What is a thermobaric bomb? Fears Putin will use weapon which can destroy cities block-by-block

The so-called ‘vacuum bombs’ are capable of vaporizing human bodies and reducing cities to rubble

By Georgina Littlejohn – February 26, 2022

After a night of fighting in Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have so far managed to repel Russian troops from seizing the capital.

But Western officials have warned that if the Ukrainian military resistance continues to hold up the Russian assault, President Putin could resort to using thermobaric weapons.

But what is a thermobaric weapon and how dangerous is it?

What is a thermobaric weapon?

Dubbed the ‘father of all bombs’, a thermobaric weapon works by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making it far deadlier than a conventional weapon.

The so-called ‘vacuum bombs’ are capable of vapourising human bodies, crushing internal organs and reducing cities to rubble causing huge loss of life.

Who developed them?

Both the United States and the Soviet Union developed thermobaric weapons in the 1960s.

In September 2007, the largest thermobaric weapon ever made was detonated by Russia and created an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons.

The US version reportedly costs over £11 million ($16 million) each.

In 2017, the US dropped one which weighed 21,600 pounds on the Taliban in Afghanistan. It left a crater more than 300 metres wide after it exploded six feet above the ground.

Is the West concerned Russia will resort to using them?

Western allies fear Russia could use thermobaric weapons against Ukrainian forces if they continue to hold up their advance.

They believe because Russian forces missed most of their day one objectives of the invasion, they could resort to indiscriminate firing to make up ground.

One official said this could include thermobaric weapons which Russia is known to have in its armory and has used in past conflicts.

The Tos-1 Buratino weapons are understood to have crossed into Ukraine, although they have yet to be used.

Moscow has previously employed them in Chechnya and Syria.

“My fear would be that if they don’t meet their timescale and objectives they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence,” the official said.

“They don’t adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and rule of law that Western forces do.”

Associated Press

West unleashes SWIFT bans, more crushing penalties on Russia

Zeke Miller, Raf Casert, Ellen Knickmeyer, Ken Sweet – February 26, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network.

The decision, announced as Ukrainian forces battled Saturday to hold Russian forces back from Ukraine’s capital and residents sheltered in subway tunnels, basements and underground garages, has potential to spread the pain of Western retaliation for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion to ordinary Russians far more than previous rounds of penalties.

“Putin embarked on a path aiming to destroy Ukraine, but what he is also doing, in fact, is destroying the future of his own country,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The European Union, United States, United Kingdom and other allies have steadily stepped up the intensity of their sanctions since Russia launched the invasion late last week.

While U.S. and European officials made clear they still were working out the mechanics of how to implement the latest measures, and intend to spare Russia’s oil and natural gas exports, the sanctions in total potentially could amount to some of the toughest levied on a nation in modern times. If fully carried out as planned, the measures will severely damage the Russian economy and markedly constrain its ability to import and export goods.

The U.S. and European allies announced the moves in a joint statement as part of a new round of financial sanctions meant to “hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.”

The central bank restrictions target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal, and are meant to block Russia’s ability to support the ruble as it plunges in value amid tightening Western sanctions.

U.S. officials said Saturday’s steps were framed to send the ruble into “free fall” and promote soaring inflation in the Russian economy.

The decline of the ruble would likely send inflation soaring, which would hurt everyday Russians and not just the Russian elites who were the targets of the original sanctions. The resulting economic disruption, if Saturday’s measures are as harsh as described, could leave Putin facing political unrest at home.

Analysts predicted intensifying runs on banks by Russians, and falling government reserves as Russians scrambled to sell their targeted currency for safer assets.

The U.S. officials noted that previously announced sanctions have already had an impact on Russia, bringing its currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history and giving its stock market the worst week on record.

Saturday’s move also includes cutting key Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial messaging system, which daily moves countless billions of dollars around more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions around the world.

The fine print of the sanctions was still being ironed out over the weekend, officials said, as they work to limit the impact of the restrictions on other economies and European purchases of Russian energy.

Allies on both sides of the Atlantic also considered the SWIFT option in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia declared then that kicking it out of SWIFT would be equivalent to a declaration of war. The allies — criticized ever after for responding too weakly to Russia’s 2014 aggression — shelved the idea back then. Russia since then has tried to develop its own financial transfer system, with limited success.

The U.S. has succeeded before in persuading the Belgium-based SWIFT system to kick out a country — Iran, over its nuclear program. But kicking Russia out of SWIFT could also hurt other economies, including those of the U.S. and key ally Germany.

Only rarely has the West and its allies fired a full salvo of its available financial weapons on a country. Iran and North Korea, two previous targets, had far smaller roles in the world economy, while Russia, with its enormous petroleum reserves, plays a much bigger role in global trade, and parts of Europe depend on its natural gas.

The disconnection from SWIFT announced by the West on Saturday is partial, leaving Europe and the United States room to escalate penalties later. Officials said they had not fully settled on which banks would be cut off.

