Wake-Up Call: Safe Corridors To Open, But Ukraine Is Skeptical

NY Post 3/8/22

Russian officials said Monday that safe corridors to allow Ukrainian civilians to escape could open today, but Ukrainian officials were skeptical, since earlier similar efforts fell apart amid Russian attacks. A third round of talks yesterday between Russia and Ukraine had no major breakthroughs, but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there positive delopments on improving the, quote, "logistics of humanitarian corridors." Before yesterday's talks, Russia had said civlians would be allowed to leave four cities, including the capital of Kyiv, but many of those corridors were headed to Russia and its ally Belarus, and Ukraine opposed that. Later yesterday, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador said Moscow would carry out a cease-fire this morning, and suggested humanitarian corridors could let people choose where they want to go.

Daily Mail 3/8/22

 

Meanwhile, AP reported Russian forces were making significant advances in southern Ukraine, while remaining stalled in other parts of the country. Shelling and rocket attacks on cities intensified, including in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where the mayor said, "We can’t even gather up the bodies because the shelling from heavy weapons doesn’t stop day or night." Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the port city of Mariupol, continued to be shelled, with the cities of Mykolaiv, Sumy and Okhtyrka among those also targeted. The steady attacks have led to humanitarian crises caused by dwindling food, water and medical supplies. 

VIDEO: Images of the aftermath of the Russian military operation in #Kharkiv, eastern #Ukraine, on Monday, with buildings in ruins and soldiers surveying the damage pic.twitter.com/XqVhCUvQ0E

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 7, 2022

Ukraine pleaded with the International Court of Justice at The Hague to order a stop to Russia's invasion, accusing Moscow of widespread war crimes. A member of Ukraine's legal team charged Russia, quote, "is resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare, encircling cities, cutting off escape routes and pounding the civilian population with heavy ordnance."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posts a video from his office with the caption:

"I stay in Kyiv.
On Bankova Street.
I’m not hiding.
And I'm not afraid of anyone.
As much as it takes to win this Patriotic War of ours." pic.twitter.com/61K5fxQHJF

— The Recount (@therecount) March 8, 2022

Zelensky released a new video last night in which he spoke from behind his desk at the presidential palace in Kyiv, the first time he's been seen from there since Russia began the invasion on February 24th. The president said in his nine-minute address, "I'm not hiding, and I'm not afraid of anyone." He said that every Ukrainian is at war with Russia, stating, "We all contribute to our victory, which will definitely be achieved. By force of arms and our army. By force of words and our diplomacy. By force of spirit, which the first, the second, and each of us have."

Pop up kitchens in Kyiv, soldiers carrying an evacuee in a wheelchair and civilians walking a rickety plank near a destroyed bridge. Here's a look at Ukraine's worsening humanitarian crisis as captured by AP photographers.
More: https://t.co/xGMPoMBd3Z pic.twitter.com/YkNSCQZXaW

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 8, 2022

➤GAS PRICES CONTINUE TO INCREASE AMID GROWING TALK OF BANNING IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN OIL: Gas prices are continuing to rise, moving even higher above $4 a gallon to a level Americans haven't seen since 2008, amid growing calls to ban imports of Russian oil. Gas prices had already been high before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and they have quickly jumped even more since, up 45 cents a gallon in just the past week. The national average as of Monday was $4.06, according to AAA, after breaking the $4 mark on Sunday, and the price is up nearly 50 percent from a year ago. The high price of gas is contributing to the highest inflation in the U.S. in four decades. Meanwhile, calls are growing to ban the importing of Russian oil over its invasion of Ukraine to cut off more of its revenue. President Biden has been reluctant to do it, but a growing number of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are calling for it, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

WEST WINGING IT: Doocy and Psaki spar over if Russia is truly to blame for soaring gas prices. https://t.co/wDVgJbuY82

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 8, 2022

 
➤JURY TO BEGIN DELIBERATIONS TODAY IN FIRST CAPITOL ATTACK TRIAL: A jury is set to begin deliberations today in the first trial of a defendant in the January 6th U.S. Capitol attack. Guy Wesley Reffitt is facing charges that he stormed the Capitol with a handgun strapped to his waist and interfered with police officers guarding the Senate doors. The 49-year-old is also charged with threatening his teenage children if they reported him to police. He is facing five felony counts. A federal prosecutor said in closing yesterday that Reffitt was an armed Texas militia member who led a, quote, "vigilante mob" in the Capitol attack, intending to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presdential election victory, to, quote, "overthrow Congress," and to drag lawmakers out of the Capitol. The defense urged jurors to acquit Reffitt of all charges but one, a misdemeanor charge that he entered and remained in a restricted area, denying that Reffitt had a gun at the Capitol and saying there's no evidence he engaged in any violence or destructive behavior. Reffitt is a member of the "Texas Three Percenters" militia.

