Penman/Sword Laugh &Nagging Sister
The fall of the city of Kherson, the more violent attack of the Russians on Mariupol, all the Black Sea ports in southern Ukraine will be blocked by the Russians, and the sea lanes with external links will be completely cut off...
On the 3rd, the much-concerned "Battle of Kiev" has not yet begun, but the southern front has successively received news of the russian army's significant progress. The capture of the important southern port of Kherson was even considered by many media to be "an important turning point" since the Russian army began its military operations against Ukraine.
Just now, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy admitted in his latest video speech that some areas of Ukraine have been controlled by Russian forces. But he stressed that Ukraine will continue to resist stubbornly on the front lines everywhere. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces even claimed that the Ukrainian army would shift from a defensive model to a counter-offensive model. With the ungain general assembly passing a resolution calling for Russia's withdrawal and the continued entry of US and European military aid into Ukraine, the second round of negotiations between the two sides once again experienced twists and turns. Although the latest news says that the two sides will meet at 3 p.m. local time today, from the bottom line currently set by the two sides, it is generally expected that the negotiations will still be difficult to achieve a breakthrough.
It has been fought until the eighth day, and the influence inside and outside the Ukrainian battlefield continues to intensify. The United Nations says there have been 1 million Ukrainian refugees, even Russian cats have been "sanctioned" by the West, and Dostoevsky's related courses have been suspended... The war still seems to have no end in sight.
01
The biggest developments of the last 24 hours have come from the Southern Front:
The Russians made a major breakthrough: they captured the city of Kherson, and then quickly advanced to the capital of Nikolayev Oblast.
Mayor Kherson announced on Facebook last night that the city had fallen into Russian hands after several days of siege. The Ukrainian military initially denied losing control of Kherson, but updated the information shortly thereafter, acknowledging that Ukrainian troops had left there.
It was the first major Ukrainian city captured by the Russians since the start of operations.
The Russian Defense Ministry said this "has great strategic value for Russia."
Kherson is a strategic port city in southern Ukraine with a population of nearly 300,000. CNN said the fall of the city would be "an important turning point" in russian operations, allowing Russia to gain further control over the Black Sea coast of southern Ukraine.
Fierce fighting in the southern front, another port city of Mariupol, is also continuing.
The deputy mayor of the city said on the 3rd that Mariupol was shelled by the Russian army for several hours on the same day. But the Ukrainian military says it still holds control of the city.
Richard Hillif, former deputy commander of NATO's European Allied Forces Command, analyzed that Moscow was clearly "building a land corridor close to Crimea." The corridor starts in the city of Odessa and leads through Kherson and Mariupol to the Donbass region of Udong.
The capital Kiev and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, have also been the focus of the Ukrainian battlefield.
A number of media reports tracking the war situation show that Kharkov continues to be shelled and attacked, and the latest situation has not yet been clearly reported.
The BBC reported that last night and this morning, there were at least four big explosions in Kiev, and the night sky was illuminated by explosions, and it is unclear what the specific target was. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry revealed on the 3rd that the Russian military used precision strikes to paralyze the Kiev standby radio and television center used by the Ukrainian Security Service for psychological warfare, "no one died, and no damage was caused to civilian homes."
Where did the huge Russian convoy, which was close to Kiev, go?
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Kirby said the armored convoy had not made significant advances in the past 24 to 36 hours. The delay could be due to the forces "regrouping and reassessing the progress they have not yet made and how to make up for lost time". In addition, "challenges to logistical and support capabilities" and "resistance from the Ukrainians" were also factors.
At present, these claims have not received any response from the Russian military.
On the morning of the 3rd, Zelenskiy issued his latest speech, acknowledging the progress of the Russian army in some areas of Ukraine, but stressing that "this is only temporary, we will drive them out."
The president also said Ukraine was preparing to welcome the first batch of "foreign volunteers", numbering as many as 16,000.
According to the original plan, Russia and Ukraine will hold a second round of negotiations today.
But the progress has not been smooth. Earlier on the 3rd, it was reported that the location of the talks between the two sides may be changed, and the two sides have not made a final decision for the time being.
However, the latest news from the Russian Satellite News Network is that the second round of negotiations will be held at 3 p.m. local time on the 3rd.
