The second day of the war in Ukraine. Tough fighting between Russians and Ukrainians in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa

European leaders were shocked after the last video conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who addressed them as if he had said goodbye to them, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on Friday.

"It was a very emotional discussion. President Zelensky, who was in a bunker, appeared and said, "I don't know if I'll ever see you again, because I'm on Russia's list of targets," Kiril Petkov said in a statement with journalists on the eve of the extraordinary EU summit, which takes place on Friday.

"You are shaking, because this man, who is asking for help and support, may not be alive for the next 48 hours. It shook us all, because it's one thing to see victims as statistics on TV and it's another to look into the eyes of someone for whom survival is a matter of hours, "Petkov said.

He went on to say that no EU member state was really prepared for Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine.

"No European leader expected such a massive attack. Russian tanks were expected to enter the provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk, but no one expected such a massive attack, with so many casualties. One-third of the Ukrainian army has already been destroyed, "he said.

"Young people from both sides die because of a leader who sits at a long table and makes decisions"

"If it had been a partial invasion, we might have imposed easier measures. But in the current situation, there was no voice at the table calling for light measures ", Petkov detailed.

He says Russian troops sent to Ukraine did not know about the operation and thought it was an exercise.

"Young people from both sides are dying because of a leader who sits at a long table and makes decisions. These sanctions will not affect Putin, but we cannot stand idly by, "Petkov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Ukrainian military to turn its weapons against its own government. He reiterated false allegations that the Ukrainian authorities were "drug addicts" and "neo-Nazis".

"I once again addressed the soldiers of the Ukrainian army. Do not allow neo-Nazis to use your children, your wives, your elders as living shields. Take power in your hands. We will get along much better with you than with this bunch of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who took action in Kiev and took the entire Ukrainian people hostage, "Putin said in a speech after the Security Council meeting.

"I want to appreciate the action of the Russian soldiers and officers at the highest level. They act with great courage, professionalism and heroism, fulfilling their military duty, and defending our people and our homeland, "he added.

Putin used the theme of "denazification" of Ukraine to justify invading the country.

The Russian Federation is attacking Ukraine on several fronts. Heavy fighting is raging between the Russians and Ukrainian forces after Putin sent his army to attack from three directions. Several major cities were attacked with missiles, including Kiev, Kharkov, Mariupol and Odessa.

The president of the country, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced a general mobilization. "We are defending our country on our own this morning," Zelensky said in a statement on public television. The West has announced new harsh sanctions on Russia, condemning the attack on Ukraine. In Russia, thousands of people have been arrested after taking to the streets of major cities to protest the invasion of Ukraine.

Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is ready to defend Kiev along with the military and civilians. Asked by CNN what his intentions are in the event of an attack, the former Ukrainian leader showed reporters his weapon, a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

He said he was ready to defend the city at any cost, even if he did not have the military equipment to fight.

"Putin is crazy to come here and kill us," Poroshenko added.

The former president said that many people come to enlist to defend the capital, even if the weapons they have are few.

"It's exciting and it's clear evidence that the people of Ukraine hate Putin," he said.

Asked how long they would last, Poroshenko replied: "Forever. Putin will never conquer Ukraine, no matter how many soldiers, missiles and nuclear weapons he has. We are a free people with a great European future. "

The Council of Deputies in Moscow's Gagarinsky district has condemned military operations in Ukraine and called on Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops immediately.

 

Members of this council have sent a letter to Vladimir Putin warning that aggression against Ukraine will lead to the impoverishment of the entire country.

 

"The invasion is the way to the degradation and impoverishment of the Russian Federation. No other action could cause more economic damage to Russia. The invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe. We urge the president to withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine immediately, "Putin said in a letter.

 

This position may not be coincidental, given that some of the biggest protests against Putin's war in Moscow have taken place.

 

Here are the funniest memes with Putin

 

1. Sanctions

2. Now I am scared

 

3. Mykraine

 

4. Slice of Ukraine

 

5.Infinity

 

6. Putin deals

 

7. Just visiting

 

8. Nukes

 

9.His legs now

 

More than 170 Russian Orthodox clerics have called for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an open letter sent on March 1.

 

Orthodox clerics called for an end to the war and said they "respect the freedom of anyone given to them by God," adding that the people of Ukraine "must make their own choices, not under the threat of rifles and without pressure from the West or the East." reports RFE / RL.

 

The letter states that the clergy are "complaining" about the suffering that has been "undeservedly imposed on our brothers and sisters in Ukraine."

 

"We call on the dialogue of all parties because there is no other alternative to violence," the letter said.

