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Putin Declares Martial Law in Four Annexed Ukrainian Regions

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On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed last month in a violation of international law. The order will allow authorities to impose curfews, imprison undocumented immigrants, establish checkpoints, detain people for up to 30 days and enforce other “security” measures.

Putin said his order will be effective starting Thursday. His decree gives law enforcement agencies three days to submit specific proposals to enforce the security plan. It also mandates the creation of territorial defense forces, a type of civilian militia, in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, the four annexed regions Russia does not fully control.

“We are working to solve very difficult large-scale tasks to ensure Russia’s security and safe future, to protect our people. Those who are on the front lines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centers should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.”

The upper house of Russia’s parliament, the Federation Council, promptly and unanimously confirmed Putin’s declaration. The decree will also bestow regional governors in areas of Russia with more power to “ensure security,” signaling more restrictive measures to come throughout Russia.

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The third paragraph of the martial law order states, “if necessary, other measures provided for by the Federal Constitutional Law of January 30, 2002, No. 1-FKZ ‘on martial law’ may be applied in the Russian Federation during the period of martial law.”

For the Russian people, this decree could impose restrictions on travel and public gatherings, suspend activities of political parties, public organizations and religious groups, tighten censorship, and strengthen the hold of law enforcement agencies on the population. Putin also wants to establish a coordination committee to increase communications and collaboration between government agencies as the country continues its violent invasion of Ukraine.

Putin has been dealing with growing unrest at home after the “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens to sustain what he still labels a “special military operation.” Protests have erupted all over Russia, and upward of 200,000 citizens have left the country to evade the draft. Military draft offices have been set on fire, and an anti-war sentiment is spreading inside Russian borders. According to a Russian official, authorities have tightened security around the offices due to the increased attacks.

As of Tuesday, around half of Russia’s regions had fulfilled their draft quota. Last Friday, Putin said he assumes “in two weeks all mobilizing measures will be over.”

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Mike Martin, a war studies visiting fellow at King’s College London, posted a series of tweets critiquing Putin’s decision to draft civilians.

“In reality, the mobilization was having greater effects on negative political stability at home than it was ever going to have in positive term (for the Russians) on the battlefield. And we’ve already seen some of those mobilized civilians dying on the battlefield in Ukraine … with no training … a criminal pointless waste of life.”

It is the first time the Kremlin has declared martial law since World War II.

On Wednesday, Putin also signed an order instituting wartime measures in regions bordering Ukraine, such as Crimea, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Rostov and three others. The areas have been critical strategic locations for Russia’s assault on Ukraine but have come under Ukrainian fire in recent weeks.

The order will allow for economic mobilization in these regions, restricting movement in and out of the territories, temporarily resettling residents, tightening public order in critical facilities, and introducing a special mode of operating transport, energy facilities, and communication systems. Authorities will also be given control “over the operation of printing houses, computer centers and automated systems, and the use of their work for defense needs.”

Many of the provisions of the laws signed on Wednesday are nebulous, giving the state additional flexibility in enforcing additional measures.

New Report Details Gruesome Russian War Crimes In Ukraine 

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Human Rights Watch released a new report detailing a multitude of war crimes committed by Russia within the first weeks of its invasion of Ukraine. The report was published Sunday, and cited the US accusing Russia of war crimes, and Kyiv accusing Moscow of genocide. 

Human Right Watch is a non-governmental organization known for providing updates, resources, and publicity for human rights violations throughout the world. The report detailed instances of war crimes between February 27th and March 14th; including repeated cases of rape, summary execution, unlawful violence, and general threats against innocent citizens. 

10 individuals provided personal accounts of what it’s like to be living in Ukraine territories that have been overtaken by Russia. One witness told the Human Rights Watch that Russian forces in Bucha forced five residents to kneel on the side of the road before shooting them each in the back of the head. 

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Another witness described how she was the victim of rape by a Russian soldier who raped her multiple times in a school in Kharkiv, where she was seeking shelter with her family. She claimed that the man cut her face, neck, and hair with a knife as well. 

