March 6, 2022

Gas pipeline in eastern Ukraine damaged by Russian fighting, local governor says

March 6 (Reuters) - Ukrainian engineers scrambled on Sunday to repair a gas pipeline damaged by Russian forces, halting supplies to parts of southeastern Ukraine, the Donetsk region governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Engineers had shut down the pipe to prevent gas from leaking, he said, adding that gas flow downstream was now dropping and would stop completely later in the day.

Kyrylenko said that every location between the town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region and the port of Berdyansk would be left without gas while the damage is repaired. The distance between the two towns is 117 km (73 miles).

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/gas-pipeline-eastern-ukraine-damaged-by-russian-fighting-local-governor-says-2022-03-06/

CNN live reporting says Inna Sovsun, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, posted on Twitter Sunday.that 750,000 or more people are left without heat when temperatures are below freezing.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-06-22/index.html

March 5, 2022

Israeli PM Bennett meets Putin in Moscow to discuss Ukraine crisis

Source: MSN

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Saturday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, his spokesperson said.

Israel, home to a substantial population of Russian immigrants, has offered to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, though officials have previously played down expectations of a breakthrough.

While Israel, a close ally of the United States, has condemned the Russian invasion, voiced solidarity with Kyiv and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, it has said it will maintain communications with Moscow in the hope of helping to ease the crisis.

Israel is also mindful of Moscow's military support for President Bashar al-Assad in next-door Syria, where Israel regularly attacks Iranian and Hezbollah military targets. Contacts with Moscow prevent Russian and Israeli forces trading fire by accident.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israeli-pm-bennett-meets-putin-in-moscow-to-discuss-ukraine-crisis/ar-AAUEAhj

March 5, 2022

Amtrak Cancels Trains, Limits Service Between DC, New York After Freight Derailment

NBC Washington

Amtrak has canceled some trains and limited service between Washington, D.C., and New York Saturday morning due to a freight train derailment near Aberdeen, Maryland.

Amtrak didn’t immediately offer a timeline on when service could return to normal. Service was temporarily suspended at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, then Amtrak announced a modified schedule.

...

Norfolk Southern said 20 loaded coal cars derailed about 20 miles north of Baltimore and there were no injuries.

"The material does not pose a danger to responders or the community," Norfolk Southern said.


https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/transportation/amtrak-trains-suspended-between-dc-new-york-after-freight-derailment/2991141/

March 5, 2022

Rossiya Special Flight Squadron flight en route to Washington to bring home Russian diplomats declar

Rossiya Special Flight Squadron flight en route to Washington to bring home Russian diplomats declared personae non grata by U.S. - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - A Rossiya Special Flight Squadron flight is en route to Washington to collect the Russian diplomats declared personae non grata, rather than for "contacts with the Americans," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Zakharova said on her Telegram channel on Saturday that some people have already mistaken the Rossiya Special Flight Squadron flight, which is now en route from St. Petersburg to Washington, for "Russians' fleeing" and "an attempt by Moscow to contact the Americans."

"I will disappoint you. This plane will bring back home the Russian diplomats whom the Government of the United States has declared personae non grata," she said.

https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/75621/

Why do they need an entire squadron when they could just send one plane?

March 5, 2022

Russia says West's sanctions create a 'problem' for Iran nuclear deal

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday that Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine had become a stumbling block for the Iran nuclear deal, warning that West that Russian national interests would have to be taken into account.

Iran said on Saturday it had agreed a roadmap with the U.N. nuclear watchdog to resolve all outstanding questions about the country's nuclear program by late June, a move seen as a latest push to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with global powers.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the sanctions on Russia had created a "problem" from Moscow's perspective.

...

Lavrov said Russia wanted a written guarantee from the United States that Russia's trade, investment and military-technical cooperation with Iran would not be hindered in any way by the sanctions.

https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-wests-sanctions-create-problem-iran-nuclear-deal-2022-03-05/

March 5, 2022

Question: Why can't the UN send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine?

I tried to research this but am unable to find anything, not even a discussion of the possibility.

Is it because of the nuclear threat?

March 5, 2022

Reuters Exclusive: Americans broadly support Ukraine no-fly zone, Russia oil ban -poll

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - A broad bipartisan majority of Americans think the United States should stop buying Russian oil and gas and work with NATO to set up "no-fly zones" to protect Ukraine from Russian air strikes, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Friday.

The poll, conducted Thursday and Friday, suggests that U.S. outrage is growing over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which in recent days has increasingly involved Russian bombing of urban areas.

...

Some 74% of Americans - including solid majorities of Republicans and Democrats - said the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine, the poll found.

An equally bipartisan 80% of Americans said the United States should stop buying Russian oil. The White House on Friday said it was weighing cuts to U.S. imports of Russian oil, though it is proceeding cautiously, concerned about a spike in gasoline prices that would add to high inflation.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-americans-broadly-support-ukraine-no-fly-zone-russia-oil-ban-poll-2022-03-04/?utm_source=reddit.com

March 4, 2022

I'm not holding my breath, but this is interesting

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1499849754897010694

March 4, 2022

Appeal for help for animals from Ukraine

article from Bored Panda
https://www.boredpanda.com/urgent-appeal-for-animals-in-ukraine-red-shed/

Hi All,

Sandy Sheerin here with Red Shed (kind of like Red Cross for animals).

With the war happening in Ukraine, there are many animal shelters, sanctuaries, and rescue centers that need our help.

We are running an urgent appeal to anyone interested in assisting these animals across Ukraine that need the following:

Evacuation from a dangerously high-risk area. (Thankfully, Romania, Poland, Hungary have opened their borders to not only humans but also to animals in need). Evacuating them safely will be a challenge, but we will look to support them in this.

Food and water. At the start of this ugly war, there was a message stating that pet food will be in short supply very soon. We are now at that point. We need to be able to get dry, wet, mixed food and clean water to animals.

Temporary shelters. Not all shelters at the borders will be equipped to take on so many rescued animals. We want to help create temporary shelters so that no animal is turned away and avoid overcrowding. Extra bedding, blankets, and relief space will be given.

Medical attention. A lot of animals from shelters and rescue centers still require medical attention, including those that have been harmed in this war. We need to help get supplies to vets, rescuers, and animal welfare experts to let them do their job of tending to the animals’ needs.

More info: projectredshed.com

March 4, 2022

The Economist: Russians are trying to flee Putin's chaos

Using data from Google Trends, The Economist has tracked the discontent

Vladimir Putin, so intent on bringing Ukraine under his control, is neglecting the problems facing Russians at home. A survey conducted between February 17th and 21st—that is, in the week before Mr Putin’s invasion—by the Levada Centre, an independent Russian pollster, found that 43% of Russians between the ages of 18 and 24 wanted to leave the country for good. And 44% of those who hoped to emigrate cited the “economic situation” as their motivation.

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/03/04/russians-are-trying-to-flee-putins-chaos

The rest is behind a paywall
but here's the info from Google Trends, via MSN

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/google-trends-give-a-peek-into-what-russians-might-be-thinking-about/ar-AAUxL8z