 

"Only the ability to hear the other side can give us hope to get out of the abyss into which our countries were thrown in a few days. Allow yourself and all of us to enter into Lent in the spirit of faith and love. Stop the war. "

 

It is very rare for such a large number of clerics of the Orthodox Church to openly confront the regime of President Vladimir Putin. In recent years, the Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, a close relative of Putin who did not sign the letter, have fully supported Putin's policies.

 

In fact, a few days ago, Patriarch Kiril categorized Moscow's opponents in Ukraine as "forces of evil" who want to break the historical unity between the two countries, reports AFP.

 

"May God protect us so that the current political situation in Ukraine, a sister country that is close to us, can be used in such a way that the forces of evil can prevail," Kiril said in his Sunday sermon, quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency. .

 

10.Evolution of Putin

 

11.Stop Putin

 

Protests have taken place in St. Petersburg and Moscow since the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as in 40 other cities. The Putin regime's reaction was predictable: arrests. More than 5,000 protesters have been arrested in the past week, including women and even children.

 

Russian opponent Ilia Iașin, a politician whose candidacy was banned in 2021, being labeled an "extremist", has published images of children in a police van, writes Daily Mail.

 

However, the protests were not large enough to have caused problems for Vladimir Putin. Detainee Alexei Navalny, imprisoned by the Putin regime, made a public call on civil disobedience on Monday, urging people to protest daily against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Putin is not Russia," he wrote on Twitter.

 

"It simply came to our notice then. Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every day of the week, at 14:00, on weekends and holidays ”.

 

To what extent the urban population will follow the urge and mobilize to take to the streets in large numbers, remains to be seen.

 

Historian Armand Goșu, a specialist in ex-Soviet space, explains why he is skeptical about large-scale protests.

 

"The price paid by the population will be huge, there are unprecedented sanctions, there has been no such thing in history and maybe the population will react. Everything that happens can get the world out of the house. Although the population is terribly apathetic, I'm shocked, a week has passed and you don't have a million people on the streets in Moscow. There are 13 million people in the Moscow region. The explanation is that people are cynical, they no longer trust anyone and anything, and most importantly, Putin's propaganda is successful. Plus the arrests scared them, they probably don't want to risk it anymore. "

 

Armand Gosu says it is quite "unlikely" to see large-scale protests that could bring Putin to a standstill, even if things get worse in Ukraine.

 

12.Putin and his army

 

13.Cool man

 

The harsh and unprecedented sanctions imposed by the West on Russia have had an impact on Russian oligarchs, who have seen their bank accounts and businesses jeopardized.

 

So the demarcation of some of Putin's policies is not surprising. These are Oleg Deripaska, Mihail Fridman, Oleg Tinkov and Roman Abramovici. They called on Putin to end the war.

 

Oleg Tinkov, founder of Tinkoff Bank, criticized the invasion of Ukraine in a message posted on Instagram on Monday

 

"In Ukraine, innocent people are dying every day. It's unthinkable and unacceptable! "

 

Tinkoff's shares have fallen by more than 90 percent since Russia began its attack on Ukraine. His fortune fell by more than $ 5 billion in less than a week, and he lost his billionaire status on Tuesday, writes Forbes.

 

14.Gas Putin

 

15.About his decisions

 

No blow to Vladimir Putin's removal from power can be taken out of the equation.

 

It is the option that many analysts and experts in Russian politics are considering. But Putin is surrounded only by people loyal to him, whom, as Free Europe wrote, he has total control over.

 

There are people who owe their careers and wealth to the former KGB officer.

 

This does not mean, however, that in the event of a failure of the invasion, but especially of the economic effects that will affect Russia and international isolation, a movement against Putin could not be created.

 

A single military voice has been heard protesting since the invasion began. This is the reserve general Leonid Ivaşov, formerly responsible for foreign cooperation in the Ministry of Defense (1996-2001), currently the head of an association of officers from all over Russia.

 

He urges President Vladimir Putin to address Russia's real problems or resign and "give up the criminal policy of provoking a war" in Ukraine.

 

16.Moldova may be next

 

17.Propaganda

 

18.To Russia with love

 

19.Risky move

 

20.Change my mind

 

21.Putin now

 

22.Little bitch

 

23.Badass man

 

24.TV

 

25.Russian generals

 

26.Do it yourself

 

27.So stupid

 

28.Can this happen?

 

29.Red button

 

30.So this is happening

 

31.Where is his mind?