“The incidents cited amount to unspeakable, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians,” said Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Last month, the Biden administration determined that Russian forces have committed multiple war crimes in Ukraine, and labeled president Vladimir Putin as a war criminal. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Russia of Genocide on Sunday. 

“Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities.”

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“We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don’t want to be subdued by the policy of the Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century. So this is the torture of the whole nation,” Zelensky added.

This Sunday images surfaced online of the violence occurring in Bucha specifically. Images of bodies on the street caused an uproar online, including one image of a person who was tied up with their arms behind their back before they were killed. 

The Russian defense ministry has casually dismissed these images as “fakes staged by the Kiev regime for the Western media.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the images “horrific.”

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that civilians are targeted and killed. And it just underlines the importance that this war must end. And that is President Putin’s responsibility, to stop the war.”

Russia has pulled its troops from cities and towns near Kyiv, and it’s believed the nation will be repositioning its invasion to focus on eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine Rejects Surrendering Port City Of Mariupol To Russia In Exchange For Safe Passage For Ukrainians 

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This Monday Russia demanded Ukrainians to stop fighting and surrender the port city of Mariupol in exchange for safe passage out of town for citizens. This demand came hours after Russian forces bombed an art school in the port city which was sheltering 400 people.

Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev stated that his forces would allow two corridors of citizens out of Mariupol, heading either east toward Russia, or west to other parts of Ukraine. Residents of the port city were given until 5 a.m. on Monday to respond to the offer; Russia didn’t make any statement about what action it would take if Ukrainians refused. 

“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told the news.

Mariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also rejected the offer, saying he “didn’t need to wait until morning to respond and curse at the Russians,” according to the news agency Interfax Ukraine.

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The Russian Ministry of Defense said “authorities in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with bandits,” Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Previous attempts to allow residents to evacuate Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have been either only partly successful, or failed completely due to continuous violence and conflict throughout the nation. 

Speaking in a video address early Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “about 400 civilians were taking shelter at the art school when it was struck by a Russian bomb. They are under the rubble, and we don’t know how many of them have survived,” he said. 

“But we know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we already have downed.”

Three weeks after Russia initially invaded, Western government and analysts are claiming the conflict is moving to be a war of attrition, as Russian forces are launching long-range missiles at Ukraine cities and military bases. Ukraine forces have responded by cutting their supply lines. 

“Moscow cannot hope to rule the country, given Ukrainians’ enmity toward the Russian forces,” Zelenskyy said Monday.

The strike on the art school marks the second time within a week that Russian forces attacked a public building where Mariupol residents have taken shelter. On Wednesday, a bomb hit a theater where it was believed more than 1,000 people were sheltering. Ukrainian officials have not been able to provide an update on the search of the theater since Friday, where it was reported that at least 130 people were rescued, and another 1,300 were trapped by the rubble. 

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Officials have stated that food, water, and electricity has been very scarce in Mariupol, and the constant fighting has kept out humanitarian convoys. The city has essentially been under attack for three weeks, and has seen some of the most amounts of violence throughout the entire invasion. 

City officials said at least 2,300 people have died, with some buried in mass graves. 

“The block-by-block fighting in Mariupol itself is costing the Russian military time, initiative, and combat power. Russia failed in its initial campaign to take the capital of Kyiv and other major cities quickly,”  the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a briefing.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said “Ukrainian resistance means Putin’s forces on the ground are essentially stalled. It’s had the effect of him moving his forces into a woodchipper.”

According to AP journalists, “Six more people were killed Sunday by shelling in the densely populated Podil district, not far from the center of capital Kyiv. The attack there devastated a shopping center, leaving a flattened ruin still smoldering Monday morning in the midst of high-rise towers. The force of the explosion shattered every window in the high-rise next door and twisted their metal frames.”

The UN has confirmed 902 civilian deaths in the war, but claims the actual total is likely much larger. Nearly 3.4 million people have fled the Ukraine, at least 115 children have been killed and 148 have been injured so far.

Russia Requesting Military And Economic Aid From China, According To US Officials

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According to US officials, Russia has asked China for military and economic assistance, including drones, as a part of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The official’s declined to state what exactly China’s response was to the request, but it is known that they did respond.

