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<title>09 February, 2022</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia and China Unveil a Pact Against America and the West</strong> - In a sweeping long-term agreement, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the two most powerful autocrats, challenge the current political and military order. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/russia-and-china-unveil-a-pact-against-america-and-the-west">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Happened After the Chicken-Pox Vaccine?</strong> - In the COVID era, the success of the varicella vaccine in the nineties is staggering to contemplate. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/what-happened-after-the-chicken-pox-vaccine">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What the January 6th Papers Reveal</strong> - The Supreme Court ruled to give the House Select Committee access to a trove of documents detailing election-negating strategies that Donald Trump and his advisers entertained—including a military seizure of voting machines—but he continues to peddle a counter-narrative in which he’s the victim. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/14/what-the-january-6th-papers-reveal">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Texas’s Power Grid Still Hasn’t Been Fixed</strong> - After last winter’s deadly failures, regulators promised solutions. But who would profit? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/why-texass-power-grid-still-hasnt-been-fixed">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Addictive Chills and Thrills of “Euphoria”</strong> - The second season of the hit HBO show is a thing of beauty—a stylized, heightened, art-directed fantasia of a dark suburbia where really bad things look really good. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/the-addictive-chills-and-thrills-of-euphoria">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Russia-Ukraine crisis, explained</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/suivZdq_VsGiDKswDxEUl75a3jI=/337x0:5392x3791/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70487473/GettyImages_1238210128.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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A military trainer with Ukraine’s 112th Territorial Defense Brigade works with civilians during a military exercise in the outskirts of Kyiv on February 5. The Ministry of Defense created defense brigades in Ukraine’s main cities because of the risk of invasion by Russia as they amass troops at the border. | Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure></li>
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</ul>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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How the world got here, what Russia wants, and more questions, answered.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ib60ep">
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lmTAyf">
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3Oj36Q">
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Russia has gathered <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/02/world/ukraine-russia-news">as many as 130,000 troops</a> along different parts of the Ukrainian border — an act of aggression that could spiral into the largest military conflict on European soil in decades.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m5nqaE">
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The Kremlin appears to be making all the preparations for war: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-moves-more-weaponry-toward-ukraine-keeps-the-west-
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guessing-11642161605">moving more military equipment</a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-says-it-sees-
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little-scope-for-optimism-in-u-s-proposals-on-ukraine-11643290065">medical units</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-russia-moves-blood-supplies-near-ukraine-adding-us-concern-
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officials-2022-01-28/">even blood</a>, to the front lines. Against this backdrop, diplomatic talks between Russia and the United States and its allies have not yet yielded any solutions.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DfnoCc">
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The standoff is about the future of Ukraine. But Ukraine is also a larger stage for Russia to try to reassert its influence in Europe and the world, and for Russian President Vladimir Putin to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22917832/vladimir-putin-ukraine-military-
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invasion">cement his<strong> </strong>legacy</a>. These are no small things for Putin, and he may decide that the only way to achieve them is to launch another incursion into Ukraine; an act, at its most aggressive, that could lead to tens of thousands of civilian deaths, a European refugee crisis, and a response from Western allies that includes tough sanctions affecting the global economy.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TBTdQn">
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<a href="https://www.vox.com/22894163/russia-ukraine-putin-
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biden-nato">The US and Russia have drawn firm red lines</a> that help explain what’s at stake. Russia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/17/russia-issues-list-demands-tensions-europe-ukraine-nato">presented the US with a list of demands</a>, some of which were nonstarters for the United States and its allies in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22900113/nato-ukraine-russia-crisis-clinton-expansion">North Atlantic Treaty Organization</a> (NATO). Putin demanded that NATO<strong> </strong>stop its eastward expansion and deny membership to Ukraine, and that NATO roll back troop deployment in countries that had joined after 1997, which would turn back the clock decades on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/world/europe/russia-nato-security-deal.html">Europe’s security and geopolitical alignment</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4XDdd3">
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These ultimatums are “a Russian attempt not only to secure interest in Ukraine but essentially relitigate the security architecture in Europe,” <a href="https://www.vox.com/22894163/russia-ukraine-putin-
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biden-nato">said</a> Michael Kofman, research director in the Russia studies program at CNA, a research and analysis organization in Arlington, Virginia.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p4gjuN">
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As expected, the US and NATO <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/world/europe/us-nato-response-russia-demands.html">rejected those demands</a>. Both the US and Russia know Ukraine is not going to become a NATO member anytime soon — and some preeminent American foreign policy thinkers <a href="https://www.vox.com/22900113/nato-ukraine-russia-crisis-clinton-expansion">argued at the end of the Cold War</a> that NATO never should have moved close to Russia’s borders in the first place. But NATO’s open-door policy says sovereign countries can choose their own security alliances. Giving in to Putin’s demands would hand the Kremlin veto power over NATO’s decision-making, and through it, the continent’s security.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/hCvOOGhgL0QmC694rnEvb_qp5m0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23183594/russia_ukraine_map_1.jpg"/>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XmRNMN">
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Now the world is watching and waiting to see what Putin — having received the US’s best offer and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-standoff-diplomacy-biden-putin-macron-russia-invasion-rcna15112">having said he does not like it</a> — will do next.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XuaILB">
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An invasion isn’t a foregone conclusion. Moscow <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-standoff-diplomacy-biden-putin-macron-russia-invasion-
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rcna15112">continues to deny that it has any plans to invade</a>. But war, if it happened, could be devastating to Ukraine, with unpredictable fallout for the rest of Europe and the West. Which is why, imminent or not, the world is on edge.
