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Russia Ukraine War (Putin's War) - Page 13
Grayson Quay

Ukrainian United Nations Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya read text messages between a fallen Russian soldier and the soldier's mother in front of the U.N. General Assembly on Monday. Kyslytsya did not identify the soldier or explain how he obtained the screenshot, though he did say the messages were sent only "several moments" before the soldier was killed. Before reading the messages, Kyslytsya held up a printout of what he described as "an actual screenshot from someone who is dead already." more...
Karim Khan says that although Ukraine isn’t a member of the ICC, it has awarded jurisdiction to the court
Julian Borger

The prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague has announced that he will launch an investigation into possible war crimes or crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Karim Khan said that although Ukraine was not a member of the ICC, it had awarded jurisdiction to the court. He said that there was grounds to open an investigation based on a previous preliminary investigation on Crimea and the Donbas published last year, and on current events in Ukraine. “I have already tasked my team to explore all evidence preservation opportunities,” Khan, a British lawyer, said. more...
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine and its allies on Monday called for a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes committed by Russia during its military actions in Ukraine. more...
Rachel Treisman

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union, according to a post from his verified Facebook page. "[Zelenskyy] has just signed a historical document — Ukraine's application for European Union membership," tweeted Andrii Sybiha, the deputy head of the president's office. Ukraine's prime minister and head of parliament also signed a joint statement, he added. more...
By Richard Roth, CNN

New York (CNN) The United States has asked 12 Russian United Nations diplomats to leave the US, accusing them of "espionage activities," as Russia continues its attack on Ukraine. The Russian diplomats were asked to leave due to their alleged engagement in "activities that were not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats," Ambassador Richard Mills, deputy representative of the United States to the United Nations, said during a UN Security Council meeting Monday afternoon. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia responded by saying Mills' explanation of the expulsions was "not satisfactory." more...
CBS News

Kyiv — Ukrainian and Russian delegates sat down Monday for the first direct negotiations between the two countries since Russia launched its invasion five days earlier. The talks went for hours, and while they brought some hope for an end to the war, Ukraine's president and residents in Kyiv made it clear they expected little out of the discussion. Even as the meeting took place there were reports of intensified Russian shelling in eastern Ukrainian cities. Russia would not clarify its aims for the talks, but CBS News' Haley Ott reported that Ukraine's key demands were an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. Russian officials said the meeting had ended by early evening and that the respective delegations were heading back to their capitals to discuss the negotiations. more...
By Ron Bousso, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Carolyn Cohn and Saeed Azhar

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Energy giants BP and Shell, global bank HSBC and the world's biggest aircraft leasing firm AerCap joined a growing list of companies looking to exit Russia on Monday, as Western sanctions tightened the screws on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The West has moved to punish Russia with a raft of measures, including closing airspace to Russian aircraft, shutting out some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial network and restricting Moscow's ability to use its $630 billion foreign reserves. read more...
CBS News

Russia's currency is tumbling after Western nations on Saturday agreed to put crippling sanctions on the country's financial sector in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The ruble fell about 30% against the dollar Monday — making it worth less than 1 U.S. cent — after the U.S., European Union and United Kingdom announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia's use of its massive foreign currency reserves. The system is used to move billions of dollars around more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions around the world. more...
‘STOP THIS MADNESS’
Jamie Ross News Correspondent

People logging on to Russian state-owned news agency Tass to get the Kremlin’s version of events in Ukraine got a shock early Monday. Instead of the latest lines from the Kremlin, the site showed an anti-war message that condemned President Vladimir Putin for forcing Russian journalists to lie. “Dear citizens. We urge you to stop this madness, do not send your sons and husbands to certain death. Putin makes us lie and puts us in danger,” the hacked site read. more...
Travis Gettys

Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations called on Vladimir Putin to fulfill his apparent death wish by taking his own life. Sergiy Kyslytsya made the startling remarks Monday at an Emergency Special Session to discuss Putin's order to put Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on alert, which the Ukrainian diplomat called insane, and he compared the move to Adolf Hitler's desperate final moments as the Allies encircled Berlin at the end of World War II. video...
Military analysts believed Russia had hoped for "shock and awe" advance.
By Patrick Reevell

