“For wks after the outbreak of the war… American ofcls wondered about… Russia’s mighty cyberarsenal, which most experts expected would be used in the opening hrs of an invasion to bring down Ukraine’s power grid, …cellphone sys & cut off Pres Zelensky from the world.
“None of that happened. But in a new study released Wednesday by Microsoft, it is now clear that Russia used its… hackers to conduct hundreds of far more subtle attacks, many timed to coincide w/incoming missile or ground attacks.
“& it turned out that, just as in the ground war, the Russians were less skillful, & the Ukrainians were better defenders, than most experts expected.
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“The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen. We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities & aggression in #Ukraine.” - @POTUS
Pres Biden signaled a vast increase in America’s commitment to defeating Russia in Ukraine on Thurs as he asked Congress to authorize $33B for more artillery, antitank weapons & other hardware + economic & humanitarian aid.
Biden also sent Congress a plan to increase the govt’s power to seize luxury yachts, aircraft, bank accounts & other assets of #RussianOligarchs tied to Putin & use the proceeds to help the Ukrainians.
President @ZelenskyyUa said the strikes on Kyiv came “immediately after the end” of his talks w/ @UN Sec Gen @AntonioGuterres. Zelensky said Russian leaders are trying to “humiliate” the #UNwashingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/…
US & Russia announced on Wednesday a prisoner swap that has freed Trevor R. Reed, a fmr Marine who was convicted on charges that his family said were bogus, an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough w/tensions running high over the Ukraine war.
Mr. Reed, who was initially detained in August 2019, was released in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot sentenced to a lengthy term in the United States on cocaine-trafficking charges.
“Trevor, a fmr US Marine, is free from Russian detention. I heard in the voices of Trevor’s parents how much they’ve worried about his health & missed his presence. I was delighted to be able to share w/them the good news about Trevor’s freedom.” - President Biden statement
Tues, the US marshaled 40 allies to furnish #Ukraine w/long-term military aid, & as diplomacy has failed, Germany shifts its policy & agrees to send dozens of armored antiaircraft vehicles.
The announcement by #Germany, Europe’s biggest economy & one of Russia’s most important Western trading partners, was among many signals on Tues pointing to further escalation in the war & disappointment for diplomacy.
Germany’s shift on weapons also was seen as a strong affirmation of a toughened message by the Biden administration, which has said it wants to see Russia not only defeated in Ukraine but seriously weakened from the conflict that Putin began two months ago.
Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, penned an open letter to then President-elect Trump, which she posted on her blog, in November 2016.
In it she wrote:
“As a female and a Realtor, thank you for allowing my right to bear arms. Allowing me to be protected if I show a home to someone with bad intentions. Thank you for respecting that Amendment.”