In a pre-taped video during Saturday’s UFC, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone introduced a brand new 30-second trailer for “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/terror-on-the-prairie-official-trailer?utm_campaign=totp&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=ufcarticle">Terror on The Prairie</a>,” The Daily Wire’s upcoming film starring Gina Carano.
The movie — which also stars Cerrone, Nick Searcy, Gabriel-Kane Day Lewis, Samaire Armstrong, and others — is set to debut exclusively on The Daily Wire this summer.
“On the Montana plains, a frontier woman must protect herself against a ruthless gang of outlaws hell-bent on revenge,” reads the IMDb logline for the film.
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“This is the next chapter of my life. UFC and everyone who’s supported me over the years, please follow me into the acting side of the world,” Cerrone said, describing the movie as “a gritty, hell-of-a-badass western.”
Speaking of the film, Carano said:
<blockquote>I’m super excited about my movie, “Terror on the Prairie.” I’m just so grateful to have done this movie with The Daily Wire; this is a movie that’s close to my heart.</blockquote>
“Terror on The Prairie” is The Daily Wire’s fourth feature film, and second produced exclusively for the company. It follows the success of “Run Hide Fight,” “Shut In,” and “The Hyperions,” the latter two of which debuted earlier this year.

Terror on the Prairie

New ‘Terror On The Prairie’ Trailer Debuts During Saturday’s UFC Matchup

Entertainment

Gina Carano

Jeremy Boreing

The Daily Wire

Dave Rubin

Dave Rubin Talks New Book ‘Don’t Burn This Country,’ Woke Parasites, The Need To Create, And More

Capitalism

Freedom

Joe Biden

Socialism

Wokeness

On Friday’s episode of the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/morning-wire">Morning Wire</a>” podcast, bestselling author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy joined hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe to discuss Elon Musk’s massive purchase of Twitter stock.
Ramaswamy first noted that Musk’s actions “might be the most promising path for driving cultural change in corporate America and in the market more generally.” Instead of “divestments” or “boycotts,” Musk is “representing the voice of everyday citizens and everyday shareholders as a shareholder, including in the boardroom.”
While he doesn’t know how much the billionaire can tilt the scales at Twitter, Ramaswamy suggested that we are likely to see more “shareholder activism” from others.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/morning-wire">CLICK TO HEAR THE LATEST EPISODE OF &#8220;MORNING WIRE&#8221;</a>
“So you&#8217;re describing effectively a positive or proactive move rather than a defensive one – adding influence as a shareholder rather than, say, staging a boycott,” Bickley said.
Ramaswamy responded by comparing it to the ESG (environmental, social, governance) movement, which he defined as essentially “a political ideology that says that companies are supposed to take action to advance particular agendas,” such as implementing racial, gender, or sexual orientation-based quotas.
ESG essentially acts as an end-run around the constraints of politics and lawmaking by targeting the market, “where people work, where they bank, where they invest” to achieve particular ends, Ramaswamy said.
He continued, saying that although much focus is on the non-investment angle of ESG, the issue isn’t that companies like BlackRock are “divesting from companies like Exxon,” it’s that they are “invested in companies like Exxon, and they vote for actually new boards of directors as they did last year, voting for three new board members, that changed the purpose of that company.”
This “is distorting the behavior of companies across corporate America,” he added, “in part because BlackRock and State Street and Vanguard, those are the three largest asset managers, they don&#8217;t actually represent the shareholders. They&#8217;re not the shareholder; they’re the stewards of other people&#8217;s money. Everyday citizens’ money. What makes the Elon Musk move really interesting is he&#8217;s showing up as an actual shareholder with his money. Now, the top shareholder of Twitter, who&#8217;s going to say that I actually, as the shareholder and owner of the company, want to see that company heading in a different direction.”
Bickley suggested that through his actions, Musk is effectively “countering the ESG movement.”
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The conversation shifted away from ESG, and toward Twitter specifically, with Ramaswamy suggesting that Musk’s move is important because alternative forms of social media are difficult to expand.
“The reason that&#8217;s really hard to do is that you have a network effect that ultimately once you — the platform becomes more valuable based on the more people who are on it, and you have an incumbency bias and there&#8217;s all kinds of algorithms and table stakes that you have set up as an existing behemoth that make it really hard in a natural monopoly business,” he said.
But what Musk has done is bring “true diversity and true competition, not to the marketplace of products, but to the marketplace of ideas in the boardroom of the company.”
Ramaswamy cited late economist Milton Friedman, who said social value can’t be advanced at the expense of shareholders. However, he said what certain companies such as Blackrock and Vanguard have done is purchase shares in corporations, then turn around and claim that they can indeed advance social value.
“One of the ways it&#8217;s false is it&#8217;s not actually their money,” Ramaswamy said. “It&#8217;s the money of everyday citizens who are the actual shareholders who disagree with the voice they&#8217;re bringing to the boardroom.”
“They threw a tripwire in the system of classical shareholder capitalism,” he added. “What Elon Musk is doing [is] saying, you wanna play that game, too? [I] can play that game actually.”
“Time will tell whether he actually brings that different voice or whether he merely joins the managerial class by now joining the board — but I&#8217;m optimistic that even if he doesn&#8217;t do it here or doesn&#8217;t go all the way here, he&#8217;s paved a path to show us the right way forward, which is actually exercising our voices as citizens, but also as shareholders in America,” Ramaswamy concluded.
All episodes of “Morning Wire” can be found <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire">here</a>.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy: Musk’s Twitter Venture Might Be ‘Most Promising Path For Driving Change In Corporate America’