➤SUPREME COURT REJECTS GOP EFFORTS TO BLOCK REDISTRICTING MAPS IN NORTH CAROLINA, PENNSYLVANIA: The Supreme Court yesterday rejected Republican efforts to block state court-ordered congressional redistricting maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The justices are allowing maps chosen by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the 2022 midterm elections, maps that are more favorable to Democrats than the ones drawn by the states’ legislatures. AP said the map will likely give the Democrats an additional House seat in North Carolina, and the Pennsylvania map will also likely lead to the election of more Democrats. The justices didn't give a reason for their actions.

➤ONE TEENAGER KILLED, TWO CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN SHOOTING OUTSIDE IOWA SCHOOL: One teenager was killed and two others were critically wounded in a shooting outside a high school in Des Moines, Iowa, yesterday afternoon. The gunfire appeared to come from a passing vehicle outside East High School, and police said they had detained potential suspects. The person killed was a 15-year-old boy who wasn't a student at the school. The two critically injured were both teenage girls, one 16 and the other 18, and both were students at the school. A motive wasn't immediately known, and police didn't give details on the potential suspects.

👑QUEEN ELIZABETH HAS FIRST IN-PERSON MEETING SINCE GETTING COVID, WITH CANADIAN PM: Queen Elizabeth has apparently reported from her Covid-19 case, having her first in-person meeting Monday (March 7th) since she tested positive on February 20th. The 95-year-old monarch met with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Buckingham Palace has said the queen, who was fully vaccinated and boosted, had mild "cold-like" symptoms during her Covid bout.

➤MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY PLANS TO RETURN TO EUROPE TO AID EFFORTS IN UKRAINE: In a recent interview with CNN, Dancing with the Stars alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy said he’s planning on returning to Europe to help “efforts on the ground” in Ukraine.

“I spent the last couple of days with survivor’s remorse, and I’m currently working on an opportunity to go back. Probably sometime next week I’m going to go back to Poland and joining efforts on the ground. Sort of want to justify my safe out that way,” he said.

Chmerkovskiy returned to the United States on Wednesday (March 2nd), after he was stuck in Ukraine for a week amid the Russian invasion.

At the time, he said, "The reason why Ukraine is standing right now is because of the Ukrainian people … And the fact that the entire world is helping." He also gave a “huge shout-out to Poland, huge shout-out to neighboring countries."

🏈FALCONS' RIDLEY SUSPENDED FOR AT LEAST ONE SEASON FOR BETTING ON NFL GAMES: Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended Monday for at least next season after he bet on NFL games. A league investigation found that Ridley bet on NFL games over a five-day period last November when he was away from the team dealing with mental health concerns. Ridley tweeted yesterday, "I bet 1500 total I don’t have a gambling problem." He also didn't seem to be too upset, tweeting, "I know I was wrong But I’m getting 1 year lol," and "Just gone be more healthy when I come back." Sports Illustrated reported that he bet via a legal gambling app in Florida, and that he did bet on the Falcons, but only for them to win.

The NFL said there was no evidence that any coaches, staff, teammates or other players knew about the alleged betting. https://t.co/r2K3zGz7JL

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 8, 2022

 
⚾MLB GIVES PLAYERS NEW DEADLINE WITH THREAT OF MORE GAMES CANCELED: MLB gave the players union a new deadline after negotiations Monday with the threat of more games being canceled. USA Today reported that MLB gave the players until tonight, and potentially until early Wednesday afternoon, to accept one of their options in a new proposal that would reinstate the entire 162-game season with full pay. If no deal is reached, another week of games will be canceled in addition to the first two series for each team that have already been wiped out.

🏀SPURS' POPOVICH TIES FOR NBA'S WINNINGEST COACH: San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tied Don Nelson's record as the NBA's all-time winningest coach last night, getting his 1,335th career victory in the Spurs' 117-110 win over the L.A. Lakers. Popovich, who's in his 26th season, will try to pass Nelson to claim the record on his own when the Spurs play the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

🏈BUCS' SHERMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO TWO MISDEMEANORS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Richard Sherman pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges yesterday related to a drunken driving and domestic disturbance incident last summer, part of a deal that spares him further jail time. Sherman was arrested on July 14th after police said he crashed his SUV in a construction zone and tried to break into his in-laws’ suburban Seattle home. Sherman said after the arrest that he was, quote, "deeply remorseful," and told the court in Seattle yesterday, "I’m grateful for the community we have and the way people continue to accept you even though you’re a flawed human being and made a mistake." Sherman will be under court supervision for two years.

➤BAIL DENIED FOR EX-UFC CHAMPION VELASQUEZ IN SHOOTING: A California judge denied bail Monday for former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who allegedly fired at a pickup truck with a man inside who's accused of sexually abusing a four-year-old family member. The 39-year-old is facing attempted murder and multiple gun assault charges. Prosecutors allege that Velasquez, who was arrested in San Jose, chased the pickup truck through three cities, rammed it with his own pickup during an 11-mile high-speed chase, and fired at the pickup several times, wounding the man's stepfather, who was driving.