___


THE BALTICS


Memories of Soviet rule are still fresh in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Since the invasion of Ukraine, NATO has moved quickly to boost its troop presence in its eastern flank allies, while Washington has pledged additional support.


To residents of the Baltic nations — particularly those old enough to have lived under Soviet control — the tensions prior to the Feb. 24 invasion recalled the mass deportations and oppression. The three countries were annexed by Josef Stalin during World War II and only regained their independence with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.


They joined NATO in 2004, putting themselves under the military protection of the U.S. and its Western allies. They say it is imperative that NATO show resolve not just in words but with boots on the ground.


“Russia always measures the military might but also the will of countries to fight,” said Janis Garisons, state secretary at Latvia’s Defense Ministry. “Once they see a weakness, they will exploit that weakness.”


Blinken, who visited Latvian capital Riga on Monday, said the Baltics have “formed a democratic wall that now stands against the tide of autocracy” that Russia is pushing in Europe.


___


THE BALKANS


It would be hard for Russian troops to reach the Balkans without engaging NATO forces stationed in all the neighboring countries. But Moscow could destabilize the region, as it already does, with the help of Serbia, its ally which it has been arming with tanks, sophisticated air defense systems and warplanes.


The Kremlin has always considered the region its sphere of influence although it was never part of the Soviet bloc. A devastating civil war in the 1990s left at least 120,000 dead and millions homeless. Serbia, the largest state in the Western Balkans, is generally blamed for starting the war by trying to prevent the breakup of Serb-led Yugoslavia with brutal force -- a move resembling Moscow’s current effort to pull Ukraine back into its orbit by military force.


There are fears in the West that the pro-Moscow Serbian leadership, which has refused to join international sanctions against Russia, could try to use the attention focused on Ukraine to further destabilize its neighbors, particularly Bosnia, where minority Serbs have been threatening to split their territories from the joint federation to join Serbia. Serbian officials have repeatedly denied they are meddling in the neighboring states, but have given tacit support to the secessionist moves of the Bosnian Serbs and their leader, Milorad Dodik.


The Russian Embassy in Bosnian capital Sarajevo warned last year that should Bosnia take steps towards joining NATO, “our country will have to react to this hostile act.” Joining NATO will force Bosnia to take a side in the “military-political confrontation,” it said.


EU peacekeepers in Bosnia have announced the deployment of about 500 additional troops to the country, citing “the deterioration of the security internationally (which) has the potential to spread instability.”


Kosovo, which split from Serbia 1999 after a NATO air war against Serbian troops, has asked the U.S. to establish a permanent military base in the country and speed up its integration into NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


“Accelerating Kosovo’s membership in NATO and having a permanent base of American forces is an immediate need to guarantee peace, security and stability in the Western Balkans,” Kosovo Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said on Facebook.


Serbia said the move is unacceptable.


Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence is recognized by more than 100 countries, mainly Western nations, but not by Russia or Serbia.


Montenegro, a former ally that turned its back on Russia to join NATO in 2017, has imposed sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine and is seen as next in line in the Western Balkans to join the EU. The country is divided between those favoring pro-Western policies and the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian camps, raising tensions.


Russia has repeatedly warned Montenegro’s pro-Western President Milo Djukanovic, who led the small Adriatic state into NATO, that the move was illegitimate and without the consent of all Montenegrins.


Russia may hope to eventually improve its ties with Montenegro in a bid to strengthen its presence in the Mediterranean.

After Ukraine, Europe wonders who'''s next Russian target | AP News

‘They were shooting civilians’: Ukraine refugees saw abuses

PRZEMYSL, Poland (AP) — As more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine begin to scatter throughout Europe and beyond, some are carrying valuable witness evidence to build a case for war crimes.


More and more, the people who are turning up at border crossings are survivors who have fled some of the cities hardest hit by Russian forces.


“It was very eerie,” said Ihor Diekov, one of the many people who crossed the Irpin river outside Kyiv on the slippery wooden planks of a makeshift bridge after Ukrainians blew up the concrete span to slow the Russian advance.


He heard gunshots as he crossed and saw corpses along the road.