Announcing the measures in Brussels, the EU Commission president, von der Leyen, said she would push the bloc to “paralyze the assets of Russia’s Central bank” so that its transactions would be frozen. Cutting several commercial banks from SWIFT “will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” she added.

“Cutting banks off will stop them from conducting most of their financial transactions worldwide and effectively block Russian exports and imports,” she added.

Getting the EU on board for sanctioning Russia through SWIFT had been a tough process since EU trade with Russia amounted to 80 billion euros, about 10 times as much as the United States, which had been an early proponent of such measures.

Germany specifically had balked at the measure since it could hit them hard. But Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement that “after Russia’s shameless attack … we are working hard on limiting the collateral damage of decoupling (Russia) from SWIFT so that it hits the right people. What we need is a targeted, functional restrictions of SWIFT.”

As another measure, the allies announced a commitment “to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship — so-called golden passports — that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.”

The group also announced the formation this week of a trans-Atlantic task force to ensure that these and other sanctions on Russia are implemented effectively through information sharing and asset freezes.

“These new sanctions, which include removing several Russian banks from SWIFT and sanctioning Russia’s central bank, are likely to cause serious damage to the Russian economy and its banking system,” said Clay Lowery, executive vice president of the Institute of International Finance. “While details on how the new sanctions affect energy are still emerging, we do know that sanctions on its central bank will make it more difficult for Russia to export energy and other commodities.”

Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said that even without a complete SWIFT ban, “these measures will still be painful to Russia’s economy. They reinforce the measures already taken earlier this week by making transactions more complicated and difficult.”

Ziemba says how much pain the sanctions render on the Russian economy will depend on which banks are restricted and which measures are taken to restrict the ability of the Central Bank to operate.

“Regardless, these sort of escalating sanctions, removing banks from SWIFT, restricting the Central Bank, this will all make it more difficult to get commodities from Russia and will increase the pressure on the financial market.”

Meantime, the U.S. Embassy in Russia is warning Americans of multiple reports of non-Russian credit and debit cards being declined in Russia. In a tweet Saturday night, the American Embassy said the problem appears to be related to recent sanctions, imposed on Russian banks following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The embassy says U.S. citizens in Russia should be prepared with alternate means of payment should cards be declined. It also reminded U.S. citizens that the State Department advises against travel to Russia.

Casert reported from Brussels and Sweet from New York. Associated Press writers Frank Jordan, Fatima Hussein and Josh Boak contributed to this report.

U.S. News

Jon Stewart Praises ‘Grace’ Of Comedian-Turned-President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

“We’re watching Shecky Greene transform into Churchill,” he said of Ukraine’s leader.

By Hilary Hanson – February 26, 2022

Comedian Jon Stewart expressed admiration and respect on Saturday for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was a successful comedian before being elected Ukraine’s president.

The former “Daily Show” host discussed Zelenskyy with writers Robby Slowik and Rob Christensen on his new show, “The Problem With Jon Stewart.”

“We are comedians, and we know the general brand of cowardice that runs through our business,” said Stewart.

That, he said, was in stark contrast to the actions of Zelenskyy, who has emerged as a strong wartime leader during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy has posted videos expressing his resolution to stay in Kyiv, the country’s capital, and fight, despite threats to his life. When the United States offered to evacuate Zelenskyy from the city, he reportedly said, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”

“We’re watching Shecky Greene transform into Churchill,” Stewart said, a reference to the nightclub comedian who was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led the United Kingdom during World War II.

He also imagined a darkly funny scene involving a group of comics complaining about the “horrors” of their profession ― like being poorly treated at a comedy club ― before Zelenskyy chimes in to recount the genuine horrors of war.

Stewart praised what he characterized Zelenskyy’s “grace” under the circumstances.

“What this dude is doing, it is incredibly moving,” he said.

Insider – Sports

The world of sports is distancing itself from Russia, abandoning sponsorships, refusing to play matches, and canceling events

Barnaby Lane – February 25, 2022

• Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
• Sports teams and organizations across the globe are now distancing themselves from the country.
• The Russian Grand Prix has been canceled, while Russia has also been stripped of the Champions League final.

World sport is distancing itself from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military assault in Ukraine Thursday, with attacks having since been reported in the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa.

According to The Times of England, at least 57 Ukrainians died on the first day of the invasion.

With world leaders condemning Russia and Putin, sports teams and organizations, as well as athletes, from across the globe are now moving to separate themselves from the country and its leader. 

The Champions League final has been moved from St. Petersburg to Paris.

European soccer’s showpiece game was set to be held at the Gazprom Arena in Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg, on May 28.

On Friday, however, UEFA confirmed Russia had been stripped of the event and that it will instead take place at the Stade de France in Paris.

UEFA said in a statement that the game being moved comes after “the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe.”

UEFA also said that all Russian and Ukrainian teams playing in European competition will have to do so at neutral venues in the coming months.

F1’s Russian Grand Prix has been cancelled.

Set to take place in Sochi in September, Formula One confirmed on Friday that the race had been cancelled as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The statement came after four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel said he would not attend the race if it went ahead.https://www.youtube.com/embed/yCmmn-Axkws

“The FIA Formula 1 World Championship visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together,” F1 said.

