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Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine? Explaining the Roots of a Long-Simmering Conflict

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. . .Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a massive escalation of a conflict that has been simmering since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

At issue are two separatist states — Donetsk and Luhansk — that have been in open, if muted, conflict with Kyiv since 2014, as well as larger questions about Russia’s sphere of influence and Ukraine’s place in greater Europe. . .

But the conflict as we know it began in 2013, when then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych backed out of an expected economic deal with the European Union, opting instead to strike a deal with Russia. . .

Putin simultaneously declared Crimea, which had been made a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet era, to be part of Russia — and invaded the peninsula in late February and March 2014.

Putin’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea, was widely denounced by the international community, which still recognizes the territory as being part of Ukraine. (Read more from “Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine? Explaining the Roots of a Long-Simmering Conflict” HERE)

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57 Dead, 169 Wounded From Russian Attack, Ukrainian Health Minister Says

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Less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine, the former Soviet Union nation’s health minister is reporting 57 dead and more than a hundred injured.

Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko reported that 57 Ukrainians have died and 169 have been injured so far since Russia attacked Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

The injuries included noncombat and combat injuries, Lyashko said, according to NBC News, which noted that it was not clear how many of those casualties came from civilians compared to military service members.

Health care facilities were being repurposed so that those who needed medical attention could receive it, the Ukrainian health minister said, according to the AP.

The development comes shortly after Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine in an address early Thursday morning Moscow time. Prior to Putin’s remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional plea for peace, saying “The government in Ukraine wants peace and is doing everything it can to build it.” (Read more from “57 Dead, 169 Wounded From Russian Attack, Ukrainian Health Minister Says” HERE)

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European Allies Declare Russian Attack on Ukraine Threat to NATO Territory Under Article 4

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By Washington Examiner. A group of European countries are invoking the provision of NATO’s founding treaty that requires allies to hold consultations whenever “the security of any of the Parties is threatened,” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Poland and the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — are invoking that provision, the Washington Examiner has learned, in order to spur additional fortifications for the NATO member states nearest to the war zone. The invocation of that treaty provision reflects their anxiety about whether the Russian assault could spill beyond the territory of Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, into one of the countries within the trans-Atlantic alliance.

“Who can be sure what’s happening in his head?” a European official, speaking to the Washington Examiner on condition of anonymity, said in reference to Putin. “He started a war in the middle of Europe to demilitarize a neighboring country. Are we sure that that’s it? It’s always better to invest in deterrence [rather] than, when the conflict has started, to invest in fighting the conflict.”

The embattled country of Ukraine shares a border with four NATO member states. The Baltic states do not border Ukraine, but Lithuania and Latvia share a border with Belarus, which is hosting Russian forces, and Latvia and Estonia border Russia. Lithuania and Poland also share a border with Kaliningrad, a district of Russian sovereign territory on the Baltic Sea that does not connect by land to the rest of Russia. (Read more from “European Allies Declare Russian Attack on Ukraine Threat to NATO Territory Under Article 4” HERE)

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Ukrainian Military Says Five Russian Aircraft and Helicopter Shot Down

By Washington Examiner. Russia’s military forces began an attack on Ukraine early Thursday morning local time, just moments after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on video to announce a “special military operation” stretching across the embattled eastern region of Donbas and beyond.

Explosions could be heard across parts of Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said hours earlier he had reached out to Putin seeking peace only to be met with “silence.” The volleys included cruise and ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian officials, who also told reporters that Russian troops landed in the port city of Odessa, which is across the Black Sea from Crimea, and crossed the border into Kharkiv in the northeast, NBC News reported.

Hours into the assault, Ukraine’s military claimed that five Russian aircraft and a helicopter were shot down early Thursday, according to CNN, while Russia’s state-run news agency TASS denied the claims. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, a senior Ukrainian Interior Ministry official said, “You can be certain that hundreds of Ukrainian service members have already died from the Russian strikes.”

Meanwhile, in the financial sector, stocks took a dive, while oil prices jumped.

President Joe Biden, who warned Russia of more punishing sanctions if it conducted a full-on invasion of Ukraine, is receiving regular updates on the situation in Ukraine and issued a statement vowing that the “world will hold Russia accountable.” With the attack stretching from the predawn hours into daylight and air raid sirens blaring in Kyiv, Zelensky announced that he had just spoken with Biden and declared martial law while urging the Ukrainian people to remain calm. (Read more from “Ukrainian Military Says Five Russian Aircraft and Helicopter Shot Down” HERE)

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Ukraine Declares Martial Law, Shut Downs Air Space Amid Russia Attack

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Ukraine imposed martial law Wednesday night as Russian forces launched offenses across the country, according to Dutch outlet BNO.

A nationwide state of emergency had been in effect, giving officials extra powers to impose restrictions. Under martial law, military leaders are the absolute authorities of Ukraine’s civilians.

Ukraine’s air space was closed after Russia struck multiple cities with explosives, National Defense and Security Council Chief Oleksiy Danilov said, according to The Kyiv Independent.

“In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft,” the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said, adding it was monitoring developments and would adjust its recommendations.

“As a precautionary measure, operators should exercise extreme caution and avoid using the airspace within 100NM of the Bielorussian and Russia-Ukraine border.” (Read more from “Ukraine Declares Martial Law, Shut Downs Air Space Amid Russia Attack” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Romania Prepared to Accept 500,000 Ukrainian Refugees: Report

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Romania is prepared to accept 500,000 Ukrainian refugees, the country’s Defense Minister Vasile Dincu told reporters Tuesday.