“The Russians promised to provide a (humanitarian) corridor which they did not comply with. They were shooting civilians,” he said. “That’s absolutely true. I witnessed it. People were scared.”

Such testimonies will increasingly reach the world in the coming days as more people flow along fragile humanitarian corridors.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said three such corridors were operating from bombarded areas. People left Sumy, in the northeast near the Russian border; suburbs of Kyiv; and Enerhodar, the southern town where Russian forces took over a large nuclear plant. In all, about 35,000 people got out, he said.

More evacuations were announced for Thursday as desperate residents sought to leave cities where food, water, medicines and other essentials were running out.


At least 1 million people have been displaced within Ukraine in addition to the growing number of refugees, International Organization for Migration director general Antonio Vitorino told reporters. The scale of the humanitarian crisis is so extreme that the “worst case scenario” in the IOM’s contingency planning has already been surpassed, he said.


Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking trained psychologists are badly needed, Vitorino said, as more traumatized witnesses join those fleeing.


Nationwide, thousands of people are thought to have been killed across Ukraine, both civilians and soldiers, since Russian forces invaded two weeks ago. City officials in the blockaded port city of Mariupol have said 1,200 residents have been killed there, including three in the bombing of a children’s hospital. In Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, the prosecutor’s office has said 282 residents have been killed, including several children.

The United Nations human rights office said Wednesday it had recorded the killings of 516 civilians in Ukraine in the two weeks since Russia invaded, including 37 children. Most have been caused by “the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area,” it said. It believes the real toll is “considerably higher” and noted that its numbers don’t include some areas of “intense hostilities,” including Mariupol.


Some of the latest refugees have seen those deaths first-hand. Their testimonies will be a critical part of efforts to hold Russia accountable for targeting civilians and civilian structures like hospitals and homes.


The International Criminal Court prosecutor last week launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, after dozens of the court’s member states asked him to act. Evidence collection has begun.


Some countries continued to ease measures for refugees. Britain said that from Tuesday, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to travel to a visa application center to provide fingerprints and can instead apply to enter the U.K. online and give fingerprints after arrival. Fewer than 1,000 visas have been granted out of more than 22,000 applications for Ukrainians to join their families there.


Ukrainians who manage to flee fear for those who can’t.


“I am afraid,” said Anna Potapola, a mother of two who arrived in Poland from the city of Dnipro. “When we had to leave Ukraine my children asked me, ‘Will we survive?’ I am very afraid and scared for the people left behind.”

'''They were shooting civilians''': Ukraine refugees saw abuses | AP News

Originally Posted by misskit

After Ukraine, Europe wonders who’s next Russian target

Russia's command and control structure is clearly broken, as they have lost control of that ghost convoy that has not moved in days. They have left massive concentrations of mostly unarmored support units stranded for days, and they have been hammered by the Ukrainians. Reddit, Youtube, tiktok and twitter show massive Russian losses.

I wonder what it was that broke the Russian command structure?

Russian Forces at Northeastern Edge of Kyiv

Russian forces on Thursday rolled their armored vehicles up to the northeastern edge of Kyiv, edging closer in their attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital.


An AFP team saw plumes of smoke rise over the village of Skybyn, just a few hundred meters past the last checkpoint marking Kyiv's northeastern city limits.


Ukrainian soldiers described a night of heavy battles for control of the main highway leading into the city.


"There are ongoing military operations in Skybyn," said a soldier who agreed to be identified only as Sergiy, adding that one Russian column of armoured vehicles had been partially destroyed.

An AFP team witnessed Grad missile strikes in Velyka Dymerka, a neighboring village five kilometers outside Kyiv's city limits, which stood largely deserted on a sunny and bitterly cold day.


At least half-a-dozen Grad missiles rained down on the empty road, hitting several houses, which appeared to be empty at the time, and damaging the journalists' vehicle.

But the Ukrainian forces only had a minimal presence in the village, which locals said witnessed heavy fighting overnight.


"They were still outside the day before yesterday, but yesterday they started coming in," said Vasyl Popov, a 38-year-old advertising salesman.


"It's frightening, but what can you do, there is nowhere to really run or hide. We live here."


Russian forces have been slowly encircling Kyiv, reaching its northwestern edge on the first day of their assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24.


