“Ukraine – Russia”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on Western nations to step up military aid.

In a vain attempt to protect those inside from missile and airstrikes that Russia has rained down on cities, an enormous inscription reading “CHILDREN” in Russian had been posted outside the grand, columned theater to make it visible from the air.

#Ukraine: Claimed video of a Ukrainian ATGM striking a Russian vehicle somewhere in the South. Unfortunately, ID is very difficult but it may be an MRAP or IMV. pic.twitter.com/n64gbhu4aL

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 25, 2022

#Ukraine: Local fighters (claimed to be behind Russian lines) destroyed a Russian supply truck, capturing one soldier. pic.twitter.com/4C81YkXBrG

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 24, 2022

#Ukraine: The results of a counterattack by the Ukrainian forces on Russian positions in Lukyanivka, #Kyiv Oblast – as a result a MT-LB tracked vehicle, T-72B3 tank and BMP variant were captured. A Russian T-72B3 and another BMP variant were also destroyed there. pic.twitter.com/ydPxGMolpi

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 24, 2022

U.S. intelligence agencies thought the Afghan military would last longer and predicted Kyiv would fall faster, showing the difficulty of assessing fighting spirit.

Ukrainian citizens learned to make Molotov cocktails from government public service announcements, then recorded themselves setting Russian armored vehicles on fire. Ukraine’s soldiers waited in ambush and fired Western-provided missiles at Russian tanks. The country’s president recorded messages from the streets of his capital, urging his country to fight back against the invaders.

Canada is looking at ways to get more weapons into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday after an emergency meeting of NATO leaders.

He made the commitment even though his own defence minister, Anita Anand, has acknowledged publicly that the Canadian military’s stock of surplus weapons available for donation is largely depleted.

Shows about western terrorism in Crimea are aired alongside videos about Ukrainian shrines to Hitler

If you want to understand how Russians see the world, it helps to watch Russian TV. The Kremlin’s control over the airwaves permeates every part of Russia’s television schedules. There are no longer soap operas or series during waking hours, just relentless TV shows about Russia’s place in the world. The popular and execrable “news” discussion show 60 Minutes now often lasts two to three hours. It is as if General Hospital and Days of our Lives were replaced with 200 minutes of state propaganda.

Such shows depict Russia’s horrific assault on Ukrainian towns, cities and people as a special military operation. They are punctuated with clips of Vladimir Putin celebrating a successful and preemptive mission to free Donbas from genocidal Ukrainian butchers. Russians and non-Russians alike see the human misery and detritus of an unprovoked invasion by a fascistic army — except Russians think that army belongs to Ukraine.

BRUSSELS — The United States will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the country and will donate $1 billion to help European countries deal with the surge of migrants fleeing Russia’s invasion, a person familiar with the decision said on Thursday.

More than three million Ukrainians have poured into Poland and other countries as the forces of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have bombarded civilian areas in cities across Ukraine.

United States officials have repeatedly said they expect that most Ukrainian refugees will want to stay in Europe, close to their homes. But President Biden, who is in Brussels for three back-to-back summits with allies, is expected to announce that the administration will accept 100,000 refugees who want to come to America.

A Russian soldier reportedly drove over his colonel with a tank — while two other service members were caught venting about strongman Vladimir Putin’s “bulls—” invasion of Ukraine amid reports of heavy losses.

The Russian soldier who was behind the wheel of the tank “blamed the commander of the group, Col. Yury Medvedev, for the deaths of his friends,” Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsimbalyuk said on Facebook.

There are numerous pieces floating about purportedly illustrating the breakdown of the Russian army. I am not sure I trust them.

Unsecured radio networks allowed Ukrainians with radio jammers to mock Russian troops during an attack on a town near Kyiv, a New York Times investigation reveals.

Russians advancing on the town of Makariv on February 27 encountered significant resistance and — over their radio networks — even derision amid their attack, the paper reported.

Another two pr. 775 landing ships – "Novocherkassk" and "Caesar Kunikov" were damaged too, however they managed to sail away. Presumably, the cause of the incident is a Ukrainian "Tochka-U" ballistic missile hit. pic.twitter.com/dBinch60rd

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 24, 2022

The clip at the end of this post was filmed in April 2021, if you can believe it, but it’s making the rounds on political Twitter today thanks to some new English subtitles that reveal the prescience of the speaker, Alexander Nevzorov. A little googling proves him to be an interesting character, a journalist turned parliamentarian turned filmmaker turned horse-riding enthusiast turned fierce critic of religion and Putin’s government. Some of his specific forecasts about a war between Russia and Ukraine turned out to be on the money, as you’ll see, from the high morale of Ukrainian troops that no one in the Kremlin expected to the shocking haplessness of the Russian air force.