“We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.

“On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”

A German soccer club removed a Russian oil giant from its shirts.

Gazprom has been the main shirt sponsor of Schalke 04 since 2007. On Thursday, the Bundesliga club changed that.

“In view of the events, development and escalation of the past few days, FC Schalke 04 has decided to remove the lettering of its main sponsor – “GAZPROM” – from the jerseys,” a club statement read. 

“Instead, ‘Schalke 04’ will be on the chest of the Royal Blues.”

While Formula One team Haas made a similar move.

Haas opted to remove Russian sponsor Uralkali’s logo from its car during the final day of testing in Barcelona on Friday as it continued its preparations for the new season. The car’s livery also included a front wing in the colors of the Russian flag, which has also been changed.

“Haas F1 Team will present its VF-22 in a plain white livery, minus Uralkali branding, for the third and final day of track running at Circuit de Barcelona on Friday,” the team said in a statement, per Sportsmail.

“No further comment will be made at this time regarding team partner agreements.”

Haas finds itself in a tough spot as Uralkali is its largest sponsor, and one of its drivers, Nikita Mazepin, is the son of a Putin-linked oligarch.

Soccer giant Manchester United has also ditched a Russian sponsor.

Kieren Maguire, a soccer finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool, reported Thursday that Manchester United was to terminate its sponsorship deal with Russian airline Aeroflot.

The ATP Tour cancelled a competition in Moscow.

“Due to concerns over player safety and uncertainty related to international travel following the recent escalation of events between Russia and Ukraine, next week’s ATP Challenger tournament in Moscow will not take place as scheduled,” the ATP said in a statement Friday.

The Kremlin Cup, set to take place in Moscow in October, is yet to be removed from the calendar.

Skiing and basketball events in Russia have been stopped.

On Friday, the International Ski Federation (FIS) decided to cancel all of its remaining 2021/2022 FIS World Cup stages which are set to be hosted in Russia.

“In the interest of the safety of all participants and to maintain the integrity of the World Cup, that all remaining World Cup events scheduled to take place in Russia between now and the end of the 2021-22 season will be cancelled or moved to another location,” a statement said.

In basketball, Barcelona said its team would not fly to Russia for two games against Russian teams Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow on Saturday and Monday in the Euroleague.

Several European soccer federations also said that they won’t play games in Russia.

Russia is due to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff game on March 24. Should Russia win that fixture it would play Sweden or the Czech Republic in the next round.

All three nations have said they will not play in Russia.

“The signatories to this appeal do not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there,” the three countries said in a joint statement addressed to FIFA’s General Secretary.

“The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations.”

And the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has condemned Russia.

With the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games starting on March 4, the IOC hit out at Russia for breaching the Olympic Truce.

The Olympic Truce is a tradition dating back to ancient Greece in which calls for the “​​cessation of hostilities” between Olympic countries seven days before and after the games to “promote peace” and ensure athletes’ safe passage in-and-out of their countries.

The truce is non-binding, meaning Russia won’t face any consequences from the IOC.

“The IOC is deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine,” the organization said in a statement.

“It has established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible.”

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) added that it was “in dialogue” with the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees amid the ongoing crisis.

KEEP READING

INTERNATIONAL – 12 photos show Ukrainian families fleeing the Russian invasion amid warnings of a mass refugee crisis

NBC News

Russian offensive unexpectedly slowed by fierce Ukrainian resistance

Gleb Garanich, Courtney Kube and Corky Siemaszko – February 25, 2022

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT (Anatoli Stepanov / AFP via Getty Images)Anatoli Stepanov

Two days in, the Russian offensive appeared to be stymied by stiffer-than-expected resistance from highly motivated Ukrainian armed forces.

Despite an overwhelming advantage in manpower and equipment, the Russian advance lost some of its momentum Friday and the quick victory Russian President Vladimir Putin was counting on is no longer assured, a senior United States defense official told NBC News.

“We do assess that there is greater resistance by the Ukrainians than the Russians expected,” the official said. “They are fighting for their country.”

While Russian forces are threatening the capital, Kyiv, and other major cities like Kharkiv and small-but-strategic cities like Rivne, none have have been taken so far and the Ukrainian air defenses remain largely intact, despite being targeted by relentless missile attacks, the official said.

Former CIA director David Petraeus echoed that assessment in an interview with MSNBC.

Related video: UN warns of underestimating Russia on eve of invasion

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“They are encountering more significant resistance and more determination than I think they expected,” Petraeus said.

“The Russians have not collapsed the Ukrainian command and control,” Petraeus said. “They haven’t taken even remotely a major city yet….This has to be unsettling to them.”

Still, Petraeus said he expects the Russians will eventually defeat the Ukrainian army.

“They’ll defeat the Ukrainian conventional forces, that’s again, not in question,” he said. “It’s how long it takes, how determined can they be as they’re taking very tough losses.”

Western Ukraine, which borders NATO member Poland and where the U.S. and other countries are maintaining a diplomatic presence in the city of Lviv, “remains largely undisturbed,” the official said.