Kyiv's northwest suburbs such as Irpin and Bucha have been enduring shellfire and bombardments for more than a week, prompting a mass evacuation effort.


The roads leading northeast, which lead to less populated villages, had been largely open in the first week of the Russian offensive.


But Russian forces launched a deadly aerial assault on the city of Chernihiv, about 125 kilometers, last week.


They have been making rapid advances toward Kyiv ever since, leaving the city of 3 million people with only its southern roads open for a possible evacuation and the delivery of new supplies.

Russian Forces at Northeastern Edge of Kyiv - The Moscow Times

^^ Is that link you posted on the other thread (3601) what happened here^?

Perhaps Nato should have consumed the Russian bear when it had the chance.

^^

SITTING DUCKS Dramatic moment column of Putin’s tanks is destroyed in Ukrainian artillery ambush that ‘killed ANOTHER top commander’

DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a column of Russian tanks is destroyed by a Ukrainian ambush near Kyiv.


The attack has reportedly claimed the life of yet another senior Russian commander as Vladimir Putin’s forces press on the capital city of Ukraine.

The Ukrainians have now claimed to have killed over 12,000 Russians since Putin ordered his troops into their country.


The Russian tyrant expected to be a quick victory when he ordered the invasion two weeks ago but his forces have become bogged down and now regularly hit civilians.


Moscow's forces were said to be making rapid advances towards Brovary, a large eastern suburb of Kyiv, in what is believed to be the start of a bid to seize the city.


But video taken from a Ukrainian drone shows the tanks bombarded with artillery in the devastating ambush and forced to turn back, near the suburb.

MORE/VIDEO Dramatic moment column of Putin'''s tanks is destroyed in Ukrainian artillery ambush that ‘killed ANOTHER top commander’

Russia plans to seize assets of western companies exiting country




Vladimir Putin prepares economic retaliation for western sanctions, including laws to impound $10bn of leased airline jets


Russia has drawn up plans to seize the assets of western companies leaving the country as the Kremlin pushes back against sweeping sanctions and the exodus of international businesses since its invasion of Ukraine.

Announcing the move after a string of global firms said they would suspend operations in Russia this week, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the country’s economic ministry said it could take temporary control of departing businesses where foreign ownership exceeds 25%.

Speaking in a video link with members of his government on Thursday, Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin could find legally viable ways to seize international firms. The government would push to “introduce external management and then transfer these enterprises to those who actually want to work,” Putin said. “There are enough legal and market instruments for this.”

Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian prime minister, said that while most businesses had temporarily suspended operations, the situation would be closely monitored and that steps to “introduce an external administration” could be used.

The move comes as western governments seek to impose maximum pressure on Putin after the invasion of Ukraine by announcing drastic restrictions on imports of Russian oil and gas on top of financial sanctions and asset freezes for prominent oligarchs.

On top of formal sanctions, major western businesses and high-profile brands have taken steps to either exit the country altogether or suspend operations in response to the invasion, including Starbucks and McDonald’s. Shell has announced plans to withdraw from Russian oil and gas, BP has said it will exit stakes in major projects, while Unilever has said it will stop imports and exports to the country.

Burger King announced on Thursday that it would suspend all its corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing and supply chain. The company does not directly operate restaurants in the country, the brand being run instead by local franchise partners.

Outlining the Kremlin’s response to its increasing international isolation, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, said it was using a “symmetrical response” to the sanctions imposed by the west, “including the seizure of foreign assets and their possible nationalisation”.

“The same applies to the refusal of foreign companies to work in our country,” he wrote in a post on the social media website VKontakte, accusing western firms leaving the country of being “moronic for dancing to the tune of Washington and Brussels”.

He said Moscow would respond “fundamentally and harshly” to the departures, adding: “Whatever the reasons for the exodus, foreign companies must understand that it will not be easy to return to our market.”

Russia announced plans on Thursday designed to exert pressure back on the west through economic sanctions, including through an export ban on timber, electronic and telecoms equipment.
Moscow also passed laws to impound $10bn (£7.6bn) of jets leased to Aeroflot and other Russian airlines by western organisations.

