Ukraine Updates: Zelenskyy Says Russia Can’t Be Trusted, Attacks Continued in Chernihiv and Kyiv
Putin wants Mariupol defenders to surrender.
Day 35! If you believe 100% that Russia will reduce military activities in Kyiv and Chernihiv then…you need a history lesson.
Reducing military activity means Russia is still there. Russia showed us that with the attacks last night on and around the cities. Russia is not leaving. They’re not leaving Ukraine alone.
Live Stream:
It’s Not Just Germany. Europe Will Have a Gas Problem
Pay Russia in rubles or you will lose your energy:
Europe’s plans to build stocks and ensure gas supplies for next winter could be upended if exports from Russia are halted in a standoff over payment terms, risking curbs on industrial use, analysts warned.
Russia typically provides Europe with around 40 per cent of its gas but the possibility of supply disruption since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has increased over the past week, with G7 nations rejecting a demand for payment in roubles.
The European Commission says gas held in storage typically accounts for around a quarter of that used in Europe over the winter months, where it is a major heating fuel.
In a bid to shore up supplies for next winter it has proposed legislation compelling gas storage operators to fill sites to at least 80 per cent of capacity by November 1.
But with stores currently only around a quarter full, and below the five-year average for the time of year of just under 34 per cent, the task looks incredibly difficult to meet without Russian supplies.
Attacks in Kyiv
DO NOT TRUST RUSSIA. Nothing has changed:
“After their statements yesterday nothing has changed at all,” Maryan Zablotskyy, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who got his wife and child out of Kyiv, told Fox News Digital. “Fighting [continued] all through the night around Kyiv.”
Russian forces have kept up a ruthless bombardment of the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, despite official statements claiming that Russian troops are withdrawing from Kyiv and Chernihiv to refocus on the eastern Donbas region, Kyiv residents tell Fox News.
“After their statements yesterday nothing has changed at all,” Maryan Zablotskyy, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who got his wife and child out of Kyiv, told Fox News Digital. “Fighting [continued] all through the night around Kyiv.”
“They are forced to retreat from different areas around Kyiv,” Zablotskyy noted, “but only if they are successfully pushed back.”
“Yesterday’s statement is just a recognition of some military setbacks, and they finally realized that their forces are stretched too thin,” he added. “Some of their units were close to being surrounded at Irpin.”
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“Nothing is changing whatsoever,” Mark Savchuk, Kyiv-based coordinator of the Ukraine Volunteer Journalists Initiative (UVJI), told Fox News Digital. “The fact that people in the world still listen to Russians is super depressing.”
“All it is is a shifting of priorities – they move forces to the south,” Savchuk insisted. “Fighting near Kyiv will remain as it is now. Nothing will change. All that’s changed is their top priority is no longer Kyiv, but Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the south.”
Germany Asks People to Conserve Energy
Putin told “unfriendly” countries to pay for their energy in roubles. If you don’t you know he will turn off the gas. Germany gets 75% of its natural gas from Russia. This is only the beginning:
Europe’s largest economy, which relies on Russia for more than 50% of its natural gas, initiated the first of three phases of the plan, signaling there are serious signs the supply situation may deteriorate, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Wednesday. The announcement comes as the Kremlin plans to tell European energy companies by Thursday how to pay for fuel in the Russian currency, even if the process of switching won’t begin immediately.
European countries from Germany to Italy have labeled the request a breach of contract and the standoff between Europe and Russia is threatening to upend energy markets. European gas prices surged as much as 15% after the German announcement, before easing as the Kremlin said it would take time before companies need to pay in rubles. German industries from steel to chemicals would shut down within a matter of weeks if Russia supplies were cut off.
“This is about monitoring the situation,” Habeck said at a press conference. “There are two more steps, the alarm and the emergency phase, but we are not there yet. The situation would have to worsen dramatically before we reach those stages. We would then practically need a change in the supply lines and would have to react accordingly.”
JUST IN – Germany triggers the first stage of the gas emergency plan to secure supplies. Vice-Chancellor Habeck appeals to consumers: save energy.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 30, 2022
Attacks Continue in Chernihiv
Russia will not stop. Chernihiv, 90 miles north of Kyiv, suffered from more attacks Tuesday night:
The governor of Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region has told the BBC that Russia has continued to attack the regional capital on Wednesday morning, despite Moscow’s promise of a drastic reduction in military activity in the area, as well as around Kyiv.
“Right now, as we speak, I can hear which I think are mortar shells,” Viancheslav Chaus said from Chernihiv. He said Chernihiv and the town of Nizhyn were attacked during the night and that civilian buildings were destroyed.
“We don’t believe [the Russians] because we’ve already seen that there isn’t a single time when their military forces keep their word,” he said.
The BBC has not been able to verify the claims independently, although residents described hearing attacks during the night and also on Wednesday.
One said: “This night was rough. We heard there was fighting all night in the suburbs, away from the city centre. We heard artillery. But there was no aviation tonight.”
Another said: “It was impossible to sleep in the house, only in bunkers… There was no aviation yesterday [Tuesday], only artillery attacks. I can hear shelling at the moment [Wednesday morning]. It’s still loud but not as intense as during the night.”
Putin Wants Mariupol Defenders to Surrender
Mariupol is holding on. Putin made it known that he wants the important port town:
Russia insists that “militants” must lay down their weapons in the embattled city of Mariupol, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone call earlier today with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
According to a Telegram post by Russia’s foreign ministry, the two leaders discussed “current developments” in Ukraine, with a focus on humanitarian efforts.
With regards to Mariupol, Putin “emphasised that in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation…Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resisting and lay down their weapons”.
An official from the French presidency said Macron brought up the subject of carrying out a humanitarian mission in Mariupol – but the conditions were not in place for one now.
