Thread by @WilliamYang120

More on #UkraineRussia: "The Russian Defense Ministry claimed in a statement that its forces had “rendered the military infrastructure of Ukraine’s airbases inoperable” and that the country’s air defense systems “have been suppressed.” nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

Voices from #Ukraine: "My youngest son is 1 year old today and the second one turns 10 in two weeks,” Olha Reshetylova, who works with a rights group in Ukraine. “I will fight to the end so that they live in a free world and in the Ukrainian state.” nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

Ms. Reshetylova said Ukrainians had sensed a war brewing for years, “and this moment has come.”

She wrote: “Fear is normal. It helps us survive. But panic is evil. Try to master yourself and think rationally.”

Urging Ukrainians to protect their children and homeland, she added: “I believe in us.”

Voices from #Russia: "Waking up to the news, many Russians said they felt shocked and bewildered by Mr. Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine. Anton Dolin, the country’s leading film critic, said that war with Ukraine is 'the most horrible and shameful event of my life.'"

"Russian-backed separatists say they are attacking the Ukrainian army along the entire front line in the country’s east, 'using all weapons at their disposal,' Russian media report."

Voice from #Ukraine: "They are afraid for their families, afraid for their friends,” said Denys Derchachev, 36, the hotel doorman.

"Others were afraid to travel east, including a 47-year-old business owner who said he had come to Lviv with his family a week earlier for a business meeting."

“We are extending our stay a week,” he said. His company has some 600 employees across the country, including in Kyiv and Odessa.

“They are writing and asking where they can go, where is there a place that is safe,” he said. “What can I tell them?” he said. “I tell them to stay home and find somewhere safe.” nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

"Ukrainians were waiting in line for up to an hour to buy fuel for their cars, and there were traffic jams on the exit ramps to leave Kyiv, the capital, in the hours after the city’s main airport was bombed."

"Ukrainians have been resolute about refusing to panic, but once the Russian invasion began, grocery stores began filling up with people buying supplies and many people were waiting in lines to withdraw money at ATMs."

Voices from #Ukraine: "Residents of the small town of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region were woken on Thursday by the sounds of artillery booming in the distance at around 5 o’clock, ...

... almost the exact moment that Putin announced that his military had commenced its attack. After a few hours of quiet, with only the crowing of roosters to be heard, residents cautiously began leaving their homes."

"Irina Shevtsova, 32, said she was gathering her two children and fleeing to a nearby monastery.

'At least there are catacombs to hide in,' she said."

Lilya Solyak, who works at a local hotel, said that she was staying put, believing that this time serious violence would pass the town by.

“They’re going to attack Kyiv and Dnipro, important places with airports. Compared with those, our tiny little town won’t give them much.”

"Lera Alekseeva was standing in a courtyard, warming her hairless cat in the folds of a jacket. She said she planned to report to work first thing Thursday at a company in town that sells and repairs cash registers."

Although she said she had no intention of leaving, she was taking the cat and her poodle with her to work just in case.

“They’re like children,” she said. “I can’t go anywhere without them.”

Some analytical predictions on what could be at stake in #Ukraine:

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1496744600677011459

More voices from Russia: "Some Russians said they are ready to protest against the war. “Just tell me where to come today,” said Konstantin Gaaze, a sociologist.

Karen Shainyan, a journalist and media producer, said that “all of us who are against the war should express this protest as actively as possible.”

@McFaul: "Belarus MUST be part of the sanctions package. Lukashenko is an ally in Putin’s horrific war."

Voices from #Ukraine: “I called them at 7 this morning. My sister was afraid, but my mother was not,” said Olha, 24, who declined to use her full name, given the invasion. nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

“I asked them to find a bomb shelter, because this is important,” she said. “Where we live is not in the center, and I asked them not to go into the center. We don’t know what we need to do because it is difficult — it is impossible — to understand Putin.”

"She was particularly scared because of Russia’s arsenal of weapons. She was searching how to describe them in English and got out her phone to use Google translate. It said: “Nuclear weapons.”"

"She said her sister worked for the government ministry. “Just one or two weeks ago, she thought war was impossible in Ukraine,” Olha said.

'Putin is not a normal person,' she said, turning back to Google translate to find the right word. 'Crazy.'"

"She said she wanted to be a journalist. She has a master’s degree, and has made a podcast — “Green Philosophy” — about Lviv.

