The National Guard stopped the ATB trucks with the Russian military in Nikolaev

 

The National Guard stopped in Nikolaev trucks with the marking of the ATB supermarket chain, in which the Russian-occupation military were hiding.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced this , Ukrainian News Agency reports .

"In Nikolaev, a detachment of the National Guard of Ukraine, together with the city commissioner, stopped trucks with the marking of the ATB network. During the inspection, the troops of the invaders were found. The battle began. All the Russian military were neutralized," the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated the Russian military, who seized the vehicles of the Ukrainian army and broke into Kiev.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr  Zelensky said that martial law would be introduced in Ukraine  due to the Russian invasion.

Putin officially announced a special operation  against Ukraine. 

On February 22, the Federation Council of Russia (the upper house of parliament) gave permission to President Vladimir Putin  to use Russian troops abroad , including in ORDLO.

On February 21, the President of the Russian Federation  signed a decree recognizing the independence of the so-called "DNR" and "LNR" .

 https://ukranews.com/news/837343-natsgvardiya-ostanovila-fury-atb-s-rossijskimi-voennymi-v-nikolaeve?utm_source=gravitec&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=Gravitec

Lukashenka confirmed that missiles were launched from the territory of Belarus at Ukraine

 

Alexander Lukashenko

Alexander Lukashenko, declared by the Central Election Commission of Belarus as President, confirmed that missiles were launched from the territory of Belarus at positions in Ukraine and said that Donbass is no longer Ukrainian. This is stated in a message on the website of the President of Belarus , Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that rockets were launched from the territory of Belarus at positions in Ukraine, but this was a forced step ,” the message says. Lukashenka told journalists about this on Sunday, February 27, after he voted at the republican referendum on amendments and additions to the Constitution of Belarus.

“At 11 o’clock (in the evening of February 23), on the eve of this conflict (it was already dark), indeed, two or three rockets were launched from the territory of approximately the Chernobyl regions, where Russian troops were on exercises,” Lukashenka said. 

He explained this by the fact that on the Ukrainian side, 10-15 km from the border with Belarus, several deployed missile battalions were discovered and, according to intelligence, the Ukrainian side was preparing to strike at the territory of Belarus in the next few minutes, where part of the Russian group remained after the exercises.

“ I did not give them orders to launch rockets. I said, "Yes, guys, we see it." And then the Russians fired two or three missiles at these positions. After that, there were no positions. But who is to blame? ", - he said.

Lukashenka also said that Donbass is no longer Ukrainian.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, the press secretary of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Serhiy Nikiforov, said that Ukraine is not considering Russia's proposal to lay down arms and excludes the possibility of negotiations in Belarus.

Russian troops attacked the state border of Ukraine from Russia and Belarus around 5:00 on February 24.

https://ukranews.com/news/837268-lukashenko-podtverdil-chto-s-territorii-belarusi-byli-zapushheny-rakety-po-ukraine?utm_source=gravitec&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=Gravitec

In Bucha, a shell hit a high-rise building. The fire cannot be completely extinguished due to shelling

 

A shell from Russian invaders hit a nine-story residential building in Bucha, Kiev region. The fire was localized, but not completely extinguished due to incessant shelling.

This is reported by the State Emergency Service. 

"In the Kiev region on February 27 at 08:20 in the city of Bucha on 101 Vokzalnaya Street, a shell hit a nine-story residential building, followed by fire. The fire was localized. There were no preliminary victims or injured. Five people and one piece of equipment were involved from the State Emergency Service. The units of the State Emergency Service left the scene in connection with the shelling ," the statement said.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, in Kharkiv, a shell of invaders hit a 9-storey building , and a woman died. Rescuers evacuated about 20 people from the destroyed entrance of the house.

https://ukranews.com/news/837212-v-buche-snaryad-popal-v-mnogoetazhku-pozhar-ne-mogut-polnostyu-potushit-iz-za-obstrelov?utm_source=gravitec&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=Gravitec

Ukrainian troops scorch column of Russian armored vehicles near Hostomel

 This morning, Ukrainian troops scorched a column of Russian armored vehicles near Hostomel, Kyiv region.

This is evidenced by a video of the territorial defense, sent to Ukrinform.

" Ukrainian troops scorched a column of Russian armored vehicles near Hostomel. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine!" reads the message.

