Thursday, March 3 top stories
It is Thursday, March 3. Here are today’s top stories.
Updates on Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian President Putin said in a phone call with French President Macron that the war is going according to plan and that they have no plans to back down. The Kremlin said Putin’s goal is to demilitarize Ukraine and force it to become “neutral.” Macron told Putin that he is making a huge mistake and that his goals in Ukraine are unacceptable, but that there is still time for diplomacy. The French government said they expect that things will get worse because there was nothing from Putin that is reassuring.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky said today that he wants to have a meeting with Putin. He said “Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters.” This was a joke about a recent image of Putin sitting alone at the end of a long table in one of his meetings. Zelensky said he wants peace instead of seeing Ukraine’s history becoming a legend about 300 Spartans.
The Russian military has power over most of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. They took two cities in the south and Russian forces are encircling another important coastal city of Mariupol. Russia already controls Crimea, so it appears that Russia is nearing control of the entire Sea of Azov.
In Kyiv, the capital city, there is still very strong resistance from the Ukrainian army and people. There is still huge convoy of Russian military vehicles that is moving slowly towards the city.
In the city of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, a dash camera video captured the moment that at least six bombs rained down on a residential street. Nearby there were people in line at a pharmacy, and the video showed people running away and an injured woman who was bleeding from the head.
Over a million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries due to Russian attacks, and another million have left their homes to head someplace else in Ukraine. Many are heading westwards, away from the eastern border with Russia, but over 100,000 Ukrainians have left to go into Russia. Over 50,000 Ukrainian men have returned to the country from abroad to join the war.
The Russian government has forced two of Russia’s last independent media outlets to shut down — a liberal radio station called Echo and a news channel called Dozhd. This will only increase disinformation and cause many in Russia to have a false idea of what is going on in Ukraine.
The White House has asked Congress to provide $10 billion in emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
The Canadian government said it would have no limits on applications for temporary and permanent residency from Ukrainian nationals and that their applications would be fast-tracked. There are over a million Canadians who have a Ukrainian heritage.
The International Paralympic Committee said it would now ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Winter Games. The committee had initially planned to allow the athletes, but reversed the decision today to ban them.
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Capitol rioter pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy
Today an Alabama man, Joshua James, who was one of the Capitol rioters, pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges in a plea deal with federal prosecutors. The charge means a person is accused of conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government. The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison, but James will probably get a reduced sentence. James admitted that he and other members of the Oath Keepers had firearms ready at hotels outside of D.C. and was ready to use them to prevent Biden from becoming president. There are ten other people within the Oath Keepers group who are also charged with seditious conspiracy, but they have pleaded not guilty.
Jan 6. Committee says Trump committed “criminal conspiracy”
The Jan 6. Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol said in a court filing that they have evidence that shows former president Donald Trump and his associates were engaged in a criminal conspiracy to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election and defrauding the U.S. The filing said the evidence shows that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election, but tried to use the Vice President (Pence) to manipulate the results.
It is important to note that the committee can’t charge Trump with anything — it doesn’t have the power to do so — but it can refer its findings to the Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Merrick Garland. We are not anywhere near that, as the Jan 6. Committee is still in the middle of their investigation.
That is all the top stories for today. See you later and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/03/world/ukraine-russia-news-war
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/world/europe/ukraine-maps.html
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-3-3-2022
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-03-22/index.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-jan-6-panel-alleges-trump-engaged-in-criminal-conspiracy