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</p>
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<h3 id="emxXTu">
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The roots of the current crisis grew from the breakup of the Soviet Union
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e5alTH">
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When the Soviet Union broke up in the early ’90s, Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, had the third-largest atomic arsenal in the world. The United States and Russia worked with Ukraine to denuclearize the country, and in a <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Ukraine-Nuclear-Weapons">series of diplomatic agreements</a>, Kyiv gave its hundreds of nuclear warheads back to Russia in exchange for security assurances that protected it from a potential Russian attack.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zkYquN">
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Those assurances were put to the test in 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and backed a rebellion led by pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Donbas region. (<a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/conflict-ukraines-donbas-visual-explainer">The<strong> </strong>conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 14,000 people to date</a>.)
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/weQLG0LP91Z0sac6QeOuICBSnM4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227181/GettyImages_479368305.jpg"/> <cite>Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images</cite></p>
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<figcaption>
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, far right, attend a rally at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on March 18, 2014, after Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j7RgSd">
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Russia’s assault grew out of mass protests in Ukraine that toppled the country’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych (partially over his abandonment of a trade agreement with the European Union). US diplomats visited the demonstrations, in symbolic gestures that further agitated Putin.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zPa4Qs">
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But President Barack Obama, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/7/22916942/biden-lessons-
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russia-2014-invasion-ukraine-crimea">hesitant</a> to escalate tensions with Russia any further, was slow to mobilize a diplomatic response in Europe and did not immediately provide Ukrainians with offensive weapons. “A lot of us were really appalled that not more was done for the violation of that [post-Soviet] agreement,” said Ian Kelly, a career diplomat who served as ambassador to Georgia from 2015 to 2018. “It just basically showed that if you have nuclear weapons” — as Russia does — “you’re inoculated against strong measures by the international community.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Yxlwe">
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But the very premise of a post-Soviet Europe is also helping to fuel today’s conflict. Putin has been fixated on reclaiming some semblance of empire, lost with the fall of the Soviet Union. Ukraine is central to this vision. Putin has said Ukrainians and Russians “<a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181">were one people — a single whole</a>,” or at least would be if not for the meddling from outside forces (as in, the West) that has created a “wall” between the two.
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</p>
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<aside id="NOhQYw">
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<div>
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</div>
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</aside>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2R8Jwo">
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Ukraine isn’t joining NATO anytime soon, and President Joe Biden has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-says-it-
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remains-be-seen-if-ukraine-will-be-n1270807">said</a> as much. The core of the NATO treaty is Article 5, a commitment that an attack on any NATO country is treated as an attack on the entire alliance — meaning any Russian military engagement of a hypothetical NATO-member Ukraine would theoretically bring Moscow into conflict with the US, the UK, France, and the 27 other NATO members.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1xLLuY">
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But the country is the fourth-largest recipient of military funding from the US, and the <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/as-the-russian-threat-grew-us-intelligence-ties-to-ukraine-
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deepened-225919359.html">intelligence cooperation</a> between the two countries has deepened in response to threats from Russia.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="as6uUK">
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“Putin and the Kremlin understand that Ukraine will not be a part of NATO,” Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Politics, said. “But Ukraine became an informal member of NATO without a formal decision.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LKpmP3">
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Which is why Putin finds Ukraine’s orientation toward the EU and NATO (despite Russian aggression having quite a lot to do with that) untenable to Russia’s national security.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<pre><code> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J73XBzHD_2pUYAfsRHESkQ-</code></pre>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">JCag=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227190/AP22036556838570.jpg" /></p>
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<cite>Evgeniy Maloletka/AP</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Demonstrators with Ukrainian national flags and posters march in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on February 5. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city, just 25 miles from some of the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed at the border.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PsCv24">
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The prospect of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO has antagonized Putin at least since President George W. Bush expressed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/01/nato.georgia">support</a> for the idea in 2008. “That was a real mistake,” said Steven Pifer, who from 1998 to 2000 was ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton. “It drove the Russians nuts. It created expectations in Ukraine and Georgia, which then were never met. And so that just made that whole issue of enlargement a complicated one.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N6t7Hx">
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No country can join the alliance without the unanimous buy-in of all 30 member countries, and many have opposed Ukraine’s membership, in part because it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/nato-ukraine.html">doesn’t meet</a> the conditions on democracy and rule of law.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="00dC64">
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All of this has put Ukraine in an impossible position: an applicant for an alliance that wasn’t going to accept it, while irritating a potential opponent next door, without having any degree of NATO protection.
