Evacuation of Ukraine

 NATO prepares troops as Ukraine calls Chernobyl attack 'declaration of war on Europe'

Nato’s Response Force (NRF) comprises around 40,000 troops and is on heightened alert, with the alliance to hold an emergency summit of its 30 member nations on Friday

NATO has activated defense plans and would boost the alliance’s “deterrence and defense” by adding to land, sea, and air forces on its eastern flank

NATO is said to be preparing troops on the ground despite Vladimir Putin's "nuke threat".

The military alliance has activated defense plans and would boost the alliance’s “deterrence and defense” by adding land, sea, and air forces on its eastern flank.

That's as well as reportedly putting some 100 warplanes on high alert and comes after Russian forces entered Chernobyl to seize the nuclear plant.

"There were handwritten signs with people offering to pay extra for already purchased tickets.

"I could hear the cries of babies and children as they waited for their parents to buy tickets for the train to Poland.

"Inside the ticket hall was chaos.

Putin's fortune and wild life - tigers, mysterious palace and £47,000 toilet

Russian president and ex-KGB member Vladimir Putin has never shied away from showing off his incredible wealth - and with experts estimating he's worth around $200 billion, it

Mirror Online

Ukraine border guards who told Russian warship 'go f*** yourself' might be alive

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the brave troops on Snake Island in the Black Sea had all been killed by Vladimir Putin's forces but it is hoped he was wrong

Mirror Online

Left lane closed

 

Foreign Fighters Are Rushing to Join Ukraine’s New International Battalion following a direct appeal by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

 

The Russian news service TASS and several other state-owned media companies have been taken down by the Anonymous hacker collective.
In its latest move against Vladimir Putin, the hacker groups have disabled news services and replaced their websites with anti-war messages.
The messages are described as a ‘tombstone’ for the war dead.
Russian media networks Kommersant, Izvestia, Fontaka, RBC have also been attacked by Anonymous.

At the top of the mountain.

 

Kremlin sends more than 400 mercenaries

 

Kremlin 'sends more than 400 mercenaries from private militia into Kyiv to assassinate President Zelensky and his government' - with group told peace talks are 'smoke and mirrors'

• Private militia known as the Wagner Group 'flown in from Africa five weeks ago'
• It is run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of the Russian president
• Highly trained operatives have a 23-strong kill list including the PM and cabinet 

More than 400 Russian mercenaries have been flown in from Africa to assassinate Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, it was revealed last night.

A private militia known as the Wagner Group allegedly has orders from Vladimir Putin to take out Zelensky - and 23 other government figures - to allow Moscow to take over its eastern European neighbour. 

According to the Times, the army-for-hire, run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin - a close ally of the Russian president who is often dubbed 'Putin's chef' - was flown in five weeks ago and is being offered a huge sum for the mission.

The highly-trained operatives are said to be waiting for the green light from the Kremlin to pounce, with their hit list also including Ukraine's prime minister, the entire cabinet, mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, and his brother Wladimir - both boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines of the capital.

However, the plans were rumbled after they reached the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government on Saturday morning.

A private militia known as the Wagner Group allegedly has orders from Vladimir Putin to take out Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) - and 23 other government figures - to allow Moscow to take over.

The army-for-hire, run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin - a close ally of the Russian president (pictured) who is often dubbed 'Putin's chef' - was flown in five weeks ago

Zelensky confirms negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow

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It prompted Kyiv to declare a 36-hour 'hard' curfew, ordering everyone indoors so that soldiers could sweep the streets for Russian saboteurs.

Citizens were warned that they risked being 'liquidated' if they were spotted outside during the curfew hours, as they may be assumed to be the enemy.

A source with knowledge of the Wagner Group's activities told the Times that between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries had actually arrived in Ukraine in January, but with different missions.

Some were sent to the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country - while the 400 tasked with taking out Zelensky headed to Kyiv from Belarus.

The group is said to be tracking Zelesnky and his colleagues via their mobile phones - claiming to know where they are at all times.

Another source claimed the killers-for-hire have been told to put on the brakes while Putin holds 'peace talks' with Zelensky this week.

But they have allegedly been informed that the Russian leader has no desire to reach a deal, branding the meeting on the Belarus border as 'smoke and mirrors.'

