Russo-Ukraine War - 02 March 2022
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The third world war, if it happens, will be nuclear and destructive, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to him, Western countries refused to discuss with Russia the formation of a new European security architecture.
Chris Deverell, former commander of the UK's Joint Forces Command, told DW "I think that what happens is a long fight for control of the cities from Russian forces and a gradual wearing down of the Russian economy, hopefully to a point in which the Putin regime collapses". But Ankit Panda wrote "There’s a gap between explicit and implicit Western objectives that deserves clarifying right now (including a clearer theory of the case for sanctions). Letting Putin believe that the implicit goal is regime change is a recipe for disaster".
“In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment,” President Joe Biden said. With many in Congress wearing yellow and blue in tribute to the Ukrainian flag, this was the easy part of the speech. Biden won standing ovation upon standing ovation 01 March 2022 in a rousing State of the Union speech seeking to transform bipartisan support for confronting Russia into momentum for broader unity as the United States finally emerges from the Covid pandemic. The entire first section of Biden’s one hour speech to the joint session of Congress was devoted to the bloody Russian invasion of pro-Western Ukraine. As Biden branded President Vladimir Putin “a Russian dictator,” pledged to help Ukraine’s fighters, and vowed to confiscate Russian oligarchs’ “ill-begotten” yachts, members of both parties stood to applaud — a sight so rare in today’s Congress that it is all but forgotten.
Russia's defence ministry said 498 Russian soldiers had died and another 1,597 had been wounded in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. The announcement came as the huge military convoy has been stuck near Kyiv for days amid fierce Ukrainian resistance. It was not clear what the massive Russian military convoy advancing towards Kyiv would do next. These columns had been standing there for some time. There are also questions about how long they can stand there because all the fuel and food that they have with them will be eaten away in the time they are standing there. Britain's Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update that Russia's advance on Kyiv had made "little progress," citing "logistical difficulties" as the reason for the lack of headway.
A senior defense official said “We would assess that there essentially has been no appreciable movement closer to the city than what we briefed a couple of days ago ... Basically they remain stalled outside the city center.” The United States estimated that Russia sent into Ukraine 82 percent of the combat power it had staged outside the country prior to the invasion, which began last week. Those combat powers include a much watched 40-mile-long military convoy heading toward Kyiv, but the U.S. believes that movement is “stalled,” due to lack of fuel, food and fierce Ukrainian resistance, the official said. “They are not moving at any rate that would lead one to believe that they've solved their problems. So we would characterize it as stalled,” they said. “We have some indications that [Ukrainians] have also at places and at times tried to target this convoy.”
Washington observed “an increase in missiles and artillery” targeting Kyiv’s infrastructure, with similar situations seen in Chernihiv to the north and Kharkiv to the northeast. “Both cities are continually under assault, but with no, again, appreciable movement by the Russians to take either one,” they said.
A senior US Defense Department official said Russia is continuing reinforcements of its forces in Ukraine and has committed more than 80 percent of its "pre-staged combat power." The official said Russia has fired more than 400 short-range and medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles. The defense official also said the main Russian advance heading south toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv basically remained roughly 25 kilometers north of the city, where it had been the previous day. The official said the lack of progress could be due to Russians facing resistance from Ukrainian troops, as well as "fuel and sustainment problems" including a shortage of food. The official also cited the possibility that Russia's pause was by choice, and that "they are possibly regrouping, rethinking, reevaluating."
Regarding Ukraine's airspace, the Pentagon official said it "continues to be contested." The official said Russians have more control in some areas, but do not have air superiority over the entire country. The official added that Ukrainian air and missile defense systems remain viable, intact and engaged.
The official suggested that the morale of Russian troops may be falling as they face strong resistance from Ukraine. The official also noted that some Russian units are surrendering without a fight. The official said many of the soldiers are conscripts who have never been in combat before, and that "Some of them, we believe, weren't even told they were going to be in combat."
Ukraine invited the worried mothers of Russian troops captured on the battlefield to come and collect their sons, in an apparent attempt to embarrass Moscow. "A decision has been taken to hand over captured Russian troops to their mothers if they come to collect them in Ukraine, in Kyiv," the defence ministry said in a statement. Ukraine claims to have captured dozens of Russian servicemen, and cellphone videos are circling online of bewildered and disarmed young men in uniform. Kyiv has sought to undermine Russian public support for the invasion by opening a telephone hotline for Russian parents to find out if their sons are among the dead or captured. The defence ministry has published telephone numbers and an email address to provide information about captured Russians, and mothers will be invited to Kyiv to collect their missing sons. "You will be received and taken to Kyiv where your son will be returned to you," the ministry statement said. "Unlike Putin's fascists, we Ukrainians are not waging war against mothers and their captured children."
