War

2022 - 2 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

War in Ukraine: where has Russia attacked? (The Guardian)

Russian forces have launched missile and helicopter attacks around Ukraine, and early signs suggest their goal is to encircle Kyiv.

The mayor of Mariupol said three civilians had been killed there and emergency services in Kharkiv said a boy had been killed after shelling struck an apartment building. Half of Moscow’s air force is also deployed in the region. The local administration in Odesa said 22 people had died in a strike on a military base. “However, it’s high risk because until ground forces link up, the airborne assault forces are deep in Ukrainian territory and dependent on aerial resupply, casualty evacuation and fire support,” he said. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed 74 “objects of above-ground military infrastructure”, though this could not be confirmed. Shortly after, however, Ukraine’s armed forces chief said Kyiv’s forces were fighting back in a critical early battle.

And so, Cold War II begins (Aljazeera.com)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has started in a blitzkrieg with incalculable ramifications for the two countries and the world.

After Russia launched the invasion, a Chinese government spokesperson refused to name it as such and called for “restraint” on both sides. Some claim that equating American democracy and Russian autocracy makes for a false equivalence. As Russia bombs its neighbour, it is actually targeting its strategic nemesis, the United States. Sadly, since the end of the Cold War, both Russia and the US have led mostly by the example of their power and rarely by the power of their example, undermining in the process international peace and security. And just as the US and its European allies used the UN-mandated “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) principle to justify their “humanitarian” interventions in other states, such as Libya, Russia is referring to it to justify its intervention in Ukraine, which supposedly aims to stop a “genocide”. In recognising the breakaway regions, the Kremlin claimed that it was supporting their right to self-determination, just as the West did for Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians and Bosnians during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Putin's war will shake the world (Financial Times)

Russia intends to install a puppet government in Kyiv. The west must now respond.

Boris Johnson to address nation at noon after Russia declares war ... (The Independent)

“I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelensky to discuss next steps,” Mr Johnson tweeted earlier on Thursday. Before ...

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The advice added: “Ukraine’s airspace is closed. “If you are in the vicinity of military activity and you cannot leave safely, you should stay indoors, away from windows, and remain alert to developments that would allow you to leave safely.”

Will Russia topple Ukraine in full-scale war? (The Week UK)

Vladimir Putin has triggered what could become Europe's largest conflict since the 1940s by giving the order for Russian troops to begin a full-scale ...

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War in Europe kills 50 so far: Ukraine begs EU for urgent air ... (City A.M.)

Ukraine is urging the European Union to urgently provide air defence and anti-missile support, and to use "all means" to jam Russian satelitte signals.

Immediately,” Mr Zhora said of the offensive that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced before dawn. In the bulletin issued early on Thursday, EASA said that: “Airspace and critical infrastructure, including airports, are exposed to military activities which result in safety risks for civil aircraft. We need the world to stop it. “There are ballistic missiles here.” “Are you serious?” he texted. “This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. He said Ukrainian troops destroyed four Russian tanks there. Mr Guterres urged the Russian president to withdraw his troops and added: “In the name of humanity do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century, with consequences not only devastating for Ukraine, not only tragic for the Russian Federation, but with an impact we cannot even foresee in relation to the consequences for the global economy.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador at the United Nations has told the Security Council that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “declared war on Ukraine”. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Russia has launched a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine”. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president has declared martial law and urged citizens not to panic as Russia launched military strikes on the country, while the country’s foreign minister called it a “full-scale invasion”.

Russia's Putin justifies war in menacing speech as Ukraine's ... (Financial Times)

For the second time this week, Vladimir Putin addressed Russians from a wood-panelled room in the Kremlin as he laid out his justifications for the start of ...

Putin unchained: Europe must turn Russia's war against Ukraine ... (POLITICO.eu)

The Russian leader has shown he considers nothing off limits. He must be contained.

Putin is determined to force his world, his reality — shaped by nostalgia, grievance and the vision of a renewal of a great Russian empire — onto Europe, using the only dimension of power he commands, military power. His open aggression comes after a last attempt to use the threat of war, the military encirclement of Ukraine, to force the country into surrender, and the West into becoming an accomplice in dismanteling its statehood. Putin has made his choice: He has put territorial revisionism, his dream of rebuilding a powerful empire, ahead of international legitimacy — and of the Russian economy. And even when his actions became too visible or outrageous, there might have been public condemnation or the occasional sanction, but still, the hope of turning Putin into a partner prevailed. As the tanks roll in and helicopters fly overhead, Putin has made it clear he no longer cares about the semblance of legitimacy, or about his global image, at least not in the West. He has already priced in the cost of being called a “war criminal” by figures like Rolf Mützenich, the leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary group. BERLIN — With this week’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has abandoned the modus operandi that has defined his acts of aggression for more than 20 years.

Ordinary Russians Don't Want This War (Jacobin magazine)

Vladimir Putin has launched his invasion of Ukraine, seemingly expecting that his forces can subdue Ukrainian resistance. But the attack could severely ...

In that sense, the invasion of Ukraine disproves the popular theory that the Kremlin’s outward aggression is always aimed at propping up domestic legitimacy. Nothing like the patriotic mobilization that followed the annexation of Crimea in 2014 is happening today. The Kremlin is no longer able to hide behind other grievances — including even NATO enlargement — its hatred of Ukraine and desire to teach it a punitive “lesson.” These actions are beyond rationally understood “interests” and lie somewhere in the realm of “historical mission,” as Putin understands it. In this sense, his is the only government that so openly speaks like an imperialist power from the early twentieth century. The social consequences for Russia itself will obviously be severe — already in the morning, even before Western sanctions were announced, Russian stock exchanges collapsed and the fall in the ruble broke all records. But the attack could severely destabilize his regime — with Russians already showing a notable lack of enthusiasm for war.

War Is Terrifying for Markets. Here Is Some Advice for Investors. (Barron's)

First and foremost, Russia's attack on Ukraine threatens a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions. The conflict already has led to the loss of life ...

It would make the job by central banks of fighting inflation even harder, and make the interest... First and foremost, Russia’s attack on Ukraine threatens a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions. Sanctions on Russian oil would cause elevated crude prices and stoke inflationary fears at a time when consumers already face rising prices.

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