KYIV -- There is growing evidence that Ukraine is managing to inflict significant casualties on Russian forces as they try to advance deeper into the country -- and that the swift strike Russia hoped to carry out on the capital, Kyiv, has been slowed by intense and popular resistance. Russia hasn't managed to make significant progress in the last two days. The main Russian force pushing down from Belarus towards Kyiv does not appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday. more...
Russians heading toward Kyiv are slowed by fuel shortages and stiff resistance.
By Morgan Winsor,Libby Cathey,Meredith Deliso,Nadine El-Bawab,Emily Shapiro,Julia Jacobo,Ivan Pereira,Mark Osborne,Celia Darrough,Kevin Shalvey, and Bill Hutchinson

Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials. The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation." more...
By Fatma Khaled

A Ukrainian ship crew member reportedly tried to sink a yacht owned by the CEO of a Russian weapons manufacturer in protest over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The 55-year-old Ukrainian who was identified as D. Taras O. tried to sink the boat by flooding its engine room by opening a large valve as well as another one in a different part of the boat, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported. more...
The consequences of the war are rippling through the sports world, as athletes and fans express solidarity with Ukraine.
By John Duerden

In 2018, Russian football basked in international sporting acclaim – hosting a World Cup that was admired off the pitch and was successful on it as the national team reached the quarter-finals for the first time in post-Soviet history. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, European football clubs are now cutting ties with Russian companies, sporting organisations are moving events out of the country, and players and fans around the world are sending messages of support for Ukraine. more...
Reuters

Feb 28 (Reuters) - About 800 people were arrested as Belarus voted to ditch its non-nuclear status in a referendum that raises the stakes at a time when the country has become a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Monday. The vote sparked the biggest protests in months as thousands took to the streets in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has imposed a sweeping crackdown on dissent after a contested election challenged his grip on power in 2020. more...
By Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The United States shuttered its embassy in Minsk and allowed non-emergency employees and family members to leave its embassy in Moscow on Monday as Russia pushed on with its invasion of Ukraine for a fifth day. "We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. more...
NBC News

NBC News' Kier Simmons reports on Secy. Blinkens statement where the U.S. suspended operations at the embassy in Minsk, Belarus, and authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency employees and families at the embassy in Moscow. video...
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, DAVID McHUGH and KEN SWEET

MOSCOW (AP) — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in the post-Soviet era. The Russian currency plunged about 30% against the U.S. dollar after Western nations announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia’s use of its massive foreign currency reserves. The exchange rate later recovered ground after swift action by Russia’s central bank. more...
By KATE FELDMAN | New York Daily News

Before he was standing in the streets to stop incoming Russian troops, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy danced his way to a trophy. Zelenskyy, who was elected president in 2019, won the first season of Ukraine’s version of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006 and a viral compilation of his performances has provided a little levity. video...
Prospects for cease-fire in talks held in Belarus are uncertain as Russian forces attack neighborhood in Kharkiv and Ukraine holds on to Kyiv
By Yaroslav Trofimov

KYIV, Ukraine—A delegation led by Ukraine’s defense minister held cease-fire talks on Monday with Russian officials in Belarus as Russian troops shelled a residential neighborhood in the eastern city of Kharkiv, killing at least 10 civilians, and Ukrainian defenders repelled attacks on the capital, Kyiv. The talks on the fifth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine come after Russian forces have struggled to make headway in most of the country, and failed so far to take any of Ukraine’s major cities as they faced fierce resistance. Russia was pouring large reinforcement convoys across the border on Monday, in what could be preparation for a renewed push on Kyiv and an attempt to besiege it. more...
Russian president has ordered nuclear deterrence forces on high alert. We look at what that means
Dan Sabbagh

What did Vladimir Putin say about Russian nuclear weapons?
Russia’s president summoned the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and military chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, to a public meeting on Sunday and ordered them to “transfer the deterrence forces” – a reference to nuclear weapons – “of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty”.

