Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Updates From Ukraine (23-Feb-2022)

Updates From Ukraine:


Russia has closed the airspace along the northeast Ukrainian border for civil aviation according to NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) Read more


February 23, 2022 - According to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, there are "Worrying reports from Crimea on the entire night shift of Titan chemicals plant in Armyansk evacuated from the facility. This might be a preparation for another staged provocation by Russia. Moscow seems to have no limits in attempts to falsify pretexts for further aggression". Read more


February 23, 2022 - The Ukrainian Parliament has now declared a state of emergency. Decree green lights on the following measures: Document checks, ban on protests, evacuation of people from dangerous areas, ban on producing or spreading information that may 'destabilize the situation'. Read more


February 23, 2022 - The Latvian Prime Minister says that Russia is moving some forces and tanks into Eastern Ukraine, which would confirm previously unconfirmed videos that we have seen of Russia moving tanks into Eastern Ukraine. Read more


February 23, 2022 - We continue to see large convoys of tanks allegedly rolling into Belgorod, Russia, and a new field hospital at a garrison near Belgorod around 12 miles from the Ukrainian border which indicates that something is going on there. Putin said last week he planned on ending drills as planned on February 20th. Read more


February 22, 2022 - White House Officially Calls Russian 'Peacekeeping Mission' In Ukraine An Invasion - The White House has officially called the so called Russian 'peace keeping' mission in Ukraine to the separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk an invasion. Read more




‘Massive cyberattack’ underway, Ukraine reports


Government websites and banks in Ukraine have been hit by outages as part of a reported cyberattack against the country’s digital infrastructure, with officials in Kiev saying it is a major attempt by hackers to take down online platforms.

A statement issued on Wednesday evening by the country’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov said that “at around 4.00pm, another massive ‘denial-of service’ attack on our state began. There is data to this effect from a number of banks and there are also problems with accessing the website of the national parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Foreign Ministry.”


Amid ‘massive’ cyberattack on Ukraine, US warns of Russian invasion within 48 hours


Washington has given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an intelligence assessment that a full-blown Russian invasion of his country will come within the next 48 hours, Newsweek reported Wednesday, citing US intelligence officials.

The assault was predicted to include a cyberattack and, indeed, shortly after Newsweek received the information a cyberattack took down Ukrainian state websites.

A US official with direct knowledge of the developments told Newsweekthat Zelensky was told a Russian invasion “will highly likely begin” in the next two days.

A Pentagon assessment envisioned airstrikes, cruise missile attacks, including on Kyiv, and an invasion by ground forces.

The official said that Russian forces will enter Ukraine from neighboring Belarus as well as from the pro-Russian rebel-held Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and will push toward the capital Kyiv. Russia recently completed a major joint exercise with Belarus but its forces remained stationed in the territory of its close ally.


UPDATED: Russian Navy Cruisers Positioned to Counter U.S., French and Italian Carrier Groups in the Mediterranean



Three Russian guided-missile cruisers have been arrayed across the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to counter three NATO carrier strike groups, causing concern in the Pentagon, a U.S. defense official told USNI News on Tuesday.

As of Monday, the three Slava-class cruisers were operating in and around the Aegean Sea – RTS Moskva (121) in the Black Sea, RFS Varyag (011) south of Italy and RTS Marshal Ustinov (055) off the coast of Syria, near Russia’s naval base in Tartus.

Moskva is based in the Black Sea, while Marshal Ustinov traveled from the Northern Fleet and Varyag from the Pacific Fleet. Ustinov and Varyag entered the Mediterranean from opposite ends earlier this month.

The three 11,500-ton Slavas were designed around launchers that can hold 16 SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship cruise missiles – each about the size of a telephone pole. Developed in the 1970s, the Slavas and the Sandboxes were designed to take on U.S. and NATO aircraft carriers by overwhelming them with a barrage of high-speed cruise missiles to sink ships.

The position of the cruisers around the Aegean is a complication for the U.S., Italian and French carrier strike groups that have been operating in the Mediterranean the last several weeks.

As the Russians have massed naval assets in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the U.S. has surged additional guided-missile cruiser and destroyers to U.S. 6th Fleet. As of Tuesday, the U.S. has about a dozen guided-missile warships operating in the region, USNI News understands.



LIVE UPDATES: U.S. issues new warning to Ukrainian Gov't: Latest intelligence points to full scale attack imminently. At particular risk, northeastern city of Kharkiv




The United States government has informed the Ukrainian Government that all Intelligence Assessments of Russian military movements points to a massive invasion of Ukraine within forty-eight hours.

The scalable map below show the location of Kharkiv:


6:02 PM EST -- BREAKING has started 1 h ago an offensive in Nikolayevka they broke through the defenses of Donetsk republic , DPR

Electricity now said to be out in Donetsk.  That makes Internet, Television, and now electricity.

6:24 PM EST  -- Local residents in the Kramatorsk region of Donetsk are reporting a large number of fighter jets.  This is big.  Ukraine will not fly its limited supply of military aircraft (at least not yet) for fear of them being shot down.   So for locals to begin saying there are a large number of fighter jets, it stands to reason those jets must be . . . Russian!

6:28 PM EST -- Luhansk People's Republic officials claim Ukraine Army is attacking "entire frontline" and is attempting to break through defensive lines.


8:25 PM EST -- Reuters reports at least five massive explosions have been heard in separatist-held Donestk in eastern Ukraine

WHITE HOUSE: G7 LEADERS TO HOLD VIRTUAL MEETING ON THURSDAY TO DISCUSS SITUATION WITH RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

 8:28 PM EST -- UKRAINE FORBIDS ALL MALES 18-60 FROM LEAVING COUNTRY !!  MUST REPORT FOR MILITARY SERVICE! ! ! ! !

8:30 PM EST -- U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE BLINKEN BELIEVES RUSSIA WILL INVADE UKRAINE BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER - NBC NEWS

 Ukrainian forces bombed Donetsk with 10 missiles banned under Minsk agreements” - Donetsk authorities (DPR)

 

8:34 PM EST -- Multiple airlines, including European carriers, have tonight been informed by aviation risk management agencies that Ukraine - as a whole - is now considered a “Do Not Fly”  area on the basis of “extreme tension and developments on Feb 23”

 Russia closing airspace to civilian aircraft along North east border with Ukraine. Until May 18.

 

Social Media showing tanks being brought into Kiev:



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