Russia War Brief – Putin’s Nuclear Mistake and Possible War Crimes

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine requiring special daily focus, American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) is providing our readers the daily RUSSIA WAR BRIEF:

This is a Special Daily Report separate from PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING (PDB).

Get Your Best Updates on Putin's Unprovoked War With Ukraine Here Daily in One Report.

READ THE ‘RUSSIA WAR BRIEF' BELOW

RUSSIA THREAT

NUCLEAR MISTAKE – Putin nuclear order stirs fears, uncertainty in US. Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to heighten the alert status of his nuclear forces has raised fears in the U.S. that the war in Ukraine could lead to a devastating miscalculation, as well as spurred debate over the United States' own nuclear policies.

RUSSIAN INVASION

TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT – Satellite images show much longer convoy of Russian military vehicles. Satellite images released Monday evening suggest a Russian military convoy heading to Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv covers nearly 40 miles of a road, according to Maxar Technologies.

Explosion shakes Ukraine's second-largest city. Video showed what appeared to be a rocket striking directly in front of an administrative building in Kharkiv, a day after Russian forces shelled the city. An unknown number of people were killed and wounded, the city's mayor said.

Frustrated Putin may order escalation of violence in Ukraine, US officials say. The U.S. has solid intelligence that Putin is expressing unusual bursts of anger at people in his inner circle over the state of the military campaign so far, officials said.

QUESTION IS – WHY NOT? Dire predictions about a Russian cyber onslaught haven't come true in Ukraine. At least not yet. “We imagined this orchestrated unleashing of violence in cyberspace, this ballet of attacks striking Ukraine in waves, and instead of that we have a brawl. And not even a very consequential brawl, just yet,” said Jason Healey, a former White House staffer for infrastructure protection and intelligence officer who's now a research scholar on cyber conflict at Columbia University.

UKRAINE DEFENSE

Ukrainian pilots arrive in Poland to pick up donated fighter jets. The Ukrainian parliament on Monday tweeted that Europe was sending 70 fighter planes to Ukraine.

GIVE THEM MORE GUNS – Ukraine pleads with Congress for more aid and weapons. As a Russian convoy heads for Kyiv, the Ukrainian ambassador told senators the military was running out of missiles.

Ukraine creates ‘IT army' of civilians to hack Russian websites, ‘fight on the cyber front.‘ Ukraine is creating a volunteer “IT army” to hack Russian websites after facing a series of malware and denial of service attacks.

US AND NATO RESPONSE

SEND MORE STINGERS PLEASE – Amid fears of Russian air dominance, US to send anti-aircraft Stingers to Ukraine. The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House last week.

US rules out Ukraine no-fly zone after Zelenskyy appeal. Washington, which has promised military aid, rejected the call to establish a no-fly zone, saying it would be a step towards a direct conflict between the United States and Russia.

More US troops could head to Europe amid Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pentagon says. The 14,000 U.S. troops activated in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine may not be the last, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

GLOBAL IMPACT

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – In just 72 hours, Europe overhauled its entire post-Cold War relationship with Russia. The continent has in some ways leapfrogged the United States, which — though many policymakers credit the Biden administration for helping to coordinate — wasn't prepared for the speed of the European change. And it has been dizzying for some of the continent's Russia hawks, especially those in Eastern Europe who campaigned for tougher measures against the Kremlin for years but were ignored by bigger countries including Germany, Italy and France.

RUSSIAN NUKES IN BELARUS? EU decries potential Russian nuclear weapons deployment after Belarus referendum. The European Union has voiced its worries over Sunday's Belarusian referendum which enables the authorities there to modify the constitution's article describing Belarus as a “nuclear-free zone” and a “neutral” state, potentially allowing Russia to deploy additional nuclear weapons along NATO's eastern flank.

RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES

Ukraine and rights groups say Russia used cluster & vacuum bombs. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both said that Russian forces appeared to have used widely banned cluster munitions, with Amnesty accusing them of attacking a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside.

REFUGEES

UK's Johnson stresses need to prepare for ‘millions' of Ukrainian refugees. “When I spoke to (U.S.) President Biden last night, we focused on the humanitarian emergency that is now beginning. Putin's invasion has already cost hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, and we must prepare for an even larger outflow, perhaps in the millions,” Johnson said from Warsaw.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.