And while a Russian amphibious assault involving thousands of soldiers was underway west of the city of Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, the official said the assumption is that those forces are bound for the Donbas region, which is a pro-Russian area where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian forces for months.

“Contrary to great Russian claims, and indeed President Putin’s sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause, he’s got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on Day One, its main objective,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Wallace’s assessment came as the outskirts of Kyiv were being pounded by Russian missile strikes and machine guns were being handed out to civilians preparing to defend their city from the invaders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has shed his tailored suits and is now dressed for battle in hunting gear, has refused to leave Kyiv and has been pleading for Western governments to take tougher measures against Moscow.

“I think they are going to fight,” James Stavridis, a retired Navy admiral and former top NATO commander, said of the Ukrainians on NBC’s “TODAY.” “The government in Kyiv has handed out 18,000 rifles to the populace. They are restricting all men age 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Clearly Zelenskyy, he’s out of his suit. He’s wearing his hunting gear. This is going to be a tough fight for the Russians.”

Wallace agreed.

“It’s definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine,” Wallace told Britain’s Sky News, adding that Moscow is already “behind its hoped for timetable” and has lost more than 450 personnel.

The Ukrainian Department of Defense claims the Russians have suffered 800 casualties, a figure Moscow disputes.

NBC News has not confirmed the numbers of any injuries or deaths on either side.

Putin insisted his military is winning the war and continued to cast the biggest European invasion since World War II as a defensive measure.

“Our soldiers are successfully fulfilling the task of protecting our people and our Fatherland,” he told Russian media.

Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, insisted Russian forces were racking up victories across Ukraine, but especially in the the pro-Russian Donetsk and Luhansk enclaves in the eastern corners of the country.

Konachenkov said the Ukrainian army has not figured in the fighting over there and “only battalions of Ukrainian Nazis offer fierce resistance.”

The Russians have, for months, been peddling bogus accusations of Nazi elements within Ukraine to justify an attack on the country.

“You know who the Nazis are here, it’s the Russians,” Petraeus said. “And this is the way the Ukrainians will regard them, the way that occupied countries regarded the Nazis, again, during World War II.”

Both Putin and Konachenkov also attempted again to push the false claim that Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s embattled president, who is Jewish and lost three family members in the Holocaust, was using Ukrainians as “human shields.”

“I am addressing the Ukrainian citizens,” Konachenkov said. “Your nationalist leadership uses the same methods the terrorists do. They wish to use you as a human shield.”

Konachenkov also insisted that the “Russian armed forces will not carry out any strikes against the residential areas of the Ukrainian capital.”

But already footage has emerged of residential apartment buildings in Kyiv that had been hit by what appeared to be missile strikes. And thousands of residents have already been hiding in shelters and in subway stations, their sleep made impossible by fear and the wailing of warning sirens.

“Currently, Kyiv is being under attack from the north and south,” Veronika Melkozerova, executive editor of The New Voice of Ukraine, said on MSNBC. “Every Ukrainian is going to fight, and it is not going to be an easy ride for Russia.”

Petraeus said Zelenskyy and his countrymen have made believers out of the doubters who questioned whether Ukraine would have the will to fight Putin’s forces.

“We’ve got answers to that,” Petraeus said. “They will fight, and by the way, it appears that the citizenry is determined to fight as well.”

Daily Mail.com

Ukraine says it has inflicted one of Russia’s heaviest ever day of losses with more than 1,000 casualties: Putin’s losses now stand at 2,800 troops, 80 tanks and 516 armored vehicles as fight-back continues

• Ukrainian forces claimed on Friday to have destroyed part of an airfield in south Russia in missile strike Friday
• Kyiv’s forces have shot out seven Russian helicopters, destroyed at least 80 tanks, blitzed up to 10 fighter jets
• Ukraine military far inferior to its Russian counterpart with an air defence system dating back to the Soviet era
• NATO and US have made it clear that no troops will be sent and left Ukraine military to hold off assault alone 

By Lauren Lewis, for mail online – February 25, 2022

Ukrainian forces claimed today to have inflicted one of Russia’s heaviest ever day of losses with more than 1,000 casualties.

It comes as new totals by Kyiv’s defense ministry put President Vladimir Putin’s losses at 2,800 troops, 80 tanks, 516 armored vehicles, 10 airplanes and seven helicopters. 

Russian officials have made similar claims – that Moscow has captured more than 160 troops; destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities; downed five fighter jets and one helicopter; and destroyed 18 tanks and other armored vehicles. 

Meanwhile Ukrainian forces earlier today claimed to have hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one of Moscow’s Su-30SM fighter jets. 

Footage posted online purported to show the tail end of a missile strike on the Russian military’s airbase around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames. 

At least 37 Ukrainians, among them several civilians, have been killed and hundreds more injured in fighting in the past 24 hours. 

Russian troops were by this afternoon bearing down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv after advancing from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles north of the city, this morning. 

Ukrainian troops tasked with the city’s defence began setting up defensive positions across highways, on bridges and on street corners in preparation for what seemed set become a bloody street-to-street fight over the weekend. 

