Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[NOVA Green]

Meanwhile, Hungary is dealing with their own issues according to the NYT...

(Don't want to overquote but there is more there)

"The war has forced President Viktor Orban of Hungary to reset his political calculations.

ZAHONY, Hungary — A dusty town with a train station in northeastern Hungary, near the border with Slovakia and Ukraine, has become a transit point for people fleeing Russia’s war against Ukraine. It also has thrown a wrench into the political calculations of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary’s illiberal, Russia-friendly, anti-immigrant strongman.

Nearly 80,000 people have crossed into Hungary, at Zahony and other towns along the 84-mile border with Ukraine, since President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered his forces into Ukraine last Thursday in the biggest military action to convulse Europe since World War II.

In other circumstances, Mr. Orban’s hard-line refugee policy would have made it impossible for so many people entering the country to get international protection.

...."




https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/27/world/russia-ukraine-war/the-war-has-forced-president-viktor-orban-of-hungary-to-reset-his-political-calculations

[NOVA Green]

Wall Street Journal just posted an interesting and very long article which I can only partially quote, so please go out and buy a subscription or do a free trial...

"As His Invasion of Ukraine Sputters, Putin Finds Himself Isolated and Out of Touch

The Russian leader is isolated from his inner circle and peddling an alternative version of history to suit his needs

With the world moving against him, economic sanctions piling up and a so-far unsuccessful military campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday issued the ultimate deterrent threat.

Mr. Putin put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert, a warning to the countries lining up to help Ukraine fend off its Russian attackers. The announcement was a window into Mr. Putin’s increasing isolation and anger. His behavior is making his inner circle appear visibly uncomfortable.

Mr. Putin issued his warning Sunday sitting at one end of a very long table. Seated far down the table were two top lieutenants who typically exude confidence. As Mr. Putin ordered them to put the country’s nuclear weapons on high alert, Sergei Shoigu —his longtime defense minister and stalwart ally—lowered his head in a sign of consent.

The Russian leader appears to have gravely miscalculated the economic and political costs as well as the on-the-ground challenges of an attack on Ukraine. His overreach threatens to have far-reaching consequences for both his global standing and the stability of his nation.

He singled out another close adviser in a televised security council meeting seen by millions of Russians. Just before the attack on Ukraine, Mr. Putin took his spy chief, Sergei Naryshkin, to task for his failure to “speak directly.” Mr. Naryshkin appeared uncomfortable and stumbled over his words as the Kremlin leader pressed him to express his views on whether the breakaway eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk should be recognized as independent.

....


But he built toward his biggest gamble ever during the isolation of Covid-19. Mr. Putin retreated to his residence outside Moscow and imposed stringent quarantine requirements on anyone wanting to see him.

It was during that period that he began building his current case for attacking Ukraine. In a 7,000-word essay written last summer and published on the Kremlin’s website, Mr. Putin outlined what he said was evidence that Ukraine is an artificially-created country infiltrated by foreign forces and overrun by nationalists who threaten Russia’s security.

Mr. Putin’s essay soon became so core to the Kremlin’s narrative on Ukraine that the Defense Ministry added it to the curriculum studied by all Russian service members, including the 190,000 troops estimated to have massed near Ukraine’s borders ahead of Thursday’s invasion.

...."





https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-his-invasion-of-ukraine-sputters-putin-finds-himself-isolated-and-out-of-touch-11646000993?st=x5bbfr3wzi9sp47&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

[NOVA Green]

FX markets very thin right now but good luck buying anything if you're a Russian company in the next few months.


https://twitter.com/RamiRanger/status/1498046845737701377?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle...

Wow--- that was the top end of the estimates I posted earlier today from the WSJ.

[NOVA Green]

US Extends active duty status for 4,000 US Army Troops deployed in Europe per CNN (12 minutes ago):

(Article longer but don't want to overquote but still free website)

"4,000 US Army troops deployed in Europe have tour of duty extended

More than 4,000 US Army troops who were deployed to Europe on a temporary basis will now have their tour of duty extended -- likely for several weeks -- as part of the US effort to reassure eastern European allies during the current crisis in Ukraine.

The 1st Armored Brigade Combat team of the 1st Infantry Division had been scheduled to return to the US next month after a nine-month tour in Europe. But the team will now stay and continue training and deterrence missions with nations that could include Poland, Romania and the Baltics.