Do Putin’s words have any specific military meaning?
Although the diplomatic threat was clear enough, the exact phrasing confused nuclear experts and defence ministries, who did not recognise what a “special mode of combat duty” might specifically entail. But there was agreement that the threat, though it had gone up a notch, remained at a low level. more...
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said on Sunday that it was "very probable" that neutral Switzerland would follow the European Union (EU) on Monday in sanctioning Russia and freezing Russian assets in the Alpine country. Cassis, interviewed on French-language Swiss public television RTS, said that the seven-member Federal Council would meet on Monday and review recommendations by the departments of finance and economy. more...
By JUSTIN SPIKE

BEREGSURANY, Hungary (AP) — The mass exodus of refugees from Ukraine to the eastern edge of the European Union showed no signs of stopping Monday as they flee Russia’s burgeoning war, with the U.N. estimating that more than 500,000 people have already escaped. Long lines of cars and buses were backed up at checkpoints at the borders of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and non-EU member Moldova. Others crossed the borders on foot, dragging their possessions away from the war and into the security of the EU. Several hundred refugees were gathered at a temporary reception center in the Hungarian border village of Beregsurany, where they awaited transportation to transit hubs that could take them further into Hungary and beyond. more...
By Brian Fung, CNN

Washington (CNN Business)Facebook (FB)'s parent Meta said Monday it has caught dozens of fake, pro-Russian accounts, groups and pages across its platforms trying to spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda as the war in Ukraine continues to rage. Meta's takedown of the influence campaign also coincided with what company officials described as a separate, intensified push by pro-Russian hackers to compromise the social media accounts of Ukrainian journalists, military leaders and government officials. The hacking campaign, attributed to an actor security researchers have nicknamed "Ghostwriter," appears to have succeeded with at least some Facebook accounts, Meta said. more...
Shannon Bond

Facebook parent company Meta says it has uncovered Russian efforts to undermine trust in the Ukrainian government and a separate attempt to hack Ukrainian military officials and journalists using its platform. The two campaigns were both small in scale and caught in the early stages, the company said. "There's been a lot of speculation and interest on whether there are covert influence operations targeting public debate in Ukraine and to what degree we're seeing cyber hacking groups targeting individuals in Ukraine," said Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta's head of security policy. "This is a case where we're seeing both of those things." more...
Reuters

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday barred airlines from 36 countries including Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and Canada from using Russian airspace in a retaliatory move after sweeping sanctions targeting its aviation sector. more...
By Scott McDonald

Belarus will reportedly allow Russia to position nuclear weapons in its country, a report stated Sunday night—which is early Monday morning in Eastern Europe. Belarus, which is an ally to Russia and borders Ukraine to the northwest and Ukraine's NATO allies the other direction, has renounced its non-nuclear status and neutral status. "Belarus will renounce its non-nuclear and neutral status, allowing Russia to place nuclear weapons on its territory, as a result of the referendum held today," the Kyiv Independent reported. "65.16% of [Belarus] citizens allegedly supported these constitutional amendments." more...
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Tim Lister and Josh Pennington

Videos uploaded to social media are giving a rare view of clashes between Russian and Ukrainian military forces on the streets of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, has been the target of frequent Russian military strikes since the invasion began early Thursday morning. Now it's the site of intense street battles as the Russian military attempts to win control of the city. more...
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN Business

New York CNN — Ukrainian Instagram influencers are now warzone witnesses and urban warfare experts are tweeting tips to Ukrainian fighters, CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said on “Reliable Sources” Sunday. But the onslaught of words and images is fueling a confusing media environment where disinformation is rampant. Many are calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the TikTok war — users of the platform were actively posting about the military escalation even as Russian authorities were denying it. Many are also using social media outlets to become “anti-war activists,” Stelter said. more...
“We show our character, our knowledge, our values," Vitali Klitschko said.
By Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv’s mayor is both filled with pride over his citizens’ spirit and anxious about how long they can hold out. In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv. “We can’t do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said. “Right now we are encircled.” more...
Barak Ravid

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield protested to her Israeli counterpart over Israel's refusal to join 87 countries in backing a U.S.-led resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the UN Security Council on Friday, Israeli officials tell Axios. Why it matters: Israel has attempted to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the crisis, and has even offered to serve as a mediator. But that fence-sitting has resulted in criticism from both sides and now from the U.S. more...
By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA and RAFAL NIEDZIELSKI