Elon Musk

Twitter

As mask mandates are dropped across the country, one of the few places left where a face covering is still required is in the air. On Friday’s episode of “Morning Wire,” Georgia Howe and John Bickley speak with The Daily Wire’s Cabot Phillips about a group of airline CEOs who are urging the federal government to finally lift the mandate.
The Biden administration extended the mask mandate earlier this month, which is now set to expire on April 18.
After noting that this kind of unity among competing businesses is a rare phenomenon, Phillips said that the “CEOs of Delta, American, United, Alaska … and more signed a joint letter to the White House” saying that it’s time to sunset the mask mandates.
“Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions — including the international pre-departure testing requirement and the federal mask mandate — that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment,” wrote the CEOs.
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The letter also pointed out the hypocrisy in requiring masks for air travel while simultaneously allowing people to gather maskless in other public spaces such as restaurants and sporting events.
“The letter cited the fact that their employees are being put in a tough position by enforcing a mandate that few passengers, or the employees themselves, feel is necessary at this point,” Phillips added. “They also cited the thousands of in-flight incidents that have been reported because of altercations over masks.”
Bickley then asked Phillips about a recent vote in the Senate regarding the travel mask mandate.
Phillips responded, stating that Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) bill to overturn the mandate, which was introduced on March 15, received bipartisan support. “It actually passed with a 57-40 vote, including 8 Democrats,” Phillips said. “It’s worth noting four of those Democrats who broke with their party are up for re-election this November.”
The singular Republican to vote against Paul’s bill was Mitt Romney of Utah — and despite the remarkable bipartisanship on display, the White House vowed that President Biden would veto the bill if it arrived at his desk.
Though the Biden administration hasn’t addressed the letter from the CEOs, “they said they’d consult with the CDC and other pertinent agencies to make a decision when the time was right,” said Phillips, but that was weeks ago.
With all 50 states having axed indoor mask mandates, and polling indicating growing distaste for the measures, it will be difficult for the administration to continue to justify requiring masks on airplanes.
“We’ve also talked about how the Democrat message has shifted on COVID as public sentiment has changed, and President Biden is no exception. But in this case, his actions aren’t really in line with his messaging,” Phillips said, noting that the CEOs referenced Biden’s State of the Union line that “COVID-19 need no longer control our lives.”
Friday’s episode of “Morning Wire,” and all episodes of “Morning Wire,” can be listened to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/sc/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336">here</a>.

