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<title>12 March, 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>The Growing Fear of a Wider War Between Russia and the West</strong> - U.S. officials warn that tensions over Ukraine could trigger a once unthinkable conflict pitting Russia against NATO. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-growing-fear-of-a-wider-war-between-russia-and-the-west">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>At Home with the Families Affected by Texas’s New Anti-Trans Orders</strong> - After Governor Greg Abbott called medical care for trans children “child abuse,” their families began weighing their options. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/at-home-with-the-families-affected-by-texass-new-%20anti-trans-orders">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Upended Germany</strong> - In the wake of Russia’s attack, Germany has reoriented its energy policy and committed to dramatic military expansion for the first time since the Cold War. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-putins-invasion-of-ukraine-upended-germany">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Secret Life of Beatrix Potter</strong> - A new book and an exhibition on Potter, who wrote “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” use letters, sketches, and a coded journal to capture an author who delighted in the detail and humor of the natural world. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-secret-life-of-beatrix-potter">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Russian Military’s Debacle in Ukraine</strong> - A series of strategic missteps has hampered Putin’s campaign. Will desperation make up for a lack of preparation? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-russian-militarys-debacle-in-ukraine">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 dangerous new phase of Russia’s war in Ukraine, explained</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RjzugmQzaXQC7Al-OYafc-
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EZWvI=/99x0:1539x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70612623/AP22070654665640.0.jpg"/></figure></li>
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</ul>
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<figcaption>
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An explosion destroys the side of an apartment building after a Russian army tank opens fire in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 11. | Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
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</figcaption>
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<pre><code></figure></code></pre>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Vladimir Putin’s war is still raging, signaling a frightening escalation on the ground.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ChOOca">
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<a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/23/22948534/russia-ukraine-war-putin-explosions-invasion-explained">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a> has stretched on for more than two weeks, a relentless bombardment of the country’s cities and towns that has led to more than <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-impact-situation-report-300-pm-
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eet-10-march-2022">500 civilian deaths</a>, destroyed civilian <a href="https://www.vox.com/22967189/photos-mariupol-
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ukraine-civilians-russia-war">infrastructure</a>, and forced <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-
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humanitarian-impact-situation-report-300-pm-eet-11-march-2022-0">more than 2.5 million</a> people to flee Ukraine, creating a new humanitarian crisis in Europe.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DKIY9Z">
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The devastation is far from over.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LqZfNF">
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The scale of the Russian invasion — the shelling of major cities like Kyiv, the capital, and Kharkiv, in the east — hinted at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s larger aims: to seize control of Ukraine, with the goal of regime change. Though its military is far bigger than Ukraine’s, Russia’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/22954833/russia-ukraine-
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invasion-strategy-putin-kyiv">apparently confounding strategic decisions</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/28/russia-ukraine-logistics-invasion/">logistical setbacks</a>, combined with the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-avril-
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haines-5c9707de86165915e7ce9d10d18464f3">ferocity of Ukraine’s resistance</a>, have stymied its advance.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UUf8HC">
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That has not stopped a <a href="https://www.vox.com/22967189/photos-mariupol-ukraine-civilians-russia-
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war">catastrophe</a> from unfolding within Ukraine, even as it has prompted Western allies to effectively wage economic warfare against Moscow <a href="https://www.vox.com/22968949/russia-sanctions-swift-economy-mcdonalds">with unprecedented sanctions</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5S7YXm">
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It will only get worse as this war grinds on, experts said. “Despite the surprisingly poor military performance of the Russian military to date, we’re still in the early opening phase of this conflict,” said Sara Bjerg Moller, an assistant professor of international security at Seton Hall University.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OHqYFL">
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This toll is expected to climb, especially as the Russian offensive intensifies around Ukrainian cities, <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-mariupol-hosital-bombed-russia/31744934.html">where shelling and strikes have hit civilian targets</a>, and as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-03-10/ukraine-russia-talks-no-
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progress-hospital-attack-outrage">efforts at high-level Ukraine-Russia negotiations have so far failed</a>. All of this is happening as Russian forces <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/10/ukraine-russia-kyiv-resistance/">appear to be preparing to lay siege to Kyiv</a>.
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</p>
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<div class="c-wide-block">
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1i8swGXA3kfvhR1z-aS32WzTHHY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307962/GettyImages_1239075095.jpg"/> <cite>Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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A resident stands in a basement for shelter in Irpin, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv, on March 10.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WLqTI1">
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“This war is about the battle of Kyiv,” said John Spencer, a retired Army officer and chair of urban warfare studies at the Madison Policy Forum.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TB1VIt">
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Taking Kyiv would mean taking control of Ukraine — or at least deposing the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president whose defiance has galvanized the Ukrainian resistance. Most experts believe Russia will prevail, especially if it can cut off Kyiv, and the Ukrainian resistance, from supplies.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pMyyLP">
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Just because Russia may ultimately succeed militarily does not mean it will win this war. A Ukrainian insurgency could take root. The political, domestic, and international costs to Russia could challenge Putin’s regime. The West’s sanctions are throttling Russia’s economy, and they could do lasting damage. Russia’s war has strengthened the Western alliance in the immediate term, but that political will could be tested as energy prices spike and as the war and refugee crisis wears on.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="49PIRA">
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“War is never isolated,” Zelenskky said in a video address Thursday. “It always beats both the victim and the aggressor. The aggressor just realizes it later. But it always realizes and always suffers.”