Kyiv’s military, which was left to face Moscow alone after NATO and the US confirmed they would not put boots in the ground, is far inferior to its Russian counterpart with an air defense system and air force dating back to the Soviet era. 

Few expect Ukraine to emerge victorious from what is almost certain to be a prolonged, bloody, and vicious war – but so far, Kyiv’s forces have managed to inflict heavy losses on Putin’s troops.  

Footage posted online purports to show the tail end of a missile strike on the Russian military’s airbase around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames

Ukrainian forces claimed on Friday to have destroyed part of an airfield in Millerovo in southern Russia, destroying several of Moscow’s fighter jets Explosion seen at an airbase in Russia’s Rostov region

Flaming wreckage is seen falling from the skies over Kyiv, as Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet

Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured

Helicopters, jets and planes    

Ukrainian forces downed a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early on Friday and later hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30SM around 10am local time (8am GMT). 

Meanwhile by late Thursday forces had claimed to have shot down at least six helicopters, including four Russian KA-52 Alligator attack helicopters during a battle for Gostomel air base on Thursday. A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at the field under heavy fire. 

Just after midday on Thursday, the skies over Kyiv swarmed with a squadron of 20 Russian helicopters which pounded the air base’s runway.  

But Ukrainian ground forces launched a fight-back, moving in to retake the air field as jets streaking over the city, shooting down the Russian helicopters.  

The attack underlined just how close the invaders were to the capital. Soon after, the distant roar of fighter jets high above the city stoked another wave of panic. 

The Ukrainians also reported their MiG jets shot down at least one Mi-8 helicopter. 

Ukrainian forces also claimed to have shot down six Russian jets sky over the eastern Donbass region while another plane appeared to fall from the skies near the capital.  

Shortly after 7pm GMT on Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said a Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane carrying military equipment crashed in its southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board.   

‘During a planned flight to transport military equipment, an An-26 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces crashed,’ the defence ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. 

‘The crew died,’ the statement said, without providing any details. 

The defence ministry blamed equipment failure for the crash, which it said had not caused any destruction on the ground.

A defence ministry spokesman, speaking to AFP, confirmed the crash but declined to say how many crew members had been killed.

An-26 planes carry up to six crew members and up to 38 military personnel. Overall, the Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have shot down five aircraft and six helicopters.   

Ukrainian forces downed a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early on Friday (pictured, the wreckage) and later hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30SM around 10am local time (8am GMT)

Firefighters attempt to extinguish the flaming wreckage of an aircraft which was shot down over Kyiv on Friday morning

By Friday morning, the battle for Kyiv had begun after fighting broke out in 20 miles from the city in the early hours before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later Fiery wreckage falls over Kyiv after jet is shot down.

A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere over Kyiv (left), while the wreckage of what appears to be a jet falls from the skies near the capital (right)

An image captured near Kyiv shows what appears to be the wreckage of a downed Russian attack helicopter with a soldier parachuting out of it (to the left of the frame)

Five helicopters were downed or destroyed in the Gostomel region, including this one which was forced to make an emergency landing under heavy fire as Ukrainian forces retook the air field Russian helicopter downed in Hostomel.

• Watch videoUkrainians inflict ‘fiery damage’ on Russian tanks in Kharkiv
• Watch videoPutin waves nuclear card at NATO by mobilising ‘deterrence’ forces
• Watch videoRussian trucks and soldiers shooting ammunition in Kharkiv
• Watch videoBrave Ukrainian man kneels in front of a convoy of Russian tanks

Tanks  

Ukrainian forces destroyed dozens of Russian tanks along the eastern and northern borders by the end of the day on Thursday, adding two more and a fighting vehicle in Trohizbenko to the tally early on Friday. 

According to the country’s defence ministry,  the figure was higher than 30 by the end of Thursday. They also claimed to have destroyed ‘up to’ 130 armoured combat vehicles.  

Ukrainian forces put up a stiff resistance around Kharkiv where multiple Russian tanks and armoured vehicles were pictured destroyed – with bodies lying in the streets. 

Later, another BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with the crew of four Russian soldiers, in the same region in eastern Ukraine.  

And around 2pm local time (12pm GMT) the Ukrainian military said troops had destroyed five armoured transport vehicles and a car during fighting at the Vistupovich-Rudnya border point between Ukraine and Belarus. 

A further 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, nearly Glukhov in the country’s east late this afternoon. 

In other incidents, tank-busting rocket launchers donated by Britain were said to have destroyed Russian tanks, while Javelin missiles gifted by Sweden destroyed a column of enemy vehicles.

At least 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, nearly Glukhov in the country’s east late this afternoon.

A BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with four Russian soldiers, during fighting near Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine, on Thursday morning. Tanks seen fighting in middle of traffic just outside Kharkiv.

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Troops

Dozens of Russian troops have been captured by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv’s ministry of defence has claimed. Britain’s Ministry of Defence put Moscow’s losses around 450, though it was not clear if that included captured or dead soldiers. 