The news of the request was brought up to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. Sullivan explained to the media afterwards that providing Russia with support from China would be a “concern.”  

“We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia. It is a concern of ours. And we have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions,” Sullivan said.

Russia continued its attack to western Ukraine this weekend, firing off missiles near the city of Lviv, and hitting a large military base close to the Polish border. The blasts reportedly killed dozens of people. 

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China claims that it was not asked by Russia for military aid or any other type of assistance. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US, said in a statement, “I’ve never heard of that. The Ukraine situation is indeed disconcerting, China has and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

“The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control. … China calls for exercising utmost restraint and preventing a massive humanitarian crisis.”

Beijing is currently trying to strike a neutral tone regarding the international conflict. Chinese domestic media coverage has, however, promoted Russian disinformation campaigns and described the war as a “special military operation. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki and other US officials have been critical of Beijing’s response overall. 

“Beijing has seemingly endorsed false Russian claims that the US is developing chemical weapons in Ukraine.”

“Our assessment right now is that China is abiding by the requirements that have been put in place, but we would continue to encourage any country to think a lot about what place they want to — what role they want to play — in history as we all look back,” Psaki said Wednesday.

Sullivan said that the “US has made it clear to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale efforts to give the Kremlin a workaround to US sanctions.”

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“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world. While the US believes China, in fact, was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something, they may not have understood the full extent of it. Because it’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others,” Sullivan explained. 

Sullivan also expressed to the media this weekend that while the “Biden administration is concerned about the possibility of escalation with respect to Putin’s nuclear posture, we have not seen anything that would require us to change our nuclear posture at this time.” 

“We are watching this extremely closely, and obviously, the escalation risk with a nuclear power is severe, and it is a different kind of conflict than other conflicts the American people have seen over the years,” he said, before explaining the administration’s decision to reject Poland’s offer to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine through the US and German air base. 

“The President listened to the assessment of his intelligence community, he listened to the advice of his military commanders, he consulted his NATO allies, and he ultimately determined that the risk-benefit analysis of flying planes from NATO bases into contested airspace over Ukraine did not make sense, was not something that he would authorize.

The US is focused on providing other anti-air systems that could help the Ukrainians make progress in terms of dealing with the threat that is coming from the air from the Russian side,” Sullivan explained.

The national security adviser also reiterated that Russia “would pay a severe price if they chose to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. Russia’s accusations against Ukraine preparing to deploy chemical weapons is a tell, a tell that they themselves may be preparing to do so and then trying to pin the blame on someone else– that’s a classic page out of the Russian playbook.”

Ukraine Flags

Ukraine Pushing For Cease-Fire In Talks With Russia As Fighting Continues 

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Russian and Ukrainian officials met on Monday as violence continues around the cities involved in the conflict. Ukraine is pushing for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country ahead of the talks.

Kyiv is currently coming under attack from heavy Russian shelling. The city has been resistant to invasion with the help of military assistance from countries across the world and global sanction efforts. In addition to the violence, the Russian military has also stated that its nuclear deterrent forces have been put on high alert after Putin’s orders. 

Russian forces are now being accused of carrying out massive shelling and attack operations inside of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, after graphic videos were posted to social media showing the assault and its devastating aftermath. 

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that 102 civilians, including seven children, were killed across Ukraine since Thursday, noting that those figures were likely an underrepresentation of the national death toll. 

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More than half a million of Ukraine’s 44 million citizens have fled the country according to the head of the U.N. refugee agency. Others are being forced to seek shelter inside metro stations and parking garages while missile strikes and gunfire take over the cities. 

A strict 39-hour curfew was in effect in Kyiv this weekend and was lifted this Monday after Russian troops invaded. Residents were able to go out and replenish essential supplies while dodging the violence. 

There’s been a concentrated effort to make Putin pay for the invasion economically as well. Sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies have greatly impacted Russia’s economy. Russia’s central bank kept the stock market closed and raised its interest rate to 20 percent from 9.5 percent in an attempt to improve the plummeting national currency. 

The United States has also announced that it would be expanding sanctions on Russia’s central bank, making it so Americans will be blocked from doing any business with it, and freeze any assets the banks may hold in the U.S.. 

