RUSSIA – UKRAINE (impact, reactions, consequences)
The main immediate goal for the Ukrainian resistance will be to survive. If it can do so, and keep inflicting damage on the occupiers, then Vladimir Putin’s gamble will be on course to fail. RUSI, Malcolm Chalmers, Jonathan Eyal, Neil Melvin: A Sombre Hour for Europe
Amid reports on Thursday that people were fleeing en masse from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev following Russia’s so-called “special military operation,” UN humanitarians warned of the “devastating” consequences of military action. UN News: Ukraine: Humanitarians fear ‘devastating’ consequences
Le dinamiche militari messe in atto dalla Russia dimostrano la volontà di distruggere le linee di comando dell’Ucraina, annichilire il paese e lasciarlo senza possibilità di reazione. Il rischio che un’operazione a lungo termine possa impatanare Mosca in un conflitto urbano, una guerriglia devastante anche in termini di consensi. Formiche, Emanuele Rossi: Le prime valutazioni militari sull’attacco russo in Ucraina
Nord Stream 2 pronto ma fermato da Scholz dopo l’attacco russo. Eastmed, ancora solo sulla carta, improvvisamente bloccato dagli Usa. Ci resta solo il Tap, che provvede al 10% del fabbisogno italiano. Formiche, Francesco De Palo: Guerra e gas. Tutti i conti in tasca all’Ue
La lezione da trarre da queste prime ore è di prepararsi a uno scenario più ampio di quello ucraino. Ecco perché il prossimo obiettivo potrebbero essere i Paesi baltici: Estonia, Lettonia e Lituania, tutti membri della Nato e dell’Unione europea dal 2004 e la loro appartenenza all’Alleanza atlantica cambierebbe completamente lo scenario. Formiche, Stefano Vespa: I Paesi baltici nel mirino di Putin e i rischi per la Nato
“Adottare misure di difesa cibernetica alte e massimi controlli interni per la protezione delle proprie infrastrutture digitali”. La nota dell’Agenzia diretta da Roberto Baldoni. Formiche, Gabriele Carrer: Ucraina, l’Italia alza le difese cyber. Le raccomandazioni dell’Agenzia
Perdono tutti gli indici azionari del mondo. Calano anche le crypto, a cominciare da Bitcoin. Schizzano gas, petrolio e materie prime. Formiche, Ferruccio Michelin: L’invasione di Putin colpisce borse, criptovalute e materie prime
Shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara was quick to appeal to Turkey. “The Russian Federation has started a war against Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are being bombed. We call on our strategic partner Turkey and the friendly Turkish people to support us in this difficult time,” the embassy tweeted. Al Jazeera, Paul Benjamin Osterlund: Erdogan: Russia attack on Ukraine ‘heavy blow’ to regional peace
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his armed forces were launching a massive operation against Ukraine, sending frightened Kyiv residents into underground stations for shelter. Many took to the road and tried to flee Ukraine’s capital city. Al Jazeera, Niko Vorobyov: How is the Ukraine invasion being viewed in Russia?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered panic and fear among many Ukrainian civilians, as they scrambled to flee or prepare for the escalation in violence, although many also remained stoic even as missiles fell on multiple cities and Russian forces also attacked from land and sea. Al Jazeera: Panic, fear and stoicism in Ukraine as Russia invades
China on Thursday refused to call Moscow’s military aggression an “invasion” as Russia launched an assault on Ukraine early in the morning. The Hill, Monique Beals: China refuses to call Russia action an ‘invasion’
There is a myth, in wide circulation throughout the Western world, that Vladimir Putin is a strategic mastermind — a geopolitical genius more astute than Clausewitz, more subtle than Sun Tzu and more audacious than Napoleon. The Hill, Andrew Latham: Shattering the myth of Vladimir Putin as a strategic genius
France will respond without weakness to Russia’s act of war against Ukraine, said President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, adding that Russia could expect tough sanctions that would hit its military, its economy and its energy sector. Reuters: Macron: France will respond without weakness to Russia’s “act of war” on Ukraine
NATO has no troops inside Ukraine and has no plans to send any into the country, the alliance’s Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, told a news conference on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters: NATO has no plans to send troops into Ukraine, Stoltenberg says
A Russian opposition activist who called for anti-war protests after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine told Reuters that she had been detained by police on Thursday. Reuters: Russia detains opposition activist who called for anti-war protests in Moscow
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain and its allies would unleash a massive package of economic sanctions to hobble the Russian economy after the Kremlin launched an all-out invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday. Reuters, Kylie Maclellan and William James: UK PM Johnson vows massive sanctions against Russia
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation in Ukraine was quickly deteriorating after Russia’s invasion and appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven. Reuters: UN refugee agency urges countries to give fleeing Ukrainians safe haven
People in the southeastern city of Mariupol woke to the sound of explosions on Thursday and some started packing bags to leave after Russia invaded Ukraine. Reuters, Aleksandar Vasovic: Strategic city of Mariupol wakes to blasts as Russia invades Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskiy swept to power three years ago promising to end a war with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. He now faces a Russian invasion that could result in the overthrow of his government and the end of Ukrainian democracy. Reuters, Matthias Williams: Former comic actor Zelenskiy is unlikely war leader for Ukraine
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, assaulting by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Reuters: Natalia Zinets and Aleksandar Vasovic: Russia invades Ukraine in Europe’s ‘darkest hours’ since WWII
The West will do everything necessary to restore full Ukrainian sovereignty over its lands, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday, promising tough sanctions against Russia for invading its neighbour. Reuters: Italy’s Draghi promises “whatever it takes” to restore Ukrainian sovereignty
