Russia invades Ukraine
Russia invades Ukraine
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen reiterated the European Union’s support for Ukraine membership, saying “there is no doubt that these brave people who defend our values with their lives belong in the European family.” Von der Leyen said the bloc can provide Ukrainian refugees with protection, residency, access to work, and housing, adding that it is “not only an act of compassion in times of war, this is also our duty as Europeans.” At least one million refugees have fled Ukraine in the week since the invasion began and “crossed our borders,” she said. In a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Von Der Leyen announced the creation of a “civil protection hub for Ukraine” based in
Romania to assist with humanitarian needs. She also addressed the long lines of people at the Polish border saying they “have issued guidelines for border management. This is to simplify formalities at the border and thus enable people to get a shelter more rapidly.” Von der Leyen said “we are providing humanitarian support to deal with the consequences of this war” and “will deploy at least 500 million euros from the EU budget in humanitarian assistance and of course more will come. As we need to brace for devastating consequences of this atrocious war.” On sanctions: She stated that the EU’s “aim is to cut off the Kremlin’s capacity to wage war on its neighbors and warned of “additional steps if the situation deteriorates on the ground.” The EU is preparing in case of “retaliation,” by Russia, by working to diversify its energy supplies, she said. Von der Leyen also announced plans to connect Ukraine to the European electricity grid. “We are in this together and we will accompany Ukraine in this process with determination, with unity, and with solidarity.” “We will always remember the determination and bravery of the people of Ukraine. They are an inspiration to all of us,” she said before adding “Our focus is on ending this war.
Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned
March 3, 2022, 7:48 AM EST Ukrainian Paralympians vowed to make the Beijing Games another “front line” in their country’s fight for freedom after Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from the competition in a stunning reversal. “There is one front line for our battle, our warriors,” Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee, said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday. “And the second front line is here, in Beijing.” “We could have given up and not come to Beijing. This was the situation. Bombs were exploding, missiles were exploding,” he added. “Everyone understood that if Ukraine was not present at the Paralympics Games, there’s no existence of Ukraine.” Officials earlier in the day reversed a controversial decision to let Russia and Belarus participated in the Beijing Paralympics after “multiple” athletes threatened a boycott that could have halted the games, the International Paralympic Committee said in a statement. The “situation” in the athlete villages was escalating and ensuring the safety of athletes had become “untenable,” it added. That about-face came less than a day after the IPC said it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes with colors, flags, and other national symbols removed when events open Friday. While Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine came days after a Winter Games that China wanted to be “splendid and simple,” it has now given Beijing a difficult decision with the Paralympics. China had warned athletes before the Games that speaking out on sensitive issues came with consequences, suggesting the Communist Party would take a restrictive interpretation of the Olympic Charter. The document says “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony Friday in Beijing in a much different situation than when he and Putin declared their partnership had “no limits” ahead of the Winter Games. China has struggled to respond to the military action by its close diplomatic partner Russia, providing support to Putin at the United Nations while also upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty rights. The IPC’s decision came a day after the UN voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week. “At the IPC we are very firm believers that sport and politics should not mix,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in the statement. “However, by no fault of its own the war has now come to these games and behind the scenes, many governments are having an influence on our cherished event.” — With assistance from Isabella Steger and Jenni Marsh.
Trump called Russia's invasion of Ukraine a 'holocaust', completing a massive shift from praising Putin as a 'genius' one week before
Former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland on July 16, 2018. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump described Russia's attack on Ukraine as a "holocaust" in a Fox News interview. It is an abrupt shift from Trump's recent praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump's relations with Russia and Ukraine have long been mired in controversy. Former President Donald Trump described Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine as a "holocaust" and urged an end to the fighting there, in an abrupt shift from his recent praise for Russia's president. In an interview Wednesday with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, Trump said Russia has to "to stop killing these people" and suggested that a deal could be struck with Russia to stop the fighting. "We're watching a holocaust. We're watching something that I've never seen before, the way that they're going to go in — they're blowing up buildings with children, with women, with professionals, with people — think of just people," Trump said. "They're blowing up indiscriminately, they're just shooting massive missiles and rockets into these buildings and everybody is dying." "But they don't respect the United States and the United States is like, I don't know, they're not doing anything about it. This is a — this is a holocaust. This is a horrible thing that's happening. You're witnessing and you're seeing it on television every night." Trump's comments represent a huge shift, exactly one week since he praised Putin as a "genius" and "very savvy" on February 23. At that point, Putin had recognized two separatist regions of Ukraine as independent states, as a pretext for overtly deploying Russian troops into Ukraine. On the following day, February 24, the limited incursion escalated into an all-out war as Russian forces pushed into Ukraine from multiple directions and bombed major cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv. Even in his Wednesday exchange with Bartiromo, Trump did not criticize Putin personally. The story continues Trump had criticized the invasion already, condemning it at a recent speech at the CPAC conservative conference. In a series of public statements, Trump has blamed the Biden administration for the crisis. Trump claimed that he could have prevented the war if he were still in office, though has given no specifics on how. Ukrainian and Russian delegations began ceasefire talks in Belarus this week, but no agreements were reached. Trump's relations with Russia and Ukraine were a source of enduring controversy during his presidency. Russia launched a widespread campaign to help secure Trump's election in 2016, according to US intelligence agencies and multiple independent reports. Amid unsubstantiated rumors, Trump had been entrapped by Russian intelligence, Robert Mueller, a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, in a 2019 report did not find evidence that Trump's campaign had deliberately conspired with Russia. Later that year Trump was impeached for the first time for pressuring Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to produce dirt on Joe Biden, and canceling military aid to Ukraine to force Zelensky's hand. He was acquitted after a Senate trial. Zelensky has been widely praised for his courage and leadership during Russia's attack, and in Wednesday's interview, Trump said he had been "very impressed by him" and defended the phone call with Zelensky that resulted in the impeachment.