World Affairs International

Holding true to yesterday’s announcement regarding strikes on NATO convoys, a series of missiles hit a former base used by U.S. trainers in Ukraine, just 10 miles from the Polish border. The Kremlin claimed 180 foreign volunteers killed, though this was disputed as no foreigners were reported amongst the 35 casualties in the bombing.

The attack led to an increase in calls for a NATO intervention, which the West’s leadership has vehemently denied. Yet Putin himself has also been rather desperate, as it was revealed that he spoke with Xi after the invasion had begun, asking for military and economic assistance. With the U.S. soon to hold talks with China, it is unclear how they will move. But so far, China’s embracing of Russian misinformation yet reticence to explicitly condone the invasion show that Beijing continues to follow its pro-China rhetoric, no doubt in an attempt to continue managing its internal affairs throughout the crisis.

The Russian navy has begun a complete maritime blockade of Ukraine in the Black Sea, forewarning operations to take Odesa. According to British intelligence, troops that were assailing Mykolaiv may be abandoning the siege and going around the settlement to attack Odesa. It is unclear what steps Russian troops have taken to prevent their vulnerable supply train from being harassed by settlements behind their frontline.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the dystopian Chechen Republic, is allegedly near Kyiv. Seen giving orders to his soldiers, it is unclear how far from Kyiv the leader is, though his presence has raised speculation at a TB2 or Ukrainian Special Forces strike.

In a much-welcome relief to world leaders, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that power was restored to Chernobyl. Everything so far seems to remain in stable conditions,

Finally, there are unconfirmed reports of the use of white phosphorus against a small town in Ukraine. Though dubiously legal when used as a smoke-screen and against enemy materiel, White phosphorus is a war crime used upon civilian targets. White phosphorus is a chemical-incendiary weapon, causing severe harm to humans. The United States established a precedent of white phosphorus usage, many times under dubious conditions, to which nations like Israel have followed. White phosphorus was also allegedly used during the Nagorno-Karabakh War and has seen extensive use by all parties in the Syrian civil war. Russia’s history of white phosphorus usage is especially marked in the Chechen wars, and during the battle of Grozny, every fourth-fifth Russian shell was a white phosphorus shell.