On the morning of February 25, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed that the air assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were fighting near Dymer and Ivankiv, Kyiv region, where a large number of enemy armored vehicles had advanced, and stopped the overwhelming enemy forces near Teteriv river. The bridge across the river was destroyed.

The media also reported that about 56 vehicles of Russian troops were moving from Dymer towards Kyiv. In addition, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that the enemy launched an air strike on units near the city of Kropyvnytskyi.

Significant activity of enemy helicopters in the areas above Vylkovo and from Tiraspol was observed. Another tactical group of the defense forces is holding the Hostomel airfield, to which Russian airborne troops rushed yesterday..

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3412373-ukrainian-troops-scorch-column-of-russian-armored-vehicles-near-hostomel.html

About 20 enemy tanks destroyed in Chernihiv region

 

Ukrainian army destroyed about 20 enemy tanks in Mena direction in Chernihiv region.

"Units of the Operational Command ‘North’ destroyed about 20 enemy tanks in Mena direction in Chernihiv region. The losses in manpower are being clarified," the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook.

Also, the "North" unit destroyed a column of enemy vehicles moving from Ripky to Chernihiv. About 10-15 units of equipment were destroyed.

"Chernihiv holds the line and destroys the enemy! Believe in the Armed Forces and support them," the statement reads.

As reported, Russian Grad systems were destroyed near Kharkiv today.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3412588-about-20-enemy-tanks-destroyed-in-chernihiv-region.html

This Is Genocide, Not War says KYIV POST

 

The significance of Russia’s missile attacks and invasion of Ukraine on February 24 cannot be overstated: The world order has been completely upended and another genocide unfolds. February 24, 2022, will go down in history as a dark day, as was February 24, 1920, when the German Nazi Party was founded.

And the context matters: Putin’s invasion is where his hero, Josef Stalin, starved to death at least 3.5 million Ukrainians in 1932 and 1933 for the crime of refusing to give up their farms to move into his communist collectives.

Soldiers murdered farmers, village leaders, and priests then confiscated all harvests and livestock. This is known as “The Holodomor”, or mass extermination by starvation, and was declared by dozens of nations, the Vatican, and the European Union as “genocide”, or the destruction of a group or a nation.

Putin’s unprovoked attack against a peaceful country, and denial of its right to exist, is not war. This is another Russian despot bent on destroying the Ukrainian people and eventually others.

The Holodomor map: percentage who starved to death starved during Stalin’s murderous famine in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933

Ukraine left the Soviet Union in 1991 but in 2014 Putin recaptured Crimea and some portions of Luhansk and Donetsk in the eastern part of the country.

He said as attacks began that he doesn’t want to occupy the entire place, only to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” it — statements based on two delusions: that the country is predatory and is “fascist, antisemitic, and intolerant toward its Russian-speaking citizens”. But one need only look at 2019 when Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for their current President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, was born in Eastern Ukraine and was raised by Russian-speaking parents.

On the night of his election, Zelensky, an entertainer known throughout the Russian-speaking world, said: “To all the peoples of the former Soviet Union. See what we’ve done here tonight. Anything is possible.”

To Putin, this was a declaration of war, especially coming from a celebrity. So was Ukraine’s refusal to accept the capture of Crimea and Donbas.

Everything began to shift and another famous observer, Garry Kasparov, chess master and former presidential candidate in Russia, recently noted. “Don’t believe anything the government says but take Putin’s words seriously … he’s sick. This is the end of the post-war WW2 order. We need to reconsider the idea of international security infrastructure against Putin, not involving him.”

Ukrainians flee Kyiv on morning of Feb. 24 following overnight missile attacks

Praying outside a bomb shelter in Kharkiv

This is an outrage against another one of history’s most victimized groups. Putin questions Ukraine’s legitimacy but Ukrainians have been there for centuries even after The Holodomor killed millions. In 1939, they were once again decimated after Stalin joined forces with Adolph Hitler – in the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – to partition Poland. Shortly after they started their murderous spree, Hitler double-crossed Stalin and invaded Ukraine to conquer Moscow.

The result was that millions more Ukrainians died – 1.4 million soldiers; 7 million civilians; and 500,000 Ukrainian Jews. Putin likes to tell the world that Russia lost the most people in World War II, but the brunt was borne by its colonies. Belarus lost 25 percent of its population; Ukraine roughly 17 percent of its population, and Latvia and Lithuania lost 14 or 15 percent respectively.

