World Affairs International

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine asked citizens in Kyiv to evacuate immediately, citing the looming encirclement of the city. This fear was followed by Zelensky’s own address, in which he voiced concerns of an imminent and brutal escalation by Russian forces.

But today’s major announcement was Putin’s declaration that NATO convoys supplying Ukraine would be targeted. It is unclear how Russian missiles will distinguish between armaments or humanitarian supplies, nor how their poor guidance systems will not guide them into local civilian infrastructure, but if attacks land in NATO territory, a response is all but certain.

Putin’s continued escalation strategy reflects what he believes to be a dispassionate West, with Biden constantly calling for mediation in the face of actions that could be perceived as a NATO escalation.

Yet Biden has also made very clear that a single misstep into NATO-held territory, or attacks on NATO whether by land, sea, air or through cyberwarfare, would invoke Article V and start what he has often called WWIII.’

In Kherson, it was announced that a ‘referendum’ would take place to form a Kherson People’s Republic. It is unclear whether this republic would be shortly annexed into Russia like Crimea, but given the resistance in Kherson, the referendum is anything but legitimate. It comes as Russian troops level Mariupol and Kharkiv while preparing to do the same to Kyiv. According to the city’s mayor, half of the capital’s population has fled. Some have fled as refugees, while others have left to fight in more readily defendable regions in the west, where their lack of military expertise will be less of a liability.

Regardless, those who remain are composed mainly of those who will fight to the end or those who refuse to leave their city. This includes a significant number of foreign nationals and press monitoring the conflict.