"I don't want to speculate on a timeline, but be assured it will only be for as long as they are needed," John Tomassi, a spokesman for the Army in Europe, told CNN in an email.

In addition to the brigade, there are additional support troops that will be extended. For several years, the army has regularly rotated combat brigades, along with the armored vehicles in and out of Europe, to help maintain a US military presence.

...."


https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-27-22/h_ca690f77cc2a0296447c07d019c3c122

[NOVA Green]

If true, Belarusian forces has already been compromised before they've even done anything, by the founder of a random NGO no less:

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1498070435510067204?s=20&t=Bjbs6jzZB...

Wait--- where the hell would these Belarusian forces be dropping anyways?

Even the Russian paratrooper drops in Ukraine were pretty much easily repelled except a symbolic drop in the SE front far away from enemy lines and air defense systems....

[NOVA Green]

161 pages, 30 of them by NOVA Green.

But why do you have me wearing a woman's wedding ring?

I provided the ORIGINAL Pornhub quote and then you waltz along behind me today and claiming like it is "new news"   

Just for you will quote your earlier post

Okay, perhaps a bit petty and forgot to mention it when I first saw the article yesterday, but Pornhub has now blocked their content from Russian Users....

https://groundreport.in/pornhub-ban-russia-sanctions-no-one-is-talking-about/

Now--- Pornhub and Russia have exchanged beef before, going way back to 2016 and 2017

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/pornhub-youporn-russia-blocked-premium-vladimir-putin-meet-people-in-real-life-a7308391.html

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/07/12/russians-told-to-log-in-to-pornhub-using-verified-social-media-accounts/

https://www.vox.com/2017/6/2/15726082/russia-putin-navalny-pornhub

Meanwhile, you stole my Pornhub and made it your own...

Sanctions just got real for the Russians.

[NOVA Green]

Meanwhile in rural villages in Central Ukraine, trenches are being dug, Molotov Cocktails are being assembled, and kids are told to stay back in case they accidentally hurt themselves...

(Long article so please check out the full New York Times link).

"Once Sleepy and Picturesque, Ukrainian Villages Mobilize for War

While Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities have drawn most of the attention in the war’s early days, civilians in country towns have joined the fight, putting aside the routines of daily village life.

By Maria Varenikova
Feb. 27, 2022
Updated 5:22 p.m. ET
KHOMUTYNTSI, Ukraine — The villagers appeared as silhouettes in the headlights of cars and trucks, a few carrying guns and others clubs, as if they were gangsters roaming the streets.

They were local men and women formed into self-defense units in the villages of the Vinnytsya region in central Ukraine, which had gone silent and dark when the streetlights switched off. They stood by the roadsides, under a very low sky with bright stars.

“I am so proud of our people,” said Oksana Mudryk, the mayor of Khomutyntsi village, about 140 miles southwest of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. “Our village is so tiny that I was thinking, ‘Do we even have anybody to patrol the streets?’ I thought maybe three guys at most would come to patrol with me. But in one day after the war started in Kyiv, I have signed up more than 30 people.”

Most of the attention in the first days of the war has focused on Ukraine’s large cities, which are the main targets of Russian troop movements and the scene of pitched street battles and deafening artillery attacks. But out in the countryside, a massive grass-roots movement is underway in villages like Khomutyntsi as ordinary Ukrainians — farmers, shop owners, day laborers, taxi drivers — take up arms to join a battle that has abruptly upended their lives.

The mobilization of civilians to fight against seemingly impossible odds has been one of the distinguishing features of Ukraine’s unexpectedly fierce resistance. And though it may end tragically, Ukrainian officials have been pointing to the effort with pride.

“The Russian leadership does not understand that it is at war not only with the armed forces of Ukraine, but with the entire Ukrainian people,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a news briefing on Sunday. “And these people have already risen to the liberation struggle, liberation war against occupiers.”

Displays of defiance have been recorded across the country. In eastern Ukraine, where Russian armored columns entered towns and villages, some local residents confronted soldiers with angry words. In northern Ukraine, a man knelt briefly in front of a tank. One Ukrainian woman filmed herself on a cellphone taunting a Russian soldier by telling him to put sunflower seeds in his pocket, so that when he died in Ukraine, flowers would grow.

