As Russian forces pushed toward Kyiv, they stormed an apartment complex in a nearby suburb and held residents hostage. The New York Times spoke with seven people who escaped and obtained security camera footage and witness videos. nytimes.com/2022/03/20/wor…
From the first day of the war in Ukraine, the residents of the Pokrovsky apartments in Hostomel watched from their homes as Russian forces attacked nearby Antonov Airport. A fleet of attack helicopters fired missiles, and day-by-day the fighting drew closer.
Then, on March 3, the eighth day of the war, soldiers came to their doors. The residents watched their closed-circuit television as tanks and troops arrived outside. “We didn't know what could happen to us,” one said. “It was just a total state of fear.”
The footage showed at least a dozen Russian troops, some carrying heavy machine guns, riding in infantry fighting vehicles, and forcing a man inside at gunpoint. Eventually, more than 100 soldiers captured the area.
The Russians trapped about 200 residents, holding some of them hostage in basements, forcing them to hand over their phones and preventing them from leaving for days.
Soldiers went floor-by-floor through some buildings, tore down doors and raided apartments. “They told us - ‘Don't be mad at us, but if we find your phone, you will be shot on the spot,’” resident Elena Anishchenko said.
For residents trapped in the basement, the ability to move around depended on the guards in their building. Some could freely go back to their apartments for food and supplies. Others could only go on supervised visits with soldiers.
One resident recalled a more senior Russian officer trying to comfort a girl in the basement where they were detained: “He said, ‘My daughter is 8 years old too. I love her very much. I miss her. Don't be afraid, little girl, we will liberate you from Nazis.’”
When Russia and Ukraine agreed to open brief humanitarian corridors, the Russian soldiers didn’t tell their prisoners. Those who escaped learned by chance — a brief look out a window or a stolen glance at a WhatsApp message on a hidden phone.
All the residents The Times spoke with have now escaped the complex. And yet, the soldiers stayed. Satellite imagery reviewed by The Times and @Maxar, shows military vehicles at Pokrovsky on March 11. More recent imagery from March 15 shows the vehicles are still there.
It was an honor to work on this with my Ukrainian colleagues @MashaFroliak & @dim109. Masha interviewed all the residents with a rare mixture of professionalism and empathy, and Dima made the visuals shine with his expert editing skills. nytimes.com/2022/03/20/wor…
The accused — Sarah Beth Clendaniel & Brandon Clint Russell (founder of neo-Nazi org Atomwaffen) — are part of a movement called accelerationism, which aims destroy society through violent acts & spark revolution.
To them, that meant trying to attack 5 MD substations.
Their plot isn't unique, however.
Acclerationists often target energy grids. The strategy dates back to 20th century neo-Nazi texts: ”The Turner Diaries” and James Mason’s SIEGE newsletter.
🧵The far-right is usually seen as a national issue. But, really, it’s a local one.
@RyanLittleE and I found that a white supremacist group's nationwide propaganda campaign is significantly impacting a neighborhood in Baltimore County. More below: thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power…
We followed the story of Tim Fargus, whose family kept on finding stickers saying "Patriot Front" throughout their neighborhood. Fargus started looking into what Patriot Front was, and grew very concerned. It made him question his neighbors and the safety of his children.
Patriot Front is a white nationalist group born in the aftermath of Charlottesville. The goal was to take white supremacy mainstream with sleek designs and all. PF launched a nationwide propaganda campaign flooding states across the country w/stickers and fliers.
👇🧵When Renee signed onto her federal benefits portal, her heart sank. Her prior balance of $3,000 was down to $66 dollars.
The police and DHS are responsible for figuring out how this happened. But, she solved the mystery on her own. My latest story:thebaltimorebanner.com/community/crim…
Renee filed a report with both her local police and DHS. Both were initially responsive, then DHS declared there wasn't evidence of fraud. Radio silence followed. So, she started collecting evidence herself.
She went to all the stores where her card was used to collect surveillance footage. All the purchases occurred throughout D.C. and the outskirts of Maryland, over 50 miles from her home. thebaltimorebanner.com/community/crim…
The New York Times verified videos from the firefight at Europe's largest power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It appears to show a line of military vehicles shooting at buildings inside the complex resulting in fires breaking out.
IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi said that earlier in the day a large number of Russian military entered a town next to the plant and were moving towards the site. Grossi also called for a halt to the fighting warning of “severe danger."
.@moll_david reports that Biden is joining President Zelensky in urging Russia to “cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site," according to a statement from the White House.
We rolled back the film from over 100 fatal traffic stops to understand how the most routine police interactions can turn deadly. We found a striking pattern — right before the “final frame” of the fatal encounter, officers put themselves in imminent peril.nytimes.com/interactive/20…
Some policing experts call it officer-created jeopardy: when officers make tactical mistakes that put themselves in danger — stepping into the path of a car, jumping onto a moving vehicle — then use lethal force to defend against that danger.
We focused on 120 fatal traffic stops where footage of the encounter, including the use of deadly force, was clearly visible. We found officer-created jeopardy directly preceded the deadly force in 45 cases.
[THREAD] 👇*warning: it's a long one*
Yesterday, Treasury sanctioned 11 BTC addresses (& 1 LTC address) belonging to Chinese narcotics traffickers. Here is what I've been able to dig up about them...
These sanctioned individuals have operated a highly sophisticated drug manufacturing and smuggling operation for years, contributing to the U.S. opioid crisis and the death of many Americans latimes.com/politics/la-na…
The U.S. government has had its eyes on these individuals for a bit now. Sessions charged two of the traffickers in Aug. 2018 with "Operating Global Opioid and Drug Manufacturing Conspiracy" justice.gov/opa/pr/two-chi…