To Open The Sky

Preparations for this invasion came over several weeks as Putin amassed military equipment along Ukraine's borders. The equipment included tanks, artillery, and related weapons along with as many as 190,000 troops. In the Black Sea, 11 ships were on patrol.

On Monday, 20 February 2022, came reports that Russian forces had moved into Donetsk and Lukansk. These provinces in the Donbas region of Ukraine had long been deemed breakaway provinces by Russia. On Tuesday, the Duma recognized them as independent republics, in contravention of international law and the Minsk Agreement. On Wednesday, as the military buildup continued, reports of Russians moving into the region grew. Fighting was also reported, and a school was shelled, but it was hard to pin down who was responsible — Russians or local separatists. By Thursday, there was no doubt: the invasion had begun. Military targets in Ukraine were hit by missiles and bombed by Russian fighter planes. As the day progressed, Chernobyl was captured and Kyiv came under siege. Massive movements of refugees began to flow toward the border with Poland.

The West responded by deploying forces into countries along the eastern flank of NATO territory. Sanctions were imposed, becoming harsher as the battles intensified. The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to condemn Putin's aggression, and later the European Council expelled Russia. Germany reversed its position, pledging tanks to Slovenia that would let Slovenia move its tanks to Ukraine. Germany also began work on reducing its consumption of natural gas from Russia.

Putin's imvasion quckly ran into trouble. Nimble Ukrainian units, equipped with drones from Turkey and the U.S., wreaked havoc on Russian tanks and armored vehicles throughout the country. The downed several attack helicopters and one bomber as well. On 14 April, they were able to sink the missile cruiser Moskva, pride of Russia's Black Sea fleet. At the same time, Russia punished Ukraine with cruise missiles and air strikes, crushing large numbers of civilian buildings in its major cities.

The world responded with almost universal condemnation, and reprisals came swiftly.

• Weapons
  • Germany reversed itself and agreed to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine. It also planned to spend more on its own defense preparations.
  • The United States had already supplied Javelin antitank missiles. President Biden authorized the Pentagon to provide $350 million in additional support, including stinger antiaircraft missiles and more Javelins. He will request $10 billion from Congress for military & humanitarian aid.
• Boycotts
  • BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil have written off oil-exploration projects they worked on with Russia. I believe the amounts are $14 billion and $3 billion.
  • Visa and Mastercard block transactions with Russia and Belarus.
  • Congress is debating a ban on purchaisng fossil-fuel products from Russia, currently about 10% of what US imports.
  • Boeing and Airbus will no longer maintain or provide spare parts for the airliners they produce that are in Russia's fleet.
  • Russian vodka and other spirits are now некультурный. Western stores won't sell them; western bars won't serve them. (But note that many popular vodkas aren't Russian: e.g. Smirnoff and Stolichnaya.)
  • Apple and Microsoft have cancelled all sales inside Russia.
  • Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen are among the auto companies halting all vehicle imports to Russia. In addition, Toyota will shut down its Russian factory.
  • FIFI and UEFA will ban Russian national and club teams for international competition.
  • The International Skating Union will ban all Russian athletes. The IOC recommends that members not invite Russian athletes to participate.
  • Numerous film and music festivals have canceled events in Russia. Some upcoming films will not be released in Russia, and the Cannes Film Festival will not welcome Russian officials.
  • The International Chess Federation was scheduled to hold its annual congress and its 44th Chess Olympiad in Moscow. It is now looking for alternate venues.
  • The International Automobile Federation canceled its Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September.
  • The International Judo Federation cancelled its Grand Slam set for Kazan, Russia. It also suspended Putin as IJF honorary president.
  • Meta Platforms will stop accepting ads from Russian accounts.
  • McDonald's will shutter 850 stores inside Russia. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Starbucks will also shut down operations in the country.
• Sanctions
  • Putin and foreign minister Lavrov, along with at least 8 individual Russian oligarchs, have been sanctioned.
  • These sanctions have been applied by the US and the EU as well as by Switzerland and Monaco, two studiously neutral nations.
  • Some 70% of Russian banks have been barred from SWIFT, the secure telecommunications system that supports global banking.