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</p>
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<h3 id="6ucL70">
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Why Russia is threatening Ukraine now
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wbUcYY">
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The Russia-Ukraine crisis is a continuation of the one that began in 2014. But recent political developments within Ukraine, the US, Europe, and Russia help explain why Putin may feel now is the time to act.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6rim9h">
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Among those developments are the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487">2019 election of Ukrainian President</a> Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who played a president on TV and then became an actual president. In addition to the other thing you <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/9/24/20882359/trump-impeachment-ukraine-president-zelensky">might remember Zelensky for</a>, he promised during his campaign he would <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/06/ukraine-peace-talks-
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russia-war-donbass/">“reboot” peace talks to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine</a>, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelenskiy-gives-putin-one-year-strike-
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deal-end-war">dealing with Putin directly</a> to resolve the conflict. Russia, too, likely thought it could get something out of this: It saw Zelensky, a political novice, as someone who might be more open to Russia’s point of view.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/dphrdz0Fvp1g0U1w432-JmC5sPE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227207/GettyImages_1145220562.jpg"/> <cite>Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Then-President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky claps during his inauguration in the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 20, 2019.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aoGivn">
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But what Russia wants is for Zelensky to implement the 2014 and ’15 Minsk agreements, deals that would bring the pro-Russian regions back into Ukraine but would amount to, as one expert said, a “Trojan horse” for Moscow to wield influence and control. No Ukrainian president could accept those terms, and so Zelensky, under continued Russian pressure, has turned to the West for help, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ukraine-president-says-nation-is-ready-to-join-nato">talking openly about wanting to join NATO</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BhLhi5">
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Public opinion in Ukraine has also strongly swayed to support for ascension into Western <a href="https://www.iri.org/resources/iri-ukraine-poll-shows-support-for-eu-nato-
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membership-concerns-over-economy-and-vaccines-for-covid-19/">bodies like the EU and NATO</a>. That may have left Russia feeling as though it has exhausted all of its political and diplomatic tools to bring Ukraine back into the fold. “Moscow security elites feel that they have to act now because if they don’t, military cooperation between NATO and Ukraine will become even more intense and even more sophisticated,” Sarah Pagung, of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZZPTy6">
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Putin tested the West on Ukraine again in the spring of 2021, <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-and-ukrainian-spring-2021-war-scare">gathering forces and equipment near parts of the border</a>. The troop buildup got the attention of the new Biden administration, which led to an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ukraine-summit-biden-
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putin/2021/06/13/b6783866-c9f8-11eb-8708-64991f2acf28_story.html">announced summit between the two leaders</a>. Days later, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22535041/biden-putin-summit-geneva-navalny-nuclear">Russia began drawing down some of the troops</a> on the border.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="utk2ez">
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But Putin’s perspective on the US has also shifted, experts said. To Putin, the<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/22639474/afghanistan-nato-europe-refugees-germany-
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uk">chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal</a> (which Moscow would know something about) and the US’s domestic turmoil are signs of weakness.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eFL4zb">
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Putin may also see the West divided on the US’s role in the world. Biden is still trying to put the transatlantic alliance back together after the distrust that built up during the Trump administration. Some of Biden’s diplomatic blunders have alienated European partners, specifically that aforementioned messy Afghanistan withdrawal and the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/29/biden-submarine-france-
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clumsy-517643">nuclear submarine deal</a> that Biden rolled out with the UK and Australia that caught France off guard.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SCPeWm">
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||
Europe has its own internal fractures, too. The EU and the UK <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-global-trade-brexit-northern-ireland-european-
|
||
union-1a5471e81db67b641f313218ff6cd061">are still dealing with the fallout from Brexit</a>. Everyone is grappling with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Germany <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/8/22810520/germany-government-olaf-scholz-
|
||
chancellor-greens-fdp">has a new chancellor</a>, Olaf Scholz, after 16 years of Angela Merkel, and the new coalition government is still trying to establish its foreign policy. Germany, along with other European countries, imports Russian natural gas, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/why-europe-faces-climbing-energy-
|
||
bills-2022-02-03/">energy prices are spiking right now</a>. France <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/how-france-
|
||
pivoted-to-the-right/">has elections in April</a>, and French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/07/world/russia-ukraine-news">is trying to carve out a spot for himself</a> in these negotiations.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/EiufH8Ed9K1pIXk_j8CIR52gBW8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227212/AP22038804525691.jpg"/> <cite>Thibault Camus/AP</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
From left, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin conduct a joint press conference after their talks on February 7, in Moscow.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N4aM4A">
|
||
Those divisions — <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/07/politics/biden-scholz-meeting-ukraine/index.html">which Washington is trying very hard to keep contained</a> — may embolden Putin. Some experts noted Putin has his own domestic pressures to deal with, including the coronavirus and a struggling economy, and he may think such an adventure will boost his standing at home, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/8/29/6082769/one-chart-why-putin-invading-ukraine">just like it did in 2014</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="W8avg1">
|
||
Diplomacy hasn’t produced any breakthroughs so far — but it could
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U0592N">
|
||
A few months into office, the Biden administration spoke about a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/999196021/biden-wants-a-stable-
|
||
predictable-relationship-with-russia-thats-complicated">“stable, predictable” relationship with Russia</a>. That now seems out of the realm of possibility.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lWculg">
|
||