It comes as Russia heads closer to defaulting on government debt payments, with ratings agencies warning of “imminent” failure in a move that could lead to financial losses for holders of Russian sovereign bonds.

The World Bank’s chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, said on Thursday that both Russia and Belarus were “square in default territory” in an interview with Reuters. Fitch downgraded Russia’s sovereign rating further into “junk” status earlier this week, warning that the government was increasingly likely to renege on its payment commitments.

Russia is due to make payments worth about $117m on government borrowing denominated in US dollars on Wednesday next week. However, doubts have been raised over whether the coupon payments will be made amid western sanctions on the Russian central bank and commercial lenders, as well as retaliatory steps announced by Moscow.

Reinhart said the impact for the global financial system had been limited so far, although she warned that risks could emerge in Europe. Around half of Russia’s international bonds are held by foreign investors. Foreign banks have exposure of more than $121bn in Russia, much of that concentrated among European lenders, according to data from the Bank of International Settlements.

“I worry about what I do not see,” Reinhart said. “Financial institutions are well capitalised, but balance sheets are often opaque … There is the issue of Russian private-sector defaults. One cannot be complacent.”


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-plans-to-seize-assets-of-western-companies-exiting-country

Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal


At a summit in Versailles, the 27 EU countries acknowledged as one the “tectonic shift in European history” caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour and vowed to bolster their military might and “strengthen our bonds and deepen our partnership” with Kyiv.

But calls from Ukraine’s president, supported by Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, for a special membership process failed to convince France, Germany, Spain or the Netherlands.

France’s president said he wanted to “send a strong signal in this period to Ukraine and to the Ukrainians” of solidarity but “at the same time, we must be vigilant”, adding that he did not believe it possible to “open an accession procedure with a country at war”.
“Should we close the door and say never, it would be unfair”, he said.


Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, told reporters there was no prospect of the EU membership for Ukraine in the short term.
He said: “All countries in the western part of Europe that I speak to say that you shouldn’t try to have a fast-track procedure or accelerated accession process …

“What’s important is that Ukraine has asked to be member of the EU … there is no fast-track procedure to become a member of the EU.”
Related: Will the EU start to take Ukraine’s membership seriously?

Western European governments opposed to rushing to EU candidacy status are concerned by the widespread corruption in Ukraine, the lack of stability in its institutions, and its parlous economic state. The experience in being unable to act in relation to the democratic deficit in Hungary and Poland has put off a number of capitals from any enlargement before big reforms of the bloc’s decision-making mechanisms.


Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, suggested that the EU was not ready for enlargement as its decision-making was still rooted in unanimity.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv. The EU member states have asked the European Commission to give an assessment of Ukraine’s membership application, which could take up to 18 months to complete.

The Latvian prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, whose country shares a border with Russia, said Ukraine should join the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey in having candidate status although that would be the start of a “long road” to membership.

“It is important to show a clear, open door for EU membership for Ukraine, that the path is open for them to take,” he said.
The leaders were meeting in France just hours after talks between Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Turkey ended in stalemate.

Macron, who has staged a number of lengthy calls with Putin before and after Russia’s president launched his invasion, told reporters he would continue to talk with Moscow but that he was not hopeful of a breakthrough.

He said: “I do not see a diplomatic solution in the next few hours or the next few days, but we will speak again with President Putin in the next few days, try to see if things move on either side, and so we will continue to remain engaged with a lot of strength …
“I have to confess that the conditions that he puts on the table aren’t acceptable to anybody to be honest.


“The questions is whether Mr Putin is ready to engage himself and we will work genuinely collectively … When I look at the facts, the facts are the following: Russia decided to launch war; Russia has bombed Ukraine; Russia is bombing civilians and in parallel you have negotiations but the negotiations are not ready to be completed.”

He described the Russian airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital as a “a shameful and amoral act of war”.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said Putin was engaged in a “crazy war” and was “indiscriminately” shelling civilians and “bombing and destroying a country” as it had done in Syria.

The EU’s leaders discussed a variety of ways in which economic and political ties could be strengthened with Ukraine, ranging from a seat for the Ukrainian leadership at some EU meetings to membership of the Erasmus student exchange programme.