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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/SPmzOsif-5Q-M0G-aPbbiTh_cg8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307841/AP22070697487251.jpg"/> <cite>Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks on a video later posted to Facebook, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 11.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h3 id="dwScVx">
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The war in Ukraine is likely going to become more violent
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K31EEI">
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Russia’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/23/22948534/russia-ukraine-war-putin-
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explosions-invasion-explained">strategic setbacks</a> have undermined its mission to take Ukraine, but it has only exacerbated the brutal and indiscriminate war, barely a month old.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="90KU75">
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The longer and harder the Ukrainian resistance fights, the more likely Russia may deploy more aggressive tactics to try to achieve their aims. “This is what we would call a war of attrition. They are trying to grind down the Ukrainian people’s morale, and unfortunately, that includes the bodies of Ukrainians,” Moller said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KUSPfe">
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Urban warfare is particularly calamitous, as civilians who have not evacuated are often caught in the middle of battles that happen block-by-block. Russia’s military tactics in cities — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/world/middleeast/russia-bombing-
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syrian-hospitals.html">witnessed in places like Syria</a> and <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/03/02/putin-
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grozny-chechen-ukraine-russia-military-past">Grozny in Chechnya in 1999</a> — have shown little regard for civilian protection. Spencer, the urban warfare specialist, said even Putin is limited, to a degree, by the rules of war, and so he is likely to claim that civilian infrastructure — <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/russia-defends-attack-on-
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maternity-hospital/">like hospitals</a> — are also military targets.
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</p>
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<div id="auohuU">
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<blockquote class="twitter- tweet">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
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NEW campaign update from <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="TheStudyofWar">@TheStudyofWar</span></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/criticalthreats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="criticalthreats">@criticalthreats</span></a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Russian</a> operations to continue the encirclement of and assault on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kyiv?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kyiv</a> have likely begun, although on a smaller scale and in a more ad hoc manner than we expected. <a href="https://t.co/tt5uYJacyg">https://t.co/tt5uYJacyg</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZoQRaOwNHF">pic.twitter.com/ZoQRaOwNHF</a>
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</p>
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— ISW (<span class="citation" data-cites="TheStudyofWar">@TheStudyofWar</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1501694754685427714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a>
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r6XazM">
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But urban warfare is, by nature, murky and complex and often far more deadly. Even if Russia attempts precision attacks, it can have a cascading effect — Russia bombs alleged military targets, those operations move, Russia bombs again. “You’re going to use so many of them, the end result is the same as if you just used indiscriminate, mass artillery barrage,” said Lance Davies, a senior lecturer in defense and international affairs at the UK’s Royal Military Academy.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sRZ8cM">
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Even in the early days of this war,<strong> </strong>Russia’s efforts are already having this effect. “They’re causing tremendous damage to civilian infrastructure,” said Rachel Denber, the deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. “They’re taking many, many civilian lives.” Denber pointed to the use of weapons in heavily populated areas, including those that are explicitly banned, like cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/04/ukraine-cluster-
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munitions-launched-kharkiv-
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neighborhoods#:~:text=Russian%20forces%20fired%20cluster%20munitions,killed%20at%20least%20three%20civilians.">documented their use in three residential areas in Kharkiv</a> on February 28. “You put that in a city like Kharkiv, and if it’s a populated area, no matter what you were aiming at, no matter what the target, it’s going to hurt civilians,” she said.
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</p>
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<div class="c-wide-block">
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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/r7622EogymeC0FyWBco2KCcuaH8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23308061/GettyImages_1239076317.jpg"/> <cite>Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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A doctor takes care of a boy who was injured by shelling, at a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 10.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vUk1i3">
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The United Nations has confirmed at least 1,546 civilian casualties, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-impact-situation-report-300-pm-
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eet-11-march-2022-0">including 564 killed</a> as of March 10, though these numbers are likely undercounts, as intense fighting in some areas has made it difficult to verify statistics.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mg0juY">
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All of this is exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground in Ukraine, as shelling cuts off power stations and other supply lines, effectively trapping people within war zones <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/03/09/ukraine-cold-
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weather-russia-invasion/">in subzero temperatures</a> without electricity or water, and with dwindling food, fuel, and medical supplies. In Mariupol, a city of 400,000 that has been under Russian siege for days, people were <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/james-obrien/mariupol-bodies-scattered-people-melting-snow/">reportedly melting snow for drinking water</a>. Humanitarian groups say the fighting is making it difficult to deliver aid or to reach those civilians left behind — often elderly or disabled people, or other vulnerable populations that didn’t have the ability to flee.
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</p>
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<div class="c-wide-block">
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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-
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cdn.com/thumbor/yGqn8Ek7KYMprUJWUHn1OpVCGXw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307909/AP22069650628609.jpg"/> <cite>Evgeniy Maloletka/AP</cite></p>
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<figcaption>
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A man walks a bicycle down a street damaged by shelling in Mariupol on March 10.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kEF83t">
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Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to a temporary ceasefire to establish humanitarian corridors out of six cities on March 9, but the enforcement of those safe passages has been spotty, at best. According to the United Nations, on March 9, evacuations did happen in some places, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-impact-situation-report-300-pm-eet-10-march-2022">but there was “limited movement”</a> in the vulnerable areas, like Mariupol and the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/8/ukraine-accuses-russia-shelling-mariupol-
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evacuation-corridor">shelling some of those routes</a>, and have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/08/ukraine-war-civilians-sumy-irpin-refugees-russia">rejected</a> Russia’s calls for refugees to be evacuated to Russia or Belarus. Russian officials <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-russia-will-open-humanitarian-corridors-for-ukrainians-to-escape-the-war-
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but-theres-a-catch-12562835">have blamed disruption on Ukrainian forces</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rJiBO4">
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The fighting across Ukraine has forced more than 4 million people to flee so far, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-
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humanitarian-impact-situation-report-300-pm-eet-11-march-2022-0">according to the United Nations</a>. About 1.9 million people are internally displaced within Ukraine, although tens of thousands of Ukrainians were already forcibly displaced before Russia’s invasion because of the eight-year war in the Donbas region. Many have taken refugee in oblasts (basically, administrative regions) in western and northwestern Ukraine.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cfysBt">
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Another 2.5 million Ukrainians have escaped, mostly to neighboring countries like Poland, Romania, and Moldova. It is Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, and host countries and aid agencies are trying to meet the astounding needs of these refugees, most of whom are women and children.