But the White House is holding out the hope of a diplomatic resolution, even as it’s preparing for sanctions against Russia, sending money and weapons to Ukraine, and boosting US military presence in Eastern Europe. (Meanwhile, Macron <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-russia-
|
||
diplomacy-emmanuel-macron-europe-9dd7eb560d26a81306604dcb1c81bddb">met with Putin</a> for five hours on Monday.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pJIgUE">
|
||
Late last year, the White House started <a href="https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1468268999851089921?s=20&t=eo9KXgN4fmPiV9ATuqbXAw">intensifying its diplomatic efforts with Russia</a>. In December, Russia handed Washington its list of “legally binding <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/russia-makes-sweeping-demands-security-guarantees-us-
|
||
amid/story?id=81821816">security guarantees</a>,” including those nonstarters like a ban on Ukrainian NATO membership, and demanded answers in writing. In January, US and Russian officials tried to negotiate a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/top-diplomats-us-russia-meet-geneva-soaring-ukraine-
|
||
tensions-2022-01-21/">breakthrough in Geneva</a>, with no success. The US directly responded to Russia’s ultimatums <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/26/politics/us-russia-ukraine/index.html">at the end of January</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ANeDnt">
|
||
In that response, the US and NATO rejected any deal on NATO membership, but leaked documents <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/world/europe/us-nato-response-russia-demands.html">suggest</a> the potential for new arms control agreements and increased transparency in terms of where NATO weapons and troops are stationed in Eastern Europe.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DWjkUv">
|
||
One thing Biden’s team has internalized — perhaps in response to the<strong> </strong>failures of the US response in 2014 — is that it needed European allies to check Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The Biden administration has put a huge emphasis on working with NATO, the European Union, and individual European partners to counter Putin. “Europeans are utterly dependent on us for their security. They know it, they engage with us about it all the time, we have an alliance in which we’re at the epicenter,” said Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/1A4YctS_LCkB5vPWWZ4DeOOBwWM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227222/GettyImages_1368956840.jpg"/> <cite>Omar Marques/Getty Images</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
US troops exit a transport aircraft in Rzeszow, Poland, on February 6, as tensions between the NATO alliance and Russia continue to intensify.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<h3 id="pcyULS">
|
||
What happens if Russia invades?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ad5jHY">
|
||
In 2014, Putin deployed unconventional tactics against Ukraine that have come to be known as “hybrid” warfare, such as irregular militias, cyber hacks, and disinformation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AnQOpQ">
|
||
These tactics surprised the West, including those within the Obama administration. It also allowed Russia to deny its direct involvement. In 2014, in the Donbas region, military units of “<a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-crimea/29790037.html">little green men</a>” — soldiers in uniform but without official insignia — moved in with equipment. <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-11-24/russia-has-deployed-thousands-of-tanks-troops-to-ukraine-
|
||
top-official-says">Moscow has fueled unrest since</a>, and has <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-did-russia-
|
||
escalate-its-gray-zone-conflict-ukraine">continued to destabilize and undermine Ukraine</a> through cyberattacks on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-military-was-behind-notpetya-cyberattack-in-
|
||
ukraine-cia-concludes/2018/01/12/048d8506-f7ca-11e7-b34a-b85626af34ef_story.html">critical infrastructure</a> and <a href="https://jsis.washington.edu/news/russia-disinformation-ukraine/">disinformation campaigns</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A7GO5e">
|
||
It is possible that Moscow will take aggressive steps in all sorts of ways that don’t involve moving Russian troops across the border. It could escalate its proxy war, and launch sweeping disinformation campaigns and hacking operations. (It will also probably do these things if it does move troops into Ukraine.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QfenBd">
|
||
But this route looks a lot like the one Russia has already taken, and it hasn’t gotten Moscow closer to its objectives. “How much more can you destabilize? It doesn’t seem to have had a massive damaging impact on Ukraine’s pursuit of democracy, or even its tilt toward the West,” said Margarita Konaev, associate director of analysis and research fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="icCU5u">
|
||
And that might prompt Moscow to see more force as the solution.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LiOf1z">
|
||
There are plenty of possible <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-
|
||
possible-invasion-ukraine">scenarios</a> for a Russian invasion, including sending more troops into the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/if-russia-launches-attack-
|
||
ukraine-what-might-it-look-here-n1287369">seizing strategic regions and blockading Ukraine’s access to waterways</a>, and even a full-on war, with Moscow marching on Kyiv in an attempt to retake the entire country. Any of it could be devastating, though the more expansive the operation, the more catastrophic.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zE08EjoxxODyORfrQNDeg4rejRM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227420/GettyImages_1238160806.jpg"/> <cite>Gavriil Grigorov/TASS via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Russian and Belarusian forces conduct training exercises at a firing range in the Brest region of Belarus on Feburary 3.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e7Icgu">
|
||
A full-on invasion to seize all of Ukraine would be something Europe hasn’t seen in decades. It could involve urban warfare, including on the streets of Kyiv, and airstrikes on urban centers. It would cause astounding humanitarian consequences, including a refugee crisis. The US has estimated the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/politics/russia-ukraine-invasion.html">civilian death toll could exceed 50,000</a>, with somewhere between 1 million and 5 million refugees. Konaev noted that all urban warfare is harsh, but Russia’s fighting — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/world/middleeast/russia-bombing-syrian-
|
||
hospitals.html">witnessed in places like Syria</a> — has been “particularly devastating, with very little regard for civilian protection.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="efhs1R">
|
||
The colossal scale of such an offensive also makes it the least likely, experts say, and it would carry tremendous costs for Russia. “I think Putin himself knows that the stakes are really high,” Natia Seskuria, a fellow at the UK think tank Royal United Services Institute, said. “That’s why I think a full-scale invasion is a riskier option for Moscow in terms of potential political and economic causes — but also due to the number of casualties. Because if we compare Ukraine in 2014 to the Ukrainian army and its capabilities right now, they are much more capable.” (Western training and arms sales have something to do with those increased capabilities, to be sure.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lun3dS">
|
||
Such an invasion would force Russia to move into areas that are bitterly hostile toward it. That increases the likelihood of a prolonged resistance (possibly even one <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/us/politics/russia-ukraine-biden-military.html">backed by the US</a>) — and an invasion could turn into an occupation. “The sad reality is that Russia could take as much of Ukraine as it wants, but it can’t hold it,” said Melinda Haring, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="4jqLNH">
|
||
What happens now?