MEDYKA, Poland (AP) — While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flee their country, some Ukrainian men and women are returning home from across Europe to help defend their homeland in the face of Russia’s invasion. Poland’s Border Guard said Sunday that some 22,000 people have crossed into Ukraine since Thursday, when Russia invaded the country. At the checkpoint in Medyka, in southeastern Poland, many stood in a line early Sunday to cross into Ukraine. “We have to defend our homeland. Who else if not us?” said a moustachioed man in front of a group of some 20 Ukrainian truck drivers walking to the checkpoint to enter Ukraine. They came from across Europe to return to Ukraine. Another man in the group said: “The Russians should be afraid. We are not afraid.” more...
trtworld.com

The nexus between white supremacists in the US and neo-Nazis in Russia reveals a deep history of convergence between the two sides. US intelligence is convinced that Russian authorities provide “indirect and passive support” to neo-Nazi groups operating in America and other countries. Yahoo News has had the chance to examine the issue more in detail. Documents obtained by the journalists revealed that the Kremlin "probably tolerates support from some private Russian organisations" for white nationalist movements because it is consistent with the Kremlin’s goal of aggravating social divisions in the West. Intelligence agencies have acknowledged that Russian groups have tried to recruit and provide paramilitary training to North American associates in order to "expand their presence in the West, increase membership and raise money." According to these assessments, this pumping of resources into Western supporters of white supremacy "poses a potential threat to Western security by encouraging and making possible attacks on ethnic minorities and government facilities." more...
By Chandelis Duster and Daniella Diaz, CNN

CNN — Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah on Sunday called the Russian government “a pariah” in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine and said countries should continue cranking up sanctions against “an evil regime.” “The world is behind the people of Ukraine. … The Russian government is a pariah and the entire world should be protesting and letting Russia know how badly they’re seen on the world stage,” Romney told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” more...
A conversation with the Republican senator about Russia’s threat to the world, the members of the GOP who praise Putin, and how this conflict ends
By McKay Coppins

On October 22, 2012, Mitt Romney sat across a table from President Barack Obama for the final debate of the presidential election. The theme of the night was foreign policy. Obama’s campaign had been working all year to cast Romney as out of touch and inexperienced, and when the moment came, the president deployed what seemed like a devastating putdown. “A few months ago, when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia. Not al-Qaeda. You said Russia,” Obama told him. “And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.” more...
A researcher on how the Kremlin’s disinformation is coming to America.
By Aymann Ismail

Russia’s war effort in Ukraine began years ago, but it has often raged out of view. Organized disinformation campaigns against Ukraine have been pervasive, with extensive hacking and practical operations similar to ones that targeted U.S. elections in 2016 in favor of Donald Trump. Now there is some evidence Russia’s manufactured narrative about the current war on the ground in Ukraine is reaching America, too. Jane Lytvynenko has made it her job to monitor, identify, and study such disinformation campaigns as a senior research fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. She was born in Ukraine and still has close family there, and told me she hasn’t slept in weeks. With full-scale war now underway, we talked about what the disinformation campaign against Ukraine looks like, its impact, and how to spot its influence in American outlets. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. more...
Michael Ruiz

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a long career as an intelligence officer in the former Soviet Union’s KGB – the former Communist spy agency – and likely took great efforts to plan his invasion of Ukraine before sending thousands of troops into the country earlier this week. But American and British intelligence analysts say Russia appears to have underestimated Ukraine’s defensive capabilities – at least initially. Russia’s stalled advance could be because of faulty or ignored intelligence, according to Dan Hoffman, a former CIA senior officer and station chief. But it’s impossible for anyone outside the Kremlin to know for sure, he added. more...
By Sam Fossum, Arlette Saenz and Devan Cole, CNN

Washington CNN — White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put Russia’s deterrence forces, which includes nuclear arms, on high alert are part of a wider pattern of unprovoked escalation and “manufactured threats” from the Kremlin. “This is really a pattern that we’ve seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression – and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism,” Psaki told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.” Additionally, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday that Putin’s move was “yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step,” a senior administration official said Sunday. more...
Caren Bohan, David Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Joey Garrison, Michael Collins, Jordan Culver, Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