“Russia’s economic reality has changed due to the heavy sanctions, but they were prepared and able to handle the damage,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated. 

Russia has also closed its airspace to airlines from the European Union and several other countries as a means of retaliation for the current ban on travel from Russian planes over its airspace. 

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he doubted the talks with Russia would actually produce results, but Ukraine’s forces have slowed Russia’s advance and they still hold the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv. 

“The bulk of Putin’s ground forces remain more than 30 km [18 miles] to the north of Kyiv. Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in a post on Twitter Monday morning.

“With the operation moving slower than anticipated, Russia was bringing in more troops, weapons and equipment. They underestimated the resistance they were going to meet and that’s why they’re making less progress,” according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. 

“Armed with government-issued machine guns, homemade Molotov cocktails and shovels to build barricades, civilians have helped to reinforce their army’s desperate but for now effective resistance. They will soon be joined by prisoners with combat experience who will now be released,” Zelenskyy stated. 

Zelenskyy has stated that Putin is intending to remove Ukraine’s pro-Western government to potentially replace it with a Moscow-friendly regime. Putin also recently issued a directive to increase the readiness of Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces. Russia has thousands of nuclear warheads in its arsenal. 

“The move is reckless and dangerous. There’s no reason for that. NATO is no threat to Russia. Although NATO moved to increase its presence in Eastern Europe in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, it had no intention of becoming involved in the conflict itself. We have a responsibility to make sure that this doesn’t spiral out of control. That will be extremely dangerous,” Stolenberg stated.

Russia Planning On Targeting Critics In Ukraine To Be Sent To Camps Or Killed, US Reports 

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The United States has officially warned the United Nations that it believes Russia has plans to kill a large number of critics, dissidents, and vulnerable populations in Ukraine after an expected invasion. These vulnerable populations are at risk of being sent to camps, or killed. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the report this week claiming it was “absolute fiction.” Ambassador Bathsheba Nell Crocker, the US representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, recently made a statement in a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Backelet, that backs up the initial US report. 

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“We have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation.”

Crocker also said in the letter that the U.S. believes “Russia would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.” 

The document warns of potential large-scale human rights violations and abuses, especially for protestors who will likely be met with unjust force.

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“We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations.”

The matter was discussed last week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought up the issue with the UN Security Council. Additionally, the US raised concerns over Russia’s treatment of vulnerable populations in Ukraine during a debate at the UN Human Rights Council on December 15th. 

The office of France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, made a statement this past weekend in which he discussed how he brokered an agreement in principle that would have President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet to discuss the situation in Ukraine. 

As of right now there are more than 150,000 Russian troops camped out outside Ukraine. Sources close to the White House claim that the potential meeting between presidents has not changed the reality that Russia has plans for an imminent invasion.

Russia Could Invade Ukraine “At Any Point” As U.S. Attempts To Resolve Standoff

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As Russia continues to build up troops — which now range near an estimated 127,000 — at the Ukraine border, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that while the country doesn’t intend to invade like the West fears, the Kremlin will need guarantees that forbid Ukraine joining NATO.

“For us, it’s absolutely mandatory to make sure that Ukraine never, never, ever becomes a member of NATO,” Ryabkov stated on Monday following an eight hour-long meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Geneva, Switzerland.

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Sherman countered Ryabkov’s wishes by emphasizing that the U.S. will “never allow anyone” to close NATO’s open-door policy, and that Russia will not be able to dictate how the U.S. works with foreign countries. “We will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Sherman said.

Despite Ryabkov’s claims that Russia doesn’t intend on invading, the White House believes an attack could be imminent, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki calling the situation extremely dangerous and more stark than previously during her briefing Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Russia has been reducing its embassy staff in Ukraine, with the New York Times reporting 48 workers have left the country since Jan. 5 –  another sign that a head to this conflict could be coming soon. However, Moscow has denied these actions while assuring the embassy is operating normally.

Sherman wasn’t the only U.S. official making diplomatic efforts this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and is scheduled to meet with Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.