Terminal

Airline CEOs Urge Biden To ‘Sunset’ Mask Mandate, Senate Also Votes To End It

Airlines

Biden Administration

Mask Mandate

On Sunday, Biden administration National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan appeared on CBS’ “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jake-sullivan-face-the-nation-transcript-03-13-2022/">Face the Nation</a>” with host Margaret Brennan to discuss several issues relating to Russia’s ongoing invasion on Ukraine.
Brennan first asked Sullivan about allegations of chemical weapons use.
“There are reports of white phosphorus being used in Ukraine, reports of chlorine gas,” Brennan said. “How imminent is a chemical weapons attack in Ukraine?”
Sullivan said that while he cannot make an exact prediction, the “escalating level of rhetoric” from Russia seeming to claim that the U.S. or Ukraine are poised to deploy chemical weapons is a sign that Russia “getting ready to do it and try and pin the blame elsewhere.”
He then reiterated what President Biden said on Friday, that if Russia uses chemical weapons, “they will pay a severe price.”
Brennan pressed Sullivan on if American military force might be used in the event of a chemical weapons attack, but Sullivan stated that he wouldn’t “go further than what President Biden said on Friday” regarding “severe” consequences for such a weapons attack.
Sullivan added that Russia’s alleged consideration of escalation comes, in part, as a result of what the United States and allies have done in terms of aid to Ukraine.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
How imminent is a chemical weapons attack in Ukraine? “We can&#8217;t predict a time or place,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeSullivan46?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JakeSullivan46</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a> while emphasizing an &#8220;escalating level&#8221; of rhetoric from the Russians by trying to accuse Ukraine and the U.S. of using chemical weapons. <a href="https://t.co/eCxQTNsoNA">pic.twitter.com/eCxQTNsoNA</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1503021854998605827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>BRENNAN: Jake, there are reports of white phosphorus being used in Ukraine, reports of chlorine gas. How imminent is a chemical weapons attack in Ukraine?
SULLIVAN: We can&#8217;t predict a time or place. All we can say is that there is an escalating level of rhetoric on the Russian side trying to accuse the Ukrainians and the United States of potentially using chemical or biological weapons. And that&#8217;s a tell, Margaret. That&#8217;s an indicator that in fact, the Russians are getting ready to do it and try and pin the blame elsewhere, and nobody should fall for that. That is why we&#8217;ve gone out so decisively at the United Nations Security Council and elsewhere to rob the Russians of the capacity to pin this on anyone other than themselves. And as the president said on Friday, if in fact the Russians do use chemical weapons in Ukraine, they will pay a severe price.
BRENNAN: Overnight, Poland&#8217;s president has said [the] use of a weapon of mass destruction would be a game changer for NATO. President Biden seemed to say military force is completely off the table in Ukraine, even if a weapon like this was used. Is that the case?
SULLIVAN: We are consulting with our allies, and collectively we are communicating directly to the Russians. Sitting here before you today, I&#8217;m not going to go further than what President Biden said on Friday, which is that the Russians would pay a severe price if they were to move forward with chemical weapons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But none of the sanctions you&#8217;ve imposed so far have stopped Putin. So is there any red line for the administration here in terms of humanitarian catastrophe that would change the president&#8217;s calculus? Is this a game changer?
SULLIVAN: The use of weapons of mass destruction would be a shocking additional line that Putin is crossing in terms of his assault on international law and international norms, his assault on the human rights and human dignity of the people of Ukraine. But bottom line, Margaret, the premise of your question, which is, well, sanctions haven&#8217;t stopped Putin, so are they not working? I think we have to look at this in two respects. One is, have we imposed severe costs on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine? And the answer is yes. And the second is, have we been able to help the Ukrainians defend themselves against these attacks, to push back Russian forces from being able to take major cities, including the capital city Kyiv? And the answer to that is yes as well. And part of the reason why Putin is resorting to the possibility of extreme tactics like the use of chemical weapons is because he&#8217;s frustrated because his forces aren&#8217;t advancing. And one of the reasons they&#8217;re not advancing, the central reason is the bravery and skill of the Ukrainian people, but they are being supported by substantial amounts of military assistance from the United States and our allies.</blockquote>

Putin

NSA Sullivan: Russia Could Use Chemical Weapons, Then ‘Pin The Blame’ On U.S. Or Ukraine

