Invasion Following an announcement from Putin, Russia's military begins attacks against targets
Full title: Invasion Following an announcement from Putin, Russia’s military begins attacks against targets inside Ukraine, and separatists launch an offensive in the Donbas
Прямой эфир
10:23 pm, February 23, 2022
Before dawn, Moscow time, on Thursday, February 24, Russian state television broadcast a speech by Vladimir Putin where the president announced the start of a “special military operation” in the Donbas (the area of eastern Ukraine claimed by separatists whose independence Moscow recognized earlier this week). Putin said the purpose of the military operation is to protect residents who “have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for the past eight years.” The Russian president claimed that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukrainian soil (dismissing Kyiv’s sovereignty over the Donbas), but he also called on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and “go home.” Though Putin referred only to military actions in the Donbas, journalists and other eyewitnesses have reported explosions in cities outside the region, including in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
Major developments, so far:
President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared martial law across Ukraine.
Russia-recognized separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk are attacking Ukrainian troops.
Ukraine has completely closed its airspace and cut diplomatic ties to Russia.
14 airports in southern Russia have suspended all operations until March 2.
U.S. President Biden: “The world will hold Russia accountable.” NATO has promised that Russia “will pay a very heavy economic and political price.”
Eyewitnesses report air strikes against major Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian officials say civilians have been killed. Moscow denies this information and claims that its attacks are “high-precision.”
https://meduza.io/en/live/2022/02/24/invasion
( Sinister to the extreme. I am shocked at the depth of his insane nationalism. )
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