Monday, February 28 top stories
It is Monday, February 28. Here are today’s top stories, and it will be all about the war in Ukraine.
Updates on Russian invasion of Ukraine
Today is the fifth day of the war in Ukraine, which broke out when Russian forces invaded Ukraine on its northern, eastern, and southern borders.
Ukrainian forces have managed to fend off Russian attacks to maintain control of the capital city, Kyiv (or Kiev in Russian). Kyiv is the official, Ukrainian name for the capital city.
The second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, is also still under Ukrainian control. There are videos of rocket attacks from Russian forces that hit Kharkiv. A Ukrainian official said the rockets hit residential areas and killed at least 11 civilians.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has continued to be defiant in staying in Kyiv to defend the country. Over the weekend, he received an offer from the U.S. to safely evacuate him but rejected it, saying, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Zelensky has filled out an application for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union and urged the EU to provide the country immediate membership. Leaders within the EU said they want Ukraine to join “over time” — not immediately. It is not known how quickly this can happen.
Russia does not want to see Ukraine being a part of the EU, and this issue is a very sensitive one and part of the reason why there have been conflicts within Ukraine and with Russia since 2014.
Many European countries and the U.S. have imposed increasing levels of severe economic sanctions on Russia. The Russian rouble lost almost 30% of its value today. Several Russian banks are cut off from an international payment system called SWIFT. The European Union ordered that its airspace is to be closed off from all Russian planes, including both passenger and private jets. Russia closed its airspace in a retaliatory measure.
Many countries have pledged to provide Ukraine with millions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment. The EU said it would provide $500 million worth of weapons.
Germany said it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. Germany also said it would invest 100 billion euros in its military and greatly increase military spending in the future, which is significant because Germany has not spent that much money on its military and has avoided becoming involved in foreign military conflicts largely because of its horrific past during World War II. So, this is a big shift for Germany.
In another significant change, Switzerland said it would freeze Russian assets in the country. Switzerland has a long-standing tradition of neutrality, but is now moving to punish Russia. Many wealthy Russian people, including Putin, have assets in Swiss banks.
The U.S. said it would freeze Russian Central Bank assets in the U.S. This would freeze about $630 billion in Russian assets and increase the isolation on Russia.
Over 500,000 refugees have fled from Ukraine into neighboring countries. There are long lines of cars and buses at the borders of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova.
Many Russian nationals have protested against Putin’s actions. About 6,000 people have been arrested for protesting.
On Sunday Russian President Putin said he ordered his military to put their nuclear weapons on “high alert” because of the sanctions and “aggressive statements” by the NATO.
U.S. intelligence said the Belarusian president Lukashenko could send their troops to support Russia’s efforts to attack Ukraine. Belarus has already provided support to Russia by allowing their forces in the country to invade Ukraine’s northern border.
Today there were talks between high-level government representatives from Ukraine and Russia in Belarus. It didn’t seem like there was a major peace deal, because when the talks ended, there were still explosions in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
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There are satellite photos that show a three-mile long convoy of Russian military vehicles traveling on a road that leads to Kyiv. U.S. officials said they are concerned that Russian forces could ramp up their aggressive tactics to claim Kyiv.
Zelensky wants U.S. President Biden and NATO to impose and enforce a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine. This means that the U.S. and NATO would need to open fire on Russian air forces if they enter Ukraine airspace. The White House said they are hesitant about this because it would bring the U.S. in direct military conflict with Russia. A NATO official said the same thing — that right now they do not want to send armed forces into Ukrainian soil or in the air.
Zelensky said he would allow Ukrainian prisoners with combat experience to be released to help defend the country. There is also a new “International Legion” that is welcoming foreign volunteers to come in and help with the war. Some news reports said Ukrainians aboard have come back to their home country to help with the war.
There was a story that 13 Ukrainian soldiers defending a small island in the Black Sea, Snake Island, were killed by Russian forces after they told a Russian warship to “go f—— yourself” instead of surrendering. But recently the Ukrainian Navy said the soldiers are alive and were captured by Russian forces. So, this story that went viral may not be true.
In sports, Russian soccer teams are now suspended from all international soccer matches that are sanctioned by FIFA and UEFA. The International Olympic Committee also said Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials should be barred from international sports competitions.
That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-winter-sports-6ff8a6338e968bcb2ccb3c8dc368586d
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/snake-island-ukraine-russia-survivors-alive-intl/index.html
https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-eu-ukraine-membership/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/world/europe/switzerland-russian-assets-freeze.html
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-russia-germany-still-blocking-arms-supplies/
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/500000-people-fled-ukraine-russia-invaded-83154007
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/europe/germany-ukraine-russia.html