On the night of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a war against Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation in the Donbass” in order to protect people who “have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” Putin’s claims of genocide have previously been refuted by the European Union and the UN. Western politicians have accused the Russian president of lying. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. The Council of Europe suspended Russia’s membership in the organization. Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are included in the US, EU and UK sanctions lists. NATO is deploying rapid reaction forces to the eastern flank to contain Russia. DW is following developments on Saturday, February 26th (Moscow time).
The Czech government approved the supply of arms to Ukraine worth 7.6 million euros. According to Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova, these will be machine guns, pistols and sniper rifles, the portal novinky.cz reports.
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Government Czech Republic approved the supply of arms to Ukraine worth 7.6 million euros. According to the Minister of Defense of the country, Yana Chernokhova, these will be machine guns, pistols and sniper rifles, according to the novinky.cz portal.
Roskomnazdor began to slow down the speed of Twitter in Russia. Now the social network works only with VPN, according to the report of the Network Freedoms project. The day before, Roskomnadzor announced a “partial cessation of access” to Facebook.
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European Federation of Journalists demanded an immediate ban on Russia Today TV broadcasts in all EU countries “as a blatant weapon of disinformation and disinformation, including the lie that Ukrainian President Zelensky was instructed by the United States to flee Kyiv.”
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Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko announced the extension of the curfew from 17:00 to 18:00. This time will be valid until February 28 – “for a more effective defense of the capital and the protection of its inhabitants.” “All civilians who are on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” Klitschko wrote on Facebook.
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Estonia and Latvia announced the closure of their airspace for Russian aircraft. Earlier, the same decision was made by the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria. The UK was the first country to ban Russian airlines from flying in its skies.
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European Union officially published an updated list of sanctions against Russia due to the military invasion of Ukraine. It included President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, former Prime Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, and Putin’s special envoy for environmental protection, ecology and transport Sergei Ivanov. Sanctions have also been introduced against some State Duma deputies.
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Stinger missile system
Netherlands 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems will be sent to Ukraine. The government of the Netherlands announced this in a letter to the country’s parliament. “The Netherlands will provide 200 Stinger air defense missiles. Together with our allies, the Ministry of Defense is committed to delivering them as soon as possible,” Reuters quoted the letter as saying. The government also said that due to deteriorating security, the Dutch embassy would be moved from Lvov to the Polish city of Yaroslav.
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Ministry of Defense of Ukraine opens a “hot line” for relatives of the Russian military, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said on Facebook. By calling there, they can find out whether their relatives who were taken prisoner are alive, whether they have injuries, and in case of death, find out how to pick up the body.
Time.news of events February 26 00.00 – 13.20 >>>
Time.news of events February 25 >>>
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