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</p>
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<div class="p-fullbleed-block">
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<div class="c-image-grid">
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<div class="c-image-grid__item">
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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-
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cdn.com/thumbor/YQcdh8YOv2G2ol9yeIJD3ynJkLE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307863/AP22068786139732.jpg"/> <cite>Vadim Ghirda/AP</cite></p>
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<figcaption>
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A military priest tries to comfort a crying woman who was evacuated from Irpin, at a triage point in Kyiv on March 9.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<div class="c-image-grid__item">
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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="
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" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LVx17EbSXwCQysB5YcamXHQiM88=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307866/AP22068814489204.jpg"/> <cite>Vadim Ghirda/AP</cite></p>
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<figcaption>
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A child looks out a steamed-up bus window as civilians are evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on March 9.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lte5gL">
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“They need warmth, they need shelter, they need transportation to accommodations,” said Becky Bakr Abdulla, an adviser to the Norwegian Refugee Council who is currently based in Poland. “They need food, they need water. Many need legal aid — their passports have been stolen, they’ve forgotten their birth certificates.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="4qy0Mf">
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How the war in Ukraine began, and what’s happened so far
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1LMsJ3">
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For months, Russia <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/1/31/22910635/russia-ukraine-border-crisis-us-
|
||
nato">built up troops along the Ukrainian borde</a>r, reaching around 190,000 on the eve of the invasion. At the same time, Russia issued a series of maximalist demands to the United States and NATO allies, including an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and a ban on Ukraine entering NATO, among other “security guarantees.” All were nonstarters for the West.<strong> </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PJ5mL1">
|
||
But the short answer to why Russia decided to follow through with an invasion: Vladimir Putin.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wklmXw">
|
||
From Putin’s perspective, many historians of Europe have said, the enlargement<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/22900113/nato-ukraine-russia-crisis-clinton-expansion">of NATO</a>, which has moved steadily closer to Russia’s borders, was certainly a factor. But <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/2/23/22945781/russia-ukraine-putin-speech-transcript-
|
||
february-22">Putin’s speech</a> on the eve of his invasion offers another clue: the Russian president basically <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/2/23/22945781/russia-ukraine-putin-speech-transcript-
|
||
february-22">denied Ukrainian statehood</a>, and said the country rightfully belongs to Russia.
|
||
</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/Fs4BIYHIqTiLI2hLZ25LZ_R3nCs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307873/AP22070425678788.jpg"/> <cite>Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik via AP</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Russian President Vladimir Putin waits for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko prior to their talks in Moscow on March 11.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AXYUom">
|
||
But Russia’s history of incursions, invasions, and occupations under Putin — including Chechnya, Georgia, and Crimea — have foreshadowed a new, even more brutal war. Seen through this lens, he is not a madman, but a leader who came to power with the lethal siege of Grozny in Chechnya in 1999, who has pursued increasingly violent policy, and who has been willing to inflict civilian casualties to achieve his foreign policy goals.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EfNQXf">
|
||
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/7/22916942/biden-lessons-
|
||
russia-2014-invasion-ukraine-crimea">In 2014</a>, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine that culminated in the occupation of the Crimea peninsula in the south. Later that year, Russia deployed hybrid tactics, such as proxy militias and soldiers without insignia, to attack the Donbas region, where 14,000 people have died since 2014. On February 22, in the days before Putin launched a full-fledged war on Ukraine, he <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/21/22944995/russia-vladimir-putin-orders-troops-ukraine-east-donbas">sent Russian troops into Donbas</a> and declared two provinces there independent.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DO8kpQ">
|
||
This time, according to former State Department Russia specialist Michael Kimmage, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1083931647/russia-ukraine-
|
||
invasion-michael-kimmage">Putin miscalculated</a> the difficulty of taking over Ukraine. Still, as the days go on, this war could escalate to unimaginable levels of violence. “If Putin really is feeling very threatened, it’s possible that he will dig in his heels, double down and take a lot of risks in order to prevent any potential loss of power,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a former intelligence officer who’s now a senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BAx2T4">
|
||
Russia is committing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/world/europe/war-crimes-russia-ukraine-icc.html">possible war crimes</a> in Ukraine, and Ukrainians are responding with their full military force. They have also developed a <a href="https://www.vox.com/22956752/ukraine-resistance-volunteers-russia-invasion">strong civil resistance</a> enabled by volunteers of all stripes. “All the nation is involved, not only the army,” said a Ukrainian person who has been supplying medicines.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tZgkql">
|
||
According to <a href="https://www.axios.com/russian-troops-killed-ukraine-
|
||
invasion-4252ade4-dd4d-46cc-a3ca-5a679a09b92b.html">US intelligence estimates</a>, between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian personnel have died so far.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uI45YR43lG46i3gwPYQWkgjinx0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307877/AP22068783550335.jpg"/> <cite>Vadim Ghirda/AP</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A convoy of vehicles evacuating civilians skirts a destroyed Russian tank in Irpin, near Kyiv, on March 9.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4FRrVJ">
|
||
But Russia’s initial setback could lead to blitzkrieg-style tactics. “We’re looking at World War II kinds of atrocities. Bombing of civilians, rocket fire and artillery, smashing cities, a million refugees; that what looked impossible before now looks within the realm,” said Daniel Fried, a former ambassador to Poland and current fellow at the Atlantic Council.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="e8xeV7">
|
||
How the West has responded so far
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tcv4WX">
|
||
In the aftermath of Russia’s Ukrainian invasion, the United States and its allies <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/24/22949324/russia-ukraine-war-sanctions-sberbank-oligarchs">imposed unprecedented sanctions</a> and other penalties on Russia, acting with a swiftness and cohesion that surprised some observers, including, most likely, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/us/politics/biden-putin-sanctions.html">Putin himself</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nE8rih">
|
||
“The US and the Western reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is essentially blowing the lid off of sanctions,” said Julia Friedlander, director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council. “Never in the past have we accelerated to such strong sanctions and economic restrictions in such a quick period of time — and also considered doing it on one of the largest economies in the world.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9KOc8q">