As Russia's assault on Ukraine reached into its second largest city, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was putting nuclear forces on high alert, the EU announced unprecedented new actions against Moscow. Putin's order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represent an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon. A senior Defense Deparment official said Russia is under no threat from the United States and its NATO allies. The Pentagon is confident it can protect the United States and its allies, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. more...
By Ian Swanson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has emerged as a hero to his nation's citizens and far beyond as the former actor and comedian first elected in 2019 remains in his country at great personal risk during its bombardment by Russia. Zelensky, who agreed on Sunday to talks at the Belarus border with Russia to end the military conflict, has been his country’s man in the capital city of Kyiv, where he has issued a series of videos urging Ukrainians to resist the invasion. more...
Joe Hernandez

A group of Ukrainian soldiers stationed on an island military outpost who were presumed dead after a terse yet profane interaction with a Russian warship last week may still be alive, Ukrainian officials announced Sunday. The Ukrainian troops on Zmiiniy Island – also known as Snake Island – may instead have been captured by Russian military forces, according to a statement from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. "We sincerely hope that the boys will return home as soon as possible, and the information received at the time of the attack on the death will not be confirmed," the statement reads. more...
Russia Ukraine War: Ukraine-made AN-225 'Mriya' -- meaning 'Dream' in Ukrainian -- qualified as the world's largest cargo aircraft, before it was reportedly burned on an airfield outside Kyiv due to Russian shelling.
Edited by Sasha Gopalakrishnan

Kyiv: The largest aircraft in the world was destroyed today by Russian troops battling on an airfield near Kyiv, Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said, as Moscow continued its assault on its neighbour during the fourth day of its invasion. AN-225 'Mriya' -- meaning 'Dream' in Ukrainian -- was manufactured by Ukrainian aeronautics company Antonov, and qualified as the world's largest cargo aircraft, before it was reportedly burned at Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv due to Russian shelling. more...
Times of Israel

Russia has destroyed the world’s largest transport aircraft, the AN-225 ‘Mriya,’ which belongs to Ukraine and performed a host of humanitarian flights, including the delivering of medical supplies to countries throughout Europe to combat the pandemic, Ukraine’s foreign minister tweets. more...
Axios

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Russia's unprovoked attacks "show signs of genocide" and called on the international court at The Hague to investigate.

Driving the news: In a video address posted on Facebook, Zelensky said Russia "deserves an international tribunal. We are documenting their crimes. And there would have been many more of these crimes if it hadn't been for our courageous defenders," per a translation on CNN. more...
CNN

CNN has geolocated video appearing to show the destruction by Ukrainian forces of a column of Russian armored personnel carriers and other vehicles on the edge of Kyiv, Ukraine. Source: CNN video...
The column was reportedly deployed by Russia to ‘capture and kill’ Ukraine’s leaders, including President Zelensky, using infamous ‘deck of cards’ system
By TOI staff

Ukrainian military forces were successful in destroying a Chechen special forces column of 56 tanks near the capital of Kyiv on Saturday, Ukrainian news agency The Kyiv Independent reported. According to the report, which the outlet said was confirmed by the Ukrainian President’s Office, the attack killed top Chechen general Magomed Tushayev, head of the 141 motorized regiment of the Chechnya National Guard. The report was not independently verified. more...
Jessica Bursztynsky

British energy giant BP announced Sunday it was offloading its 19.75% stake in Rosneft, a Russian-controlled oil company. BP CEO Bernard Looney and former exec Bob Dudley are also resigning from Rosneft’s board, effective immediately. Looney had been a director of Rosneft as one of two BP-nominated directors since 2020. Dudley had been a director since 2013, the company said. BP has worked in Russia for more than 30 years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced the company to reevaluate its holding. more...
From Tehran to Tel Aviv and London to Buenos Aires, people take to the streets in support of Ukrainians and against Moscow’s military incursion into its neighbor
By AFP

ROME, Italy — Pro-Ukraine demonstrations erupted across the world on Saturday, as thousands took to the streets from London to New York to Tehran to denounce Russia’s assault on its neighbor. Moscow’s invasion has sparked global outcry and prompted punishing sanctions from the West, some directed against Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. On Saturday, rallies were held in cities across the world to join the chorus of condemnation and urge an end to the bloodshed. more...
By Yaroslav Trofimov