Additionally, the two leaders discussed rouble payments for Russian gas supplies to the European Union.
Ukraine Described Russia’s Promise as a Ruse
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces thinks Russia’s withdrawal is nothing more than a ruse:
In a daily operational update posted to Facebook, the general staff said that Russian units were continuing to move away from both Kyiv and Chernihiv. Russia has said it will now focus on operations in the eastern region of Donbas.
The general staff, however, also believes the withdrawals “are probably a rotation of individual units” aimed at misleading Ukraine’s military and creating a “misconception” about the meaning of their deployment.
The update echoes statements made by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who said that a threat to Kyiv remained despite Russian troop movements away from the city.
Additionally, the update noted the enemy continued to “fire and storm” near Donetsk, in the east.
In two settlements – Novokarlivka and Luhivske, both near Zaporizhzhia – the Ukrainians believe Russian forces are fortifying their position and planting minefields.
Zelenskyy Says We Cannot Trust Russia
Who in their right mind trusts Russia? Zelenskyy is correct:
Volodymyr Zelensky says that the talks with Russian negotiators have been positive but warned that the Kremlin can’t be trusted.
Russia announced after Tuesday’s talks in Istanbul that it will significantly reduce military operations near Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.
The US and others earlier expressed scepticism in Russia’s announcement.
In a video address on Tuesday night, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops’ “courageous and effective actions” forced Russia to scale down its action around Kyiv and Chernihiv.
He said Ukraine will continue the negotiation process “to the extent depending on us” but emphasised mistrust in “the words coming from representatives of the country that continue fighting to destroy us”.
Shelling Arund Kyiv
The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen heard shelling on Monday night:
But in a report from the Ukrainian capital, the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen said there was still the sound of shelling coming from battlefields to the north-west of the city.
“It’s probably 10, 15 miles from here and I can’t tell if it’s coming from the Ukrainians, or if it’s coming from the Russians, but the fact is it’s still happening.
“So if there is a plan to reduce the levels of military activity on the edge of this city it has not kicked in yet.”
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Comments
No you can’t trust because you don’t dare. For now, the Uke army needs to find and kill as many Russian soldiers as possible, destroy as much armor and air assets as possible as well as deprive the Russians of as much food and water as possible. Everything.
Trust?
“The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.”
Yeah, the Ukrainians gave up their huge stockpile of nuclear weapons for that agreement back in 1994.
How’s that working out for them?
https://theintercept.com/2022/02/27/ukraine-nuclear-weapons-russia-invasion/
Libya essentially did the same thing. After 9/11, they voluntarily gave up their WMD program with full UN verification and Obama repaid that gesture with ‘regime change.’ Now, the Ukrainian example is laid bare for all to see sending a clear message to other countries in similar positions. We will never be able to to talk another country into ending their pursuit of nuclear weapons much less giving them up if they’ve already been created/acquired.
“Libya essentially did the same thing.”
Not really – because it was a.) Libya’s own WMD program, which they b.) gave up under pressure. Oh, and I forgot c.) – killing Gaddafi “We came, we saw, he died”-style as an ‘US Thank You.note’..,
Ukraine on the other hand inherited the nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union – with Russia being the official successor state. Ukraine also maintained that some nuclear missiles were build in Ukraine (which ironically did not exist as a country when these weapons were build). Therefore they demanded a second memorandum (Budapest Memorandum) – after they’ve signed the Lisbon protocol.
Nevertheless, it is very difficult to compare the Libyan and Ukrainian scenario…
Wut? Ukraine gave up it’s WMD based in part on ‘security assurances’ that were negotiated by the Clinton Administration. Qaddafi gave up his nuclear weapons and then became a US asset in the WOT. What the provenance was of those weapons, is immaterial. They had possessed them and their possession provided a deterrent capability.
Ukraine is now wrekt, Qaddafi is dead and the moral of the story couldn’t be clearer: If you have nuclear weapons and/or a nuclear weapons program and you’re negotiating with the US to rid yourself of those weapons/programs in exchange for something – like a security guarantee -, the US is not an honest, reliable broker.
If Ukraine had held on to those weapons, their country would be intact and there’s some chance that if Qaddafi had access to WMD, Clinton & Obama wouldn’t have attacked. So now, even if someone like Kim Jong-il assumes room temperature and is replaced by someone perhaps a bit more amenable to a negotiated end to western hostility of the DPRK, how are those negotiations going to go considering what’s happened to others who have negotiated with us? Not well.
You know, I don’t need more summaries from “bubble headed Bleached blondes who Come on at five” ( if you don’t get the reference google it).
1. I tried to find the text of Rudskoi’s. statement. I only found one source a video from Alex Chrtosffus where he reads a translation of the statement. Rudskoi did not say that Russia would stop at Donbass and Crimea. Just the opposite he says that Russia is going beyond the regions. They want a complete solution to problem, not another war in a few years.
2, Even the bleach blonds did not report that Russia would retreat from Kiev. They said they would not push offensives at the moment, focussing on Donbass and Crimea.
Not very sober legal-mind analysis in the comments so far. War is very similar in rationale to a civil dispute: two parties in conflict over each’s interpretation of what is fair and just. In many cases, the finite law and finite case history fails to tie a cutesy ribbon on right and wrong, so a jury or a judge must rule capriciously on what “feels” fair. War is similar except, by definition, it is not prosecuted in a courtroom, so the “judgment” comes in the form of who wins the war. Capricious as hell, yes, but no less so than some of the bullcrap, societally ruinous rulings of our own courts, including SCOTUS. But to summarize the #KraineTrain comments here and on so many other supposedly more erudite conservative forums, it seems as if our self-identified intellectuals are mostly a bunch of easily manipulated, low-brow, Biden-approved TikTok addicts, still clutching their circa 2010 Obama Phones!