They also focused on how to reduce the bloc’s dependency on Russian gas and oil. In 2021, the EU imported 155bn cubic metres of natural gas from Russia, accounting for about 45% of its gas imports and close to 40% of the bloc’s total gas consumption.
The EU has already imposed unprecedented punitive measures on key parts of the Russian economy and hundreds of politicians, officials and oligarchs.

According to a draft summit communique seen by the Guardian, the leaders are expected to warn Moscow they “are ready to move quickly with further sanctions if needed”.

In Moscow, Putin warned that their sanctions against Russia would rebound by raising the price of food and energy. He said: “These sanctions would have been imposed in any case. There are some questions, problems and difficulties, but in the past we have overcome them and we will overcome them now.

“In the end, this will all lead to an increase in our independence, self-sufficiency and our sovereignty.”

Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal (msn.com)


Arguably, nobody is going to pay a higher economic price for this sanctions regime than the EU. Why on earth should they let Ukraine in- the country is nowhere near ready.

Originally Posted by sabang

Moscow also passed laws to impound $10bn (£7.6bn) of jets leased to Aeroflot and other Russian airlines by western organisations.

Seems like a hostage situation. Could it be resolved by a prisoner swap?

One or two of these^* swapped for one of those ?









^* Yes I realize that it is a SUKHOI Superjet 100-95 and not a leased modern Boeing and Airbus aircraft

Who knows what might happen when rationality prevails- and it finally will, but for now it's war and tit for tat sanctions. Reckon I might want two of those yachts for that jet.

Originally Posted by sabang

Russia plans to seize assets of western companies exiting country




Vladimir Putin prepares economic retaliation for western sanctions, including laws to impound $10bn of leased airline jets


Russia has drawn up plans to seize the assets of western companies leaving the country as the Kremlin pushes back against sweeping sanctions and the exodus of international businesses since its invasion of Ukraine.

Announcing the move after a string of global firms said they would suspend operations in Russia this week, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the country’s economic ministry said it could take temporary control of departing businesses where foreign ownership exceeds 25%.

Speaking in a video link with members of his government on Thursday, Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin could find legally viable ways to seize international firms. The government would push to “introduce external management and then transfer these enterprises to those who actually want to work,” Putin said. “There are enough legal and market instruments for this.”

Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian prime minister, said that while most businesses had temporarily suspended operations, the situation would be closely monitored and that steps to “introduce an external administration” could be used.

The move comes as western governments seek to impose maximum pressure on Putin after the invasion of Ukraine by announcing drastic restrictions on imports of Russian oil and gas on top of financial sanctions and asset freezes for prominent oligarchs.

On top of formal sanctions, major western businesses and high-profile brands have taken steps to either exit the country altogether or suspend operations in response to the invasion, including Starbucks and McDonald’s. Shell has announced plans to withdraw from Russian oil and gas, BP has said it will exit stakes in major projects, while Unilever has said it will stop imports and exports to the country.

Burger King announced on Thursday that it would suspend all its corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing and supply chain. The company does not directly operate restaurants in the country, the brand being run instead by local franchise partners.

Outlining the Kremlin’s response to its increasing international isolation, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, said it was using a “symmetrical response” to the sanctions imposed by the west, “including the seizure of foreign assets and their possible nationalisation”.

“The same applies to the refusal of foreign companies to work in our country,” he wrote in a post on the social media website VKontakte, accusing western firms leaving the country of being “moronic for dancing to the tune of Washington and Brussels”.

He said Moscow would respond “fundamentally and harshly” to the departures, adding: “Whatever the reasons for the exodus, foreign companies must understand that it will not be easy to return to our market.”

Russia announced plans on Thursday designed to exert pressure back on the west through economic sanctions, including through an export ban on timber, electronic and telecoms equipment.
Moscow also passed laws to impound $10bn (£7.6bn) of jets leased to Aeroflot and other Russian airlines by western organisations.

It comes as Russia heads closer to defaulting on government debt payments, with ratings agencies warning of “imminent” failure in a move that could lead to financial losses for holders of Russian sovereign bonds.

