Ukraine buttons online store and latest war info
Ukraine support online shop and latest war developments? It is dubbed a “special military operation” by the Kremlin, but Russians’ opposition to the war in Ukraine is showing through, according to an intelligence update from Britain’s Defense Ministry on Friday. Speaking out against Russia’s invasion is being criminalized, the ministry noted, adding that the war “has accelerated the state’s long-term trajectory towards authoritarianism” and that Russia’s parliament has moved to introduce 20-year jail terms for Russians who fight or take up arms against the nation. But among everyday Russians, the mood is changing, the ministry said. “Despite the majority of Russians telling pollsters they support the ‘special military operation’, elements of the population both actively and passively demonstrate their opposition,” it said. “Some high profile Russian officials have highly likely been side-lined after criticizing the war.” It said skepticism was “particularly strong” among Russia’s business elite, with migration applications indicating that some 15,000 Russian millionaires “are likely already attempting to leave the country.” Motivations for such an exodus include “personal opposition to the invasion and an intent to escape the financial impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia,” the ministry added. Find extra Ukraine solidarity details on Ukraine Sticker.
February 2015: The Minsk group meets again in Belarus to find a more successful agreement to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine, resulting in the Minsk II agreement. It too has been unsuccessful at ending the violence. From 2014 through today, more than 14,000 people have been killed, tens of thousands wounded and more than a million displaced. Together, the annexation of Crimea and the Russian-backed violence in the east have pushed Ukrainian public sentiment toward the West, strengthening interest in joining NATO and the EU. 2016 and 2017: As fighting in the Donbas continues, Russia repeatedly strikes at Ukraine in a series of cyberattacks, including a 2016 attack on Kyiv’s power grid that causes a major blackout. In 2017, a large-scale assault affects key Ukrainian infrastructure, including the National Bank of Ukraine and the country’s electrical grid. (Cyberattacks from Russia have continued through the present; the latest major attack targeted government websites in January 2022.)
April 20: The International Monetary Fund forecasts global growth of 3.6 percent this year and next, a downward revision of 0.8 percent for this year and 0.2 percent for next year compared to January forecasts, owing to the war in Ukraine. April 21: Putin declares victory in Mariupol, though 2,500 Ukrainian defenders in the Azovstal steelworks have not surrendered. April 26: Austin presses delegates from 40 nations to contribute more weapons as soon as possible to Ukraine’s war effort at a military donors’ conference at Ramstein air base in Germany. April 27: Russia cuts off gas flows to Bulgaria and Poland, allegedly for refusing to pay for gas in roubles.
In 10 years as president, Leonid Kuchma helps transition Ukraine from a Soviet republic to a capitalist society, privatizing businesses and working to improve international economic opportunities. But in 2000, his presidency is rocked by scandal over audio recordings that reveal he ordered the death of a journalist. He remains in power about four more years. The presidential election pits Kuchma’s incumbent party — led by his hand-picked successor, Viktor Yanukovych, and supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin — against a popular pro-democracy opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko. In the final months of the campaign, Yushchenko falls mysteriously ill, is disfigured and is confirmed by doctors to have been poisoned. Yanukovych wins the election amid accusations of rigging. Massive protests follow, and the public outcry becomes known as the Orange Revolution. After a third vote, Yushchenko prevails.
March 1: In a new offensive, a Russian convoy 65km long heads for Kyiv. March 2: Russian tanks enter Kherson, making the southern Ukrainian town the first major population centre (250,000 people) to fall. Russian forces surround Mariupol. March 8: The European Commission unveils REPowerEU, a plan to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas by two-thirds by the end of the year, surpassing in ambition the plan unveiled on March 3 by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The US imposes a ban on Russian crude oil imports. Find additional Ukraine unity information at Ukraine Caps.