|
||
<a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/UKRAINE-CRISIS/SANCTIONS/byvrjenzmve/">There’s a lot</a> of sanctions, and the US and its partners have only increased the pressure since. President Joe Biden announced on March 8 that the US would place <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/biden-bans-russian-oil-imports/">extreme limits on energy imports from Russia</a> — <a href="https://www.vox.com/22916773/russia-ukraine-sanctions-putin">the kind of last-resort option</a> that few experts thought might happen because of the shock to energy prices and the global economy. (Europe, far more dependent on Russian energy imports, has not joined these sanctions.) On March 11, Biden pushed Congress to strip Russia of its <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-
|
||
biden/index.html">“most favored nation”</a> status, which would put tariffs on Russian goods, though it’s likely to have limited impact compared to the slew of sanctions that already exist.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GdI6jd">
|
||
Ukraine’s resistance in the face of Russian aggression helped push Western leaders to take more robust action, as this fight became framed in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/01/we-will-save-democracy-biden-offers-hope-resilient-ukrainians-
|
||
war-with-russia/">Washington</a> and in <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/27/putin-war-ukraine-germany-scholz-
|
||
revolution/">European capitals</a> as a fight between autocracy and democracy. A lot of credit goes to Zelenskyy himself, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/zelenskyys-personal-plea-helped-accelerate-eu-aid/">whose impassioned pleas to Western leaders</a> motivated <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-russia-germany-still-
|
||
blocking-arms-supplies/">them to deliver more lethal aid to Ukraine</a> and implement tougher sanctions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="p-fullbleed-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/4atmm9eUGnhxfYDo6ko6jXQO7Lk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307826/GettyImages_1239074452.jpg"/> <cite>Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Residents evacuate Irpin, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv, on March 10, as Russian forces rolled their armored vehicles up to the northeastern edge of Kyiv, moving closer in their attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xWDFT8">
|
||
Among the toughest sanctions are those against Russia’s central bank. The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/02/27/background-
|
||
press-call-by-a-senior-administration-official-on-imposing-additional-severe-costs-on-russia/">US</a> and <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/sanctions/restrictive-measures-ukraine-crisis/">European Union</a> did this in an effort to block Russia from using its considerable foreign reserves to prop up its currency, the ruble, and to undermine its ability to pay for its Ukraine war. Russia had tried to sanction-proof its economy after 2014, shifting away from US dollars, but the EU’s decision to join in undermined Russia’s so-called “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/russia-built-economy-fortress-pain-real-83361604">fortress economy</a>.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3njHPM">
|
||
The US and the EU also cut several Russian banks off from SWIFT, the global messaging system that facilitates foreign transactions. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22968949/russia-sanctions-swift-economy-
|
||
mcdonalds">As Ben Walsh wrote for Vox</a>, more than 11,000 different banks use SWIFT for cross-border transactions, and it was used in about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/eu-excludes-seven-russian-banks-swift-official-
|
||
journal-2022-03-02/">70 percent of transfers in Russia</a>. Even here, though, certain banks were excluded from these measures to allow energy transactions, and EU countries, like Germany, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-09/germany-is-stalling-eu-efforts-to-broaden-russia-s-swift-
|
||
ban">are so far blocking efforts to expand these penalties</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jcpn8Y">
|
||
The US has targeted numerous Russian banks, including two of Russia’s biggest, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/24/22949324/russia-ukraine-war-sanctions-
|
||
sberbank-oligarchs">Sberbank and VTB</a>. The US, along with other partners, have put bans on technology and other exports to Russia, and they’ve placed financial sanctions on oligarchs and other Russian officials, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0610">including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin himself</a>. <a href="https://qz.com/2139128/russian-oligarchs-superyachts-are-seized-in-europe/">Russian oligarchs have had their yachts seized</a> in European vacation towns because of these sanctions, and the US has launched — and, yes, this is real — <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-announces-launch-task-force-
|
||
kleptocapture">Task Force Kleptocapture</a> to help enforce sanctions, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22971179/russian-oligarchs-influence-putin-ukraine-war-sanctions-limits">although oligarchs’ actual influence on Putin’s war is limited</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VBIPxL">
|
||
These penalties are widespread — besides Europe, partners like <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/3/7/new-zealand-south-korea-announce-new-
|
||
sanctions-on-russia">South Korea</a> and <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/podcast/japan-response-russia-ukraine-
|
||
war/">Japan </a>have joined in. Even neutral countries like Switzerland have imposed sanctions (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/business/russia-switzerland-sanctions.html">though there are loopholes</a>.) <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/3/9/22968744/russia-ukraine-facebook-tiktok">Big Tech</a> companies, <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/03/cultural-boycott-russia-ukraine.html">cultural institutions</a>, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60665877">international corporations</a>, from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/visa-suspends-operations-russia-over-ukraine-
|
||
invasion-2022-03-05/">Mastercard</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/business/mcdonalds-pepsi-coke-
|
||
russia/index.html">McDonald’s</a>, are pulling out of the country.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nMM9ab">
|
||
Experts said there are still some economic penalties left in the toolbox, but what’s already in place is massively damaging to the Russian economy. Russia’s economy is expected to dramatically shrink; <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-
|
||
news-2022-03-09/card/russia-s-stock-market-to-remain-closed-friday-5cYz4qNGZxz81hW1C1iy">its stock market remains closed</a>. And even if these sanctions are targeted toward Russia’s ability to make war, the damage done to the Russian economic system will inevitably trickle down to ordinary Russians.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/B-b7K7d-0YFTT0y8zIU6AFQYpQU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23308116/GettyImages_1239075076.jpg"/> <cite>Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A Ukrainian soldier talks with a resident in a basement shelter in Irpin on March 10.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BR6eAc">
|
||
The fallout will not be limited to Russia. Biden’s announcement of an oil embargo against Russia <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/business/oil-prices-rise-as-trading-is-halted-
|
||
in-nickel-after-price-surge.html">has increased energy prices</a>; what Biden, at least, is calling “Putin’s price hike.” And Russia may still engage in some sort of countermeasures, including cyberattacks or other meddling activity in the West.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="aAbiTl">
|
||
How we get out of this
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6lByvJ">
|
||
The US is doing almost everything it can without officially being a party to the conflict. The US has funneled <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/analysis/ukraine-javelin-stinger-missiles-russia/">17,000 anti-tank missiles</a> so far, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/04/milley-ukraine-russia-weapons/">Javelins and Stingers</a>, to Ukraine. It has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/10/poland-fighter-jet-deal-ukraine-
