Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine. Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer to the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capitol. Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy and Putin himself.
Ukrainian President Please With World For Help
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Jews and the world to wake up to the threats posed by Russia, warning that “Nazism is born in silence.” The following quote was part of an address Zelenskyy made to the world.
“I am now addressing all the Jews of the world. Do you not see what is happening? It is very important that all of you together, millions of Jews around the world, do not remain silent. This strike proves that for many people in Russia, our Kyiv is absolutely foreign. For anyone who knows world history, our history, Babi Yar is a special place in Kyiv, in Ukraine.
“It’s a place of remembrance for one hundred thousand people killed by the Nazis, a place of old cemeteries in Kyiv. You are killing the victims of the Holocaust for the second time. They don’t know a thing about Kyiv, about our history. But they all have orders to erase our history, erase our country, erase us all. On the first day of the war Uman was severely bombed, a place which hundreds of thousands of Jews come to pray. Shout for the murder of innocent people. Shout for the murder of Ukrainians!”
Russians Don’t Want War with Ukraine
Russia’s state censor on Friday announced it is blocking Facebook in the country. The state censor claimed to do this because of alleged freedom of speech violations by Facebook, citing the blocking of several Russian state media channels from the platform. This is part of a broader push by Russian authorities to shut down independent media and social media platforms that might spread dissent against the war in Ukraine.
There has been much speculation over whether the citizens of Russia actually want to go to war with Ukraine. Many Russian soldiers have been seen surrendering on social media. Many of those who have surrendered have maintained they were not told they would be taking the Ukraines freedom and urged their fellow Russian soldiers to drop arms and protest. Despite the pleas from the president of the Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, and surrendered Russian soldiers, Russian continues their advances.
Russia Attacks Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant
U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that, “the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night. We all waited to exhale as we watched the horrific situation unfold in real time.” She called Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant “incredibly reckless and dangerous” and said it “threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe.” Thomas-Greenfield urged Russia to withdraw troops from the facility, give operators full access to ensure continued safe operation and assess any damage and to halt any further use of force near Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi attended the meeting remotely, saying the agency was ready to deploy to Ukraine and establish “basic principles of safety and security starting with the physical integrity” of its nuclear power plants. Ukraine has requested the assistance, he said. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian citizens to protest against the attack and to “take to the streets and say that you want to live, you want to live on earth without radioactive contamination”.
Vladimir Putin suffered a setback in his war on Ukraine when three Russian commanders were killed after moving towards the front line. Thousands have been killed or wounded and over a million refugees have fled Ukraine so far. What kind of consequences will Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of Europe face in the wake of Putin’s warpath?
Written by: Erinn Malloy
