Vladimir Putin deployment

continues to get stronger,

suggesting that Russian plans
for Ukraine could go much
beyond the seize of the capital
city Kyiv. On Friday, Russia
intended to take the whole of
Ukraine not just the capital
city. Russia could be planning
to launch more offensive
operations in the coming days. UKRAINE
New backward Russian CONFLICT _February 2022
positions have come up in the
border areas to the north and
east of Ukraine.
 Russia Declares War On Ukraine |
Putin Orders Troops To Enter Ukraine |
Friday, 25 February 2022

Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine. The

Ammunition depot in Kyiv was on fire. 70 military
targets destroyed in Ukraine. Antonov airport outside
Kyiv captured, Russian troops seize Chernobyl
nuclear power plant. Russians intend to invade the
whole of Ukraine.
 RUSSIA VS NATO _COLD WARIOR

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency

meeting for Wednesday night [23/2] at the request of Ukraine.
COLD WAR SOLDIER PUTIN
▪ Russia is violating the UN Charter, international law, and a 2015
council resolution endorsing the Minsk agreements aimed at
restoring peace in eastern Ukraine.
▪ According to US estimates, Russia has amassed over 150,000 in and
near Ukraine.

Putin has been demanding assurances that NATO will not admit Ukraine, a former
Soviet state with close ties to Russia, while the Western alliance denies it poses any
threat to Russia.
“Everything seems to be in place for Russia to engage in a major aggression
against Ukraine,” US secretary of State Blinken said in an interview, adding he
could not be precise about time or place.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that it would be “catastrophic” if
the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated into a war, while underlining that there was “no
alternative to diplomacy.”
Modi tells Putin to end violence; Biden says US in talks with India
As a stunned world watched the Russian attack unfold in Ukraine and
key US and European leaders condemned the invasion, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi called up Russian President Vladimir Putin and
“appealed for an immediate cessation of violence”.
For India, Oil price soared to over $105 a barrel, the highest level in nearly
eight years in the international markets. In the currency market, the Indian
rupee plunged 102 paise to end at 75.63 against a US dollar. The Indian
stock market's benchmark Sensex crashed 2,702 points or 4.72 per cent.
This is the fourth-worst fall ever in an absolute term in the Sensex. The
index suffered a loss of 2,850 points in the intra-day.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had categorically
ruled out deployment of American troops in Ukraine and warned Moscow
of punitive sanctions if its troops crossed over the border.
At the heart of this fast-escalating crisis is Russia's disapproval of the
expansion of the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
in its neighbourhood.
 Russia invades Ukraine; U S puts sanctions

 In simple terms, Russia has wanted the US and its allies to stop
pushing Ukraine, part of the former Soviet Union, into NATO.
 Russia on Wednesday allegedly carried out a cyber attack on
Ukrainian banks and important websites like defense, foreign
and internal security.
 Ukraine's Parliament has declared a national emergency in
the wake of the cyber attack. The impact of the attack
began on Wednesday afternoon, intensifying in severity over
the course of the day.
 Russia under Vladimir Putin eyes Ukraine, having already
annexed Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine, in 2014.
 Russia almost invaded Ukraine

After Russia's recognition of the DPR and the LPR, Washington

continued to remain in close contact with its allies and partners,
including Ukraine, "on next steps and on Russia's ongoing escalation
along the border with Ukraine."
 What Russia wants