Russia

Ukraine

Vladimir Putin

On Sunday, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba appeared on CBS’ “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dmytro-kuleba-ukrainian-foreign-minister-face-the-nation-transcript-03-13-2022/">Face the Nation</a>” with host Margaret Brennan to discuss the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The segment covered several hot topics, including the United States’ decision to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-admin-rules-transfer-polish-fighter-jets-ukraine-rcna19398">nix</a> a plan involving Poland providing fighter jets to Ukraine, as well as the potential for Russia to employ chemical weapons in the war.
Brennan also asked Kuleba if he believes Putin’s intent relates to genocide.
“The president of Poland said that what happened in the past week, specifically the bombing of that maternity hospital that got so much attention around the world, that it bears the features of genocide,” Brenna asked. “Is that what you believe Russia&#8217;s intent is?”
Kuleba responded, saying that “Putin definitely believes that Ukraine has no right to exist as a country,” and that he claims Ukrainians are Russians. He added that bombing a maternity hospital and engaging in other “war crimes” indicates that Russia is “trying to break us down and to destroy us.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DmytroKuleba</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a>: “President Putin definitely believes that Ukraine has no right to exist as a country. He doesn&#8217;t recognize our identity. He says we are Russians, we are not Ukrainians.” <a href="https://t.co/6EyXLJL6PG">pic.twitter.com/6EyXLJL6PG</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1503031916508897281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>BRENNAN: The Biden administration is warning of an impending chemical weapons attack in Ukraine. Do you have any further information about where or when, or what the consequences would be? Would NATO defend you?
KULEBA: Well, we don&#8217;t know the details, but we do not exclude that option because we see that Russia is using one prohibited weapon after another to break us down, and United Nations have already confirmed that some of the internationally prohibited weapons have been used against Ukrainian civilians, against our cities. So, we will work closely with the United States and other partners trying to identify where chemical weapons can or may be used by Russia. And when you&#8217;re asking me whether NATO will defend us, well, we do not have — we do not expect that. What we are asking is very simple thing. We say arm Ukraine, and we will do the rest. Give us all the weapons necessary and we will fight for our own land and for our people.
[…]
BRENNAN: The president of Poland said that what happened in the past week, specifically the bombing of that maternity hospital that got so much attention around the world, that it bears the features of genocide. Is that what you believe Russia&#8217;s intent is?
KULEBA: Well, Russia, President Putin definitely believes that Ukraine has no right to exist as a country. He doesn&#8217;t recognize our identity. He says we are Russians, we are not Ukrainians. We are the same, which is obviously not the case. And from what we&#8217;ve been seeing in recent three weeks is a series of deliberately-committed war crimes, crimes against humanity. And when they bomb hospitals, maternity houses, schools, when they kill civilians passing by trying to be evacuated from the war zone, that, of course, indicates that they are trying to break us down and to destroy us.</blockquote>

Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister: Putin Thinks ‘Ukraine Has No Right To Exist As A Country’