Blinken gave Zelenskyy a warning similar to Psaki’s, saying an invasion could come at “short notice.” Blinken also acknowledged that Ukraine is facing an “unprecedented threat” and repeated his sentiments from back in early December, saying Russia still faces severe economic consequences should they go through with their attack.

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France President Emmanuel Macron has urged for a European “collective security” pact. This would include principles that allow the “rejection of use of force or coercion,” giving countries the choice to reject spheres of influence and join alliances or bodies as they wish.

Macron added that “frank and demanding dialogue” between the EU and Russia would be necessary for a collective security pact, and that relying on talks between Moscow and D.C. is simply not enough. Macron expressed hopes of revitalizing a four-way talk between Germany, Russia, France, and Ukraine in order to find a solution.

Experts anticipate Russia which touts an will accuse Ukraine of a provocation before moving forward with any operations. NBC News detailed a number of possible options Russian President Vladimir Putin could take, ranging from blocking off Ukraine’s army and ports to seizing the eastern half of the country.

According to Ukrainian officials, Russia could utilize ally Belarus — which shares a border with Ukraine — as a launching stage for a multi-headed invasion. Moscow has started moving troops to Belarus for joint military drills, where they’ll rehearse repelling attacks. The two countries previously held a Zapad (West) military exercise in September, which consisted of 200,000 troops.

According to CNN, in addition to sanctions that would be thrown down should Russia attack, the Biden administration is also considering providing Ukraine forces with further ammunition, mortars, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and anti-aircraft missile systems through NATO allies.

Other methods of U.S. assistance include additional arms sales and advice in order to stay in the right against a superior and formidable Russian force, an administration official told CNN.

U.S. Warns Russia Of “Serious Consequences” If Troops Initiate Conflict At Ukraine Border

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On the Ukraine border, a storm is brewing in the form of Kremlin fighters, rifles, and tanks. Around 100,000 troops have gathered at the border, and while this is happened before — Russia gathered and eventually pulled back forces in April — many experts believe this movement is more serious, and could drag Europe and the U.S. into a military conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Stockholm that if “Russia decides to pursue confrontation, there will be serious consequences.” Blinken added that diplomacy is the best way to avoid any pending conflicts, and called for Russia to pull back its troops.

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While the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov did not produce any solutions, the two have agreed to continue diplomatic conversations, according to State Department officials. Blinken also stated that the two will relay their talks to Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, and the two Presidents could “speak directly in the near future.”

Moscow has continued to deny any plans for an invasion, and accused Ukraine and its allies of making up claims in order to cover up their own aggressive actions and military build-ups. Russia also stated on Thursday that it arrested three suspected Ukrainian security service agents.

Speaking to NBC News, former U.S. ambassador and Atlantic Council senior director John Herbst explained that if the Kremlin wanted to quickly conduct an invasion, nothing would hold them back from doing just that.

“Moscow is so positioned that they can move with very little warning. They’re certainly threatening. And they’re in a position that if they want to, they can do it.”

Prior to the OSCE meeting, Blinken explained that they were deeply concerned by evidence that Russia had made plans for “significant aggressive” moves, and that they don’t know what Putin has decided in regards to an invasion.

In a speech, Lavrov claimed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was refusing to consider proposals that would help to deescalate the situation, and warned NATO against turning countries neighboring Russia into “bridgeheads of confrontation.”

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Russia has also been accused of playing a hand in the continuing Belarus-Poland border crisis, which Euronews reports Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said is “absolutely connected” to the Kremlin’s military build-up.

These [are] all absolutely connected factors which lead to the aggression from Russia side, which lead to the using of energy [supplies] against Europe and against Ukraine’s European inspirations.”

Russia and Belarus held a week-long open Zapad (“West”) military exercise on NATO’s border in September. The exercise consisted of 200,000 troops and came after an effort to integrate the two countries while creating a “single defense space.”

Ukraine and Russia have a long history of tensions since Ukraine broke away following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2014, Russia seized control of the Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula where citizens are ethnically Russian. Russia proceeded to hold a referendum and annexed Crimea.

Putin published a paper in July, arguing that Ukraine is part of historical Russia. Putin also claimed that the two countries’ spiritual unity has been attacked, and that Russia has never been — and will never be — “anti-Ukraine.”