▪ Russia wants the U.S. and its allies to keep Ukraine and
other ex-Soviet nations from joining NATO, halt weapons
deployments there and roll back alliance forces in Eastern
Europe demands the West has dismissed as nonstarters.
▪ On Tuesday, Putin offered a streamlined version of his top
demands, saying that
▪ Ukraine should renounce its bid to join NATO,
▪ partially demilitarize and
▪ recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, the Black Sea
peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
In remarks delivered prior to Russian President Vladimir
Putin's Tuesday [Feb 22] address, US Deputy Secretary
of State Wendy Sherman noted that “Russia never
fulfilled a single, solitary one of its obligations under the
Minsk agreements", reports CNN.
“Russia has not supported a ceasefire. Russia has not
removed its heavy weapons from proscribed zones.
Russia has not granted unfettered access for SMM
monitors,” she said in remarks delivered virtually to the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE). “Now Russia has showed the world its true
intentions by once again violating Ukraine’s
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its
internationally recognized borders,” Sherman said.
US President Joe Biden accused Russia of starting an imminent
war as Russian troops are deployed in the two separatist regions
in eastern Ukraine.
In an address on Tuesday [22/2], Biden said, "Who in the Lord's
name does Putin think gives him the right to declare these new so-
called countries in territories that belong to his neighbours.” India
on Thursday urged restraint as the Russia-Ukraine crisis
snowballed with Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing
“military operation” in Ukraine, signalling the beginning of a war.
Further, Biden announced sanctions that would cut Russia off from
Western financing and warned that more "severe" sanctions than
the ones imposed in 2014 would be announced shortly.
❑ UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russia's unilateral
actions also conflict with the UN Charter and are a death blow to
the Minsk Agreements aimed at restoring peace to eastern
Ukraine.
❑ He called at this critical moment for an immediate cease-fire, de-
escalation, restraint and reason, and a halt to actions or
statements that would take this dangerous situation over the
brink.
❑ He urged the international community to rally to save the people
of Ukraine and beyond from the scourge of war without further
bloodshed. And he reiterated that his good offices remain
available in the search for a peaceful solution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Ukraine peace
agreement ‘does not exist anymore’, after he recognized the
independence of the ex-Soviet country's separatist regions.
Vladimir Putin said, “The Minsk agreements do not exist now, we
recognised the DNR and LNR.” By DNR and LNR, Putin referenced
to the separatist regions in Donetsk and Lugansk.
“I have made the decision of a military operation,” he said shortly
before 6:00am (0300 GMT) Thursday in Moscow, as he vowed
retaliation against anyone who interfered. He also called on the
Ukraine military to lay down its arms.
In an address to the nation on Russia's actions against Ukraine,
Biden said, "We're imposing sanctions on 2 Russian financial
institutions. Russia can no longer raise money from the West or no
longer trade in Western markets. From tomorrow we'll also impose
sanctions on Russian elites and their families.“
The US's announcement of sanctions comes after Germany and
Britain moved sanctions on Russia earlier in the day.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended the certification process
for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which directly links
Russian gas to Europe via Germany. The UK imposed sanctions
against five Russian banks and three businessmen, which P M
Boris Johnson described as the "first tranche" of measures.
The European Union has also imposed sanctions on several
Russian officials as well as banks financing the Russian armed
forces.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the
independence of two separatist regions of Ukraine -- Donetsk and
Lugansk.
Putin also signed friendship and aid agreements with the Russia-
backed separatist leaders of Ukraine, which means Moscow can
now move its troops in the breakaway regions as a "peacekeeping"
measure.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has imposed a series of
sanctions against Russia.
"The best solution would be if the current Kyiv authorities
themselves refused to join NATO and maintained neutrality," Putin
said as NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russia "continues to
plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine.“
US Secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled his meeting with
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov adding that "it does not
make sense to go forward with that meeting" since "invasion is
beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of
diplomacy".
Biden added that the US would continue to provide defensive
weapons to Ukraine and reinforce NATO troops amid Russian
threat of invasion on Ukraine.
Fearing a Russian invasion, Ukraine on Wednesday [23/Feb. 2022]
declared a state of emergency and asked its citizens in Russia to
flee.
Russia, on the other hand, has ordered the evacuation of its
embassy in Kyiv as large numbers of troops of both countries
remain stationed at the line of contact in eastern Ukraine.
The European Union has called an emergency summit to decide
the next course of actions against Russia after it recognised two
breakaway regions in Ukraine as independent entities.
Meanwhile, Russia has denied planning an invasion of Ukraine and
has described the West's warnings as anti-Russian hysteria.
"Putin is the aggressor... he chose the war... and now he has to face
consequences," Biden said in a White House speech, announcing a
raft of sanctions and punitive economic measures after convening a
meeting of his national security council and G7 leaders earlier in the
day.
“Russia is the third-largest supplier of natural gas in the world.
72% natural gas & 48% oil exports from Russia go to Europe. If a
war happens, Europe's energy supplies could get crippled.
Washington and its western allies ramped up the sanctions and
strengthened their defense of NATO frontline on Thursday after
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday brought Europe to its
gravest crisis since World War II.
Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, urged the
world to gear up and take action against Russia and stop President
Vladimir Putin from instigating a Russian aggression against
Ukraine.
"To stop Putin from further aggression, we call on partners to
impose more sanctions on Russia now. First decisive steps were
taken yesterday, and we are grateful for them.”
Earlier, US President Joe Biden during his meeting with Kuleba in
Washington affirmed that his administration would continue providing
security assistance and macroeconomic support to Kyiv, the White
House said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday [24/2/2022]
announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it’s intended
to protect civilians.
In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response
to threats coming from Ukraine. He added that Russia doesn’t
have a goal to occupy Ukraine
Putin said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the
Ukrainian “regime.”
Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with
the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have
never seen.”
Guterres opened an emergency meeting of the UN Security
Council late Wednesday [23/2] saying the day was full of rumours
and indications that an offensive against Ukraine is imminent.
In the recent past, Guterres says he never believed rumours that
Russia would invade Ukraine and was “convinced that nothing
serious would happen”.
But, he adds: "I was wrong, and I like not to be wrong again. So if
indeed an operation is being prepared I have only one thing to say
from the bottom of my heart: Stop your troops from attacking
Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already
died.”
Washington: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the "world will
hold Russia accountable" over its attack against Ukraine that he
warned will cause "catastrophic loss of life."
In a statement issued shortly after Russian President Vladimir
Putin announced the start of military operations in Ukraine, Biden
said he would address the US public Thursday (24/2] to outline
the "consequences" for Russia, calling the attack "unprovoked
and unjustified."
The US president was due to join a virtual, closed-doors meeting
of G7 leaders -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan
and the United States -- at 9:00 am (1400 GMT) Thursday.
The White House said his remarks to the public would come in
early afternoon in Washington.
Ukraine surrounded by Russian military
Ukraine has been surrounded on three sides by more than 150,000 troops.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduces martial law.
Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, the site of the 1986
disaster. Russia may be intent on seizing Kyiv, the capital, and other key cities
and ultimately installing a more friendly government. Russia told the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) that “the 'special operation declared
by President Putin is to protect the people of Ukraine who have been
suffering for years."
Sanctions will, to some extent, cut both ways: Russia is not just a major
player in the oil and gas sector, but also a big player in a number of
other commodities and minerals. Even if these can be sourced from
elsewhere, there will be a price spike, and perhaps shortages.
News agencies quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying,
“Military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases has been
rendered out of action.” The defense ministry also said Kyiv’s air
defense systems were “eliminated”.
In a nationally televised address ahead of the offensive, Putin said
Russia doesn’t plan to “occupy” its southern neighbour but said the
action was necessary after the U.S. and its allies crossed Russia’s
“red line” by expanding the NATO alliance. Biden called Putin’s move
“an unprovoked and unjustified attack” and said the “world will hold
Russia accountable.” Russia’s defense minister said the strikes
were targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and didn’t pose
a threat to the population, state-run TASS reported.