Wednesday, March 2nd

The EU Commission has announced it is implementing a Temporary Protection Directive to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees. This will grant Ukrainian refugees temporary protection in any of the EU member states. Ukrainian refugees will be able to work, find housing, and have access to education in any of the EU member states.

Children in Russia made signs protesting the war and placed them in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow where their parents placed flowers. Russian police arrested the children and the parents and threatened to take away the mothers’ parental rights.

Putin is at war with children. In Ukraine, where his missiles hit kindergartens and orphanages, and also in Russia. 7 y.o. David and Sofia, 9 y.o. Matvey, 11 y.o. Gosha and Liza spent this night behind bars in Moscow for their ‘NO TO WAR’ posters. This is how scared the man is. pic.twitter.com/eSenU1D5Ut

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 2, 2022

Russia’s military is nearing Ukraine’s capital Kyiv by the day, and fighting continues to intensify as both sides’ war materials are depleting. The Russian military is also attacking other major cities, including in the nation’s south. At this point, Russian forces claim full control of Kherson and are attacking near Maripul. However, Ukraine strongly contests Russian control of Kherson. Another key area is Kharkiv, because it has the second-highest population in Ukraine. Kharkiv is experiencing severe demolition by the day and many people have watched viral videos of the alleged shelling.

The Russian government is shutting down media outlets that express critical views of the invasion. The government claimed that the media outlets were spreading “deliberately false information” to the Russian citizens.

The UN General Assembly condemned Russia for invading Ukraine and demanded they end the war immediately. Many countries gave moving speeches about standing with Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to host a second round of peace talks in Belarus on Thursday. When the two countries met last, they were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, and this time doesn’t seem too promising either.

Shortly after the announcement of the second round of peace talks, Russia made its first announcement of major casualties. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that 498 Russian troops were killed and 1,597 troops were injured.  These figures have been disputed by Ukrainian authorities.