Friday, March 4th
Two days ago, the BBC announced that Russians were flocking their website to keep up with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Today, the Russian government blocked access to BBC in the country as well as other news sites. This isn’t out of character for the government that very recently forced two prominent independent Russian TV and radio stations off the air.
The Russian army seized control of Europe’s, and Ukraine’s, largest nuclear power plant. Fighting near one of the plant’s reactors caused a small fire to break out; however it was quickly extinguished. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that no radioactive material escaped from the plant. For now, there is nothing to worry about.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to establish humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian refugees to escape during the peace talks in Belarus. The Ukrainian government asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to help organize these corridors.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky urged Ukrainian and global citizens alike to protest and take to the streets in order to fight against the invasion and support Ukraine. Citizens started protesting in Bratislava, Frankfurt, Lyon, Prague, Tbilisi, Vienna and Vilnius.
In Germany, hundreds of volunteers handed food and supplies to the thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their nation through the Berlin central railway station. This mass emigration coincided with the decision of European Union member states to grant Ukrainian citizens temporary one-year visas, allowing them to skip the long immigration process.
Finally, the conflict between Russia and several other large corporations continued as Russia blocked access to Facebook and severely limited access to Twitter, while also shutting down major news sites such as the BBC’s Russian Service. Additionally, the Duma unanimously approved a bill that would allow up to 15 years in prison for anyone who they believed to spread “fake news” about the occupation. As a response, more companies started to boycott Russia; Google stopped online advertising in the nation, while AirBnB, Microsoft, Panasonic and Hermès all suspended sales and operations.