Videos posted by the Ukrainian MoD early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers.

Several Russian troops videoed by their captors have claimed they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine.  

The claim was echoed by the brigade commander of the 74th brigade of motorcycle rifles, believed to be a reconnaissance platoon made up of 20 to 50 soldiers, who allegedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces during fighting on Thursday.   

Commander Konstantin Buynichev is said to have claimed he only learned of the invasion on Wednesday and believed they were returning home. 

He allegedly said: ‘Nobody thought that we were going to kill. We were not going to fight – we were collecting information.’

The announcement of Buynichev and his troops’ capture was posted by the Ukrainian MoD with a picture of a the commander with a bandaged arm and wearing a bloodied uniform which appeared to say ‘Russian Army’. 

Videos posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers.

Several Russian troops videoed by their captors have claimed they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine. Footage appears to show Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine.

A Russian vehicle with what appear to be corpses of Russian troops laying nearby is seen on the streets of Kyiv on Friday after fighting broke out in the suburbs

Ukrainian forces detain servicemen of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic who were captured during the Thursday morning attack on the town of Schast’ye

Servicemen from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic were captured by the Ukrainian military on Thursday morning, hours after Russia launched an invasion of the country

Ukrainian forces detain troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic on Thursday morning 

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces later said his soldiers had captured the entire 74th brigade of motorcycle rifles. The announcement was posted with a picture of a man with a bandaged arm and bloody uniform which appeared to say ‘Russian Army’

The body of a soldier, without insignia, who the Ukrainian military claim is a Russian army serviceman killed in fighting, lies on a road outside the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine

Early Thursday, Ukrainian forces said they had captured two Russian soldiers, identified as Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt, along with a cache of weapons and knives during fighting outside Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine. 

A further four Russian soldiers, the crew of a BMP fighting vehicle, were captured by Ukrainian forces near Luhansk on Thursday morning. 

They were pictured lying face-down with their jackets pulled over their heads after being captured by Kyiv’s troops.   

Ukrainian service members were also pictured on Thursday detaining troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic after they were captured during an attack on the town of Schast’ye in the morning. 

Estimates of dead and injured were almost non-existent as of early afternoon but one Ukrainian official put the Russian death toll at around 50.  

Two Russian troops – believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) – have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the country’s east

Weapons and knives seized from two Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian units fighting around Kharkiv

The crew of a Russian BMP fighting vehicle are seen face-down with jackets pulled over their heads (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their vehicle is pictured, right)

Russian claims

Russia claimed on Friday that more than 160 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered to Moscow’s troops.  

The Russian Ministry of Defence said the troops were of ‘different security structures’, but it was not clear what this meant and the statement did not provide details. 

At least 11 of the troops reportedly laid down their weapons during fighting in a city in the country’s south known to Ukrainians as Mykolaiv, and to Russians as Nikolaev. 

Among the troops were at least 10 soldiers in Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic who were captured by pro-Russian rebels in the area. 

Moscow claimed the soldiers would be ‘returned to their families’ after the situation was ‘stabilised’.     

Russia has also claimed strikes launched by its military yesterday had destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv’s anti-aircraft batteries. 

Later reports claimed Moscow had downed one of Ukraine’s helicopters, five fighter jets and five drone aircraft and destroyed 18 tanks and other armored vehicles, seven flashlight jet systems, 41 units of special military vehicle equipment and five warships.  

Among the troops were at least 10 soldiers (pictured) in Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic who were captured by pro-Russian rebels in the area 

A destroyed Ukrainian military convoy is seen on the streets of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, after apparently being ambushed by Russian special forces operating in the city

A Russian plane crashed near Voronezh on Thursday in what is believed to have been a technical failure. All those on board perished – it is unclear how many 

The Kansas City Star

Putin-enabling Trumpists like Josh Hawley need to call a wartime ceasefire on BS

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board – February 25, 2022

Predictably, the same Republicans — let’s start with you, Josh Hawley — who have spent years emboldening mad Vlad Putin are now claiming that it’s President Joe Biden whose weakness vis-a-vis Russia made the invasion of Ukraine inevitable.

Without any acknowledgment of their own complicity, or even that today’s talking points sound nothing like the appeasing tune they’ve been belting for the last five years, everyone from our disingenuous junior senator to disgraced former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens abruptly went back to sounding like the kind of pre-Trump Republicans who’d always known that what Ronald Reagan said about “the aggressive impulses of an evil empire” has not subsided under the KGB thug who wants his empire back.

Here’s our suggestion: You Trumpists, whose idol just this week emailed his followers a single “news” link — to a story on RT.com, the website of Kremlin-backed Russian state TV? And who even now praises the dissenter-poisoning dictator’s recent moves in Ukraine as “genius,” “savvy,” “wonderful,” and “smart?” Y’all need to call a wartime ceasefire on B.S.

The “America First” crowd has spent years undermining America with anti-NATO agitprop.

And now, with Putin intent on launching World War III, could they possibly pause the kind of projections about Biden’s alleged senility that Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, whose acuity cannot be said to have slipped, recently indulged when he questioned the president’s mental health?

