Key Facts About Ukraine and the Russian invasion

The entire civilized world was amazed when they got to hear that what happened, Putin had assured the world he would not do.

Putin’s reputation until this moment for many has always been as a shrewd ex-KGB man who eschewed high-risk gambles in favour of sure things backed by the United States, like entering Syria and then escalating forces there.

It is well possible that Putin thought he could get rid of it in a jiffy, but now gets a boomerang thrown at his pig’s head. He had also led his soldiers and the world to believe that the troop build-up was just a military exercise. Yet, the Russian soldiers are now forced to turn against their own blood brothers.

In contrast to their commander, Russian troops, often undertrained and one-year conscripts, have a real problem with brazenly attacking their brother (and sister) nation completely unprovoked. Especially when they see those blood brothers walking in front of their tanks, it becomes a demanding task for them to drive over them. Driving a tank over passenger cars is easier, and we could see it happen, on the television pictures. But when they are surrounded by foot soldiers, one can clearly see the reluctance to drive any further.

For those who have been in the army longer, there are less pleasant experiences and memories of the Chechnya and Afghanistan wars.

This time it can well be that Mr. Putin may have bitten off more than he can chew. That is so both despite and because of the devastation he seems hell-bound on bringing on.
He hoped the Ukrainians would quickly surrender and when he called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in their country, in a bid to avoid an even bloodier battle than the fighting so far, particularly in Kyiv, he got a “No” response, having now to decide to go further risking a very long guerrilla war in several cities, which could demoralise his troops.

If he is betting on the fact that the Ukrainian military trained and armed itself to fight a conventional war (like the Russian invasion), he may want to think twice. The entire population, men and women who have remained in Ukraine, have shown their determination in front of the press cameras. They have no intention of letting their country fall to whoever wants to incorporate it into his grandiose project of a new Soviet state. Residents in Kyiv dig in as satellite images show a Russian military column dozens of miles long bearing down on the city.

The head of the Kiev Metro Vyktor Braginskii, affirmed that

 “The metro works as a transport and as a shelter since the first day of the war. The stations have water, sanitary facilities, food and, if possible, medicines.

Many people no longer have a place to go back to. A few metres for a sitting and sleeping place have become their only home. He said that there are thousands and thousands of people who have found shelter in the metro.

This is not an overestimation … we have up to 15,000 kyans. The infrastructure is designed to accommodate up to 100,000 people.

But he must also admit that his team is exhausted, but

we are doing everything possible to improve the lives of innocent civilians.

During the day, the infrastructure works still as transport. During the curfew period, the stations function only as a cover.

The head of the company urged people to take warm clothes, food and support those in the order, especially women with small children and young people.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the attack on Kharkiv City Council building, the Palace of Labour, and high-rise buildings damaged those historical places.

The southern city of Kherson is surrounded by Russian troops who have set up checkpoints, its mayor says.

Russian attacks leave the strategic Black Sea port city of Mariupol to the east, surrounded and without electricity.

The Kremlin’s defence ministry said its troops had joined pro-Moscow rebels from eastern Ukraine in a region along the coast of the Azov Sea.

The assault came as Russian forces inflicted heavy rocket barrages on the cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Unconfirmed footage showed a gigantic explosion that threw up a mushroom cloud across Kharkiv on Tuesday in what observers said may have been a Russian strike on an ammunition base.

In all those places the Russian Forces are trying to succeed in their attack, they only can see how the people respond to their nation’s leader, not to surrender but to fight for their country, which is not Russia but Ukraine.

“By combining serving military units with combat veterans, reservists, territorial defense units and large numbers of volunteers, Ukraine can create tens of thousands of small and highly mobile groups capable of attacking Russian forces. This will make it virtually impossible for the Kremlin to establish any kind of administration over occupied areas or secure its lines of supply,”

said former Ukraine defense minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

As politics scholar Olexiy Haran reported from Kyiv, volunteers led by military and former officers had already established irregular fighting units armed primarily with automatic weapons across the city.

“People are armed. Yesterday, 18,000 Kyivites took up arms. There are volunteer groups all around the city. They pursue any Russian soldier, paratrooper or subversive group that is trying to organize a provocation,”

Mr. Haran said.

After Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had talked for hours on Monday, without reaching a peace deal, Ukraine stressed the necessity for an “immediate ceasefire” and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks were aimed as an act of

“undisguised terror”.

Zelensky, who remained in Kyiv to rally his people against the invasion, yesterday in a video address to the European Parliament, could make the translator in parliament speak emotionally and did not leave the members of parliament unmoved. He asked the EU to “prove” it is with Ukraine by accepting it as a member.

“Without you, Ukraine is going to be alone,”

he said.

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For having a good picture of the modern state of Ukraine which was formed nearly 30 years ago after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 I would like to advise you to go to “Map Explainer: Key Facts About Ukraine” and “The crisis in Ukraine explained in three maps” where you find lovely maps presenting the different zones of dispute and explaining why Ukraine is so important to Putin, why he’s accusing NATO of “encircling” Russia and how a war might play out.

Another useful resource for the classroom with regard to the Russia-Ukraine War. Perhaps a little simplistic in some respects, but a very useful start point summary:

You also might find the article “Miscalculation as high as it was in August 1914 No one outside of Serbia expected war” useful, giving an overview of what happened to come so far, getting into a war which still can derail.

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Preceding

Mother of Ukraine or Crimea

Battling Borshct in Ukraine

Mastery from Kiev, Ukraine

Ukrainians should be free to shape the future of their country

When Crimean people made their choice

Crimea votes overwhelmingly to join Russia

A Plan spoken of in long past times

70 years later

“If Perestroika Fails…”: The Last Summer of the Cold War – June-July 1991.

United States of America once more showing how it wants to Distort Historical Facts and Truth

From a land 90 times Belgium: Kazakhstan #2 Natural wealth attractive to Russia as well as Europe

The world on the very brink of conflict

Putin plays dangerous poker game

A useless but very dangerous challenge game

Will Ukraine Escape Russian Domination?

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Additional reading

1. Sings of the times – Difficult moments at the borders of Europe
2. Moscow lists demands for defusing Ukraine tensions
3. A lot of talk about a war beginning soon
4. Britain warns Russia over Ukraine
5. Prepare for Russian invasion of Ukraine, US warns European allies
6. Putin’s ‘staged atrocity’ plan to justify Russian invasion of Ukraine
7. The strategic error Putin is potentially about to make
8. Make Ukraine A Buffer State Between Russia & the EU
9. Ukraine prepares
10. Why Putin’s Attack on Ukraine Could Mean World War 3

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Related

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10. Our response to the situation in Ukraine
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12. Russia-Ukraine Conflict at a Glance Infographic
13. Russia attacks urban areas in Ukraine; Biden vows Putin will ‘pay’
14. Zelenskiy receives standing ovation after EU parliament speech
15. Chabad emissary in Kharkov: “We are the only ones left, sleeping in the basement since Thursday”