Thread by @truth_sharethe

Day 121 📌 Today marks exactly four months since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Four months of struggle by the people of Ukraine. Four months of unprecedented solidarity. Read more about the current situation in Ukraine in the update ⬇️

sharethetruths.org/2022/06/24/war…

EU government leaders holding a 2-day summit in Brussels approved a recommendation from the @EU_Commission to grant candidate status to Ukraine & Moldova 😍 The landmark decision immediately delivered a tremendous morale boost in both countries and was cheered widely there.

Ukrainians took to the streets twice, in 2004 & 2014, to force the government to root out corruption & come closer to the EU. 8 years ago, 🇺🇦 calling for closer relations with the EU during the Revolution of Dignity were shot & killed by police from the pro-Moscow administration

After the Revolution of Dignity, the prospect of closer relations between Ukraine and the EU prompted Putin to intervene in Ukraine in 2014 😕 From 2015 to February 24, 2022, Ukraine lived with a frozen conflict with people dying on the frontlines.

But Ukraine set its goal on the EU & NATO. Euroatlantic aspirations were enshrined in the 🇺🇦 Constitution. A vibrant civil society pushed officials to reforms. Putin couldn’t accept 🇺🇦 leaving his empire. Over the years, he ramped up propaganda demonizing Ukraine and the West 😕

In his speech in late February days before ordering the wide-scale invasion that failed to capture Kyiv, Putin sought to deny that 🇺🇦 was a real country. ‘Ukraine has never had its own authentic statehood,’ he said 🙄

Even though it takes much effort for Ukrainians to integrate the country with the EU, the support among Ukrainians to join the EU jumped to 91% in a March survey by Rating Group, up from 61% in December. Our way to candidacy status was long and thorny 😔

🇺🇦 army stepped out of #Sievierodonetsk, the #Luhansk region’s administrative center, as the 🇷🇺 offensive in the east continues to advance. Heavy battles continue in the #Donetsk region – at least three killed and two injured due to 🇷🇺 shelling on the morning of June 24.

A 🇷🇺 missile strike on Kostyantynivka, #Donetsk region, killed one civilian. In settlement of Raihorodok, 🇷🇺 shelling killed two civilians and injured one. The 🇷🇺 military continues shelling Marinka, damaging a kindergarten and seven houses.

The Yunakivska settlement, #Sumy region, was shelled on June 23 with prohibited phosphorus munitions from the 🇷🇺 border. Information about casualties and damage has not been reported yet.

3 🇷🇺 missiles targeted #Mykolaiv on June 23, hitting the city's industrial and civilian infrastructure. In #Kharkiv on the night of June 24, 🇷🇺 troops launched a missile strike on a sports complex of one of the educational institutions. A fire broke out in the destroyed building.

#Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said that the bombed-out city is ‘on the verge of an epidemiological catastrophe’ where infectious diseases are already spreading, and deadly infections such as cholera and dysentery could be among them 😩

#Mariupol City Council also reported that 9,000 tons of garbage flooded the streets, and Mariupol is now ‘a real ghetto’ where unsanitary conditions are jeopardizing the lives of its remaining residents 😔

🇷🇺 proxies are going to hold staged referendums to proclaim ‘republics’ in occupied parts of #Kherson & #Zaporizhzhia oblasts on September 11. The date was chosen to coincide with the single voting day in Russia 🤦‍♀️

PACE released a resolution on the results of investigations regarding flight #MH17. It considers ‘as the most convincing scenario by far’ that flight MH17 was shot down over 🇺🇦 in 2014 by a Buk missile made available to military units controlled by 🇷🇺. coe.int/en/web/portal/…

Ukraine is seeking $80 billion in compensation from Russia over war crimes inflicted during its invasion of the country, kick-starting its legal battle at Europe’s human rights court ⌛️

🇺🇦 started the first trial of 🇷🇺 soldier accused of murdering a civilian man in the #Kyiv region on March 9 and then repeatedly raping the man’s wife. She asked for the trial to be held behind closed doors to avoid publicizing details about her and her family.

Germany, Austria, and other EU countries are now turning to coal and oil-fired power stations so more gas can be diverted into storage for heating homes during the winter. In general, twelve EU countries have so far been affected by Russian gas supply cuts 😕

🇷🇺 invasion causes over $6 bln worth of environmental damage. It has led to more than 250 cases of ecocide and over 2,000 cases of environmental damage. The war has created more than 200,000 tons of hazardous waste and scrap metal 😵

The UK introduces additional sanctions against 🇷🇺, which include a ban on the trade of goods & technologies related to chemical & biological weapons, the maritime sector & the oil refining industry & prohibition on the export to or for use in 🇷🇺 of Sterling or EU denominated 💰

BTW, to learn more about the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity in 2014, watch a Netflix movie, ‘Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,’ which depicts Ukraine’s fight for freedom from the frontlines of the 2014 uprising. Available by the link: 📽️