Now Belarus has been recaptured by Russia and an assault is under way in Ukraine, and possibly beyond. Bombing raids last night began the onslaught, designed to knock out military infrastructure across the country and demoralize the populace in order to bring about a speedy surrender.

There is panic already and estimates are that full engagement with Ukraine’s force of 250,000 combat troops could result in horrendous casualties. Putin has a “hit list” of leaders, journalists, and activists who will be assassinated or sent to gulags after occupation. The country’s economy — and Russia’s — are cratering. Sanctions and diplomacy are now pointless.

The world will now watch, in real-time, the destruction of an innocent, democratic nation, abandoned by the West as a result of 30 years of appeasement and collaboration with Russia by Europeans.

And once Ukraine’s government caves, Putin will hold Europe hostage by stopping natural gas supplies, that now flow through Ukraine’s pipeline system. He will demand that his Nord Stream 2 pipeline be put into operation; that NATO withdraws from Eastern Europe and that the West drop all sanctions against Russia and its elite.

Slow-motion carnage will unfold on television if there is no quick surrender. Bombs will rain down on beautiful cities, apartment blocks, schools, hospitals, churches, and squares.

Footage will once more show European families fleeing, children orphaned, defenseless elderly people, and a culture torn asunder. Casualties could be catastrophic and it’s more likely that 10 million, not 5 million, Ukrainians will flee to Europe, creating a humanitarian disaster lasting years.

There is no justification for the invasion, and no excuse for the United States and the United Kingdom to have reneged on defending Ukraine from the Kremlin as promised.

I happened to be in Kyiv in 1993 when Ukrainians, under pressure from the Clinton Administration, were debating whether to give up their nukes or not. At the time, its military leaders argued that this would make the country a sitting duck again.

So a deal was struck: The Russians promised to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and the Americans and British promised funds and protection. None kept their word.

The world has permanently changed. Markets crash. The United Nations, with Russia as a member with a veto, is no longer functional, that’s if it ever was.

The European Union without an army and cohesion cannot last, nor can NATO. An America without strong alliances is unsustainable and a nuclear Russia run by Putin — hellbent to destroy ethnic groups and nations and the international order — represents the greatest threat in the history of the world.

Diane Francis Newsletter on America and the World

https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/this-is-genocide-not-war.html

Ukrainian leader Zelensky says Russian assassins are in Kiev with orders to kill him

 

THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, Volodymyr Zelensky, warned on Thursday that teams or Russian assassins have already entered the nation’s capital, Kiev, with orders to kill him and his family. Zelensky made this statement during a late-night address to the nation from an undisclosed location, presumably in Kiev. Referring to “enemy sabotage groups”, he said they had already “entered Kiev” and were seeking to “destroy Ukraine politically by destroying [its] head of state”.

Zelensky referred to “information we have”, according to which he had been “marked by the enemy as the number one target” and his family as “the number two target”. The statement was an apparent reference to an alleged “kill/capture list” that Moscow plans to put to use in Ukraine. As intelNews explained last week, United States officials have said that the purpose of the alleged list is two-fold: first, to minimize popular resistance by Ukrainians to an invading Russian army; and, second, to destabilize the government in Kiev, so that a pro-Russian government can eventually replace it.

According to the United States government, the list contains the names of senior Ukrainian politicians, Ukraine-based critics of the Russian and Belarusian governments, as well as journalists and other activists. According to Washington, the alleged list is maintained by the foreign intelligence arm of the Russia’s Federal Security Service—known as the Service for Operational Information and International Communications—or the Fifth Service, in short. The Fifth Service is political action of a covert nature, which is aimed at electoral subversion, political influence campaigns, psychological operations, and the undermining of groups or movements that Russia perceives as adversarial.

On Thursday, Foreign Policy’s national security and intelligence reporter Amy MacKinnon told SpyTalk’s Jeff Stein and Jeanne Meserve that the existence “kill/capture” list seemed credible, when one considers the Kremlin’s long history of assassination operations. MacKinnon was the first reporter to write about the alleged list. She told SpyTalk that it was part of a “campaign of arrests and assassinations”, which Moscow aimed to carry out on Ukrainian soil. She added that, although the names of potential victims have not been revealed, the list is “quite detailed and relatively extensive”. 

Joseph Fitsanakis

https://intelnews.org/2022/02/25/01-3159/