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="icwysl">
|
||
Ukraine has derailed the grand plans of the Biden administration — China, climate change, the pandemic — and become a top-level priority for the US, at least for the near term.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xgWjtX">
|
||
“One thing we’ve seen in common between the Obama administration and the Biden administration: They don’t view Russia as a geopolitical event-shaper, but we see Russia again and again shaping geopolitical events,” said Rachel Rizzo, a researcher at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OS6tzd">
|
||
The United States <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-orders-3-000-troops-to-bolster-european-allies-in-russia-ukraine-
|
||
crisis-11643810404">has deployed 3,000 troops to Europe in a show of solidarity for NATO</a>, though the Biden administration has been firm that US soldiers will not fight in Ukraine if war breaks out.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F9Gj9j">
|
||
The Biden administration, along with its European allies, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22916773/russia-ukraine-sanctions-
|
||
putin">is trying to come up with an aggressive plan to punish Russia</a>, should it invade again. The so-called nuclear options — such as an oil and gas embargo, or cutting Russia off from SWIFT, the electronic messaging service that makes global financial transactions possible — seem unlikely, in part because of the ways it could hurt the global economy. Russia isn’t an Iran or North Korea; it is a major economy that does a lot of trade, especially in raw materials and gas and oil.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/dZXRfVOdOGhigmHLD_VM4kq6SYY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23227287/GettyImages_1234443411.jpg"/> <cite>Peter Kovalev/TASS via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A worker at a compressor station for the Nord Stream 2 offshore natural gas pipeline, in Ust-Luga, Russia, in July 2021. Once operational, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will supply gas from Russia to Germany.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aAtIJk">
|
||
“Types of sanctions that hurt your target also hurt the sender. Ultimately, it comes down to the price the populations in the United States and Europe are prepared to pay,” said Richard Connolly, a lecturer in political economy at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Birmingham.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L1my5I">
|
||
Right now, the toughest sanctions the Biden administration is reportedly considering are some level of financial sanctions on Russia’s biggest banks — a step the Obama administration didn’t take in 2014 — and an export ban on advanced technologies. Penalties on Russian oligarchs and others close to the regime are likely also on the table, as are some other forms of targeted sanctions. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22881709/nord-
|
||
stream-2-russia-ukraine-germany-united-states-cruz">Nord Stream 2</a>, the completed but not yet open gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, may also be killed if Russia escalates tensions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="APvnup">
|
||
And Putin himself has to decide what he wants. “He has two options,” said Olga Lautman, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. One is “to say, ‘Never mind, just kidding,’ which will show his weakness and shows that he was intimidated by US and Europe standing together — and that creates weakness for him at home and with countries he’s attempting to influence.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eDi4MS">
|
||
“Or he goes full forward with an attack,” she said. “At this point, we don’t know where it’s going, but the prospects are very grim.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yomaI1">
|
||
This is the corner Putin has put himself in, which makes a walk-back from Russia seem difficult to fathom. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, and it doesn’t eliminate the possibility of some sort of diplomatic solution that gives Putin enough cover to declare victory without the West meeting all of his demands. It also doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Russia and the US will be stuck in this standoff for months longer, with Ukraine caught in the middle and under sustained threat from Russia.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="stDwzQ">
|
||
But it also means the prospect of war remains. In Ukraine, though, that is everyday life.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dAwhWC">
|
||
“On the streets, in general, people carry on with their lives, because for many Ukrainians, we’re accustomed to war,” <a href="https://www.vox.com/22902846/ukraine-russia-nato-zelensky-poroshenko">said Oleksiy Sorokin</a>,<strong> </strong>the political editor and chief operating officer of the English-language <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/about/">Kyiv Independent</a> publication.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fGI1Dt">
|
||
“Having Russia on our tail,” he added, “having this constant threat of Russia going further — I think many Ukrainians are used to it.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>The secret to winning a short track speed skating race</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9DZpF3N9Ejy-
|
||
El9Qs3oqM18EOMY=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70485824/VDC_XES_014_short_track_skating_Clean.0.jpg"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Speed skating legend Apolo Ohno explains his “perfect race.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mauTve">
|
||
To the layperson, watching a short track speed skating race is awe-inspiring — but it’s also difficult to decipher the strategy guiding all the jostling around the rink. Behind the superhuman turns and sprints are calculated moves to control the pack and finish on the podium.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CAEr7r">
|
||
Apolo Ohno is probably being humble when he says he was not the fastest skater when he <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/video/2006-olympics-apolo-ohno-narrowly-wins-gold-torino">entered the 500m short track finals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy</a>. But he makes that claim to emphasize the strategy — and the little bit of luck — that played into his gold medal win. That’s why he has always referred to that event as the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/sports/08iht-SPEED.1.20674728.html">perfect race</a>” in short track speed skating.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vcajRA">
|
||
You can find this video and the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on YouTube</strong></a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u9LFC1">
|
||
<strong>Further reading:</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LkT7R9">
|
||
I learned a lot from retired US Olympic speed skater <a href="https://johnkcoyle.com/blog/2010/02/13/vancouver-journal-7-an-introduction-to-short-track-speedskating">John Coyle’s website</a>, and I interviewed John for this story.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7xRM7Q">
|
||
I also learned a lot from former US Olympic speed skating coach <a href="http://www.ellismethod.net/">Sue Ellis’s website</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vovcUW">
|
||
The New York Times covered the way short track <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/sports/olympics/short-track-speed-
|
||
skaters.html?searchResultPosition=6">speed skaters bodies</a> are shaped, because of the constant counterclockwise turns.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nfo3H7">
|
||
Retired Australian speed skater Steven Bradbury spun off his unlikely gold medal win into both <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Steven_Bradbury.html?id=V2s8AAAACAAJ">a book</a> and a beer company by the name of <a href="https://lmsbrewing.com.au/">“Last Man Standing.”</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MXbGrK">
|
||
I interviewed <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/02/fast-can-skater-turn-speed-skating-short-track/">physics professor Rhett Allain</a> about the physics of short track speed skating. He has written for Wired about the sport.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WwpMyJ">