In Khomutyntsi, the big meadow that stretches along the Postolova River is normally a place of leisure. Villagers fish in the river year-round and swim there in the summer. But this weekend the whole village gathered in the meadow to build trenches, a checkpoint and underground shelters.

Ms. Mudryk drove her car Saturday night to check on her volunteers. She does this several times each night, as patrols keep guard on the roadsides from dusk to dawn.

Why would the Russian army come to Khomutyntsi, a cluster of one-story, white-plastered homes, garden plots and dirt roads, with about 400 residents, surrounded by forests and fields? It might seem unlikely. But if Russian troops did arrive, they would not go unnoticed by local people on the watch.

“I am crying so much as it is very difficult to get used to our new reality,” Ms. Mudryk said. “But I bow my head in honor to our people. Today, we were asked to bring some help with food to soldiers. In two hours, we loaded a full van of food, just from our village.”

There is bravery, but there is also great fear. Standing on the road in the dark, the mayor pointed at a star in the sky that seemed to be behaving strangely, worried it might be a Russian drone over the village.

Serhiy Osavoliuk, who signed up for patrol duty, said his wife soon followed suit. “My wife, probably thinking of controlling me, signed up as well,” he said. “Now we patrol together.” The pair walk about with flashlights, stopping cars and checking who is inside. Usually, it is just local people.

Scenes like these are repeated in village after village through the countryside. Hundreds of local people helped build fortifications, bringing big sacks from their houses and filling them with sand.

Many of the civilians doing support work, like Mr. Osavoliuk and his wife, are unarmed, though a few have guns or have asked for them. But it seems as if everybody is doing what they can, hoping that even little actions might help.

The national road agency of Ukraine, for example, issued an order to take down all the road signs — to make it harder for Russian troops to navigate.

On the road between the towns of Vinnytsia and Kalynivka, the process had already started, bringing one more, strange new scene on the side of familiar roads. The sign for the village Pysarivka disappeared in just five minutes. Volodymyr, a road service worker, who is 55 and did not want to provide his last name for safety reasons, said he had been driving around tearing down signs. “It is important for them to get lost,” he said of the Russians.

In Kalynivka, which is close to a large weapons depot that Russian troops have targeted, local volunteers wove small strips of cloth together to form a makeshift camouflage net over their checkpoint. Too many people have been clustering around the spot, they said, making it a potential target. The location they chose is next to a bomb shelter, to hide in if bombs start to fall.

“We came to help our soldiers,’’ said Valentyna Rudenko. “It is hard to believe it is happening to us.”

In some places, as in Hushchyntsi, the volunteer effort encompassed the whole village. About 50 people were piling up logs into makeshift bunkers, as children ran about and women carried out homemade meals.

“Step away, you might get hurt, that’s the job for grown-ups,” one man told the children hoping to participate.

The town square near a military recruitment center in Kalynivka was filled with men with duffel bags, and also their wives and children who came to say goodbye.

They sat on tree stumps and on their bags or stood in groups joking. Their children grew bored during their fathers’ long waits to be issued a gun and receive instructions.

Those who were waiting had already registered and came ready to deploy. But there were also newcomers arriving every minute at the entry gate to the square, asking guards where they should go to register.

Among them was Volodymyr Varchuk, 67, who rode up on a very rundown bicycle. “Hey guys, how do I sign up?” he asked. Soldiers looked at each other and asked his age. When Mr. Varchuk answered, a soldier told him to go away and wait until he is called up.

Mr. Varchuk left disappointed. “The young ones will be sent to fight, but us old ones are those who should guard the town!” he said. “I knew it would happen since 2014, we already had war with Russia, it’s obvious they would want to proceed.”

People were running in and out of the recruitment center, with bags of food, water, clothes. One woman with two sons who looked about 20 took them to a bench and had them sit down. Then she helped them try on the new shoes she had bought for them.

An older man named Viktor came to say goodbye to his son. “My soul is restless,” he said. “How would you feel sending your son to the war?” "



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-villages-russia-war.html

[NOVA Green]

What is the point of that "Russia nukes DC" tangent? Take a walk, leave this thread for important updates rather than your own dooming.

Some people here almost seem to want nuclear armageddon.

Agreed.... people can either take it another thread (Believe there is already one out there?), since it's really getting a bit OOT.

It I were a mod might start looking at selective muting if folx don't keep it relatively civil and on topic.

Still not a mod and not an attempted mod-jacker, but it's starting to turn into one of these things which occasionally will clog up US General Election threads...