 

32.Disaster bingo

 

33.New password

 

34.Anonymus

 

35.Putin

 

36.How did things turn to shit this fast

 

37.Pathetic

 

38.No for them

 

39.Putdown

 

40.Very thoughtful

 

41.Lukashenko

 

42.Putin be like

 

43.What he is doing to his army

 

44.World record

 

45.So this is happening in Ukraine

 

46.Say no more

 

47.Nukes

 

48.No normal life

 

49.Another sanction

 

50.Fighters

 

51.Stealing tanks

 

52.Putin and pitbull

 

53.Psycho mode

 

54.Not stonks

 

55.Saving people..

 

56.Boss

 

57.Gypsies

 

58.Putin

 

59.Browse meme

 

60.He’s looking crazy

 

61.Longer table

 

62.That be great

 

63.Achievements

 

64.Suggestion

 

65.2022

 

66.The return of history

 

67.Middle of the night

 

68.The world make him stop

 

69.The world

 

70.Thoughts and prayers

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a "special operation" in Ukraine on Thursday morning, around 05:30 Moscow time. Soon, strong explosions began to resonate in several cities in Ukraine. A powerful explosion was reported near the barracks of a mechanized brigade in Odessa, two powerful explosions - in Kiev. Explosions were also reported in Kramatorsk, Nikolaev and Berdyansk.

Russia's Security Council voted on Monday (February 21st) to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed decrees for the independence of the two regions and sent Russian troops to parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. to ensure the maintenance of peace. The West condemned Russia's decision and said it would impose sanctions. Ukraine has called for the immediate convening of the UN Security Council.

A state of siege is introduced in Kiev and the Cherkasy region. In Kiev, it will be introduced from 22:00 to 07:00. During this period, public transport will not operate, but subway stations will be open 24 hours a day as shelters. People need to have documents with them. In the Cherkasy region, the siege will take effect between 22:00 and 6:00. During this time, traffic on the street and in other public places without special permits and certificates will be banned, which will be issued only to the employees of the enterprises, institutions and organizations that direct the activities of the region.

Russian actors, singers, TV presenters and bloggers have sent messages of solidarity in the current war situation caused by the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine. They have called on the Kremlin authorities to stop hostilities in the country. Several Russian celebrities such as Ivan Urgant, Maxim Galkin and Ksenia Sobchak have spoken out on social media against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for an end to hostilities. They posted completely black images with the hashtag #NOWAR.

Belarus, a Russian ally that borders Ukraine to the north, allows tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to cross its border into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government.

Lukashenko recently said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had called him to inform him of his military operation against Ukraine. He said Belarus' own national forces were "not taking part in the operation".

An emergency summit of the European Union will soon take place to decide on new sanctions against Moscow.

Russia, which has started the war against Ukraine, has announced its readiness to begin negotiations with Kiev on Ukraine's neutral status (not to join NATO) and its refusal to introduce nuclear weapons into its territory. The announcement was made by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov.

Asked if Russia is now ready to talk to Ukraine's leadership on the issue, Peskov said, "If Ukraine's leadership is ready to talk about it."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin, but he did not answer the phone.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying announced in a press conference that his country will start importing wheat from Russia today, as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed when they met before the Games. Olympic Games since the beginning of the month.

In addition, the Chinese official refused to condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine on Thursday, saying instead that "respect for territorial sovereignty" was needed, but also that the US "fuels tensions and only the US can put out the flames." In fact, prior to this statement, the same spokesman stated: "Did the US think about the consequences when they put a country as big as Russia on the wall?"

Journalists in the international press point out that during the 90-minute conference, Chunying avoided answering 11 questions about the situation in Ukraine. In addition, journalists repeatedly insisted and asked if Beijing considered Russia's action an invasion, and the Chinese official finally replied, "Why are you obsessed with this question?"

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference that "peace on our continent has been shaken," and that "Russia is using force to try to rewrite history."

"I convened a virtual summit of NATO leaders tomorrow. This is the new normal for our security: peace cannot be taken for granted. Strategic competition is on the rise. We will deploy additional ground and air defense forces in eastern NATO, as well as naval forces. We have increased the level of training of our forces, in order to be able to face all the scenarios ", it is shown in the communiqué of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The Russian Federation continued its attacks on Friday night to Saturday, including this morning, on several Ukrainian cities and the capital Kiev. Ukrainian officials say cruise missiles have been launched into Ukraine from the Black Sea. They reported several casualties among Russian forces. The Russian army's attacks hit a block of flats in central Kiev on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, President Zelensky reports from the center of the capital that the army will not surrender.

A dialogue between a Ukrainian driver and several Russian soldiers went viral on the Internet, after the Ukrainian offered to tow them the tank without fuel back to Russia.

The dialogue was filmed from the Ukrainian's car, which stops next to a tank on the side of the road. The video posted on social media went viral immediately.