|
||
russia-00016038">explored</a> arrangements through Poland for Ukraine to acquire additional fighter jets and is considering sending more <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-allies-look-at-sending-soviet-era-air-defense-
|
||
systems-to-ukraine-11646933998">anti-aircraft equipment</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sXDrEt">
|
||
Biden rejected the US enforcement of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/2/27/22952220/ukraine-russia-no-fly-zone-nuclear-war">no-fly zone in Ukraine</a>, a military policy that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/these-no-fly-zone-
|
||
polls-still-wont-fly/">polls surprisingly well</a> among Americans but essentially means attacking any Russian aircraft that enters Ukrainian airspace. <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017f-750a-dea5-afff-f7ebb6ec0000">Seventy- eight national security scholars</a> came out against a no-fly zone, saying that scenario would edge the US too close to a direct conflict with Russia.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YKkzhB">
|
||
So far, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/10/world/ukraine-russia-war">faltered</a>. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, has said that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-says-russian-military-action-will-stop-
|
||
moment-if-ukraine-meets-2022-03-07/">the fighting could stop</a> if Ukrainians agreed to neutrality (and no NATO membership), and agreed to recognize Crimea as Russian and the Donbas region as independent. “Is this a serious offer?” said Fried, the former ambassador who had experience working with Peskov. “It could be posturing. The Russians are liars.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NefIiT">
|
||
Zelenskyy <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/08/ukraine-russia-deal/">has signaled some openness to neutrality</a>, but Ukraine is going to want some serious security guarantees that it’s not clear Russia is willing to give.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W07bcJ">
|
||
The US’s absolutist rhetoric has complicated those efforts.<strong> </strong>Biden, in his <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/3/1/22956508/biden-state-of-the-union-2022">State of the Union address</a>, framed this conflict as a battle between democracy and tyranny. Even if a strong argument can be made in favor of that, given Putin’s actions, such language poses challenges for Western diplomats who must forge an off-ramp for Putin to end this war.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b3qJ6wiIfu4ygp7z6-QmlrFGOKA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307928/GettyImages_1239023897.jpg"/> <cite>Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Ukrainian soldiers help an elderly woman cross a destroyed bridge as she evacuates from Irpin on March 8.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RKoZNY">
|
||
“If it’s good against evil, how do you compromise with evil?” said Thomas Graham, a Russia expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Putin does need a face-saving way to back down from some of his demands. But if we have a compromise solution to this conflict, we’re going to need off-ramps as well, to explain why we accept that less than a total defeat for Putin.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eryjCe">
|
||
In a<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/10/how-to-get-what-we-want-from-putin-526859">Politico essay</a>, Graham and scholar Rajan Menon proposed a framework for a negotiated outcome that begins with confidence-building measures between the US and Russia, rebuilding arms control treaties. The US and NATO would pledge that neither Ukraine nor Georgia will join NATO in the next several years or decades, though the possibility may be open someday. This would culminate in a “new security order for Russia,” they <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/10/how-to-
|
||
get-what-we-want-from-putin-526859">write</a>. Russian academic Alexander Dynkin <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/09/a-four-step-off-ramp-for-resolving-the-ukraine-
|
||
crisis-00006769">circulated</a> a similar idea in the lead-up to the war.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4uqf0H">
|
||
Gavin Wilde, a former director for the National Security Council who focused on Russia during the Trump administration, says the opportunities for a diplomatic resolution have not yet been exhausted. “The conundrum we found ourselves in quite a lot with Russia is, you have to talk to them. Because lives are at stake. These are two nuclear powers, and you have to keep talking,” he said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/OroK_-OH7OfreRjo4CtrNqH4oRA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23308118/GettyImages_1383958006.jpg"/> <cite>Chris McGrath/Getty Images</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Volentini, a volunteer worker at a hospice for the elderly, cries as she talks with 88-year-old resident Galina before she is evacuated from Irpin on March 10.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<h3 id="O68ozU">
|
||
Why a Russian victory is still likely — and what it means for the world
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uO6MhO">
|
||
The world has been galvanized by Ukraine’s small victories in this conflict.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XFCdRN">
|
||
Still, Ukraine faces long odds. <a href="http://defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/02/24/a-graphical-comparison-of-russian-and-ukrainian-military-
|
||
forces/">By the numbers</a>, the Russian military budget is about ten times that of Ukraine. The Russian military has 900,000 active troops, and the Ukrainian military has 196,000. Ukrainians may have the tactical advantage and the spirit to persevere, but structural factors weigh in Russia’s favor.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GKMspb">
|
||
This all presages what could be a long, drawn-out war, all documented on iPhones. “It’s not going to be pretty,” says Samuel Charap, who studies the Russian military at RAND. A siege of major Ukrainian cities means “cutting off supply lines to a city and making it intolerable for people to resist — to engender surrender by inflicting pain.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mij7xN">
|
||
Still, Russia’s performance so far has been so poor that the scales may ultimately tip toward Ukraine. Mark Hertling, who was the top commander of the US Army’s European forces before retiring in 2013, says that the corruption within the Russian military has slowed down the advance.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Rb0lvP16zwnzidgD_ZWVPlwhDbw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23307899/GettyImages_1239026830.jpg"/> <cite>Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces walks near the remains of a Russian aircraft which crashed into a technology manufacturing building in Kharkiv on March 8.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MJqjrX">
|
||
“Unless it’s just a continuous shelling — but I don’t think Russia can even sustain that with their logistics support. They have already blown their wad quite a bit in terms of missiles and rockets,” Hertling said. “They’re having trouble moving, they’re having trouble resupplying. And when you have those two things combined, you’re going to have some big problems.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YjXdZS">
|
||
However this plays out, the cruel effects of this war won’t just be felt in Ukraine. It’s truly a <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/eastern-europe/ukraine/ukraine-
|
||
war-global-crisis">global crisis</a>. The comprehensive sanctions on Russia will have massive implications for the Russian economy, hurting citizens and residents who have nothing to do with their autocratic leader. There will also be vast knock-on effects on the world economy, with particularly frightening implications for <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/2/27/22950805/russia-ukraine-food-prices-hunger-invasion-war">food security</a> in the poorest countries. Those effects may be most visceral for stomachs in the Middle East; Egypt and Yemen depend on Russian and Ukrainian wheat.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2OuFWO">
|
||