Russian paratroopers landed in the second-largest city of Kharkiv as troops besieged Kherson in southern Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry says Russian troops captured the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. "The Russian divisions of the armed forces have taken the regional center of Kherson under full control," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in televised remarks. The coastal city, which is home to nearly a quarter million people, has been the scene of heavy fighting in recent days. It lies just north of Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The Ukrainian government reported that at least 2,000 citizens were killed in the last seven days, "not including our defenders." On Wednesday, 150 people were rescued from 400 fires that broke out due to Russian shelling, but 10 rescuers died in the mission, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Law enforcement agencies of France detained in Paris some soldiers of the French Foreign Legion, who were suspected of intending to go to Ukraine to take part in the hostilities on the side of Kyiv. The demand for the denazification of Ukraine implies getting rid of a huge number of military units of a nationalist nature that operate in the country, said Dmitry Peskov.
Belarus strengthened border security in the western and southern directions. The reserves of the border groups and units of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus are used to provide additional cover for the border with Ukraine. Several reports claimed Lukashenko has actually divulged Russia's further invasion plan on the map. The claim is, however, disputed. What Lukashenko said in the meeting was Belarus is deploying more forces on its border with Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the special operation, the LPR troops have advanced 75 km, the DPR troops - 58 km, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, 1,502 military infrastructure facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been disabled, 47 aircraft have been destroyed.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that "demands" Russia "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine, in a powerful rebuke of Moscow's invasion by the global body charged with peace and security. After more than two days of extraordinary debate, 141 out of 193 member states voted for the non-binding resolution. China was among the 35 countries which abstained, while just five voted against it. Only Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria voted with Russia against the resolution. The resolution "deplores" the invasion of Ukraine "in the strongest terms" and condemns President Vladimir Putin's decision to put his nuclear forces on alert.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with the Russian Federation confirmed the fact of holding the second round on Wednesday evening. Kyiv is ready for the second round of negotiations with the Russian Federation, but not for the adoption of ultimatums, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. He said that it is not yet known when the second round of negotiations will take place.
At least 19 countries have decided to provide weapons to Ukraine, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. NATO will not interfere in the situation in Ukraine militarily, it would be a mistake, said the German Chancellor. There are risks of a clash between the forces of Russia and NATO, there are no guarantees that there will be no incidents, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.
All the actions of NATO after the Cold War ended in disasters, said Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko. According to him, each expansion of NATO worsened the security of the alliance itself. Sooner or later, Europe must realize that a NATO-centric security structure is a road to nowhere, he believes. He added that the West imagined itself a winner in the Cold War and decided that it could establish its own world order. Russia will continue to insist on material, legal guarantees of NATO's non-expansion to the East. It will be possible to think about a new European security architecture only after the issue of Russia's security guarantees is resolved, Grushko said.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Grushko said that the issue of Ukraine's admission to the EU now "does not fit in the head." According to him, the geopolitics of Europe resembles a big game, which is very dangerous. The US does not want EU autonomy in the geopolitical field, he is sure. He added that Europe should stop the consequences of NATO interventions in other countries and defend itself against them. The real purpose of NATO expansion is to find the enemy, Grushko said.
EU sanctions against Russia will have a negative impact on the economies of member countries of the Commonwealth due to inflation and pressure on prices in the energy sector, the European Commission said in a statement. "But this is a price worth paying for protecting democracy and peace," it says. The EU has disconnected VTB, Rossiya and Otkritie banks from SWIFT, as well as Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank and VEB.RF.
Germany, following the United States and other countries - members of the International Energy Agency, uses part of the oil from national reserves. Porsche will stop production at the Leipzig plant due to a shortage of parts from Ukraine. The rapid rise in gas prices in the European market will be an inevitable consequence of the abandonment of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a comment. Pipeline investors have the right to file lawsuits against official Berlin for compensation. Berlin's decision to stop the certification of the project will cause irreversible damage to Russian-German relations.
The Russian Armed Forces (AF) carried out a strike with precision-guided weapons at the facilities of the SBU and the 72nd Main Center for Psychological Operations in Kyiv. This was announced to journalists on 02 March 2022 by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major General Igor Konashenkov. "In order to suppress information attacks against Russia, the technological facilities of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the 72nd main center of psychological operations were hit with precision weapons in the city of Kyiv," he informed. According to the official representative of the Ministry of Defense, the broadcasting equipment of the TV tower was disabled. "As a result of the strike, the destruction of residential buildings was not allowed," Konashenkov stressed.
The EU imposed sanctions against 22 citizens of Belarus due to the military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. International trader Trafigura will immediately freeze investments in Russian assets in connection with Russia's military operation on the territory of Ukraine, and will also evaluate its non-operating participation in the Vostok Oil project.
Roskomnadzor sent a notification to the administration of the Wikipedia portal about the need to remove false information on the subject of a special military operation in Ukraine. "Based on the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, Roskomnadzor on March 1 sent a notification to the administration of the specified Internet resource about the need to remove inaccurate information on the subject of a special military operation in Ukraine. We are talking about the use of false content by the site aimed at misinforming Russian users," - reported in the department. For non-deletion of illegal information at the request of Roskomnadzor, administrative liability is provided in the form of a fine for legal entities in the amount of up to 4 million rubles, the department recalled.
More than 874,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the UN’s refugee agency said. That figure is "rising exponentially" and could cross the 1 million mark within hours, according to the UNHCR. More than 500,000 refugees from Ukraine arrived in Poland.
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