World
War Brings Out Solidarity and Defiance in Ukrainians Who Remain
![War Brings Out Solidarity and Defiance in Ukrainians Who Remain War Brings Out Solidarity and Defiance in Ukrainians Who Remain](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20ukraine-blog-kyiv-top-facebookJumbo.jpg)
About two million individuals have stayed in Kyiv, a inhabitants galvanized by a newfound unity and its refusal to be cowed by Russian invaders.
KYIV, Ukraine — The historic heart of Kyiv, normally bustling with vacationers and memento stalls round its pastel-colored buildings and golden domed church buildings, is essentially abandoned lately. Retailers and workplaces are closed, and the town, positioned beneath curfew from 8 p.m., falls darkish and silent at night time.
Almost half the inhabitants left the town by the primary weeks of warfare in a chaotic exodus that blocked the roads and swamped the central prepare station. However simply as many individuals remained — an estimated two million. Some stayed as a result of they didn’t have the means to depart, or a spot to go to, however others did so from a way of patriotism or a newfound defiance within the face of the Russian invasion.
Folks had been nonetheless out strolling their canine in a park by St. Andrew’s Church, above the Dnieper River on Sunday morning, even because the sound of heavy bombardment rolled like thunder from the northern suburbs of the town.
“I don’t wish to go away,” stated Galina Sizikova, 48, an architect who was strolling her husky close to the central St. Sophia’s Cathedral. “I’ve numerous alternatives to do one thing to assist.” Her daughters had been grown up and had gone to stick with kinfolk in Vienna and he or she had stayed behind together with her canine, Avrora.
She was spending her time stitching, making bulletproof vests for volunteers who’ve signed as much as be part of the territorial protection forces. “Quite a lot of associates went to battle,” she stated. “My pastime is stitching so I went into manufacturing.”
The individuals who had stayed within the neighborhood had bonded, she stated. “We turned nearer,” she stated. “Even those that weren’t pleasant earlier than, we’re collectively now. Some put together meals.”
The invasion has galvanized the inhabitants, fostering a unity that few had felt earlier than; spawning enthusiasm for volunteering and solidarity for the lads preventing, but additionally a cussed refusal to be cowed by the invader.
“The Ukrainian individuals have been reborn,” stated Oleg Sentsov, a filmmaker who was imprisoned in Russia for his opposition to the annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Mr. Sentsov stated he evacuated his household to western Ukraine and joined the territorial protection inside a day of the invasion, and he has already been serving within the suburbs of Kyiv.
“In fact the warfare is horrible,” he stated, “and many individuals are dying however there’s a feeling that our nation is being born and our connections to Russia are being lower.”
The day after a missile smashed into the yard of their house constructing on the north facet of the town, a military of volunteers turned out with brooms and dumpster vans to scrub up the particles.
Three volunteers had been serving to Viktor Chernyatevich, 75, sweep up the shattered glass in his fifth-floor house. He escaped by a miracle as he was standing in his hallway at 8.01 a.m. when the missile struck, however his house caught the total brunt of the explosion, its balcony sheared off and his belongings had been wrecked.
He had despatched his daughter and grandchildren to take refuge in Poland within the first days of the warfare, however like many working-class Ukrainians he stayed to protect his property.
“Who can be right here to show off the water and gasoline?” Mr. Chernyatevich stated. Even after the injury from the explosion, he stated he would stay within the house and had canvas able to cowl the shattered home windows. “I used to be a building employee, I can do these items,” he stated.
His neighbors stated they’d keep as properly. “We’re rooted in Kyiv, married for 38 years,” stated Frida Maslovska, 71, standing at her door wrapped in a woolen scarf and hat. The explosion shook the partitions like an earthquake, she stated, however her husband was against leaving. “He says we should always assist individuals,” she stated. Requested what she wished, she smiled and answered, “I want to reside right here, in my house, my ugly house.”
Mr. Chernyatevich was one of many few ready to ponder an extended, grim warfare.
“The longer it goes on, the extra Ukrainians will lose, and the extra Russians will lose,” he stated. “After which we’ll come to an answer and say, ‘Why do we have now a warfare?’”
On the website of one other missile strike the place firefighters needed to evacuate individuals from a burning constructing, the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, stated individuals had refused his supply to evacuate them to security and requested for weapons as a substitute. A former world heavyweight boxing champion, Mr. Klitschko stated that the Russian airstrikes had been creating extra anger within the inhabitants.
“No person feels secure proper now in the entire Ukraine, not simply within the capital,” he stated, “however I inform you, proper now, individuals don’t wish to go away,” he stated. “And people individuals don’t simply wish to keep in Kyiv. They’re able to defend our metropolis.”
Russia-Ukraine Warfare: Key Issues to Know
Russian forces seem stalled. With Russia’s advance on Ukraine’s main cities stalled and satellite tv for pc imagery exhibiting troopers digging into defensive positions round Kyiv, a consensus is rising within the West that the warfare has reached a bloody stalemate.
For days volunteers and safety forces have been rescuing individuals from the northern suburbs of Kyiv which are beneath bombardment, ferrying them to checkpoints on the sting of the town the place buses take them on to in a single day shelters.
Raveled, eyes staring with shock, they described a harrowing ordeal of residing for days with out water, electrical energy and heating, with diminishing meals provides as mortar and artillery fireplace landed nearer.