The World Bank’s chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, said on Thursday that both Russia and Belarus were “square in default territory” in an interview with Reuters. Fitch downgraded Russia’s sovereign rating further into “junk” status earlier this week, warning that the government was increasingly likely to renege on its payment commitments.

Russia is due to make payments worth about $117m on government borrowing denominated in US dollars on Wednesday next week. However, doubts have been raised over whether the coupon payments will be made amid western sanctions on the Russian central bank and commercial lenders, as well as retaliatory steps announced by Moscow.

Reinhart said the impact for the global financial system had been limited so far, although she warned that risks could emerge in Europe. Around half of Russia’s international bonds are held by foreign investors. Foreign banks have exposure of more than $121bn in Russia, much of that concentrated among European lenders, according to data from the Bank of International Settlements.

“I worry about what I do not see,” Reinhart said. “Financial institutions are well capitalised, but balance sheets are often opaque … There is the issue of Russian private-sector defaults. One cannot be complacent.”


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-plans-to-seize-assets-of-western-companies-exiting-country

Yet more desperation enters the plans for “Putin’s War”.

Originally Posted by sabang

Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal


At a summit in Versailles, the 27 EU countries acknowledged as one the “tectonic shift in European history” caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour and vowed to bolster their military might and “strengthen our bonds and deepen our partnership” with Kyiv.

But calls from Ukraine’s president, supported by Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, for a special membership process failed to convince France, Germany, Spain or the Netherlands.

France’s president said he wanted to “send a strong signal in this period to Ukraine and to the Ukrainians” of solidarity but “at the same time, we must be vigilant”, adding that he did not believe it possible to “open an accession procedure with a country at war”.
“Should we close the door and say never, it would be unfair”, he said.


Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, told reporters there was no prospect of the EU membership for Ukraine in the short term.
He said: “All countries in the western part of Europe that I speak to say that you shouldn’t try to have a fast-track procedure or accelerated accession process …

“What’s important is that Ukraine has asked to be member of the EU … there is no fast-track procedure to become a member of the EU.”
Related: Will the EU start to take Ukraine’s membership seriously?

Western European governments opposed to rushing to EU candidacy status are concerned by the widespread corruption in Ukraine, the lack of stability in its institutions, and its parlous economic state. The experience in being unable to act in relation to the democratic deficit in Hungary and Poland has put off a number of capitals from any enlargement before big reforms of the bloc’s decision-making mechanisms.


Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, suggested that the EU was not ready for enlargement as its decision-making was still rooted in unanimity.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv. The EU member states have asked the European Commission to give an assessment of Ukraine’s membership application, which could take up to 18 months to complete.

The Latvian prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, whose country shares a border with Russia, said Ukraine should join the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey in having candidate status although that would be the start of a “long road” to membership.

“It is important to show a clear, open door for EU membership for Ukraine, that the path is open for them to take,” he said.
The leaders were meeting in France just hours after talks between Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Turkey ended in stalemate.

Macron, who has staged a number of lengthy calls with Putin before and after Russia’s president launched his invasion, told reporters he would continue to talk with Moscow but that he was not hopeful of a breakthrough.

He said: “I do not see a diplomatic solution in the next few hours or the next few days, but we will speak again with President Putin in the next few days, try to see if things move on either side, and so we will continue to remain engaged with a lot of strength …
“I have to confess that the conditions that he puts on the table aren’t acceptable to anybody to be honest.


“The questions is whether Mr Putin is ready to engage himself and we will work genuinely collectively … When I look at the facts, the facts are the following: Russia decided to launch war; Russia has bombed Ukraine; Russia is bombing civilians and in parallel you have negotiations but the negotiations are not ready to be completed.”

He described the Russian airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital as a “a shameful and amoral act of war”.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said Putin was engaged in a “crazy war” and was “indiscriminately” shelling civilians and “bombing and destroying a country” as it had done in Syria.

The EU’s leaders discussed a variety of ways in which economic and political ties could be strengthened with Ukraine, ranging from a seat for the Ukrainian leadership at some EU meetings to membership of the Erasmus student exchange programme.

They also focused on how to reduce the bloc’s dependency on Russian gas and oil. In 2021, the EU imported 155bn cubic metres of natural gas from Russia, accounting for about 45% of its gas imports and close to 40% of the bloc’s total gas consumption.
The EU has already imposed unprecedented punitive measures on key parts of the Russian economy and hundreds of politicians, officials and oligarchs.

