KEY MOMENTS
Kazakhstan Will Not Send Troops to Ukraine in Support of Russia
Russian ally Kazakhstan has said that it will not deploy troops to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to NBC News.
Kazakhstan has said that it will not officially recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, the two Russian-controlled territories in east Ukraine that Russia used as a pretext for its invasion.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustintalked with Kazakh President Kasym-ZhomartTokayev on Friday to discuss “joint efforts to prevent the decrease of trade volume between the two nations” amid international sanctions against Russia for its invasion, according to Radio Free Europe.
Russia claimed the east Ukrainian territories were essentially part of its country since many ethnic Russians reside there. Russia has armed, financed and politically controlled separatist factions in the regions since 2014, according to The Guardian.
Russia sent its military on a so-called peacekeeping mission to those territories and announced its intention to occupy them as well after claiming that Ukrainians had committed genocide against its ethnically Russian residents. The claim of genocide has been disregarded as fake by the U.S. intelligence agencies and other international intelligence agencies.
Russian Paratroopers Land in Vasylkiv, 25 Miles from Capital
Ukraine news organizations are reporting that Russian paratroopers have landed in Vasylkiv, which is about 25 miles away from the capital city, Kyiv. Ukrainian forces are reportedly fighting the paratroopers in the area.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Twitter that it shot down a Russian plane carrying paratroopers towards Kyiv.
“At around midnight, two enemy targets, a helicopter and a Su-25 attack aircraft of the Russian occupation forces were shot down by the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the Joint Forces operation,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces have continuously updated their Twitter with updates on the battle while keeping morale high.
“More than 40 hours of repulse to the Russian occupiers proved that we have the most powerful army in Europe and a fearless people,” said Oleksii Reznikov, minister of Defense of Ukraine.
Chef Jose Andres Feeding Refugees in Poland
Spanish-American chef José Andrés has announced that he and his organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK), will provide food to Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland to escape the Russian invasion.
“People of the World…Like you, I am distraught watching Ukraine under attack,” the Washington D.C.-based chef wrote in a Friday tweet. “We must come together as a force for good! @WCKitchen is on Poland border delivering meals tonight—Romania soon. In addition to your donations…I am committing support from the Bezos award to Ukraine.”
The award refers to a $100 million “Courage and Civility Award” that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos gave to Andrés in mid-2021.
In a video accompanying his tweet, Andrés announced that he would donate between $5 and $10 million to local chefs and organizations in Poland who are already helping feed refugees. The funding will help them continue.
“A very hard situation, obviously, and many of you are thinking, ‘What can I do?'” Andrés said in his video.
“Here is a fight and we’re going to make sure that nobody’s going hungry and they’re shown the respect that they deserve,” he continued. “There’s no more of allowing people that they think they are top of the world, that they are bad people bringing the worst out of humanity. We need to be a force of good. And you know how we do this? By believing in longer tables. Not to start bombing. Food at the center of communities, this is how we will create a better world
Large Crowd Turns out to Protest Putin in Times Square
Protests in New York City’s Times Square entered their second night as hundreds of people demonstrated against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
Protesters waved yellow and blue Ukrainian flags, a large blue and yellow banner held above the street as well as numerous hand-painted signs.
They also chanted “Stand with Ukraine”, “Stop Russia now”, “Stop Putin, stop war,” “Hands off Ukraine,” as well as “F*** Putin, not okay. Ukraine is not for you to take.”
Temperatures during the protest dropped to below freezing. Also on Friday, protesters gathered outside of the Russian mission to the United Nations. New York City has the largest Ukrainian community in the U.S., according to Reuters.
On Thursday, a protest occurred outside Russia’s embassy in Washington D.C. around 1 a.m. EST, shortly after Russia’s declaration of war against Ukraine.
Protests occurred worldwide on Thursday and Friday in Russian embassies in Tokyo and Tel Aviv as well as outside of government offices in cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Prague, Reuters added.(Courtesy Newsweek)