Ukrainian driver: - Did something happen to you guys? It broke?

Russian soldiers: - I ran out of diesel.

Ukrainian driver: - Can I tow you back to Russia?

Russian soldiers: [Laughter]

Ukrainian driver: - Do you have any idea where you are going?

Russian soldiers: - No, no. In Kiev, damn it. What do I say on the news?

Ukrainian driver: - Everything is on our side, you surrender and you are prisoners, because you do not know where you are going ... I asked a whole convoy, people like you: no one knew where he was and where he was going.

The Russian Federation continued its attacks on Friday night to Saturday, including this morning, on several Ukrainian cities and the capital Kiev. Ukrainian officials say cruise missiles have been launched into Ukraine from the Black Sea. They reported several casualties among Russian forces. The Russian army's attacks hit a block of flats in central Kiev on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, President Zelensky reports from the center of the capital that the army will not surrender.

Russia is facing problems in its invasion of Ukraine, a NATO military official was quoted as saying by CNN. He says that the Russians are behind the program and that the situation is starting to get out of control.

The Russians "have problems. I'm in a fuel crisis, it's moving too slowly, and morale is obviously a hindrance, "the official was quoted as saying by CNN.

Ukrainian authorities have also begun dismantling traffic signs indicating directions to localities to make it more difficult for the Russian military to orient and move.

At the same time, the Ukrainian road company appealed to the population to lend a helping hand. People were asked to walk near the place where they live and to dismantle the road signs.

Europe is continuing its efforts to help Ukraine, which is at war with the Russian Federation. The Belgian prime minister has announced that his country will send 2,000 assault weapons and more than 3,800 tonnes of fuel.

Immediately after the announcement by Belgium, Slovakia also announced a new batch of aid. Authorities in Bratislava have announced that they will send 12,000 120 mm mortars, 10,000 tons of fuel, 2,400 tons of kerosene and two Bozena mine complexes.

Also today, the German Chancellor announced that he would allow allied countries to send German-made weapons to Ukraine.

#StandwithUkraine

 

Anti-war protests in several cities around the world and Russia. In Russia, the authorities are threatening people

 

Actions in support of Ukraine are taking place all over the world. In Berlin, people took to the streets the Ukrainian flag and placards with the words: "Stop the Russian invasion!", "Stop the crime!". Such actions have also taken place in Barcelona, ​​Paris, London, Sydney, Lithuania, Prague, Istanbul, Tokyo and other cities around the world.

 

Protests have been taking place in various countries around the world since the first hours since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine against the war and in support of Ukraine.

 

On Thursday, February 24, solidarity actions were held with Ukraine in Berlin, Hamburg, Barcelona, ​​Paris, London, Sydney, Lithuania, Prague, Istanbul, Tokyo and other cities around the world.

 

A Belarusian and Russian citizen, musician Timothy Suladze, burned his Russian passport in front of the embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Deutsche Welle reports.

 

Anti-war protests in several cities around the world

 

1.Georgia

 

 

Dozens of Russian citizens from cities such as Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg took to the streets to protest the war in Ukraine. Protesters chanted "No to war!" Russian activists on Navalny's team's Instagram channel announce dozens of arrests.

 

Russia later announced its readiness to begin negotiations with Kiev on Ukraine's neutral status (not to join NATO) and its refusal to introduce nuclear weapons into its territory. The announcement was made by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov.

 

Hundreds of Russian protesters gathered in the cities of Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Tyumen in anti-war demonstrations after President Vladimir Putin announced the start of an invasion of Ukraine this morning.

 

2.Germany

 

 

 

Russia's Committee of Inquiry has urged citizens to avoid participating in anti-war protests. Authorities warn that "in connection with the spread of calls to participate in riots and rallies related to the tense situation of foreign policy", there will be "negative legal consequences of their actions, which include prosecution and even criminal liability."

 

Similar events took place in Europe. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, waving Ukrainian flags and demanding stricter sanctions, along with broader actions by the British government in response to Russia's military action. Demonstrations are also taking place in Berlin, Madrid and Paris.

 

3.Russia

 

 

 

Hundreds of Russian protesters gathered in the cities of Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Tyumen in anti-war demonstrations after President Vladimir Putin announced the start of an invasion of Ukraine this morning.

 

Similar events took place in Europe. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, waving Ukrainian flags and demanding stricter sanctions, along with broader actions by the British government in response to Russia's military action. Demonstrations are also taking place in Berlin, Madrid and Paris.

 

4.France

 

 

5.Czech Republic

 

 

 

6.Germany

 

 

7.Ukraine

 

 

 

8.Canada

 

 

 

9.Germany

 

 

 

10.Poland