According to a draft summit communique seen by the Guardian, the leaders are expected to warn Moscow they “are ready to move quickly with further sanctions if needed”.

In Moscow, Putin warned that their sanctions against Russia would rebound by raising the price of food and energy. He said: “These sanctions would have been imposed in any case. There are some questions, problems and difficulties, but in the past we have overcome them and we will overcome them now.

“In the end, this will all lead to an increase in our independence, self-sufficiency and our sovereignty.”

Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal (msn.com)


Arguably, nobody is going to pay a higher economic price for this sanctions regime than the EU. Why on earth should they let Ukraine in- the country is nowhere near ready.

More desperation, includes banal statements of the blindingly obvious.

Membership of the EU notwithstanding, the EU will find a lend lease plan to rebuild Ukraine after the war. It’s part of their political DNA. If they can fund the buy back of East Germany, rebuilding the Ukraine will be easy for them.

Originally Posted by sabang

for now it's war

Well Sab, you just put an end to your planned holiday in Leningrad. This is not a "war" tis a special operation. Putin's TD moles have reported you so congrats, you are officially on the "enemies of the state" list.

Putin Backs Plans to Send Volunteer Fighters to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday backed plans to allow volunteers, including from abroad, to fight in Ukraine, where he has sent thousands of Russian troops in what he calls a "special military operation."


"If you see that there are people who want on a voluntary basis (to help east Ukraine's separatists), then you need to meet them halfway and help them move to combat zones," Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a televised security council meeting.

According to Shoigu, more than 16,000 volunteers — mostly from the Middle East — have appealed to join the military action.


"As for the supply of arms, especially Western-made, which ended up in the hands of the Russian army, of course I support the possibility of transferring them to the military units of DNR and LNR," Putin said referring to the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in Ukraine's east.


Putin also ordered that Shoigu prepare a separate report on strengthening Russia's western borders "in connection to the actions that NATO countries are taking in this direction."

Putin Backs Plans to Send Volunteer Fighters to Ukraine - The Moscow Times

Russian strikes hit western Ukraine as offensive widens

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia widened its military offensive in Ukraine on Friday, striking near airports in the west of the country for the first time, as observers and satellite photos indicated that its troops, long stalled in a convoy outside the capital Kyiv, were trying to maneuver to encircle the city.


With the invasion now in its third week, the U.S. and its allies prepared to step up their efforts to isolate and sanction Russia by revoking its most favored trading status. The move comes amid mounting outrage after a deadly airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, under an increasingly constricting 10-day-old siege.


The new airstrikes in western Ukraine were likely a message from Russia that no area was safe, Western and Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have struggled in the face of heavier-than-expected resistance and supply and morale problems. So far, they have made the most advances on cities in the south and east while stalling in the north and around Kyiv.

Strikes on the western Lutsk airfield killed two Ukrainian servicemen and wounded six people, according to the head of the surrounding Volyn region, Yuriy Pohulyayko. In Ivano-Frankivsk, residents were ordered to shelters after an air raid alert, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv said.


Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russia used high-precision long-range weapons Friday to put military airfields in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk “out of action.” He did not provide details.

New satellite photos, meanwhile, appeared to show a massive Russian convoy outside the Ukrainian capital had fanned out into towns and forests near Kyiv, with artillery pieces raised for firing in another potentially ominous movement.


The 40-mile (64-kilometer) line of vehicles, tanks and artillery had massed outside the city early last week, but its advance appeared to stall as reports of food and fuel shortages circulated. U.S. officials said Ukrainian troops also targeted the convoy with anti-tank missiles.


The satellite imagery, from Maxar Technologies, showed the 40-mile (64-kilometer) line of vehicles, tanks and artillery outside Kyiv had been redeployed, the company said. Armored units were seen in towns near the Antonov Airport north of the city. Some vehicles moved into forests, Maxar reported, with towed howitzers nearby in position to open fire.


It appeared the convoy forces were moving west around the city, trying to encircle it to the south, according to Jack Watling, a research fellow at a British defense think-tank, the Royal United Services Institute. “They’re about half-way around now, to be able to close off on the south,” he told BBC radio.

