Wicked Blue
Wicked Blue's JournalThe First Jan. 6 Trial Starts Tomorrow. Here's What You Need To Know.
Buzzfeed News
Zoe Tillman
WASHINGTON — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the case of a Texas man charged with bringing a handgun to the US Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. It’s the first trial since the attack, a major milestone in the sprawling prosecution effort and a critical test of how the Justice Department’s strategy in these cases will play to a jury.
Guy Reffitt, 49, is accused of traveling to Washington with a rifle and a handgun and bringing the latter with him to the Capitol. He’s not accused of going inside the building, though; US Capitol Police officers are prepared to tell the jury that Reffitt attempted to make his way up a set of exterior steps as the riot unfolded and that it took a barrage of chemical spray, pepper balls, and other projectiles to turn him back. Once he returned home to Wylie, a suburb of Dallas, prosecutors allege, he warned his teenage children not to tell anyone about his trip to DC; his son reported him to the FBI.
Reffitt’s trial — how it unfolds and how it ends — will have ripple effects across hundreds of pending cases. Reffitt faces some of the same charges as many of the 750-plus defendants charged with storming the Capitol, including some who may be weighing plea deals or preparing for their own trials. The overarching context of the events of Jan. 6 that the jurors are likely to hear about — the events leading up to the attack, the extent of the violence, and the mob’s success in temporarily stopping Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election — is a shared feature. Other defendants, their lawyers, and federal prosecutors handling the rest of these cases will be closely watching to see how the jury responds.
But in other ways, Reffitt is an outlier. He’s one of only a handful of Jan. 6 defendants charged with having a firearm on the grounds, a key part of his case that could affect how the jury understands the stakes of his presence at the Capitol, versus others who are charged with joining the attack unarmed or wielding less obviously lethal weapons. The allegation that he threatened his family to obstruct the investigation is also unusual. The government is expected to bring up Reffitt’s connection to a local militia associated with the anti-government Three Percenters movement, another element that’s less common, although not unheard of, in these cases.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/reffitt-first-j6-trial-capitol-insurrection?ref=bfnsplash
Belarus preparing to join Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. official says
Washington Post
Belarus is preparing to send soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion in a deployment that could begin as soon as Monday, a U.S. administration official said Sunday evening.
“It’s very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security development.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and Russia would conduct the first diplomatic talks since the Kremlin-launched invasion at the Ukrainian border with Belarus.
“We will be happy if the result of these negotiations is peace and the end of the war,” Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations said, reading a statement to reporters. “But I emphasize again, we will not give up. We will not capitulate. We will not give away an inch of our territory.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/27/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-news/
Two Daily Beast Journalists 'Extremely Lucky' to Survive After Being Shot in Ukraine
Daily Beast
Nico Hines, World Editor
Two journalists working for the Daily Beast were shot in Ukraine on Saturday while reporting on Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of the country.
The Danish correspondents were driving near the town of Ohtyrka—which is around 60 miles outside of Kharkiv—when gunfire peppered their vehicle and left both bleeding heavily from bullet wounds.
They were able to keep driving the badly damaged car, which had smoke billowing from the engine, long enough to escape from the unknown shooters.
Stefan Weichert, 31, was shot in the shoulder and Emil Filtenborg, 30, suffered multiple bullet wounds even though both were wearing bulletproof conflict zone equipment. They made it to a hospital for treatment and will undergo surgery on Sunday.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/journalists-stefan-weichert-and-emil-filtenborg-mikkelsen-shot-while-reporting-in-ukraine?ref=home
Putin Finally Cops to Dead Russian Troops in Ukraine
Daily Beast
Barbie Latza Nadeau, Tim Teeman, Shannon Vavra, Noor Ibrahim
Moscow has publicly acknowledged that Russian troops have been killed in action in Ukraine, marking the first time the Kremlin has admitted to casualties among its army since President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the neighboring country on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, there are killed and injured among our comrades,” Igor Konashenkova, spokesperson for Russia’s defense ministry, announced in a Russian state television address on Sunday. The spokesperson did not offer any specific numbers on the dead or wounded, but claimed that Ukrainian forces have suffered “many” more casualties than the Russian side.
The Ukrainian government, meanwhile, has claimed that some 3,500 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a Facebook update Sunday that 352 Ukrainian civilians, including 14 children, had been killed—and that 1684 people, including 116 children, had been injured.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ukrainian-president-zelensky-agrees-to-peace-talks-as-putin-puts-nuclear-forces-on-high-alert?ref=home
Belarus referendum approves proposal to renounce non-nuclear status - agencies
Source: Reuters
Feb 27 (Reuters) - A referendum in Belarus on Sunday approved a new constitution ditching the country's non-nuclear status at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian news agencies said.
