Update on Russia's Ukrainian Invasion For February 26, 2022

  

We are now entering the fourth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the Russian-Ukrainian war.

So far, Ukrainian forces have managed to put up a pretty decent fight, actually. Ukrainian President Zelensky (I have seen various different spellings of his name, but this seems to be the easiest for me to remember, so this spelling will likely be what I try to use from here on out) had stated a couple of nights ago that Russian forces would likely launch an all-out assault to try and capture Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. He warned that it would be a rough night.

Well, it was. But when dawn came, the Russians still had not captured Kyiv. In fact, as I write this, Ukraine still holds the capital city, although Russian forces have reached the outskirts, the suburbs, particularly in the north, as I understand it.

Looking at the live updates just now, and it is reported that there was heavy fighting overnight and into early Sunday morning in and around Kyiv, with what were described by CNN as "massive explosions" being seen and heard near the capital city.

More than 120,000 people have fled Ukraine, and the numbers trying to cross borders - particularly to Romania and especially Poland, as I understand it - keep swelling. My girlfriend and I were watching BBC News earlier, and they estimated that Poland has already seen well over 100,000 Ukrainians flee their country and come to Poland, particularly to border crossings right near her own home village. They have been coming by car and by train, and even in some cases, by foot, despite truly frigid temperatures and conditions. 

The Biden White House, as well as several European nations, declared that they would seek to expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT. SWIFT was described by CNN as "a high-security network connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world."

I heard some Ukrainians say that they feel moved by the show of support around the world for the Ukrainian cause. There were images that I saw online showing various landmarks around the world bathed in the gold and blue colors of Ukraine. These included - but were not necessarily limited to - the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire States Building in New York, Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, the Colisseum in Rome, Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Skopje, as well as similar shows of support in London and other major cities. Also, there were literally hundreds of massive antiwar rallies in cities all around the world, all expressing support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia's military aggression. 

However, that is obviously not military support. For now, Ukrainian forces have held their ground against Russian military attacks, especially around Kyiv. However, with clear military superiority, and especially in the air, it still feels like just a matter of time before Russia has some kind of major breakthrough. 

What the NATO members, and particularly American President Joe Biden, have continually reiterated, almost excessively, is that they would defend every inch of NATO territory. As everyone surely knows by now, NATO has a longstanding policy that an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all NATO members. Numerous nations have escalated troop presence in the NATO member nations bordering Ukraine, particularly in Poland and Romania.

One thing that has not failed to garner much admiration and support the world over is the bravery of Ukrainian President Zelensky. He has urged Ukrainians to fight no matter what, to give the Russians a hard time on their march to Kyiv. He himself acknowledged that he would that he would be the number one target, and his family would be number two. While his family is in hiding, Zelensky himself has remained in Kyiv and vows to continue to fight, along with other Ukrainian politicians. He contradicted false claims that he had fled the country. In fact, he was offered an escape route, as Americans offered to evacuate him from the country. He responded by saying that he needed ammunition, and not a ride.

Zelensky has released several videos as proof that he is still in Kyiv, despite the danger to himself by staying. As indeed the primary target for Russians, he could face assassination or possibly capture and, let's face it, possibly torture. Who knows what he might face if he is indeed captured? Yet, he remains in the capital, and is urging all of his countrymen to fight on, leading by example. My girlfriend and I saw videos released by him, and both agreed that this is real leadership, not to mention bravery. 

Also, for the first time, I actually heard a gunfight on the live Youtube feeds from various sites around Ukraine. Up to this point, all of the scenes that I had seen or heard had appeared surprisingly - albeit surely deceptively - calm, with no obvious evidence of a war going on. People driving and walking around like normal, attending to no obvious business, until just moments ago, when I heard clear signs of fighting from the audio on the left bottom corner camera of the below Youtube feed. This was where I heard it, just less than a minute ago as I write this (2241 EST). Also, I saw a bunch of cars (they look like regular cars, although it is dark and mostly I just see headlights and taillights) going back and forth on that lower bottom left camera. Finally, there was an fire emergency evacuation message that kept playing minutes after the firefight, so I am guessing that the firefight happened either at or near the building where this camera is video taping from:

🔴LIVE: War in Ukraine | View of Maidan square in #Kyiv #War_in_Ukraine after #Russian_invasion

LIVE UPDATES Russia invades Ukraine By Adrienne Vogt, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Jeevan Ravindran, Peter Wilkinson, Jessie Yeung, Brad Lendon, Steve George, Meg Wagner and Amir Vera, CNN  Updated 10:10 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022:

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-26-22/index.html

‘I need ammunition, not a ride’: Zelensky declines US evacuation offer By Patrick Reilly February 26, 2022:

https://nypost.com/2022/02/26/ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelensky-declines-us-evacuation-offer/

Pics: Ukraine Flag Colours Light Up Buildings In Global Solidarity Show Ukraine-Russia crisis: The buildings are Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, the Colisseum in Rome, Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Skopje WorldEdited by Debanish Achom (with inputs from AFP)Updated: February 25, 2022:

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ukraine-russia-crisis-pics-melbourne-to-brussels-buildings-lit-up-with-ukrainian-flag-colours-2788762

Navigator: Support for Ukraine Around the World by Linda Poon February 26, 2022:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-02-26/navigator-support-for-ukraine-around-the-world

Stiff Ukrainian resistance slowing Russian march to Kyiv; Zelenskyy vows to fight - live updates Luciana Lopez Craig Harris Caren Bohan Mike Snider Tom Vanden Brook USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/26/russia-ukraine-invasion-update/6947419001/