He said they were likely preparing for a “siege rather than assault” on Kyiv because of continuing low morale and logistical problems.


The British Ministry of Defense said that after making “limited progress” because of logistical mishaps and Ukrainian resistance, Russian forces were trying to “re-set and re-posture” their troops, gearing up for operations against Kyiv.


Moscow also gave new indications that it plans to bring fighters from Syria into the conflict.


Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia knew of “more than 16,000 applications” from countries in the Middle East, many of them from people who he said had helped Russia against the Islamic State group, according to a Kremlin transcript.


Shoigu did not specify Syria and his numbers could not be confirmed. But since 2015, Russian forces have backed Syrian President Assad against various groups opposed to his rule, including Islamic State.


Responding to Shoigu, President Vladimir Putin approved bringing in “volunteer” fighters and told his defense minister to help them “move to the combat zone.”

Increasing the pressure on Moscow, the U.S. and other nations were poised later Friday to announce the revocation of Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status, which would allow higher tariffs to be imposed on some Russian imports. Western sanctions have already dealt a severe blow to Russia, causing the ruble to plunge, foreign businesses to flee and prices to rise sharply.


Russian airstrikes also targeted for the first time the eastern city of Dnipro, a major industrial hub and Ukraine’s fourth-largest city in a strategic position on the Dnieper River. Three strikes hit early Friday, killing at least one person, according to Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Heraschenko.


The head of the Kyiv Region administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said a missile hit the town of Baryshivka, about 20 kilometers east of Kyiv’s main international Boryspil Airport. He reported significant damage to residences but no immediate casualty toll.


In Syria, Russia backed the government in imposing long, brutal sieges on opposition-held cities, wreaking heavy destruction on residential area and causing widespread civilian casualties.


That history — along with the ongoing siege of the Azov Sea port of Mariupol — has raised fears of similar bloodshed in Ukraine.


Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian-backed fighters have advanced up to 800 meters of Mariupol from the east, north and west, further squeezing the city which has the Azov Sea to its south. Konashenkov said the advance was being conducted by fighters from the separatist-held Donetsk region, the standard Russian line for fighting in the east.


Ukrainian authorities are planning to send aid to Mariupol, home to some 430,000, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video message.


Repeated previous attempts have failed as aid and rescue convoys were targeted by Russian shelling, even as residents have grown more desperate, scrounging for food and fuel.


More than 1,300 people have died in the city’s 10-day siege, Vereshchuk said. “They want to destroy the people of Mariupol. They want to make them starve,” she added. “It’s a war crime.”

Residents have no heat or phone service, and many have no electricity. Nighttime temperatures are regularly below freezing, and daytime ones hover just above it. Bodies are being buried in mass graves. The streets are littered with burned-out cars, broken glass and splintered trees.


“They have a clear order to hold Mariupol hostage, to mock it, to constantly bomb and shell it,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation Thursday. He said the Russians began a tank attack right where there was supposed to be a humanitarian corridor.


Grocery stores and pharmacies were emptied days ago by people breaking in to get supplies, according to a local official with the Red Cross, Sacha Volkov. A black market is operating for vegetables, meat is unavailable, and people are stealing gasoline from cars, Volkov said.


Places protected from bombings are hard to find, with basements reserved for women and children. Residents, Volkov said, are turning on one another: “People started to attack each other for food.”


Vereshchuk also announced efforts to create new humanitarian corridors to bring aid to people in areas occupied or under Russian attack around the cities of Kherson in the south, Chernihiv in the north and Kharkiv in the east.


Some 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, the International Organization for Migration said Friday. Some 100,000 people have been evacuated during the past two days from seven cities under Russian blockade in the north and center of the country, including the Kyiv suburbs, Zelenskyy said.


In addition to those who have fled the country, millions have been driven from their homes. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 2 million people, half the metropolitan area’s population, have left the capital.


“Every street, every house … is being fortified,” he said. “Even people who in their lives never intended to change their clothes, now they are in uniform with machine guns in their hands.”

Russian strikes hit western Ukraine as offensive widens | AP News