Apparently not. In Greitens’ speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, the top-polling GOP candidate in the race to replace Missouri’s Roy Blunt in the U.S. Senate said that “Biden’s policy of weakness and chaos leads to aggression like we’re seeing in Ukraine.”

Wait, was it Biden who praised the illegal 2014 invasion of Crimea, or denied solid U.S. intelligence about Russian interference in our election, or eased sanctions on Russian oligarchs, or thanked Putin for expelling our diplomats, or broke the law by freezing aid to Ukraine?

Or wanted to readmit Russia to the G-7? Or weirdly, out of nowhere, six years ago, inserted into his party’s platform that should Russia ever invade Ukraine, we would offer Ukraine no help?

No, that was the guy who no current national Republican other than Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who have only metaphorically been sent to Siberia, is willing to question in any way.

But now, here we are, with Candace Owens tweeting that the United States is to blame for what’s happening in Ukraine, while authoritarian-loving Fox News host Tucker Carlson repeats outright Russian propaganda. There is an F-word for this, and it’s not the one you’d shout if someone cut you off in traffic.

And really, Greitens, this call to moral strength would be out of character, if you had any.

Hawley, who has not even once questioned Trump’s open admiration of strongmen, similarly asked the CPAC crowd on Thursday, “Is it any wonder that (Putin) feels emboldened … when we have a president who doesn’t believe in America?”

But was it Joe Biden who not only refused to call Putin a killer, but tried to say that the U.S. was in no way morally superior to a country where dissenters are assassinated, or if they’re lucky merely imprisoned? Was it Biden who asked Bill O’Reilly, “You think our country’s so innocent?”

Was it Biden whose unpaid campaign manager secretly owed millions to a Russian oligarch? Or whose national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador? Is it our current president who constantly attacks NATO? Or who abandoned Syria, to Russia’s great delight? Again and again, no.

To be fair, though Trump had to be forced to impose sanctions on Russia, he did so finally. He also armed Ukraine, and understood the leverage that the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, handed to Putin.

Yet pretending that this aggression is on Biden is quite a performance, especially after so many on the right mocked him for correctly warning that what is happening was going to happen.

North Carolina Republican Mark Walker, who is running for the U.S. Senate, tweeted that as soon as Putin “begins to smell weakness, he goes on the offensive.”

If anything, it’s Trump followers running for office who have smelled the weakness in their previous indifference to Ukraine. Even Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who recently said on Steve Bannon’s show that “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” has belatedly decided that on second thought, he does care. A lot, in fact.

Could that be because new polling shows that ordinary Republican voters are not as pro-Putin as their former president?

If Republican office-holders and office-seekers have finally seen the error of following a morally and financially bankrupt con man with no agenda other than self-enrichment, then they should say that.

And they will, of course. Just as soon as polling tells them to.

Meanwhile, however, there was Ted Cruz at CPAC, even as bombs were falling on Kyiv, laughing about how “powerful” it is for Americans to come together — to taunt our president with cheers of “Let’s Go, Brandon.”

Innocent lives are being lost in this unprovoked invasion, which as Biden said could very well lead to a wider war in Europe. We all will pay economically for Putin’s folly, as gas and other prices rise. Yet it would cost us even more in the long run, and not just in dollars, to let this killer have his way. If there ever were a time to knock off the political posturing and get serious, this would be it.

Daily Beast

NATO Green Lights Historic Deployment of Troops to ‘Deter’ Putin

Shannon Vavra – February 25, 2022

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has decided to deploy elements of the NATO Response Force in an effort to thwart Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine.

“What we see now is a full fledged invasion of Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Jens Soltenberg said in a press conference Friday, warning that Russian forces are moving towards Kyiv. “We are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force…to further strengthen our posture and to respond quickly to any contingency.”

It is the first time that the NATO Response Force (NRF) is activated for collective defense, Stoltenberg said.

The personnel will be deployed to the eastern flank of the alliance, according to Stoltenberg. France currently leads NATO’s spearhead of the force, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

These Countries Have ‘Disgraced Themselves’ in Blocking Russian Sanctions

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has already put U.S. forces that could be deployed with the NRF on high alert.

“The Secretary has put on a shorter alert tether our contributions to the NRF, the NATO Response Force,” Press Secretary John Kirby told journalists in a briefing earlier this week. “They are more ready to go if called upon.”

In all, 8,500 U.S. personnel are on high alert to deploy with the NRF.

The Department of Defense did not immediately return request for comment on the status of those personnel.

The news comes as Russian forces work to capture Kyiv, with ordinary civilians working to fend them off. Ukrainians are putting up a valiant fight to thwart Russian forces all around Ukraine—but it might not be enough to keep Russia out without assistance, said Olena Sotnyk, an adviser to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna.

“The Russian forces are one of the “biggest and the of course the most equipped armies in the world. And by ourself, to defeat Russian army, it would be…almost not possible,” Sotnyk said in a briefing hosted by the German Marshall Fund Friday. “That’s why we are asking international community to interfere and not just with diplomatic means, but with very particular military support.”