“We should always have left within the first days,” stated Valentin Tkachenko, 67, who was evacuated on Thursday together with his spouse, teenage youngsters and a neighbor.
“Nobody thought it might be so unhealthy. They stated it might take some time for Russian troops to come back.”
Beside him, a pensioner sat nodding fortunately as she ate her method by thick slices of bread handed her by a volunteer. One other girl stated she had not wished to depart as a result of she owned a canine and 11 cats. Ultimately, she was compelled to go and left the animals behind.
A lot of these rescued from Irpin, Bucha and different war-torn suburbs in current days have been outdated and infirm, some barely capable of stroll unaided, a sign that a big share of those that stay within the capital might not have the means or skill to flee. Pensioners are sometimes out within the streets, ready in line on the banks to attract their pension funds, or purchasing at grocery shops.
Kyiv has not suffered the identical degree of destruction of a few of Ukraine’s cities — corresponding to Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chernihiv and Mykolaiv — and a few residents stated they had been assured that the town had good air defenses, however Russian assaults have been growing. Two cruise missiles appeared to pierce the protection system, inflicting devastating injury in two districts final week, and others have been intercepted however the remnants have killed individuals and broken buildings the place they fell.
The Kyiv Metropolis Council introduced final week that 228 individuals have died and greater than 900 have been wounded in three weeks of warfare within the capital. 4 of the lifeless had been youngsters.
“It’s not a superb joke, nevertheless it’s completely like Russian roulette,” stated Vyacheslav Ostapenko, 55, who works for a Ukrainian TV community, Channel 5. He and his companion, Iryna Popova, a puppeteer and creator of youngsters’s tales, are among the many many middle-class professionals who selected to remain in Kyiv.
Mr. Ostapenko stated his dad and mom and sister, a documentary movie director, had been additionally nonetheless in Kyiv, considered one of his causes to remain. The couple had spent three weeks sleeping within the hall, away from the home windows, so that they had prevented damage however the house was not secure.
“I wish to keep in Ukraine however the query now’s the place?” he stated.
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World
American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF
![American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/hersh.png)
Hamas terrorists killed six hostages Saturday, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, as Israel Defense Forces closed in for a rescue attempt in the tunnels deep below Gaza’s Rafah.
Goldberg-Polin’s family confirmed his death early Sunday. His body was one of six recovered on Saturday. The IDF revealed that Hamas killed the hostages, who had been held for nearly 11 months, just as they were on the brink of freedom.
“According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was abducted at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against the Jewish State. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. His body was recovered Saturday in the tunnels under Rafah, along with Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sergeant Ori Danino.
DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS ISRAEL MUST ‘WIDEN THE GOALS’ OF WAR TO RETURN RESIDENTS TO THE NORTH
Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin has been confirmed dead. (Israel’s Minister of Defense)
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “He who murders abductees – does not want a deal. We are in a difficult day. The heart of the entire nation was torn.”
“Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the core by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our abductees.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he “embrace[s] their families with all my heart, and apologize[s] for failing to bring them home safely.”
A dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, Goldberg-Polin immigrated to Israel with his family in 2008 at the age of seven, according to a statement from his family. He leaves behind his parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, and his two sisters.
Goldberg-Polin’s family and friends traveled the world demanding his release and met with world leaders, including officials in the Biden administration.
President Biden said he is “devastated and outraged” by the news of Goldberg-Polin’s death.
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” he said. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Vice President Harris, also the Democratic nominee for president, said her prayers are with Goldberg-Polin’s loved ones as they mourn his loss.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization,” Harris said. “With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world. From its massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, taking of hostages, and these murders, Hamas’ depravity is evident and horrifying.”
ISRAEL KILLS PALESTINIAN COMMANDER MUHAMMAD JABER ‘ABU SHUJAA’ AS FIGHTING INTENSIFIES: IDF
![Hersh Goldberg-Polin](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/polin.png?ve=1&tl=1)
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was abducted at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. (IDF)
“The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel — and American citizens in Israel — must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza,” she added. “The Palestinian people too have suffered under Hamas’ rule for nearly two decades.”
“A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by IDF troops in an underground tunnel in Rafah,” IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.”
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
World
Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes
![Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/AFP__20240901__36F32UL__v1__Preview__PalestinianIsraelConflictHealth-1725178114.jpg?resize=1200%2C630)
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a vaccination drive against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory ravaged by nearly 11 months of Israeli bombardment.
Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the Strip, aiming to inoculate about 640,000 children. On Saturday, a few children were vaccinated before the formal start of the campaign.
“This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world,” said Juliette Touma, communications director of UNRWA, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency.
“Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time,” Touma told the Reuters news agency.
Israel and Hamas, which have so far failed to conclude a deal to end the war, said they would cooperate to allow the campaign to succeed.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in its military operations to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early on Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.
Hospitals in Deir el-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun on Sunday. Israel said on Saturday that the vaccination programme would continue through September 9 and last eight hours a day.
The vaccinations will be held at some 160 sites across the territory, including medical centres and schools. Children below 10 years of age will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years – a 10-month-old boy, now paralysed in the leg. The WHO says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but are not showing symptoms.
Most affected children do not experience symptoms and those who do usually recover in a week or so, the UN health agency said. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. When polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. The disease can be fatal if the paralysis affects breathing muscles.
The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing war to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. About 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.
Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as rubbish piles up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.
“We escaped death with our children and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases,” said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for vaccination.
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