On March 6, Russian pilot Lieutenant Colonel Krishtop Maxim Sergeevich was shot down and apprehended as a prisoner of war in Ukraine, and on Friday, he spoke at a broadcast <a href="https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/video/811478.html">press conference</a>.
Krishtop began by claiming that he had “asked the military services of Ukraine” to provide him with the opportunity to speak at a press conference in order to “stop this conflict as soon as possible.”
The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has been strongly condemned by world leaders, resulting in numerous and severe sanctions on the nation. The bombardment of Ukrainian cities and towns by Russian forces has led to a surge of refugees into European nations.
According to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukrainian-refugees-immigration-united-states-cbs-news-explains/">CBS News</a>: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the swiftest refugee displacement crisis in Europe since World War II, prompting more than 2.5 million people to flee the country during the conflict&#8217;s first two weeks.”
Krishtop continued, saying that prior to being taken into custody on March 6, he finished his third assignment, during which he realized it was a bombing of civilian homes. “I want to say sorry to all Ukrainian people for the genocide, and I will do my best to stop this war as soon as it’s possible,” he said — though he later added after being asked about the moment at which he understood he was attacking civilians that he “was weak,” and “fulfilled the assignment.”
Krishtop then asked Russian forces to “stop fulfill[ing] military crimes against the peaceful people of Ukraine.”
After being asked whether or not he was sincere in his statements, and not simply speaking under pressure of the Ukrainian government, Krishtop repeated his earlier remarks that he had requested to speak at a press conference, and that no pressure was required.
Following the press conference (and others like it), some have suggested that Ukraine is in violation of <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/TreatmentOfPrisonersOfWar.aspx#:~:text=Prisoners%20of%20war%20must%20at,breach%20of%20the%20present%20Convention.">Article 13</a> of the Geneva Convention, which states in part that “prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.”
Amnesty International <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/russia-ukraine-prisoners-of-war-must-be-protected-from-public-curiosity-under-geneva-convention/">writes</a>:
<blockquote>The authoritative commentary by the International Committee of the Red Cross specifies that “any materials that enable individual prisoners to be identified must normally be regarded as subjecting them to public curiosity and, therefore, may not be transmitted, published or broadcast.”</blockquote>
Friday’s presser with the POWs isn’t the first out of Ukraine. The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/ukraine-russia-prisoners-pows/">reports</a> that another broadcast with different POWs was similar, and that it was “unclear” if the “comments were coerced or scripted.”
At the press conference to which The Washington Post was referring, the captives didn’t have notecards or papers in front of them, but at Friday’s presser, multiple pieces of paper can be seen on the table before the POWs.
Regarding what would happen to him in the future, Krishtop suggested that he would “probably answer during international court of justice [at] The Hague.”
Asked about the motivations of Russian forces, Krishtop said that he harbors no ideological motivation and no animus toward the Ukrainian people or the nation’s military. He also stated that he believes Putin’s “decisions about the military operation in Ukraine” are “wrong and criminal.”
“The consequences of that war will remain in the hearts of people for generations,” he said, adding, “I’m very sorry that all this happened.”
Krishtop said that he would like to see negotiations take place, which would be difficult, “but much better than [destroying] civilians [and] maternity hospitals.” The invasion of the capital city of Kyiv would lead to destruction, “huge losses of people from both sides,” and would have “terrible consequences the scale of which is hard to imagine,” he added.
Near the conclusion of the press conference, Krishtop noted that he and the other POWs were being taken care of by the Ukrainians.
Prior to the press conference on Wednesday, the Odessa area Ministry of Defense legal department head stated that Ukraine “strictly adheres to the rules and regulations of the Geneva Convention,” according to the Post.
Notable responses to the videos of Russian POWs include:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Just a reminder to everyone on here of Art 13 of the Geneva Convention;
&#8220;prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.&#8221;
You should think long and hard before posting POW videos.
— Carl Dinnen (@carldinnen) <a href="https://twitter.com/carldinnen/status/1500549522371629061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hey let’s stop sharing videos of captured Russians, okay?
Exploiting POWs is contrary to the Geneva Conventions, even when the good guys do it.
— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) <a href="https://twitter.com/kairyssdal/status/1500650703395557376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Just a reminder to all journalists, bloggers and activists that posting footage/video of Russian prisoners of war is against the Geneva convention. Remember a lot of Russian soldiers are 19 year old kids who don’t want to be here and don’t know why there are.
— Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) <a href="https://twitter.com/danriversitv/status/1499293743890980866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As far as violations of the Geneva Conventions go, I&#8217;m more worried about thermobarics and cluster munitions dropped on civilian areas than I am interviews with POWs. Priorities&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/15ZdWBmrfr">https://t.co/15ZdWBmrfr</a>
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) <a href="https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/1500824880966737926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