[NOVA Green]

Russian Boycott Movement Continues per New York Times:

(Much longer article so to read to full one go directly to the New York Times)

"The Metropolitan Opera says it will cut ties with pro-Putin artists.

The Metropolitan Opera said on Sunday that it would no longer engage with performers or other institutions that have voiced support for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, becoming the latest cultural organization to seek to distance itself from some Russian artists amid Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said that the Met, which has long employed Russians as top singers and has a producing partnership with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, had an obligation to show support for the people of Ukraine.

“While we believe strongly in the warm friendship and cultural exchange that has long existed between the artists and artistic institutions of Russia and the United States,” Mr. Gelb said in a video statement, “we can no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him.”

Mr. Gelb added that the policy would be in effect “until the invasion and killing has been stopped, order has been restored, and restitutions have been made.”

..."



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/arts/music/met-opera-putin-ukraine-peter-gelb.html

[NOVA Green]

Ukrainian Turkish Supplied Anti-Tank Drones recently hit Russian Convoy heading towards Kiev from the NW...

Saw the footage on CNN, but my wife had just gotten of of work, so neglected to provide another example of how effective these drones can be against Russian Tanks.

"1 hr 36 min ago

Ukraine claims successful drone attacks against Russian forces

From Tim Lister in Kyiv

The Ukrainian military has claimed successful attacks by its Turkish-made force of drones against Russian forces.

On Sunday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine released footage showing the destruction of armor by a drone, and said it was carried out against a Russian BUK surface-to-air missile system.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, said the drone attack took place near the town of Malyn, 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) northwest of Kyiv.

The Ukrainian government began receiving the Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey last year. "

[NOVA Green]

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1498098770273312769

Belarus Jets???

Is this the upcoming "5 AM Airdrop" ?

If so am assuming they are providing close tactical support against Ukrainian Air Defense systems.

[NOVA Green]

First banking casualty of Western Sanctions per The Guardian (Uk paper for the yanks that don't know):


"Sberbank Europe will collapse, says ECB


More bad economic news for Putin.

The European Central Bank said on Monday morning that Sberbank Europe, a fully-owned subsidiary of Sberbank Russia, which in turn is majority-owned by the Russian state, is failing or likely to fail along with its Croatian and Slovenian units.

“Sberbank Europe AG and its subsidiaries experienced significant deposit outflows as a result of the reputational impact of geopolitical tensions,” the ECB said in a statement. “This led to a deterioration of its liquidity position.

“There are no available measures with a realistic chance of restoring this position at group level and in each of its subsidiaries within the banking union.” "

[NOVA Green]

161 pages, 30 of them by NOVA Green.

But why do you have me wearing a woman's wedding ring?

I provided the ORIGINAL Pornhub quote and then you waltz along behind me today and claiming like it is "new news"   

Just for you will quote your earlier post

Okay, perhaps a bit petty and forgot to mention it when I first saw the article yesterday, but Pornhub has now blocked their content from Russian Users....

https://groundreport.in/pornhub-ban-russia-sanctions-no-one-is-talking-about/

Now--- Pornhub and Russia have exchanged beef before, going way back to 2016 and 2017

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/pornhub-youporn-russia-blocked-premium-vladimir-putin-meet-people-in-real-life-a7308391.html

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/07/12/russians-told-to-log-in-to-pornhub-using-verified-social-media-accounts/

https://www.vox.com/2017/6/2/15726082/russia-putin-navalny-pornhub

Meanwhile, you stole my Pornhub and made it your own...

Sanctions just got real for the Russians.

Haven’t seen these yet here:

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1497288086622978048?s=21

Nope, beat you both…heh

WMS is owed a virtual beer, since unfortunately cannot provide in person for the first Atlas Poster to talk about the Pornhub boycott of Russia.

Unless another Atlas Poster can come forth with an earlier post on this thread, I say he is the champion!

[NOVA Green]

UK starting to really lay down the law for money investments from Russian Elites....   (Per CNN ~ 1 Hr 5 Minutes ago):

"UK to crack down on "dirty money" from Russian oligarchs

From CNN's Susanna Capelouto

British leaders plan to introduce legislation in Parliament on Monday aimed at clamping down on money laundering and fraud following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   

The measure would strengthen law enforcement to go after corrupt oligarchs and create a so-called “Register of Overseas Entities,” where foreigners who own property in the United Kingdom must be identified by name, according to a government statement.