“We need additional weapons, we need additional military equipment,” she said.

President Joe Biden has promised to not engage U.S. forces in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine. “Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine,” he said earlier this week.

Reuters

U.S. troops in Latvia tells Putin ‘don’t mess with us,’ minister says

February 25, 2022

ADAZI MILITARY BASE, Latvia (Reuters) – The presence of U.S. and other NATO troops in Latvia sends a message to Vladimir Putin that Russia should stay away, Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks said on Friday as he greeted a small deployment of U.S. soldiers.

The group of some forty U.S. service members arrived from Italy early on Thursday – before hostilities in Ukraine began. The deployment is expected to grow to more than 300 soldiers.

“We are a small country. We are ready to do whatever is needed to defend ourselves. We are not afraid to die for that. But we might be overwhelmed, so this is very much why we welcome you here,” Pabriks told the troops in Adazi military base on Friday.

Russia invaded Ukraine by land sea and air on Thursday after massing more than 150,000 troops around the country’s borders including in Latvia’s neighbour Belarus.

Latvia, together with Baltic neighbours Estonia and Lithuania, was once ruled by Moscow. They had long seen Russia as a security threat. But unlike Ukraine, the three countries joined the European Union and NATO, which brings security guarantees.

NATO’s founding treaty contains an article on collective defence stating that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members.

“We are not afraid that somebody might invade us, but the signal that U.S. soldiers are with us, and that other allies, from Canadians to Europeans are with us, is a good signal to Putin – don’t mess with us,” Pabriks said.

Over the past two days the United States has sent the troops to Latvia as well as advanced F-35 fighter aircraft to Lithuania and Estonia. It has also announced it will not be withdrawing 500 troops in Lithuania in April, as planned.

About twenty U.S. Apache helicopters landed in Latvia on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Janis Laizans in Adazi. Writing by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

Daily Beast

These Countries Have ‘Disgraced Themselves’ in Blocking Russian Sanctions

Barbie Latza Nadeau – February 25, 2022

As Ukraine buckles under Russia’s brutal invasion, sparking the worst military bloodshed on European territory since the end of World War II, European leaders are haggling over sanctions, making sure being tough won’t hurt their own economies too much in the process.

Hours after the invasion began on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised “massive” sanctions that would cripple Russia’s financial standing. But it was soon clear that Russia’s tentacles are so deeply embedded in Europe’s strongest economies that punishing Putin will come at a high price. Italy has asked that luxury goods so dear to Russian oligarchs be excluded. Germany pushed for an exemption on the energy sector before eventually halting Nord Stream 2 certification but on Thursday refused to agree to block Russia from the SWIFT bank payment system. Other countries, including Hungary, dug in hard to block the toughest sanctions on the table.

Former President of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted an angry missive to European leaders who have so far blocked the sanctions. “In this war everything is real: Putin’s madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombs falling on Kyiv,” he wrote Friday. “Only your sanctions are pretended. Those EU governments, which blocked tough decisions (i.e. Germany, Hungary, Italy) have disgraced themselves.”

After negotiations failed to produce the “massive sanctions” promised on Thursday, European leaders will go back to the negotiation table on Friday, likely adopting what is referred to as an “incrementalist” approach even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told them he may not speak to them again because Russian special agents are out to assassinate him. “He told us he doesn’t know whether he will be able to speak with us another time so it’s tough,” Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel said Friday, according to Reuters. “We have to know how serious the situation is in Ukraine.”

On Friday, Italian prime minister Mario Draghi told reporters he was fearful for the Ukraine leader. “Zelenskyi told us that he is hiding somewhere and that Ukraine has no more time,” Draghi said according to a tweet by a reporter. “He was supposed to attend a phone call at 9.30 a.m. but he couldn’t make it.”

Among the exclusions many European leaders want to “keep up their sleeves” are visa-free travel to Europe for Russian diplomats and anything that would make it difficult for nations to pay for Russian energy.

Leaders, speaking at the end of Thursday’s talks, admitted punishing Putin was proving difficult. Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte told reporters “more work needs to be done to assess what happens if Russia is cut off” with regard to blocking Russia from using SWIFT, as has been suggested by most of the G7 leaders outside Europe.

Some sanctions that are likely to go through are limiting Russia’s access to some of Europe’s financial services, prohibiting the sale of equipment to Russian oil refineries, and blocking the sale of European aircraft to Russian airlines. Also on the table are targeting specific oligarchs, like those who own property in Italy, Malta, and Spain—and whose super yachts have mostly all suspiciously disappeared from ports in Sardinia and elsewhere, likely moored in friendlier waters.

One unnamed EU diplomat expressed frustration with his colleagues to the Financial Times. “The question is, what are we waiting for on the other sanctions?” he said. “If we can’t do Swift, can’t we at least not be slow on oligarchs?” Another diplomat, speaking to a Politico reporter in Brussels, was even more blunt: “We have to wait until Kyiv is carpet-bombed before we can isolate Putin economically.”