Notes

The Ukraine Crisis: What to Know About Why Russia Attacked The New York Times
A short respite came with the country’s independence, but then, in 2014, Vladimir Putin’s aggressions began in Crimea, and carried on afterward in the Donbas. The struggle for identity is further complicated by the fact that many Ukrainians grew up in Russian-speaking households. But https://anotepad.com/notes/688qq3qq has accelerated a growing sense of a need to reassert a Ukrainian identity once and for all. "The sooner that we're able to continue to provide the levels of support that we have," he said, "the better, not only for Ukraine, but for the international community." However, outside these pro-government circles, the latest actions by the Russian military have considerably less support. Pro-government circles echo Putin’s line, but criticism of the military’s action grows among public figures and Russians.


But outcries of anger were not only felt on the streets of Moscow, where the Guardian did not encounter support for the military assault. A fresh poll by the independent Levada Center released on Thursday showed that only 45% of Russians stood in favour of the recognition move that preceded Thursday morning’s dramatic events. The Ukrainian administrator said the centre, which aims to promote the language, traditions and identity of a country Vladimir Putin denied the legitimacy of as a modern state in his speech on Monday, would be shut for the “coming period”. The mood in Moscow was dark and sombre hours after Putin had announced that he was launching a broad military offensive targeting Ukraine. Police had made at least 1,702 arrest in 53 Russian cities as of Thursday evening, according to the OVD-Info monitor, as they cracked down on the unsanctioned protests. Most of the arrests were made in Moscow and St Petersburg, where the crowds were largest.

Russia has the advantage, and Ukraine needs to dig in if it's going to fend off the enemy's war machine, conflict experts say
It also geolocated combat clashes to the north-west of Bakhmut, west of Donetsk city and south of Robotyne. Russian forces have advanced near the heavily-contested eastern town of Avdiivka, currently held by Ukraine, according to reports. Thank you for following The Telegraph’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. The irredentist claims to the regions have long been made by Ukrainian nationalists.


As concern grows that Russia will invade Ukraine, BBC correspondents gauge the public mood in Moscow and Kyiv on whether the crisis could lead to a wider war in Europe. For Russians this all brings back memories of what happened when President Putin annexed Crimea in 2014 and people queued for hours to get cash. Russian companies could end up cutting hours or stopping production as sanctions bite. As well as their savings falling in value, many Russians are predicted to lose their jobs as the economy reels from being cut off from financial markets in the West. But by Monday customers of Russia's biggest state-backed bank, Sberbank, told BBC Russian they could not order cash via the app at all - they had to go to its office and sign a form to do so.

What history shows: How will the war in Ukraine end?
Volkov says these polls are conducted face-to-face, and people are assured of anonymity. Still, he notes, the survey results reveal at least as much about what people are willing to say in public than about how they truly feel. Going to war is one of Russians’ greatest fears, according to the Levada Center, an independent pollster. And after Mr. Putin’s angry speech and his cryptic televised meeting with his Security Council on Monday, Russians realized that possibility was lurching closer toward becoming reality. For months, Russians of all political stripes tuned out American warnings that their country could soon invade Ukraine, dismissing them as an outlandish concoction in the West’s disinformation war with the Kremlin.


On the contrary, the people taking to the streets are those against it, despite threats of arrests. The protesters trickle along smaller streets, following location updates from dedicated Telegram channels. The night ends with a 39-year-old man driving a car into the police barriers at Pushkin Square with signs “This is war! Not all forecasts regarding the detrimental impact of the war on Russia's economy had proven accurate, Gudkov said. Oil prices rose in the first year of the conflict, generating more revenue for the Russian state and certain segments of the Russian population. Sectors of the economy necessary for war efforts are working at maximum capacity, and wages in these sectors have doubled.

Russia Threatens ‘Military Response’ to NATO Expansion
Right now, we cannot withdraw other currencies at ATMs until September. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the older generation is drowning in propaganda and believes that Putin’s actions are justified. Al Jazeera spoke with five young Russians about their views on the invasion, and how the blowback has affected them. In response, the US, EU, UK and other countries have levelled sanctions, both general and targeted, and doors have closed to Russians around the world, from research institutions to sporting events, in protest at Russia’s invasion. War never leads to anything good and won’t this time either,” – says 18-year-old Tonya, wearing a bag with a hand-stitched "No war" sign.


In recent days the value of the Russian ruble has slumped against the dollar, the cost of living for Russians has soared and numerous companies, such as Apple, Disney and Nike, have withdrawn their products from Russia. This man has a certain political style, to which most of the Russian population is already accustomed. He is not a bright leader, and not the tyrant that the opposition paints him as, but he is definitely not the best thing that could happen to Russia.

Surveys have suggested that the majority of Russians support the invasion. When the earth thaws, it can destabilize building foundations, roads, pipelines and other infrastructure. But it is difficult to determine how reliable these surveys are, in light of new crackdowns on free speech and dissent in Russia, where even the use of the word “war” to describe the invasion is now a crime. Pro-government circles echo Putin’s line, but criticism of the military’s action grows among public figures and Russians. A Ukrainian father was killed and his daughter wounded in a Russian attack on an eastern Ukrainian city on Monday morning.
Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed six Russian regions were “historically inhabited by Ukrainians”. Permafrost is the permanently frozen ground found across the Arctic. As it thaws, it creates massive problems for infrastructure built on top of it, causing roads to buckle, building foundations to crack and pipelines to break. Western officials have been reluctant to characterize Russian efforts as effective. A top Pentagon official told reporters this week that while Moscow has tried to shatter the lines in eastern Ukraine, it has "not succeeded" in its efforts. One reason why Ukraine's much-anticipated summer counteroffensive failed to produce significant results was that Russia had built a complex network of defensive fortifications throughout Russian-occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the Earth as a whole. Mr Trump, the frontrunner to be the Republican candidate in November’s presidential election, said in July that he had a “plan” that would bring peace in 24 hours. Whether it will be better or worse depends on us,” he said. In the meantime, sanctions affect every Russian citizen in their daily lives – both those who support and those who oppose the war, those at home and those abroad.
His work focuses on the Premier League, LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and the global game. On Wednesday, one week after the invasion began, the first Russian official resigned from his position at a global organisation in protest. Boris Lvin was a senior advisor to Russia’s representative at the World Bank and had worked at the institution for 24 years.

But the war’s relentless destruction also poses a more existential question, one which fuels an urgent need to resist and prevail. Now, any anti-war speech can result in up to 15 years of imprisonment. And if I am not imprisoned soon for speaking out against war, I want to try – together with like-minded people – to do everything I can to give our country hope for a peaceful future. I believe that the political system in Russia will be severely degraded in the coming years. The night ends with a 39-year-old man driving a car into the police barriers at Pushkin Square with signs “This is war!
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