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city and where a Russian tank assault was stopped by Ukrainian forces on Thursday and Friday, Russian reconnaissance troops in Tigr-M armored vehicles managed to penetrate northern neighborhoods before dawn, Ukrainian officials said. Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synehubov warned that urban combat is under way and urged residents to stay in shelters. “Ukrainian armed forces are liquidating the enemy,” he said. more...
By The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian president’s office said Russian forces blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. more...
The president further described “complete unanimity” within NATO as the U.S. and its allies levied harsh sanctions on Russia and increasingly stepped up aid to Ukraine.
By Maeve Sheehey

President Joe Biden said his goal “from the very beginning” was to keep America’s allies on the same page, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin believed he could “split NATO” and proceed with his invasion of Ukraine without encountering much in the way of international resolve or resistance. Instead, Putin is “producing the exact opposite effect that he intended,” Biden said in an interview released Saturday with political host Brian Tyler Cohen. The president further described “complete unanimity” as the U.S. and its allies levied harsh sanctions on Russia and increasingly stepped up aid to Ukraine as Putin’s invasion entered its third day. more...
Matt Clinch

SpaceX’s internet service Starlink is available in Ukraine and more terminals are being sent to the country, according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The conflict-hit nation has seen internet disruptions with Russian troops advancing and missiles hitting key infrastructure. Monitoring group NetBlocks said Thursday that disruptions had been tracked across much of Ukraine including capital city Kyiv. On Saturday, Musk was asked by a Ukrainian government official if he would provide more of his company’s Starlink stations to the country. more..
By Tim Lister, Ivana Kottasová, Julia Hollingsworth and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN — Ukraine has accused Russia of committing “war crimes” in an attempt to weaken its country’s resistance, as Ukrainian forces engage in fierce fighting with Russian troops in multiple cities across the country. In the capital, Kyiv, residents awoke Sunday to find the city still firmly under Ukrainian control, despite two massive explosions some 30 kilometers, or about 18 miles, south of the city lighting up the sky overnight. more...
Erin Doherty

Several of Russia's closest allies and former Soviet satellite states have sharply rebuked President Vladimir Putin over his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Why it matters: As the Western world seeks to make Putin an international pariah, even his closest allies are resisting showing support for his assault on Ukraine.

Driving the news: Czech President Milos Zeman and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, both historically strong pro-Russian voices in the European Union, condemned the affront as "an unprovoked act of aggression," AP reports. more...
Russian troops facing fierce resistance as Germany abandons its postwar military stance to supply arms to Ukraine
Emma Graham-Harrison in Kyiv, Peter Beaumont in Lviv, Andrew Roth in Moscow, Philip Oltermann in Berlin

Vladimir Putin was facing growing international isolation and the prospect of pariah status on Saturday night as long-term allies dramatically turned against him following the invasion of Ukraine, and western nations planned further decisive military and financial action against Moscow. As his hopes of a quick victory evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and armies of citizen volunteers, Russia’s president was deserted by his key ally, China, and had his ultimatum demanding Kyiv’s surrender defiantly brushed aside by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. more...
Ethan Barton

Finland’s ambassador to the U.S. boasted about his country’s strong military and said he didn’t see an "immediate threat" after a Russian official suggested military action if the Nordic nation were to join NATO. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Finland and Sweden would "face some military and political consequences" if they joined. "We are not in a position that we will get scared because of one statement," Ambassador Mikko Hautala told Fox News. "We have one of the best armies in Europe." more...
Shannon Bond

Facebook and YouTube are blocking Russian state media from running ads on their platforms, while Twitter is suspending all advertising in Ukraine and Russia, as pressure mounts on tech platforms to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Facebook, tweeted on Friday: "We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world." On Saturday, Google-owned YouTube said it was also suspending several Russian state-media channels, including RT, from making money from ads. In addition, the online video platform is limiting recommendations to those channels and is blocking them entirely in Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government, according to a YouTube spokesperson. more...
By Pascal Rossignol

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France, Feb 26 (Reuters) - France on Saturday seized a car cargo ship in the English Channel that Washington says was linked to the son of a former Russian spy chief, in one of the first visible displays of the West enforcing sanctions on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion. more...
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