“There is no place for dirty money in the UK,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in the statement. “We are going faster and harder to tear back the façade that those supporting Putin’s campaign of destruction have been hiding behind for so long.”
The government said the registry sets up a new standard for global transparency so “criminals cannot hide behind secretive chains of shell companies.” 

The registry will be retroactive for property bought up to 20 years ago in England and Wales and since 2014 in Scotland. The bill also includes a prison sentence of up to five years for anyone breaking the new rules. 

Some context: Decades of loose regulation and courting of Russian investors mean that some allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are now deeply integrated into UK society.

Wealthy Russians flocked to London over the past three decades after gaining entry to the UK via investor visa programs, according to a report published by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament in 2020. Light-touch regulation, lucrative investment opportunities and a legal system that can be used to settle disputes helped attract the oligarchs.

Many Russian oligarchs made their fortunes when state-owned companies were privatized in the chaos following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In London, they found an army of lawyers and bankers who were willing to help them invest in UK companies and London property, according to analysts.


https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-27-22/index.html

[NOVA Green]

Unified late Sunday call from US & Allies:

Look at the list of Allied Foreign Ministers on the call!!!



"US and allied partners to Ukrainian foreign minister: "We stand with Ukraine"


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his G7 counterparts “underscored” the “unified response to Russia’s invasion,” in a call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday, according to a State Department readout.

“Together we are supporting the Ukrainian people and imposing severe costs and consequences to hold Russia accountable for its war of choice,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. “We stand with Ukraine and recognize the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people.”
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the High Representative of the European Union were also on the call."

Meanwhile more "Bottle Donations" in Ukrainian Cities...

[NOVA Green]

UK starting to really lay down the law for money investments from Russian Elites....   (Per CNN ~ 1 Hr 5 Minutes ago):

"UK to crack down on "dirty money" from Russian oligarchs

so they knew about Russian dirty before today but didn't do anything about it and they know about non-Russian dirty money now but they don't plan on doing anything about that?

That was 100% my thought when I read the article.   

Almost reminds me a bit of the situation involving banks in Miami area at the time that movies such as "Scarface" and TV series such as "Miami Vice" were popular.

Not that there isn't tons of dirty real estate money floating around in the US today, but tends to be a lot more dispersed to the point it gets hard for US GVT agencies and Federal Prosecutors to be able to get cases to trial (Regardless of domestic vs international assets).

[NOVA Green]

https://twitter.com/timelywriter/status/1498131468996038656

Wow if true!

Now, am very disturbed at the concept of a direct war between the US / NATO against Russia as anybody else on here.

Still, there are already tons of pledges of lethal hardware destined for Ukraine courtesy of virtually every NATO nation and the US has already provided Anti-Tank Missiles so it's not a true escalation.

Russia started the war against Ukraine with pretexts that are even shadier than the US Invasion & Occupation of Iraq in '03, and it does not appear that most reasonable individuals just about anywhere in the world view Ukraine as the aggressor.

Hopefully this will provide a path for Putin to back down immediately and find a "graceful exit" from Ukraine before his casualty numbers continue to multiply exponentially.

[NOVA Green]

Has anything come of those alleged Belarusian paratroopers?

You know, I've been wondering about as well for a bit.

Maybe their deployment got delayed and they overslept their reporting time to the barracks, could have been a COVID outbreak, could just be that at the last minute the mission got scrubbed?

Good to know that the mighty Russian Army will always have Belarusian Paratroopers in Reserve!

[NOVA Green]

I sort of wonder if the Suez crisis felt a little like this in real time. On one hand, the stakes here are obviously higher due to the extreme irrationality of the aggressor power. On the other hand, at least in this case there was already a general sense among sane people that Russia's glory days were behind it, whereas my understanding of the events of 1956 was that many people still thought of Britain as a more or less equal partner to the USA and USSR until it tried to intervene in Egypt and got soundly thrashed by a bunch of pissed-off Arab nationalist boat pilots.

The Eisenhower Administration played a major role in this however by effectively forcing the British to pull out way early by creating a run on the British currency as a result of UK WW II debt to the US. 

This effectively forced England to pull out way early leaving the French (over whom we had no leverage) and the Israelis who had achieved their goal of taken the Eastern Bank of the Nile River to basically cease military activities short of the overthrow of the Nasser regime.