The unprecedented sanctions may have unprecedented impact. “We don’t know what the full consequences of this will be, because we’ve never raised this type of economic warfare,” Graham said. “It’s hard to overestimate the shock that the Russian military operation has caused around the world and the fears that it has stoked about wider warfare in Europe.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>“My children love being Texans”: A father of a trans teen weighs whether his family can stay</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/AW6kVa9m9VjEM25isvWsGSFgioY=/222x0:3778x2667/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70605231/1235388632.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
LGBTQ rights supporters gather at the Texas State Capitol to protest state Republican-led efforts to restrict the participation of transgender student athletes on September 20, 2021, in Austin. | Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants parents investigated for child abuse over seeking gender-affirming care for their children.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h7bgKA">
|
||
Investigations of parents of children who have received gender-affirming treatments got<strong> </strong>underway in Texas in the<strong> </strong>weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered child protective services to look into “any reported instances of these abusive procedures.” And prior to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/us/texas-transgender-child-abuse.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">Friday’s court ruling</a> halting such investigations, other families were left to wonder if they were the next targets.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pmrdg4">
|
||
“It’s just who they are, so we support them,” said Claudio, the father of a trans teen in Houston, who is being referred to by a pseudonym to protect his family’s privacy. “Getting tarred with the label of ‘child abuser’ for doing that is demoralizing and obviously pretty horrible.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uHtRI6">
|
||
Abbott’s February <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/23/greg-abbott-gender-affirming-care-child-abuse-
|
||
directive/">directive</a>, based on a non-binding opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, targets the parents of trans minors who have received treatments including gender reassignment surgery, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers. They could face criminal charges or have their children taken away by state authorities as a result. The move came after GOP lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state legislature tried to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors last year. The bill passed the Texas Senate but failed in the House.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zDGj8O">
|
||
The ruling Friday by a Travis County judge means, at least for now, those investigations won’t go forward. A trial is set for July.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Bi8IE">
|
||
<s></s><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/02/1084092301/a-judge-has-blocked-a-texas-investigation-of-one-
|
||
transgender-teens-parents"><s></s></a><s></s>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Adq78u">
|
||
But the order has made the parents of trans children, including Claudio, wary of staying in Texas for fear of further anti-trans acts. We spoke Wednesday, before<strong> </strong>the statewide injunction;<strong> </strong>our conversation below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dQyxR0">
|
||
<strong>Could you tell me a little about your family and how you have been affected by this directive?</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GQIAeq">
|
||
My son came out to us several years ago. He’s been on hormone replacement therapy. He’s had top surgery, so I suspect that he would be of interest to the government goons.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g0mqKx">
|
||
It’s been pretty scary. It’s been the cause of some internal family division. My wife and my kid are more defiant. “We should fight this. This is where we live and this is the time to take a stand.” I’m a lot more of a scaredy-cat and just want to move to a different state where my children’s future is not in doubt.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rNzP8i">
|
||
<strong>Do you fear being the target of an investigation as a result of the directive?</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MHmbZb">
|
||
My wife immediately caught on to the fact that this was a non-binding opinion from the AG that basically cascaded through the governor to child protective services. She thought at the beginning that nothing would actually happen and that it was political posturing more than anything that would have consequences, while I was pretty scared. There was a lot of anger and dispute about it. We had our differences there.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HTMgqm">
|
||
I think to some extent we’ve both been validated. The ACLU and Lambda Legal strongly state that it is in fact a non-binding opinion and has no real weight and <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/doe-v-abbott">they’re contesting it in court</a>. We’re watching the court cases hanging off the edge of our seat, of course. But at the same time, child protective services has started investigations, famously <a href="https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Texas-transgender-child-investigation-
|
||
law-16968898.php">this one of their own employee</a>, which has super ugly overtones.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kq9ZU3">
|
||
There is part of me that is just scared that the gender police is going to come knocking on my door. We’re scared, and we’re frustrated and we’re very sad that this is happening in our home.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="23SAVK">
|
||
<strong>At least one of the hospitals in the Houston area has </strong><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/us/texas-childrens-hospital-hormone-
|
||
therapy-transgender/index.html"><strong>stopped offering</strong></a><strong> gender-affirming care as a result of the directive. What do you think about that? </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0pvSPh">
|
||
Texas Children’s is trying to prevent its physicians from [facing potential criminal penalties] because they are supposed to be mandatory reporters for this so- called “child abuse.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RBnkWM">
|
||
But gender-affirming care — especially the varieties that are usually used in children, such as puberty blockers — are validated and accepted by pretty much every child medical society in the US and the world. Lots of scientific studies have validated the value of gender-affirming care for children and, of course, adults.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0hW0Zf">
|
||
It’s disappointing to see a hospital buckle under the pressure, especially one as prestigious as Texas Children’s. Fortunately, it doesn’t affect us personally, but it’s demoralizing to see them do that.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3b5N4c">
|
||
<strong>How seriously are you considering leaving Texas?</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uQLYhA">
|
||
We’ve lived in Texas about two decades and when I got here, one of the things that really impressed me about the place was that it had a very live-and-let-live kind of vibe. It was an impression, but the people were all super friendly. The general Texas attitude was “We don’t get in each other’s business.” That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AKihVs">
|
||
I’m not speaking for the rest of my family here, but I’ve personally been wanting to leave for a while ever since we’ve been having to watch the legislature closely and watch the blow by blow every session for the last couple of sessions, trying to see if they are going to pass anti-trans bills. We’ve been lucky so far. They seem to be filed for political posturing more than with the intent of actually getting passed.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6awwfE">
|
||
The governor’s order kind of caught us off guard. If this continues and this gets enforced more broadly, I think we are going to have to leave, and that sucks because we’ve lived here for almost two decades. We love living in Houston. We’ve been pretty happy here. But we are going to do what’s right for our family and obviously we cannot stay here with the state threatening to take away our children, who we love very much and we’re just trying to support their gender identity. It’s a shitshow, what can I say?