Asked what she was most afraid of, she returned to the power of Russia’s weapons: “I am afraid Ukraine could be the start of a world war.”"

"Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that its military was not conducting strikes against Ukrainian cities. 'High-precision weapons are making inoperable the Ukrainian army’s military infrastructure, air defense systems, airfields and air forces,' the statement said."

From #Ukraine's UN Ambassador to #Russia's UN Ambassador: “There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, Ambassador.”

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1496700890589368323

"A representative of Russia-backed separatists said that their aim was to capture the territory of Ukraine’s Donetsk region beyond the contact line that has separated their forces from the #Ukraine-controlled territory since 2015."

“Our goal is to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region,” the representative, Eduard Basurin, said on Russian state television.

From @nytimes: "Even with the tons of weapons, ammunition and equipment delivered to Ukraine by Western allies in just the last few weeks, the Ukrainian military is outgunned by the larger, more technologically advanced Russian forces that have launched a multipronged invasion."

"Back in December, the commander of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, Gen. Kyrylo O. Budanov, outlined a scenario in which a Russian invasion would begin with airstrikes and rocket attacks aimed at ammunition depots and trench-bound troops —...

... foreshadowing the attack that came early Thursday morning. Very quickly, he said, the Ukrainian military would be incapacitated, its leadership unable to coordinate a defense and supply the front. "

“They will hold up as long as there are bullets,” General Budanov said in an interview. “They’ll be able to use what they have in their hands, but believe me, without delivery of reserves, there’s not an army in the world that can hold out.”

"“They will hold up as long as there are bullets,” General Budanov said in an interview. 'They’ll be able to use what they have in their hands, but believe me, without delivery of reserves, there’s not an army in the world that can hold out.'"

NATO will hold an emergency session Thursday morning to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was condemned as a “reckless and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which puts at risk countless civilian lives,” says @jensstoltenberg.

“This is a grave breach of international law, and a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” he said, adding that “NATO will do all it takes to protect and defend all allies.”

"President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus said his country’s forces were not involved in the Russian operation. Mr. Lukashenko said that at his request, Russian troops stayed in Belarus, north of #Ukraine, after their joint drills with the Belarusian forces."

More from @nytimes: "Ukrainian forces have shot down six Russian fighters and a helicopter in an increasingly intense battle to maintain control over key cities, a senior Ukrainian military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity."

"Ukrainian troops have also repelled, for the time being, Russian advances on two major cities: Chernihiv, in the north near Belarus, and Kharkiv, in the northeast close to Russia’s border, the official said."

"#Ukraine’s defense minster, Oleksiy Reznikov, called on anyone looking to take up arms against Russian forces to immediately enlist with the country’s territorial defense units. "

"All anyone needs to sign up is a Ukrainian passport, Mr. Reznikov said. “The enemy is attacking, but our army is indestructible,” he said. “Ukraine is moving into all-out defense mode.”

Voices from #Ukraine: "There were runs on banks, runs on gas stations, and some people were just running Thursday, as panic set in here in eastern Ukraine, just a few dozen miles from where Russian troops were reportedly engaged in a fierce firefight with the Ukrainian military."

“It’s panic, don’t you see?” said Yevheni Balai, pointing to a line of anxious Ukrainians standing outside a closed bank, desperate to take out cash. nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

“They’ve gotten exactly what they wanted, the ones on the other side, panic and destabilization,” Mr. Balai said, refusing to mention the word Russia or the name of President Vladimir V. Putin, whom he referred to as “that person.”

"At a base for Ukraine’s National Guard, troops in drab green uniforms raced to and fro, seemingly uncertain of what it was they were supposed to be doing.

Wives and girlfriends had come to say goodbye to soldiers, who acknowledged that they did not quite know where they were being ordered to go."

"A National Guard soldier named Yevheni, who would not give his last name, listed cities nearby in eastern Ukraine where he said the Russian flag was already flying."

“It’s not good, I’ll tell you,” he said, adding that he had been fighting against Russia-backed separatists in breakaway enclaves of eastern Ukraine since the war broke out in 2014.

His wife, Yelena, came to deliver clothes from the couple’s home village of Bakhmut about 40 minutes’ drive further east.