[NOVA Green]

So Okay... didn't get home from work until about two hours ago, barely checked my media coverage, and instead thought I would spend a couple hours of my life going through every single post on this thread since my last post.

See how much I love Atlas?   

So basically today sounds like a relatively slow day on multiple fronts (Militarily, Politically, Economically, and even Socially).

I know Meclazine made a light hard meme about my heavy posting Yesterday, but still it seems like most of the items I posted were actually basically reflected or accentuated in today's News updates.



All right, now that I've digested two hours of Atlas, time to take a peak at the news to see if anything has been missed.

[NOVA Green]

Don't believe this has been posted yet, but here is an interesting report from not so long ago on the New York Times about how the vaunted Russian Cyberattack on Ukraine failed on the eve of War....

"As tanks rolled into Ukraine, so did malware. Then Microsoft entered the war.

Last Wednesday, a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine, alarms went off inside Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center, warning of a never-before-seen piece of “wiper” malware that appeared aimed at the country’s government ministries and financial institutions.

Within three hours, Microsoft threw itself into the middle of a ground war in Europe — from 5,500 miles away. The threat center, north of Seattle, had been on high alert, and it quickly picked apart the malware, named it “FoxBlade” and notified Ukraine’s top cyberdefense authority. Within three hours, Microsoft’s virus detection systems had been updated to block the code, which erases — “wipes” — data on computers in a network.

Then Tom Burt, the senior Microsoft executive who oversees the company’s effort to counter major cyberattacks, contacted Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for cyber- and emerging technologies. Ms. Neuberger asked if Microsoft would consider sharing details of the code with the Baltics, Poland and other European nations, out of fear that the malware would spread beyond Ukraine’s borders, crippling the military alliance or hitting West European banks.

"


https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/28/world/ukraine-russia-war/as-tanks-rolled-into-ukraine-so-did-malware-then-microsoft-entered-the-war

[NOVA Green]

Don't believe this was posted before, but for anybody out there who is a big fan of crypto currency, it also shows why it is the most favored current currency among big bad actors from rogue states, drug dealers, tax cheats, computer financial hackers, etc...


"Some cryptocurrency exchanges said they were refusing calls to suspend Russian accounts. Unless there was a legal requirement to do so, the move would violate bitcoin’s “libertarian values, which strongly favor individualism and human rights,” Jesse Powell, the chief executive and co-founder of the U.S.-based Kraken Exchange, said on Twitter. “Our mission,” he added, “is to bridge individual humans out of the legacy financial system and bring them in to the world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter.” On Sunday, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, had asked all major crypto exchanges to block Russian addresses."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/28/world/ukraine-russia-war

[NOVA Green]

Bulgaria shows how Fortress Europe is only open to a certain kind of refugee....

Unfortunately only too common in most European Nations these days, and certainly the United States is no saint on this front either.

(Don't want to overquote so buy your own very inexpensive subscription or use one of your free monthly articles).

"Bulgaria’s leader contrasts ‘intelligent,’ ‘educated’ refugees with those from the Middle East.

Ukraine’s neighbors to the west, facing an influx of war refugees estimated at 500,000 and rising, have opened their borders with a warm welcome. It’s a striking contrast to the far chillier reception offered to non-European migrants who have recently fled conflicts in countries like Syria and Afghanistan.

On Friday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov joined the leaders of nearby Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Romania in offering safe haven to Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, telling reporters that his government would do everything in its power to ease the looming humanitarian crisis.

That feel-good moment took a turn when he offered an explanation for the policy: These migrants were “Europeans,” he said, “not the refugees we are used to” in recent years — they were “intelligent” and “educated,” he added, people unlikely to spread terrorism.

“There is not a single European country now which is afraid of the current wave of refugees,” added Mr. Petkov, an American-educated reformer elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2021.

The comments were a striking counterpoint to a European refugee crisis in 2015 when an influx of more than one million refugees and migrants escaping war and conflict in the Middle East and Africa fanned an anti-immigrant backlash in Europe, and helped buttress far-right parties railing against migration and the perceived threat of Islam. At the time, Hungary even built a fence on its border with Serbia to keep migrants out, which became a potent symbol of animus against migration.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary waged a bitter battle with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel over immigration policy, seeking to keep immigrants out of Hungary while positioning himself as a defender of European values in a global conflict between Christians and non-Christians.