The agencies cited the Belarus central elections commission as saying 65.2% of those who took part voted in favor. The result came as little surprise, given the tightly controlled rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.
The new constitution could see nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union.
It raises the stakes at a time when Lukashenko has fallen behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's military assault on Ukraine after earlier playing an intermediary role between the two neighbours.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/launchpad-russias-assault-ukraine-belarus-holds-referendum-renounce-non-nuclear-2022-02-27/
Belarusians in Estonia hold protest to support Ukraine, condemn referendum
ERR News
Belarusians living in Estonia held a protest on Tallinn's Freedom Square on Sunday to show solidarity with Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since Thursday.
Dozens of people gathered on the steps of the Victory Column with banners and signs and Ukrainian and red and white Belarusian flags to show their support for Ukraine. Some protesters had traveled from Tartu to attend.
They also chanted, amongst other things, "Belarus is not Lukashenko", "glory to Ukraine" and "long live Belarus".
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Belarusian activist Irina Suursild, who has lived in Estonia for five years, attended the protest and stressed to ERR News that Lukashenko's support for the war has nothing to do with ordinary Belarusians.
https://news.err.ee/1608514496/belarusians-in-estonia-hold-protest-to-support-ukraine-condemn-referendum
ERR News is the English-language service of Estonian Public Broadcasting,
Stories Of Ukrainian Heroism Are Emerging And Giving The Country Hope
Buzzfeed News
by Christopher Miller, Isobel Koshiw, Pete Kiehart
KYIV — Acts of unthinkable bravery by Ukrainian citizens have already ascended into legend across the country, boosting morale and galvanizing a nationwide resistance that has already proved formidable in the face of Russia’s massive and experienced military.
Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is only several days old, and examples of spirited defiance are piling up: A group of border guards who defied a Russian warship order and were captured or killed. A military unit that took on 34 Russian attack helicopters and dozens of paratroopers during a battle for a key airport. A Ukrainian soldier who rigged a bridge to blow up in order to stop a Russian advance on Kyiv and sacrificed his life to ensure the blast was successful. Civilians lying down in front of rolling Russian tanks and berating occupying troops to their faces. Tens of thousands of civilian volunteers taking up arms and rushing to the frontlines.
Though many examples of heroism have been documented by videos and photos, some are hard to verify, and there are already a few that seem to be urban myths. Perhaps the most famous early example is the viral tale of “The Ghost of Kyiv,” a single pilot who some believe single-handedly shot down six Russian fighter jets.
But all these stories, combined with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s popular and defiant videos where he stands firm in Kyiv and exhorts all his fellow citizens to take up the fight, add up to a national narrative of bravery for a people who have fewer soldiers and fewer weapons than Putin’s forces.
Excellent article, more at link
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/videos-ukraine-heroism-russia-invasion-tanks?ref=bfnsplash
Medical oxygen running out in Ukraine as war rages, WHO warns
Reuters
ZURICH, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine is running out of oxygen supplies that critically ill people need, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, calling for safe passage for emergency imports as combat rages.
"The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point in Ukraine. Trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country, including the capital Kyiv," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement.
"The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of lives at risk."
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Critical hospital services were also being jeopardised by electricity and power shortages, while ambulances transporting patients were in danger of getting caught in the crossfire.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medical-oxygen-running-out-ukraine-war-rages-who-warns-2022-02-27/
Fencing Returns Around US Capitol; State of the Union Road Closures Start Tuesday
By NBC Washington Staff and The Associated Press
Inner perimeter fencing around the U.S. Capitol is being installed Sunday morning ahead of Tuesday’s State of the Union address and concerns about potential demonstrations or trucker convoys snarling traffic.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger released a statement saying in part, "In light of the upcoming State of the Union Address, and the possibility of demonstrations in the next couple of weeks, we have been working closely with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners on a security plan to prevent any disruption to the important work of Congress."
Manger said a plan has been approved to put up the inner-perimeter fence around the Capitol building out of "an abundance of caution, and in conjunction with the United States Secret Service."
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The Pentagon has already approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to be used to assist with traffic control during potential demonstrations.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/fencing-returns-around-us-capitol-state-of-the-union-road-closures-start-tuesday/2984823/
EU shuts airspace to Russian planes
@vonderleyen
First, we are shutting down the EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft.
They won’t be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU.
Including the private jets of oligarchs.
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11:34 AM · Feb 27, 2022·Twitter for iPhone
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Ursula von der Leyen
@vonderleyen
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@vonderleyen
Second, we will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU.
The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries,
will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war.
We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.
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Ursula von der Leyen
@vonderleyen
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26m
Third, we will target the other aggressor in this war, Lukashenko’s regime, with a new package of sanctions, hitting their most important sectors.
All these measures come on top of the strong package presented yesterday,
agreed by our international partners.
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https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497973334847414278
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