News of their assassination plans has not seemed to faze Zelensky, who admitted he was 'target number one' during an address to the nation, telling them Russian special forces were hunting him.

Wagner (pictured in Syria) has conducted covert operations across Africa and the Middle East, including in Syria, and they have most recently been on the ground in Ukraine to guide Russian tanks to the capital

When the US offered to extract him, he told President Joe Biden: 'I need ammunition, not a ride.'

Wagner has conducted covert operations across Africa and the Middle East, including in Syria, and they have most recently been on the ground in Ukraine to guide Russian tanks to the capital.

General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of Joint Forces Command, said: 'They are very effective because they are hard to pin down.

'They can appear from the shadows, do very violent things and then disappear again, without it being obvious who was responsible. They are not directly linked to the Russian government and therefore they are plausibly deniable.'

Sources told the Times the militia were briefed about Putin's plans on Ukraine back in December, long before the Russian army was told.

Soldiers and generals were feared to oppose the invasion plans, and several have been executed for doing so, claimed the mercenaries.

Saving Ukraine

 

NOT FREE Countries In 2020:

 

NOT FREE Countries In 2020:

Afghanistan – Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, President of Afghanistan

Algeria – Abdelmadjid Tebboune, President of Algeria

Angola – João Lourenço, President of Angola (since Sept 26, 2017; replaced Jose Eduardo dos Santos)

Azerbaijan – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

Bahrain – King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain

Belarus – Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of Belarus

Brunei – Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah

Burundi – Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi

Cambodia – Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia

Cameroon – Paul Biya, President of Cameroon

Central African Republic – Faustin Archange Touadera

Chad – Idriss Deby, President of Chad

China – Xi Jinping, President of China

Congo, Dem. Rep. of – Joseph Kabila, President of Congo

Congo, Rep of (Brazzaville) – Denis Sassou Nguesso, President

Cuba – Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba

Djibouti – Ismaïl Omar Guelleh – Moved from Partly Free to Not Free

Egypt – Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of Egypt

Equatorial Guinea – OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, President

Eritrea – Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea

Ethiopia – Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Gabon – Albert-Bernard Bongo, President of Gabon

Iran – Ali Khamenei, 2nd Supreme Leader of Iran

Iraq – Barham Salih, President of Iraq

Kazakhstan – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Acting President of Kazakhstan

Laos – Bounnhang Vorachith, President (elected on Apr 19, 2016)

Libya – Nouri Abusahmain, President

Myanmar – Win Myint, President  – Moved from Partly Free to Not Free

Mauritania – Mohamed Ould Abd Aziz, President of Mauritania Moved to Partly Free

Nicaragua – Daniel Ortega Saavedra, President of Nicaragua

North Korea – Kim Jong-un, President of North Korea

Oman – Qaboos bin Said Al-Said, Prime Minister of Oman

Qatar – Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani

Russia – Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

Rwanda – Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda

Saudi Arabia – King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia

Somalia – Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia

South Sudan – Salva Kiir Mayardit, President

Sudan – Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, President of Sudan

Swaziland (Eswatini) – Mswati III, King of Swaziland

Syria – Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria

Tajikistan – Emomalii Rahmon, President of Tadjikistan

Thailand – Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand Moved to Partly Free

Turkey – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey

Turkmenistan – Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, President of Turkmenistan

Uganda – Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda

United Arab Emirates – Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Uzbekistan – Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan

Venezuela – Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela

Vietnam – Nguyễn Phú Trọng, President of Vietnam

Western Sahara – Brahim Ghali, President of Western Sahara

Yemen – Ali Abdallah Salih, President of Yemen

Russia invades Ukraine

 

Ukrainian government sources have claimed 18 Russian Ilyushin Il-76 planes have left the western Russian city of Pskov heading for Kyiv.

The country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had captured an airfield near Kyiv.

Late on Thursday, 13 Ukrainian border guards were reportedly killed as Russian troops took over Snake Island in the Black Sea, close to the border with Romania and the European Union.

President Zelenskyy has declared a general mobilisation - assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war.

Sunset on Sunset

 

When dinosaurs ruled the Earth

 

Hot sauce in the United States, Farmer's market, beware.

 

Local guard dogs, pandas and an owl.

 

Triumph