In the case of Bulgaria, over the past several years, the country has accepted relatively few refugees fleeing conflicts, while erecting barriers to discourage immigration, despite having the highest percentage of Muslim residents of any member of the European Union.

..."


https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/28/world/ukraine-russia-war/bulgarias-leader-contrasts-intelligent-educated-refugees-with-those-from-the-middle-east

[NOVA Green]

Not going to be posting all Night long, but here is one of those "Human Interest Stories" (Not my normal bag), in this case about a Ukrainian mechanic trying to sabotage a Super Yacht in Spain, which might indicate about some of the Ukrainian Diaspora scattered around Western Europe might be feeling these days....

*** WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PERFORM AT HOME ***

(Long article so either buy your own subscription or use a monthly freebie).   

"A Ukrainian mechanic heard about attacks in Kyiv, so he tried to sink a superyacht

By Brittany Shammas and Paulina Villegas8:36 p.m.

Taras Ostapchuk was on a break from his job as a yacht mechanic Saturday when he pulled up a news report on his cellphone.

Watching footage of a Russian missile striking an apartment building in Kyiv, the 55-year-old Ukrainian was devastated. Then he became angry because, by his account, the weapon may have been supplied by his boss.

The owner of the yacht he worked on — the $7 million Lady Anastasia, docked at the luxe Port Adriano on the Spanish island of Mallorca — is a Russian arms tycoon, he told authorities and reporters. The Washington Post was unable to confirm the yacht’s ownership Monday.

Ostapchuk decided to seek vengeance for his country — and sink the yacht.

“I told myself: ‘What do I need a job for if I don’t have a country?’ ” he told the Spanish newspaper Ultima Hora.

Ostapchuk, who was arrested by the Civil Guard national police, said in court testimony that he viewed his boss as a criminal because he sells weapons that could have been used against Ukrainians.

In court testimony and in media interviews, Ostapchuk described opening a valve in the Lady Anastasia’s machine room and another in its crew area. Not wanting to harm anyone, he told those aboard to abandon ship.

Three crew members protested, yelling that Ostapchuk was crazy. He reminded them that they, too, were Ukrainian and that their homeland was being attacked.

...."



https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/28/russia-ukraine-war-putin-news/#link-6LTFCKIKSRGZFKOA2MHFEJCFKI

[NOVA Green]

So for anybody not familiar with the history of Molotov Cocktail, and why it is perhaps particularly salient in Ukraine, here is a brief primer and history lesson published earlier today on the Washington Post:

Although it might seem relatively ineffective against a heavily armored force, it might actually be surprisingly effective in a war which in many cases resembles much more of a WW II era combat scene than what many Americans are used to seeing.

(Again buy your own subscription or use a freebie.)

"Ukrainians are hurling Molotov cocktails at Russians. Hungarians and Finns have done the same.

By Michael Ruane5:04 p.m.

The young men waited in the shadows until the Russian tank had passed them on the narrow city street. Then one jumped from a doorway, climbed onto the vehicle and jammed a crowbar into its tread, bringing it to a halt.

When a member of the tank crew cracked open a hatch to take a look, another man threw a flaming molotov cocktail, while the first man jerked open the hatch and dropped in a hand grenade. Other men then clambered over the tank, yanked out the Russians and shot them.

“As long as there are old bottles and gasoline supplies and rags to serve for fuses, no Russian tank will be safe in the streets,” a member of the besieged country’s defiant government declared in the New York Times. (His name was withheld for security reasons.)

The Russian army has “met its match in the molotov cocktail,” he proclaimed.

The city was Budapest. The year was 1956. And the Hungarian dissidents, according to accounts in the Times and The Washington Post, were fighting an invasion by Soviet Russia.

...

But the weapon was also featured in an official 1943 U.S. Army training film explaining how to destroy Nazi tanks, titled “Crack That Tank.”

As a soldier in a foxhole demonstrates, a narrator (dressed as an army sergeant) explains: “Light the rag, heave the bottle so it busts on top of the tank and this is what you get.” The film shows a “cocktail” exploding on a simulated tank.

“The burning gas pours through cracks and crevices in the tank,” the narrator says. “Nine times out of 10, it’ll find oil or grease or more gas inside.”

"


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/28/russia-ukraine-war-putin-news/#link-ISF5E3RBABG5LCPMSJFMOWFDWQ