111
Sadly, US intelligence was right. I was watching TV when I first heard of the missiles beginning to be launched in Ukraine and quickly changed the channel to watch the attacks unfold. With this occurring, I also had on the UN Security Council meeting which honestly rallied me up and made me wish I could do something right now. While I do not have much to offer what I can do is write about it and spread information from people within Ukraine. Several of my friends know people who are in the country and have been sending out photos of what has gone on which I will be including in this post. Civilian casualties have already begun to come in from the initial missile strikes as Russian does not have the best systems to accurately aim.
Russian Invasion
Putin's Announcement
Just before 5 AM Kyiv time or 6 AM in Moscow Putin declared a "Special Military Operation" was underway in the Dombas Region of Ukraine. As this announcement took place rockets began to be fired from not only Russia but also Belarus and Crimea. At this time the UN Security Council was meeting ironically Russia was the chair for this meeting and while the Russian Ambassador continued to say that the military operation was only in the Donbas region news was breaking of the strikes hitting across the country. When confronted with this the Russian Ambassador had no response. Initially, he continued to say it was only occurring in the Donbas but as more and more details came out he ended up changing his tune to he did not have the answers but would get back to the council about it. It was truly an amazing sight to see as either this Ambassador was a horrible liar or the Russian government set him up to fail on an international stage.
Initial Moves
Within minutes of the announcement, missiles began to fly and it was shock-inducing to see on live TV from reporters seeing these strikes hit. Not long after reports started to come out that tanks were rolling into northern Ukraine from Belarus as well as an amphibious assault in the south in Odessa. Artillery and tanks were initially what was coming directly from Russia however throughout the day that has moved into more armored personal carriers. From these initial moves, it appeared that Russia was not trying to move into the major cities and instead where targeting bases surrounding these areas. Initial counts have it at roughly 100 missiles were fired in the first salvo of attacks and it ranged from just short-range to medium-range missiles and well they did not exactly hit the targets that they were aimed at.
Throughout The Day
Most people thought that the Russians would be coming via the Domas region however the most intense fighting has been along the southern part of the country. This was something that caught me off guard as I figured they would sweep in through the west like most people. The full-blown ground offensive has not really appeared to have occurred yet. While the troops and military hardware have moved in they have not seemed to have tried to take any of these major cities some of which they are already very very close to. Hundreds of explosions have taken place across the country and Ukraine has not been steamrolled like I am sure Putin has expected. This is something that is so very important and cannot be understated by how huge of a win that is. Ukrainian citizens themselves are saying they will stay and fight which makes the idea of Russia trying to hold Ukraine very very hard to do.
Ukrainian Response
When the attack first began martial law was declared by the Ukrainian government. They also told residents to shelter in place since the attack was before dawn so that an idea could be gathered of what was going on. Throughout the day evacuations have been called for most of Eastern Ukraine and something I have found interesting is how women and children are refusing to leave some areas because they believe in their country and its ability to overcome this conflict. The overall theme though from the government is to remain calm. Bomb shelters have opened up across the country due to the continuous aerial attacks from Russia.
Already reports of casualties have been released by the Ukrainian government with over 50 soldiers dead and hundreds injured. There have also been 10 civilian casualties confirmed from the rockets that have hit apartments and houses. Ukraine is not going down without a fight though as it has been reported that 6 planes have been shot down as well as one helicopter. This is pretty important because Ukraine does not have an Air Force so even knocking down just a few planes is a huge victory for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
One massive disturbing thing starting to come out at 12:50 PM EST is that Russia has begun to hit hospitals now with its rockets. This is a gross violation of rights and will only lead to massive massive death tolls.
President Biden Response
After some delay again the President spoke and announced this newest round of sanctions that not only will affect Russia now but long term will bleed the country dry. Over 2/3 of the GLOBAL economy has united for these sanctions something that is unprecedented in history. A few of these build off of previously implemented sanctions with four additional banks added and more close people to Putin who have benefited from his policies. Now well over a TRILLION dollars is frozen.
Export controls have also been announced and this is huge. While up until now Russia has had unimpeded access to technology to booster and modernize its forces those days have effectively died. The largest chip manufacturers that are vital for high tech military equipment and 5G technology are no longer going to do business with Russia due to these sanctions. Yes, Russia currently has a supply of chips however that supply is set and as they launch these missiles and their hardware gets damaged they will rapidly run out of them. China which also does have some chip does not currently have the type that sets the US and UK as the gold standard. This is also huge as it will dramatically impact the citizens of Russia without harming them in any way. They will not be able to access the technology and gadgets that other countries and people have and will naturally get upset by this. These chips cannot be quickly made as we have seen with the supply chain disruption.
Presdient Biden also put the threat of sanction on Putin himself on the table but did not commit to doing so. Russia is also being allowed to continue to use the SWIFT sanctions. I think personally the citizens of Ukraine will be upset by this and want more however Biden has to be able to balance the situation with the US public and what Ukraine wants. This situation is extremely fluid right now and it will be interesting to see how it continues to develop.
Russian Peoples Reaction
In Moscow dozens of people have been arrested and hundreds across the country as they protest the invasion of Ukraine. While it might not seem like a lot what it shows is that the public is not fully behind this war. In Russia, if you are arrested for protesting it can effectively ruin your life in the country. Riot police were deployed immediately today in Moscow to prevent any sort of rally from occurring. They have closed off the large squares in the city and just by turning on the TV, you can see the police dragging people out of the subway system and throwing them into police vans. Police have justified this by saying that there was no "authorized anti-war protest" something that I think is very telling as Putin continues to stifle free speech.
Final Thoughts
Since I have been alive, I was born in 1995, nothing like this has been seen on this scale in Europe. Seeing innocent civilians taking shelter in subways is not something that I think anyone wants to see. News also just broke that Russia has seized Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. That is absolutely terrifying as that means that the people who were in charge when the meltdown occurred are now back in charge. Also, any fighting that occurs in that area threatens to destroy and cause massive massive radiological damage. There is no confirmed firefights in the Chernobyl area but it is extremely disturbing. If the Russians end up kicking up the radioactive dust and spreading it you could see extreme harsh and deadly consequences launched by the West into Russia and Ukraine. This radioactivity could easily spread into other countries and thus lead to more and more people suffering due to a war that really no one knows what the end game is yet.
The sanctions announced by the President of the US today and Europe are huge and cannot be understated. A few additional things can be added to it as well which I believe is due to seeing if Putin continues or not. If civilians continue to get hurt by these missile strikes or god forbid a nuclear reactor starts to melt down then the US will be forced to at a minimum create a no fly zone over Ukraine shooting down Russian jets if need be.
Reports have also come out from the mass arrests in Russia for protesting the war. Moscow has over 800 alone with over 1,500 already arrested today. These were brutal arrest and literally had people be thrown into vehicles wallts and drug around.