The head of the Russian delegation, Mezinsky, clarified that the information about the change of time and place of the negotiations was not true, and the negotiations were still held in Brest Oblast.
02
Beyond the battlefield, a rather absurd sanctions drama is being staged.
Russian cats have been "sanctioned", which everyone knows.
What attracted much attention today is the movement of Premier League Chelsea boss Abu.
Russian oligarch Abramovich, who has been a key figure in the Premier League for the past 20 years, has announced today that he will "sell Chelsea FC". Many Premier League fans are sorry for this.
Also today, Electronic Arts (EA) Sports Division FIFA Games issued a statement on Twitter announcing that it will remove the Russian national team and clubs from a range of products such as FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile, and FIFA Online as a sign of support for Ukraine.
Fifa games are already like this, is Tetris still far from being "sanctioned"?
Usually, sanctions restrict the exercise of political, trade, financial and other powers by suspending political exchanges, freezing assets, restricting imports and exports, restricting investment and financing activities, etc.
It was during this Russian-Ukrainian conflict that people saw Washington skillfully sacrifice one sanction after another:
The latest round is,
The U.S. Department of Commerce extended strict export controls to Russia to Belarus.
The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on 22 Russian defense-related entities.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will impose export controls on Russian oil and gas extraction equipment.
Russian aircraft are prohibited from entering and using U.S. airspace.
……
As everyone knows, common sense limits our imagination.
03
In this round, Western countries staged a 360-degree, dead-end "blockade" against Russia.
Economically, Nike has long suspended sales in Russia. Apple also doesn't allow the Apple Store in Russia to sell its products, and removes RT News and Sputnik News, two Russian news apps. FedEx and UPS have also long suspended deliveries to Russia.
This "sanctioning" wind then blew into the field of film and television entertainment.
The latest movies from Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures are no longer visible to the Russians.
The annual "Voice of Europe" contest, in which Russians are banned.
Artistic exhibitions, concerts and ballet performances originally planned by Russian artists in Europe have been cancelled.
Even more exaggerated, Gergiev, chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, was asked to condemn "Putin's barbaric war against Ukraine" within a time limit. After Gergiev refused to publicly condemn him, he was expelled.
At this time, "freedom of speech" has to make way for "sanctions against Russia".
Isolating Russia is estimated to be the first to respond.
On February 25, just one day after Russia's special military action against Ukraine, the UEFA decided to move the match from St. Petersburg to Paris as a sanction.
On February 26, the Polish Football Association announced that it would not play against the Russian national team. According to the original plan, Poland was supposed to hold a World Cup European qualifier play-off with Russia on March 24.
On February 27, the Czech Football Association and the English Football Association also refused to play with the Russian team.
On February 28, FIFA announced in a joint statement with UEFA that Russia had been expelled from the 2022 World Cup and that the Russian team had been suspended from all international football matches "until further notice".
Similarly, Russian football clubs have been suspended from FIFA and UEFA matches until further notice.
The International Hockey Federation, the World Rugby Association, the International Skating Union, the International Volleyball Federation, the Four Boxing Federations of the World, the World Badminton Federation... Never before have so many sports leagues come together in such a hush.
"Sanctions against Russia" seem to have become the latest political correctness in the current international sports circle.
Some netizens can't help but ridicule, what else is it? When you get on the field, shout "Come on Ukraine" and automatically win.
Only we can't think of it, and without them we can't do it.
Russian historical figures such as Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky were "concerned" and "banned."
A number of theaters in the United Kingdom and Ireland have temporarily cancelled the performance of the Russian Ballet, and the classic ballets "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker" composed by Tchaikovsky have not been able to land in the "elegance" of these countries during this time.
A professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy was asked to postpone the teaching of Dostoevsky-related courses because of "avoiding any form of controversy."
The next step, perhaps, is the turn of the Mendeleev periodic table.
This wave of "sanctions against Russia" is currently invisible. In Biden's words, it is to turn Russia into an "outcast of the international community."
However, it is inconceivable to force a Russia of more than 17 million square kilometers into an "island of the world" and leave 160 million Russians living in resentment for a long time.
Nor can the United States and other Western countries do. If they continue to do so, they will only exacerbate the divisions and antagonisms of the world.
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