|
||
This is the second video in our week of winter sports videos. You can watch the first, about why ski jumpers hold their skis in a V, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWsSa9VtmTw&t=0s">here</a>.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>The manatees are starving</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="A manatee underwater with sunlight streaming down." src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/H9VoHQ6GrU47maF6NfHq5cXho9Y=/624x0:5616x3744/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70484374/GettyImages_543327645.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Florida’s manatees are dying in record numbers. | James R.D. Scott/Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Florida’s beloved “sea cows” shouldn’t have to eat lettuce. Yet here we are.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nge6DO">
|
||
Heads of romaine lettuce might seem like empty calories for starving “sea cows” that weigh 1,000 pounds. But for Florida’s manatees, they’re just what the vet ordered.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SVoKoy">
|
||
In parts of eastern Florida, seagrass — the primary food source for these hulking marine mammals — is disappearing. So for the first time in history, state officials have started feeding manatees huge quantities of leafy greens. A single manatee can crunch its way through about <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/02/07/manatees-munch-lettuce-florida-power-plant-amid-struggling-
|
||
numbers/6691108001/">100 pounds</a> of lettuce in a single day.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sw5NRN">
|
||
Last year, Florida lost a record <a href="https://myfwc.com/media/25428/preliminary.pdf">1,100</a> manatees, or more than 12 percent of its total population. And more than 130 manatees have died already in 2022, according to the nonprofit Save the Manatee Club, which is far above <a href="https://myfwc.com/media/28361/preliminary.pdf">average</a> for this time of year. The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the vulnerable West Indian manatee.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UrHxHk">
|
||
“It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Michael Walsh, a professor of aquatic animal health at the University of Florida. Manatee rehab centers across the state are now <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/01/23/saving-manatees-
|
||
rescue-by-rescue-rehab-by-rehab/">overrun</a>, as more and more of the animals come in with visible signs of starvation — flat undersides, a loss of neck fat, and even exposed ribs, Walsh said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5n1ysGUgF7TU14cJq_HHue1MwCE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23226033/51817315739_8b5ce7413d_o.jpg"/> <cite>Avery Bristol/Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A state wildlife official tosses a head of romaine lettuce into the Indian River Lagoon.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/R6nGBupBx7PsCbhZrIAE0nmdUrw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23217286/51833791981_af61f3e57f_o.jpg"/> <cite>US Fish and Wildlife Service</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Florida manatees in the Indian River Lagoon munch on leaves of romaine lettuce.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jiu6da">
|
||
Florida is running out of physical space to house manatees in need of care, Walsh added, forcing rehabbers to triage. And the stakes are high: Manatees are beloved in Florida and a linchpin of the ecotourism industry — and of the ecosystem itself.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vVDSGS">
|
||
The mass die-off of a cherished species that’s closely watched and meticulously cared for is a symptom of bigger problems that are plaguing many ocean environments: coastal development and pollution. More than a decade of human impacts has weakened the entire ecosystem, making manatees far more vulnerable to threats — starting with a plague of algae.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="6X4qmK">
|
||
The link between thriving algae and starving manatees
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FDBHpZ">
|
||
While manatees are famously rotund, they actually have relatively little body fat. They can only survive in water above about 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why you often find them in winter around sources of warm water, such as pipes that release discharge from power plants.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1esOY3">
|
||
One such manatee hot spot is the Indian River Lagoon, which spans 156 miles between mainland Florida and a barrier island along the eastern shore. The lagoon is home to hundreds of animal species and several kinds of seagrass. They might not look like much, but meadows of seagrass are among the most important features in any coastal ecosystem. They prevent erosion, clean the water, and provide shelter for fish that are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/us/butterfly-center-texas.html">a crucial part</a> of the state economy. And for a wide range of animals, including manatees, they’re food.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rnTXR8">
|
||
Algae pose a problem because seagrasses need sunlight to grow. Fed by nutrients in pollution, such as septic discharge and farm runoff, algae can become so abundant that they actually block light from reaching the lagoon’s floor. When the seagrass dies, it can become yet another nutrient that fuels the algae.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/klIzdZkD5Gua5DkEqge1fljmLc4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23223797/GettyImages_982645056.jpg"/> <cite>Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Pollution from homes and businesses near the Indian River Lagoon in Florida is fueling algae that kill seagrass, the main food source for manatees. Here, a community in Hutchinson Island, Florida.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E9JF0D">
|
||
Parts of the Indian River Lagoon, where hundreds of manatees congregate to ride out the winter, are now choked with pollution and algae, which means seagrass can’t grow and manatees can’t eat. “Tens of thousands of acres of normal grass are missing,” Walsh said. The animals can’t easily escape to richer, grassier pastures because it’s chilly outside the lagoon. “They are hemmed in by an invisible fence of cold.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FQSk2U">
|
||
The state now faces a record die-off so severe that it’s been <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/active-and-closed-unusual-mortality-
|
||
events">dubbed</a> an “unusual mortality event,” a rare designation that calls for immediate attention under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. The starvation-related deaths are on top of a smaller number of deaths attributed to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/4/22606025/florida-red-tide-dead-fish-beach-algae-bloom">a related algae problem</a>, known as red tide, and boating accidents.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="aftmpA">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<h3 id="1qUByH">
|
||
The conditions for mass starvation have been brewing for years
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pdm2Lg">
|
||
Ecosystems don’t usually fall apart all at once. The damage builds gradually, often without anyone noticing, and may eventually reach some kind of tipping point, said Patrick Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SOaKuY">
|
||
There wasn’t some big chemical spill in the Indian River Lagoon, Rose said, but rather slow and steady pollution that accumulated in these waters for at least a decade, throwing the ecosystem out of whack and making it more prone to blooms of algae. In 2011, for example, a “<a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/manatee-die-off-in-polluted-indian-river-lagoon-begins-
|
||
anew/2285304/">superbloom</a>” of algae erupted in the lagoon, covering roughly <a href="https://www.tcpalm.com/news/algae-bloom-threatens-indian-river-lagoon-seagrass-with-implications-for-treasure-
|
||
coast-ep-382192223-343087722.html?page=1">131,000</a> acres and nearly wiping out its seagrass.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IA5eix">
|
||