“They told us to not come to work; all the kindergartens are closed; but right now everything is quiet. They said they are preparing for evacuation.”

More from @nytimes: "#Russia's troops reached the outskirts of Kharkiv, #Ukraine’s second-largest city, and set up checkpoints on a main road on Thursday morning, according to videos posted to the messaging service Telegram."

"E.U. leaders will therefore flock to Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit that will seek to quickly approve the second round of sanctions, although finding compromise without appearing to dither in the face of a once-in-a-generation conflict will be hard."

“Going further than Wednesday’s sanctions could prove a big problem for Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the managing director for Europe with the Eurasia Group consulting firm, referring to Italy’s multifaceted dependence on Russia.

"Josep Borrelle Fontelles, the E.U’s top diplomat, said on Thursday morning that the bloc was set to adopt “the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.” The proof will be in the doing."

#Ukraine's President @ZelenskyyUa delivered an emotional speech minutes ago. He said weapons will be issued to those who want them and called on Ukrainians to donate blood. dw.com/en/russia-laun…

He said Russia had suffered losses during the initial stages of its invasion and added Ukraine had severed diplomatic relations with Russia.

He concluded his emotional speech, "Glory to Ukraine!"

#Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree calling for a state of emergency in his country, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported. It will have to be approved by the parliament.

Speech from German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock, in which she addressed #Putin directly: ""You will never destroy the dream of democracy and freedom. Many people in your country will be ashamed."

"If we do not take a clear stance on this, we will pay an even higher price in future," she said.

Earlier in her address, she also called on German citizens to immediately leave Ukraine for their safety, saying preparations had been made for the exit.

More from #Lithuania: “Today, I am signing a decree on introducing a state of emergency, which will be adopted the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in its extraordinary session,” said the country's president @GitanasNauseda.

“In light of the circumstances, we must take legal measures to strengthen our external security.” The State Defense Council also asked NATO to invoke Article 4 on joint consultations, the president added.

More: #Ukraine's President @ZelenskyyUa has severed diplomatic ties with Moscow as his country faced a wide-scale military assault. He spoke as one of his advisers announced that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had died and dozens had been wounded.

A message calling for those who are willing to defend #Ukraine to pick up arms from President @ZelenskyyUa:

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1496785547594924032

The latest statement from #Ukraine's foreign minister, saying that attack from attacks from Russia is coming from all sides while pledging that the Ukrainian defense has not collapsed.

https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1496788635940581376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496788635940581376%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Flive%2F2022%2F02%2F24%2Fworld%2Frussia-ukraine-putin

Voices from #Ukraine: “It’s our scoundrels in Ukraine who listen to NATO and the Pentagon, which are pushing them into war,” said Lyubov Vasilyevna, 75, who would give only her first name and patronymic. nytimes.com/live/2022/02/2…

"While she waited to withdraw money from an apparently empty A.T.M., she showed a sack filled with loaves of bread she had just purchased."

"A native of Donbas, the eastern region of Ukraine, she said all she wanted was to live in peace, reciting a poem she wrote two years ago:

I am so looking forward to peace,
But it is coming to us so slowly.
We still have а little patience."

Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition politician, used a court hearing on Thursday to condemn President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of #Ukraine.

“The war with Ukraine has been unleashed to cover up the robbery of Russian citizens and divert their attention away from the country’s internal problems, from the degradation of its economy,” Mr. Navalny said.

From @NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg: "It will be a new reality, a new Europe after the invasion we saw today." He said about #Russia's attack on #Ukraine. He also reasserted NATO's principle that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the alliance.

He said that the invasion showed that peace could "not be taken for granted" but voiced the opinion that "freedom will always prevail over repression." dw.com/en/russia-laun…

Stoltenberg also said NATO had activated its defense plans giving military commanders more authority to move and deploy forces when needed. He added NATO had increased its forces in the eastern part of the alliance and "will further increase and we are increasing."

German Chancellor @OlafScholz: "It will be clear that Putin has made a terrible mistake by unleashing this war," Scholz said, adding that Russia would pay a "bitter price" for invading its neighbor.

"I call on Putin immediately to stop the attack," Scholz said, adding that the Russian leader must completely withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

Scholz also said that he had ordered Germany's Security Cabinet to convene and had called for a special session of the German parliament on Sunday. A special video conference on G7 leaders will also be convened at his request, he said.