The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi intern Su Yangzhe
On February 24, local time, after Russia announced that it would launch a "special military operation" in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, explosions were heard in many places in Ukraine. Zelenskiy has repeatedly said that he does not want a military conflict with Russia to seek a peaceful solution. European and American countries have also condemned and sanctioned Russia, while seeking to convene an emergency meeting through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to resolve the conflict.
Later on the 24th, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy made a speech announcing Ukraine's decision to sever diplomatic relations with Russia.
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) continues to track developments and explore how the Ukrainian issue behind the game will eventually evolve.
The "cyber war situation" between Russia and Ukraine is glued, and the two "republics" have become the focus of conflict
According to CCTV News reported on February 24, in the early morning of the same day, Russian media reporters released news that a unit of the Ukrainian government army, supported by artillery fire, attacked a highland near the village of Nikolayevka by the Donetsk civil forces, and the tanks and artillery units of the Luhansk civilian armed forces counterattacked the Ukrainian army. It is reported that there were 9 casualties on the side of the Ukrainian government forces in this battle. As of 5 p.m. local time, the Ukrainian army had recorded a total of 59 shelling incidents, of which 54 used heavy weapons.
Not only that, but the "network war situation" between Russia and Ukraine is also becoming more and more glued. From 4 o'clock local time on February 23, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other websites were shut down due to large-scale cyber attacks.
On February 21, local time, after announcing the recognition of the independence of the "Luhansk People's Republic" and the "Donetsk People's Republic", Putin instructed the Russian armed forces to guarantee the maintenance of peace between the two "republics". Currently, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's representative to the United Nations, says 96,000 people have been evacuated from the two "republics." Meanwhile, according to Reuters reported on February 23, witnesses said on the same day that two convoys carrying military equipment drove along different roads from the Russian border to the city of Donetsk. The Guardian pointed out in an article that the Ukrainian side could not determine whether the convoy belonged to the Russian army or a civilian armed force in eastern Ukraine.
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency reported on February 23, Denis Pushilin, the leader of the "Donetsk People's Republic", said earlier in the day that he hoped to solve the border problem with Ukraine through peaceful negotiations, but also reserved the right to seek help from "Great Russia". Moreover, Pushrin further stated that Ukrainian government forces should withdraw from the "territory" of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and claimed that the "territory" they actually owned should be larger.
The United States has long said that the Russian military will launch a war to "invade" Ukraine. According to Reuters reported on February 23, an unnamed senior official of the US Department of Defense said that 80% of the 150,000 Russian troops currently on the Ukrainian border are ready for a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine. However, Russia has previously denied Russia's intention to "invade" Ukraine.
On February 24, local time, Russia issued an aviation directive (NOTAM) restricting civil aircraft from entering the airspace along the Russian-Ukrainian border in northeastern Ukraine and closing routes along the Ukrainian border until May 18 to ensure the safety of civil aviation passenger aircraft. Subsequently, the Ukrainian administration also announced the closure of all airspace.
Zelenskiy's invitation to Putin for talks was not answered
Zelens spoke directly to the Russian people later that day, saying that the Kremlin had approved nearly 200,000 Russian troops to attack Ukraine, according to the Washington Post on Feb. 23, saying bluntly that it would be "the beginning of a great war on the European continent."
On February 24, local time, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was, is and will not be a threat to Russia, and that its accession to NATO is only to seek security guarantees, and Ukraine does not want to start a war. Zelenskiy issued a statement on social media platforms saying he was willing to engage in dialogue with Russia on any platform in various forms. Not only that, Zelenskiy made a televised speech on the same day, saying that he had called Putin on the 23rd local time and sent him an invitation for talks, but he had not received any reply so far.
In a later televised address, Zelenskiy announced Ukraine's decision to sever diplomatic relations with Russia. He said Ukrainian troops were fighting hard in places like Donbass. He called on ukrainians to defend the country and would issue weapons to those in need.
In response, Ukraine has increased its spending on military and defense. On February 23, local time, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill on the 2022 state budget to "increase defense spending", approving an additional allocation of 23 billion hryvnia (about 5 billion yuan) for emergency tasks of defense and security, planning to increase military spending, defense spending and the development of modern weapons.
Meanwhile, The Ukrainian parliament has voted to impose a 30-day state of emergency throughout the country (except for donetsk and Luhansk regions) from 00:00 local time on February 24, and the restrictions have been tightened "for the sake of national security and public order".
European and American countries spoke out in unison, and the Security Council met to discuss the situation in Russia and Ukraine
In the face of the increasingly stale situation between Russia and Ukraine, European and American countries have also made various responses to this. On February 23, local time, US President Biden officially announced the implementation of new sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the operating company of the "Nord Stream-2" project, and its executives. In addition to the Nord Stream-2 project, Biden also announced that the United States and its allies and partners will impose a comprehensive lockdown sanctions on russia's two largest financial institutions, the Russian State Development Bank (VEB) and the military bank, and russia will not be able to borrow and trade in the US and European markets, nor will it be able to raise funds.
In addition, some G7 member states have also announced sanctions against Russia. British Prime Minister Johnson announced sanctions against five Russian banks and three individuals, the Canadian government announced measures such as banning Canadians from buying Russian sovereign debt, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said it would ban Russia from issuing bonds in Japan.
The sanctions by European and American countries have had a huge impact on Russia. According to the Russian Satellite News Agency reported on the 23rd, in the face of sanctions by European and American countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it would make a strong response that was "accurate" and "felt".
At the same time, the UN Security Council held an open meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine again. According to Russia Today (RT) reported on February 23, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said later that shortly after the "Luhansk People's Republic" and the "Donetsk People's Republic" sent a letter to Putin and requested military assistance from the Russian side, the Ukrainian side submitted a request to the Un Security Council to convene an emergency meeting.
On February 23, local time, the UN Security Council, at the request of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, held a public meeting at 21:30 EASTERN TIME (10:30 Beijing time on the 24th) to discuss the situation in Ukraine again. Meanwhile, According to the Russian Satellite News Agency reported on February 23, German Foreign Minister Tobias Lindner said that Germany, France and Ukraine are ready to hold a new round of "Normandy model" meetings in the Donbass region.
On February 24, local time, the British Prime Minister's Office released news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is about to preside over an emergency meeting of the government's "COBRA" security committee and will issue a statement to the lower house of parliament later in the day.
Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Wuwei
Proofreader: Liu Wei