Rusia

The bottom line

During the first week of the war, Russian ground forces have become bogged down outside of the northern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv due to their failure to establish air superiority (which has resulted in significant aircraft and helicopter losses), too few troops to execute three simultaneous thrusts (toward Kyiv and Kharkiv, and north from Crimea), poor coordination of fires and maneuver, significant logistical issues, and stronger than expected Ukrainian resistance. Russia’s naval superiority in the Black Sea has contributed to success in its southern area of operations, with Russian forces breaking out from the Crimean Peninsula and taking territory in southern Ukraine. Although Ukraine has fought well and disrupted plans for a quick and decisive Russian victory, the situation is still perilous. Russia is moving to encircle Kyiv and Kharkiv and appears to have switched to indiscriminate long-range fires—resulting in significant collateral damage in residential areas—and is making significant progress in the south.

As Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate, many are asking what the Russian dictator ultimately hopes to achieve. During his March 3 phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Russian ruler made clear that he is committed to taking full control of Ukraine and “neutralizing” the country. Following their conversation, Macron warned that “the worst is yet to come.”

Ukrainian officials said on Friday that fire at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been extinguished, but that the facility is now under Russian control after fighting.

In a later development at a Friday news conference, the chief of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog said there had been no release of radioactive material at the plant.

Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the rouble plummeting and people queuing for cash outside banks.

Putin is the most criticized person in western countries today. Repeated criticism of the invasion unleashed by him is justified, both because of the enormous distress caused to the people of Ukraine and the very serious threats posed to world peace and stability.

After a series of air, land, and sea attacks from Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s orders to attack Ukraine and destroy its military installations, NATO has stated that it has no plans to send troops to Ukraine to help repel the Russian army amidst the Russian onslaught.

Racist Ukraine coverage in mainstream Western media. Notice the racist overtones.

1. BBC

“It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed”

“World Tour of Wars”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is both illegal and immoral. While Russia’s concern that Ukraine’s decision to join NATO which also included the prospect of NATO setting up a missile base in Ukraine, 100 miles from Russia’s border, is genuine, this by no means is a justification for invading Ukraine. Russia should have continued to explore other better and less violent options.

The Russian war against Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022, and the tenacity exhibited by the latter as it faces the Russian Armed Forces have provided opponents of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) with more fodder for criticism of the organization and its conduct. According to these opponents, HTS misled the Syrian public and even betrayed it when it acquiesced to the ceasefire agreements claiming that it didn’t have the capability to oppose the Russian Armed Forces, and that in that way it was protecting the territories under rebel control. These voices also urged “the true mujahideen” to take advantage of the fact that Russia is now occupied with the fighting in Ukraine to renew the struggle against the Syrian regime, while ignoring the restrictions imposed by HTS. Furthermore, in an apparent reference to the claim that HTS cooperates with the U.S.,[1] the same elements warned that the Americans, who abandoned Ukraine, will have no problem at all abandoning “little collaborators,” such as HTS.

On February 27, 2022, in a post on his Telegram channel, a Tunisian-born Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) cleric ‘commented on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to foreigners to come to Ukraine to join its fight against the Russian Armed Forces in a special new unit, dubbed the “International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.”[1]