According to a report from Reuters, Dincu said “there are several estimates, but we could receive over 500,000 refugees, that is…the number for which we have prepared alongside the interior ministry and other institutions.”

Dincu added that “there is a plan prepared for all large cities, there are areas for this near the borders.”

Romania shares approximately 380 miles of border with Ukraine. Reuters noted that the country saw “relatively few” Ukrainian refugees when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in February and March 2014.

“We are also not expecting a major influx coming here now, but one never knows,” Dincu told reporters. (Read more from “Romania Prepared to Accept 500,000 Ukrainian Refugees: Report” HERE)

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Russian Lawmakers Give Putin Go-Ahead to Use Force in Ukraine’s Breakaway Regions

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Russian lawmakers on Tuesday gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the go-ahead to deploy troops to the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in eastern Ukraine, heightening fears of a full-scale attack after the Biden administration finally admitted that an invasion by Moscow was underway in the rebel-held areas.

Members of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, voted unanimously to allow Putin to send troops outside of the country, rubber-stamping the dispatch of troops and the construction of military bases in the disputed regions, where ongoing fighting since 2014 has killed more than 14,000 people.

Putin ordered so-called “peacekeeping” forces into the region of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas on Monday after recognzing the separatist areas as independent — and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified Tuesday that recognition extends to the entire area, raising the likelihood that Russian troops will attempt to gobble up more territory.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that he believed Russia was still planning a large-scale assault on Ukraine, even as he held out hope for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. (Read more from “Russian Lawmakers Give Putin Go-Ahead to Use Force in Ukraine’s Breakaway Regions” HERE)

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The Invasion Has Begun: Putin Orders Troops Into Eastern Ukraine

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The invasion has begun. There were videos on social media showing Russian troops and heavy equipment moving into the Donbas region. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would recognize these would-be breakaway republics as independent states. President Joe Biden reportedly saw this coming and issued sanctions, which should scare away the Russians. Nope. President Oatmeal for Brains’ declaration did nothing. The Russians took another step towards all-out war. They’ve essentially invaded eastern Ukraine under the pretext of a peacekeeping mission. This is Obama and the red lines in Syria. The other side keeps crossing them, and we do nothing. The invasion of Ukraine has begun, and Biden is nowhere to be seen. Where’s Blinken? Where’s anybody in this sorry excuse for an administration (via NBC News):

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Monday, just hours after he formally recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions in the eastern part of the country.

The order will likely be seen as another escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, on a day when tensions rose as Putin moved forward with the formal recognition of two breakaway regions and delivered a lengthy speech about the relationship between the two nations.

(Read more from “The Invasion Has Begun: Putin Orders Troops Into Eastern Ukraine” HERE)

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Joe Biden Allows Vladimir Putin to Send More Russian Troops Into Ukraine Without Triggering Sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send more troops into Ukraine would not trigger the sanctions prepared by the United States and European allies, the White House said Monday.

A White House official explained President Joe Biden’s position during a conference call with reporters Monday.

Biden officials reacted anonymously to Putin’s decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine’s Donestsk and Luhansk regions for “peacekeeping” after the two territories declared independence from Ukraine.

“Russian troops moving into Donbas would not itself be a new step,” the official noted during the call. “Russia has had forces in the Donbas region for the past eight years.”

Putin’s political play puts Biden and his administration in a difficult spot, as they have repeatedly said that large numbers of troops crossing the Ukrainian border would be considered an invasion. (Read more from “Joe Biden Allows Vladimir Putin to Send More Russian Troops Into Ukraine Without Triggering Sanctions” HERE)

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As Putin Invades, State Department Evacuates Ukraine

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After recently moving staff and diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to the Ukrainian city of Lviv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced late Monday night personnel is evacuating to Poland. The statement comes just hours after Russia President Vladimir Putin invaded the country from the east.

“Today the Department of State is again taking action for the safety and security of U.S. citizens, including our personnel. For security reasons, Department of State personnel currently in Lviv will spend the night in Poland. Our personnel will regularly return to continue their diplomatic work in Ukraine and provide emergency consular services. They will continue to support the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government, coordinating on diplomatic efforts,” Blinken released in a statement. “The United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s aggression is unwavering. The fact that we are taking prudent precautions for the sake of the safety of U.S. government personnel and U.S. citizens, as we do regularly worldwide, in no way undermines our support for, or our commitment to, Ukraine. Our commitment to Ukraine transcends any one location.”

(Read more from “As Putin Invades, State Department Evacuates Ukraine” HERE)

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From Bad to Worse: Biden Admin Claims Inflation Going to Make an Even Bigger Dent in Your Wallet

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Vice President Kamala Harris warned that Americans could feel some “costs” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, unwelcome news to many who are already bearing the costs of soaring inflation.

“When America stands for principles, and all of the things that we hold dear, it requires sometimes for us to put ourselves out there in a way that maybe we will incur some cost,” Harris said Sunday after a meeting with NATO leaders in Germany.

Harris said some of the costs to hit American pocket books “may relate to energy cost,” with Russia being one of the world’s leading producers of oil.

The vice president’s comments come as Americans have already seen prices on common good rise thanks to a four-decade high in inflation, according to the consumer price index. Those price increases have been spread across almost all common goods, including medical care, clothing, transportation, food, and shelter. (Read more from “From Bad to Worse: Biden Admin Claims Inflation Going to Make an Even Bigger Dent in Your Wallet” HERE)

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