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z0V0D1">
|
||
<strong>How does it feel for some people in this state to think that what your family has collectively gone through is child abuse? </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IQInMW">
|
||
Words would only fail me. None of us are perfect parents. I don’t know if you have children, but it’s always a struggle to try to do the right thing for your kids and no one that I know is wishing their kids to be transgender. It’s something <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/">that happens</a>. It’s something that you end up having to deal with.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="McKVlN">
|
||
It’s difficult to wrap your mind around it. That’s one of the reasons I ended up being a part of a [support group for families of trans kids]. It was hard for me to accept it. It was hard for me to wrap my head around it. It’s always been a struggle. But we’ve tried to do what’s right for our children. We’ve consulted an incredible number of specialists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists and we try to do what’s right for our kids and what’s right by our kids.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1h4CPW">
|
||
My child was suicidal. My child was hospitalized in a mental hospital because of suicidal ideation. And the moment they told us that they were transgender was the moment that they started getting better. A lot of the time, you don’t get to choose. Your kids are who they are. And a lot of times, your choice is between having a transgender kid or having a dead kid. And I very much know that I’d rather have an alive kid who is getting better and thriving.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ipZYOB">
|
||
Those of us that get to live with transgender children, we know that it’s no picnic, that it’s not something that they seek out. But it’s a profound realization that they come to. Some people come to that realization when they’re 40, and some people come to that realization when they’re 14. It’s just who they are, so we support them. Getting tarred with the label of “child abuser” for doing that is demoralizing and obviously pretty horrible. It’s been rough.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iuo2Wy">
|
||
<strong>I’m so sorry that your family has gone through that.</strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FrUwll">
|
||
So am I. We can fight, and we hope it doesn’t come to that, but if we have to fight in court, we’re going to fight in court. If things get really bad, I guess we’re going to leave. There are 49 other states and there are a few of them that don’t do this kind of nonsense. My children love being Texans and they love living in Houston. The reason we did not leave when the legislature was considering some horrible anti-trans bills was because the kids did not want to leave, and they’re the ones that are most likely to be affected by all of this.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UihpeA">
|
||
I’m just a middle-aged dad. Of course, I have skin in the game, but it doesn’t affect me to the same level that it affects them personally. And my son wants to stay here, so here we are. We’re following his lead. He’s brave and young and we want to support him, even though it puts us at risk.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NKAlpd">
|
||
But I don’t know how much risk we’re going to be willing to take, so at some point, we might decide to cut our losses and pick up and leave. We don’t want to, but my family left Europe after World War II, after they were [targeted] by the Nazis, and that’s a lesson that gets etched in your brain pretty strongly even through generations. Persecution scares you extra.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z4HIUK">
|
||
<em>If you, your child, or anyone you know is anxious, depressed, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help.</em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uOleFQ">
|
||
<a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/"><em>Crisis Text Line</em></a><em>: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling </em><br/><a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/"><em>The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</em></a><em>: 1-800-273-8255</em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pqKjTV">
|
||
<strong>Update, March 11, 730 pm ET:</strong> This story has been updated to reflect the temporary halt of investigations into the parents of trans kids.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>How a no-fly zone would change the war in Ukraine</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/PKhOWhKuE_Z7wSz7JyJ8hCT62OY=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70611411/THUMB_CLEAN.0.jpg"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The battle for Ukraine’s skies has enormous stakes.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ohec8">
|
||
The Russian air force is huge. Ukraine’s is not. And yet, more than two weeks into Russia’s war in Ukraine, one of the biggest surprises was that Russia had not yet achieved control of the skies over Ukraine, or what’s called “air superiority.” When a military has air superiority, its planes can attack the enemy much more easily and its ground troops can advance much faster. If, or when, Russia achieves air superiority, it will have gained a major advantage in the war.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gBIcSK">
|
||
To prevent or slow that outcome, Ukraine’s allies in the West are working to deny Russia air superiority, mostly by sending weapons that can be used to shoot down planes. But Ukraine itself has asked for a more drastic step: the declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would prohibit Russian planes from the airspace. But a no-fly zone is complicated, because to be effective, it has to be enforced. And the consequences of how that enforcement would play out could bring the war to places that were once unthinkable.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="ub0UId">
|
||
<div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-466">
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="caption">
|
||
Putin’s war on Ukraine, explained
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MEvMQ6">
|
||
For more videos on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5eZQK-3tCqQCWV49C1M6aKh">our playlist here</a>. And you can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on YouTube</a>.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<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>RCB appoints Faf du Plessis as new captain</strong> - Du Plessis was handed over the cap by team's chairman Prathmesh Mishra and director cricket operations Mike Hesson in a virtual event.</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>Sunrise Ruby and Finch catch the eye</strong> -</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>Women’s Cricket World Cup | Mandhana, Kaur hit tons as India register massive 155-run win over WI</strong> - Smitri Mandhana scored 123 off 119 balls and Harmanpreet Kaur contributed with 109 runs as India registed a comprehensive victory</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>Ind vs SL, 2nd Test | India 93 for 4 at tea break</strong> - Pant batting on 16 at the break and Shreyas Iyer giving him company on 1</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 win toss, opt to bat against Sri Lanka in 2nd Test</strong> - India won the first Test by an innings and 222 runs.</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>JD(U) to support BJP in Manipur</strong> - BJP-led government may be installed on March 12 or 16</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>As water becomes scarce, wild elephants raid plantations</strong> - Cardamom crops in Idukki suffer heavy damage in attacks</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>Summer: day temperatures to be above normal in six districts</strong> -</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>Centre, Maharashtra lock horns yet again as police summon Fadnavis</strong> - CBI summons Mumbai Police Commissioner</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>Pakistan demands joint probe into missile incident</strong> - It raises many fundamental questions ‘in a nuclearised environment’, says Islamabad</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 war: Pictures of war intensifying in third week</strong> - Images from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine show a conflict turning deadlier nearly three weeks on.