The grass started to recover — until the lagoon was struck by yet another bloom a few years later. By 2017, a staggering <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X21009620?via%3Dihub">95 percent</a> of seagrass had disappeared in the northern and central portions of the lagoon, and it hasn’t recovered much since.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/rKOhHMDzBknsf8HAKR0AkFmkt4I=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23217292/7591363006_4e4cb89d04_o.jpg"/> <cite>Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Service</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A box containing an adult female manatee, en route to Palm Bay with her calf, is lowered to the ground near a transport truck.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QFjrU5">
|
||
Healthy ecosystems can bounce back from occasional disturbances like an exceptionally cold winter, said Duane De Freese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon Council. But when they’re damaged, they become volatile and less resilient, and even seemingly minor changes can cause dramatic effects. “The system today is unstable,” De Freese said. “Our oceans and our estuaries can’t take every pressure and stressor that we throw at them.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EZB3Nv">
|
||
“If you’re a coastal community anywhere in the US, you’re fighting the same battle we are,” De Freese said. Indeed, blooms of algae linked to pollution have damaged ecosystems and economies from the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150511125219.htm">Chesapeake Bay</a> in Maryland to the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/massive-dead-zone-predicted-to-be-one-of-largest-gulf-of-
|
||
mexico">Gulf of Mexico</a>. “We’re just an example of things starting to go wrong,” De Freese said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="GrifyL">
|
||
What it would take for the lagoon — and its manatees — to heal
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qkm9OT">
|
||
State officials in Florida plan to feed manatees <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/02/07/manatees-munch-lettuce-
|
||
florida-power-plant-amid-struggling-numbers/6691108001/">through March</a>, but lettuce is not exactly a long-term solution. Ultimately, experts told Vox, the state has to reduce the amount of pollution flowing into its coastal waters.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m1fUHn">
|
||
The problem is “fixable,” Walsh said. What’s so frustrating, experts say, is that many manatee deaths could have been avoided altogether.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-left">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt="
|
||
" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-OniBvIU0z6V6VJtHIPbezPBn3A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23223775/Homosassa_Seagrass_Grow_Out_at_Farm_3.jpg"/> <cite>Courtesy of Sea and Shoreline</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Restoring seagrass in coastal Florida will help manatee populations recover, experts say. Here, grass from a commercial seagrass nursery in Florida.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<pre><code> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-</code></pre>
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/l1NWxjO8cqUUgVjxlVYy19jTgqU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox- cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23223781/Aquaculture_Nursery10_<em>2</em>.jpg" /> <cite>Courtesy of Sea and Shoreline</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Seagrass growing at a farm run by the company Sea and Shoreline.
|
||
</figcaption></figure></div></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iL1AC0">
|
||
The main source of pollution is a few hundred thousand septic systems from nearby homes and businesses, which leak nutrients like nitrogen into the lagoon, according to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X21009620?via%3Dihub">recent study</a> published in the journal <em>Marine Pollution Bulletin</em>. The region urgently needs to modernize its wastewater treatment facilities, De Freese said. He added that Florida also needs a better way to treat stormwater runoff that sloshes into the lagoon along with pollution.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wH1nO1">
|
||
Planting seagrass can help, too. It’s not easy or cheap, but reintroducing native grasses in coastal waters can speed up the ecosystem’s recovery, in part by helping purify the water. Companies like Sea and Shoreline grow seagrasses in a nursery for restoration, not unlike organizations that raise seedlings to restore forests on land.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qO3XGm">
|
||
The lagoon needs about $5 billion for restoration over the next two decades, De Freese said, to make it livable again for manatees and other important species. Last fall, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis committed <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-press-conference-brevard-
|
||
county-20210924-dqqhxsz5i5a2ncgvzoexdfm2ea-story.html">$53 million</a> in grants to improve the lagoon’s water quality. “It’s a start,” De Freese said — though he warned that even with enough money, “the recovery isn’t going to happen overnight.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1plTmv">
|
||
Residents who want to help can also play a role, he added, such as by limiting the use of lawn fertilizers or avoiding them entirely. One thing they shouldn’t<em> </em>do, state officials have <a href="https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/ume/faq/">said</a>, is feed the manatees themselves. They may be learning to like lettuce, but leave the sea cow salad bar to the professionals.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ahead Of My Time excels</strong> - Ahead Of My Time excelled when the horses were exercised here on Wednesday (Feb. 9) morning.Inner sand:600m: Rambler (rb) 38.5. Moved freely. Monarch</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India set West Indies 238-run target to win 2nd ODI</strong> - India are leading the three-match series 1-0.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pro League Hockey | India thrashes France 5-0 in its opener</strong> - Playing in its first match of the year, World No. 3 India took some time to settle down in the first quarter.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Umran Malik — making life difficult for batters</strong> - Rise of the pacer from the backyards of Jammu to the IPL</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Gillespie not interested in coaching Australia</strong> - Heaps praise on Langer, says his departure heartbreaking</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>THDC India signs LoI to set up 10,000MW solar projects in Rajasthan</strong> - On behalf of THDCIL, its Director (Finance) J. Behera signed the LoI in Jaipur.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>23 dogs to join K-9 Squad of Kerala Police</strong> - They are trained in explosive/drug detection, tracking</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nanjangud farmers firm on reclaiming land acquired for golf course that never materialised</strong> - An indefinite stir was launched in March 2021</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tamil Nadu farmers demand permanent ban on genetically modified foods</strong> - They cite health problems caused by novel coronavirus</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Government asks Central universities to fill up vacant posts of teachers in ‘mission mode’</strong> - Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said that directions have been issued to universities including IITs to fill vacant posts in a mission mode.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine tensions: Russia sees room for diplomacy</strong> - Speaking to the BBC, Russia’s EU ambassador says conflict can still be avoided through diplomacy.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Brexit causing ‘increased costs, paperwork, delays’ say MPs</strong> - A cross-party committee of MPs warns things could get worse this year as new import controls come in.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bosnia shivers as ghost of nationalism returns</strong> - Why Bosnian Serbs have a new strongman unafraid to stir the horrors of the past.