</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>Ukraine war: Putin seeks foreign volunteers to fight in Ukraine</strong> - “We need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone,” the Russian leader said.</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>War in Ukraine: Instagram banned in Russia over ‘calls to violence’</strong> - Instagram owner Meta has allowed users in some countries to call for violence against Russia’s army.</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>Ukraine war: Ukrainians mourn their fallen soldiers</strong> - Funerals are held for the first Ukrainian victims of the Ukraine-Russia war.</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>Ukraine war: Protests after Russians ‘abduct’ Melitopol mayor</strong> - The president accuses the Russians of “moving to a new stage of terror” as Melitopol residents protest.</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>Werner Herzog narrated a documentary about space—and talks to Ars about it</strong> - Herzog and son discuss their new Discovery+ documentary, <em>Last Exit: Space</em>. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1840450">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia’s disinformation machinery breaks down in wake of Ukraine invasion</strong> - A few critical errors have cost Russia dearly when it comes to disinformation. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1840395">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Russia’s “disconnection” from the Internet isn’t amounting to much</strong> - So far, moves by two of the Internet’s major pipelines are having negligible effects. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1840546">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How would an Earth-like planet look in Alpha Centauri?</strong> - Researchers can model the compositions of rocky planets in far-flung systems. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1840304">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Delta-omicron recombinant virus no reason for panic, health experts say</strong> - The hybrid virus is rare, and data on spread and disease severity is not concerning. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1840515">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>Vladimir Putin suffers a heart attack amidst the Ukraine crisis, and falls into a coma…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
… A few years later, he wakes up, gets back on his feet and walks out of his room, right past the sleeping guard.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He walks out of the hospital onto the streets of Moscow, and finds that most people don’t recognize him. Several years of vegetative coma seem to have taken its toll on his appearance. After wandering around for a bit, he stumbles into the nearest bar. He sits down at the bar and orders a full glass of vodka.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He sips nervously and musters the courage to ask the bartender: “What year is it?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The bartender is confused, but replies: “2025…”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin takes another sip of his drink to process this information. He then asks: “And Crimea, is it still ours?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Bartender proudly replies: “Still ours!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin nods in approval and takes another sip. Then, he follows: “And Kiev, is it also ours?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Bartender replies: “Kiev also ours.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A big, happy grin appears on Putin’s face, as he finally finishes the drink and asks the bartender: “How much for the vodka?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Bartender: “100 hryvnias!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Svarec"> /u/Svarec </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc28ne/vladimir_putin_suffers_a_heart_attack_amidst_the/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc28ne/vladimir_putin_suffers_a_heart_attack_amidst_the/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Putin and Biden are wrapping up their discussion…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin says: “You know, Joe. I had this dream few days ago”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Biden: “Oh, what kind of dream?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin: “I saw America, in flames. Nuclear warhead crater where Capitol used to be. New York leveled. Los Angeles covered in human ash. It was Glorious, Joe. I nearly teared up…”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Biden: “Huh. that’s a weird dream. Well, I had one of my own few days as well.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin: “Go on…”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Biden: “I saw Moscow - brilliant again. Full of dancing, laughter, people driving fancy imported cars again. Wearing latest fashion designer’s clothes. Very European, very International - just like it was before the sanctions. And neon signs and slogans everywhere! They were too bright to ignore!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Putin: “What did they say, those neon signs?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Biden: “Who the fuck knows, I don’t speak Ukrainian.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!--
|
||
SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/PutinCoceT"> /u/PutinCoceT </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tcag6z/putin_and_biden_are_wrapping_up_their_discussion/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tcag6z/putin_and_biden_are_wrapping_up_their_discussion/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Kung Fu student asks his teacher</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
"Master, why does my ability not improve? I’m always defeated.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
And the master, pensive and forever patient, answers: “My dear pupil, have you seen the gulls flying by the setting sun, and their wings seeming like flames?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Yes, my master, I have.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“And a waterfall, spilling mightly over the stones without taking anything out of its proper place?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Yes, my master, I have witnessed it.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“And the moon… when it touches the calm water to reflect all its enormous beauty?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Yes, my master, I have also seen this marvelous phenomenon.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“That is the problem. You keep watching all this shit instead of training.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/YZXFILE"> /u/YZXFILE </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc53m5/kung_fu_student_asks_his_teacher/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc53m5/kung_fu_student_asks_his_teacher/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>A Mormon was seated next to an Irishman on a flight from London to the US.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The Irishman asked for a whiskey, which was promptly brought and placed before him.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The flight attendant then asked the Mormon if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust, “I’d rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The Irishman then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, “Me, too, I didn’t know we had a choice.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/YZXFILE"> /u/YZXFILE </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc4vd4/a_mormon_was_seated_next_to_an_irishman_on_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tc4vd4/a_mormon_was_seated_next_to_an_irishman_on_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>Fun fact: “sugar” is the only word in the English language where “su-” makes a “sh” sound. . .</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
At least, I’m pretty sure that’s correct.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/tn_notahick"> /u/tn_notahick </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tbpuv5/fun_fact_sugar_is_the_only_word_in_the_english/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/tbpuv5/fun_fact_sugar_is_the_only_word_in_the_english/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
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