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Skating medal ceremony on hold over legal issue</strong> - The team figure skating medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics have yet to be awarded because of a legal issue.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ex-Pope admits errors in handling of abuse cases</strong> - Former Pope Benedict XVI is accused of failing to act over four cases of historic child sex abuse.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Intellivision asks fans for more money, reveals massive Amico debts</strong> - Latest fundraising round requires Intellivision to list over $8M in debt, other warnings. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1832503">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kansas medical board faces threats from lawmakers for probing ivermectin use</strong> - One lawmaker is also a physician under investigation for prescribing ivermectin. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1832608">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Our fave Space Ranger gets the origin story he deserves in new Lightyear trailer</strong> - “What was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1832555">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sony patent could solve the “god ray” problem in PSVR2</strong> - Precisely placed “light absorbing” layer fixes Fresnel-lens artifacts. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1832552">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Soon, iPhones will process contactless payments without extra hardware</strong> - The iPhone NFC feature will reach developers, vendors, and customers this year. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1832534">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>Girls are shaving their pussy these days and hipsters are growing beards</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So the amount of hair in society is still the same…just on different cunts.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Credit: Jimmy Carr
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/orack_bomama"> /u/orack_bomama </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snxfni/girls_are_shaving_their_pussy_these_days_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snxfni/girls_are_shaving_their_pussy_these_days_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Sex on the beach!</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A widowed Jewish woman, mid 50′s, went to a Tel Aviv beach for the first time since her husband passed. She was still attractive and looked good in her bathing suit. On the same beach was an attractive man, mid 50’s, getting some sun and reading a book. She put her blanket down next to his and began a conversation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Whatcha reading”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“A book”. Not much of an answer, she thought to herself.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
She pursued, “My husband passed several months ago and this is the first time I’ve been to this beach since then.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“I’m a widower too and my wife passed several months ago also.” He continued reading his book, seemingly not in the mood for further conversation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Frustrated, she asked, “Do you like pussycats?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
With that, the man put down his book, joined the lady on her blanket, took of his trunks, ripped off her bathing suit and the two went at it, right there.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Out of breath, the lady asked, “How did you know that’s what I wanted?”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The man responded, “How did you know my name is Katz?”
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/forko23"> /u/forko23 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snqjr7/sex_on_the_beach/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snqjr7/sex_on_the_beach/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>I have two unwritten rules.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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1.
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</p>
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||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
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2.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
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||
<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/WordBro"> /u/WordBro </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snsxfb/i_have_two_unwritten_rules/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snsxfb/i_have_two_unwritten_rules/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>God initially planned to use wasps to pollinate flowers.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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But in the end, he went with plan Bee.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Raydenx1"> /u/Raydenx1 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snsr07/god_initially_planned_to_use_wasps_to_pollinate/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snsr07/god_initially_planned_to_use_wasps_to_pollinate/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Bloke goes into a British pub on a hot summer’s day and the barmaid asks what he wants. “I want to bury my face in your cleavage and lick the sweat from between your tits” he says….</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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||
<div class="md">
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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||
…“You dirty pig!” shouts the barmaid, “get out before I get my husband.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The bloke apologizes and promises not to repeat his gaffe. The barmaid accepts this and asks him again what he wants. “I want to pull your pants down, spread your arse cheeks and lick all that sweat.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
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She says, “You dirty filthy pervert! You’re banned. Get out!!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Again, the bloke apologizes and swears never ever to do it again. “One more chance,” says the barmaid, "Now - what do you want?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“I want to turn you upside-down, tear your knickers off and fill your cunt with Guinness, and then drink every last drop from your hairy cup.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The barmaid is furious at this personal intrusion, and runs upstairs to fetch her husband, who’s sitting quietly watching the telly.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“What’s up love?” he asks.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“There’s a bloke in the bar who wants to put his head between my tits and lick the sweat off”, she says.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“I’ll kill him. Where is he?” storms the Husband.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Then he said he wanted to spread my arse cheeks and lick the sweat off” she screams.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Right. He’s dead!” says the husband, reaching for his cricket bat.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Then he said he wanted to turn me upside-down, fill my cunt with Guinness and then drink it all” she cries!
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The husband puts down his bat and returns to his armchair, and switches the telly back on.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Aren’t you going to do something about it?” she cries hysterically.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Look love, I’m not messing with any bloke who has the strength to flip you upside-down and can drink that much Guinness…”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Make_the_music_stop"> /u/Make_the_music_stop </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snieq6/bloke_goes_into_a_british_pub_on_a_hot_summers/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/snieq6/bloke_goes_into_a_british_pub_on_a_hot_summers/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
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