Ukraine flag

Ukraine Holds Press Conference With Russian POWs

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100007211555008/videos/482654886652700/">video</a> on his Telegram, as well as other social media accounts, urging Russian mothers to not allow their sons to be sent to war in Ukraine.
“I want to say it again for Russian mothers — especially for mothers of conscripts — do not send your children to war in a foreign land. Do not believe the promises that they will be sent just somewhere for exercises or just somewhere in non-combat conditions,” Zelensky said. “Check where your son is. And if you have even the slightest suspicion that your son may be sent to the war against Ukraine, act immediately. Do not give your son to death or captivity. Ukraine never wanted this dreadful war, and Ukraine doesn&#8217;t want it — but it will defend as much as necessary.”
Prior to Zelensky’s plea to mothers, the Ukrainian president spoke of the alleged death toll of Russian soldiers in the war, as well as those captured, and offered those still involved the opportunity to leave:
<blockquote>The number of killed Russian servicemen on the territory of Ukraine already exceeds 12,000 people. 12,000! The number of wounded invaders is many times bigger. We did not invite any of them here. And we repeat to each of the invaders: You can still save yourself at any moment. Just lay down your weapons and go home. Leave our land. The number of captured invaders has already reached such a level that the issue cannot be left to the structures that we had before the war. Therefore, today, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Thousands of enemy soldiers who have been captured or surrendered received from our state the treatment required by international conventions. But there are so many of them that a special structure is needed to deal with all related issues.</blockquote>
The number of casualties being reported cannot be independently verified, and claims from either side could be downplayed or inflated for purposes of propaganda.
Russia has countered Ukraine’s claim of over 12,000 deaths, alleging on March 2 that only about 498 troops had been killed and 1,597 injured, reported <a href="https://tass.com/society/1415449?utm_source=washingtonpost.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=washingtonpost.com&amp;utm_referrer=washingtonpost.com">TASS</a>, a Russian state-owned news agency.
TASS quoted Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov, who claimed of Ukrainian casualties: “Among Ukrainian nationalists and armed forces, the losses are as follows: over 2,870 killed and about 3,700 wounded. The confirmed data alone indicates that 572 Ukrainian servicemen have been captured.”
CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-death-toll-invasion/">reported</a> on Thursday that a U.S. official estimated that “between 5,000 and 6,000 Russian troops may have been killed in just the first two weeks” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The official stressed, however, that this is a difficult number to assess in real time, and the number could be closer to 3,500,” CBS News added.
On Thursday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) <a href="https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Ukraine%20-%20civilian%20casualty%20update%20as%20of%2024.00%209%20March%202022%20ENG.pdf">said</a> that from the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine through “midnight on 9 March 2022 (local time),” they have “recorded 1,506 civilian casualties in the country: 549 killed and 957 injured.” Of the civilian deaths, the OHCHR claims that 26 were children.

Zelensky

Zelensky Urges Russian Mothers To ‘Not Send Your Children To War’ And ‘Death Or Captivity’

Volodymyr Zelensky

On Sunday, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova appeared on CBS’ “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-transcript-face-the-nation-03-06-2022/">Face the Nation</a>” with host Margaret Brennan to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During the segment, Brennan asked Markarova to explain why, in her view, Americans should be concerned about this conflict.
Markarova replied, saying that Ukraine is a “peaceful democracy” that did nothing to provoke Russian aggression, but is facing it anyway. As such, she argued, Russian aggression might not be limited to Ukraine.
The ambassador continued, referencing the Budapest Memorandum:
<blockquote>We have to stop him because again, it&#8217;s not just some conflict, it&#8217;s not just some regional problem. It&#8217;s a full-fledged war that a nuclear large power that actually signed [an] assurances, together with the United States and Great Britain when we denuclearized Ukraine voluntarily in 1994 – signed … gave us assurances not to attack us. So, we are first, and we need to stop Putin and this criminal war in Ukraine, rather than waiting until we all together will have to fight it everywhere.</blockquote>
The agreement Markarova referenced was signed in 1994 by Russia, the U.K., and the United States. The <a href="http://www.pircenter.org/media/content/files/12/13943175580.pdf">Budapest Memorandum</a> offered a series of assurances to Ukraine after the fall of the USSR if it were to hand over its Soviet nuclear weapons.
Those assurances stated that the signees would “respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine”; “reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine…” and “reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine … if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used,” among other declarations.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/OMarkarova?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OMarkarova</a> says that more than just the sovereignty of Ukraine is at risk after Russia’s invasion. “Then Europe and the whole world is not safe,” she tells <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a>. <a href="https://t.co/0OO8ylsjYX">pic.twitter.com/0OO8ylsjYX</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1500507943380426753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>BRENNAN: You attended the State of the Union last week as a guest of the first lady. The president addressed this country talking about Ukraine. That&#8217;s very different for the American people to hear. How do you explain to the American people why this $10 billion in aid that President Biden is asking for, why should U.S. taxpayers be concerned and invested in your country?
MARKAROVA: Well, Ukraine didn&#8217;t do anything to be attacked. We didn&#8217;t provoke Russia; we didn&#8217;t do anything. We were not a threat to Russia unless being a peaceful democracy and just peacefully living in your own country is a threat. And if it&#8217;s so, then it&#8217;s not only about Ukraine, then Europe and the whole world is not safe. I mean, we see President Putin threatening everyone with all the forces, including the nuclear force. We have to stop him because again, it&#8217;s not just some conflict, it&#8217;s not just some regional problem. It&#8217;s a full-fledged war that a nuclear large power that actually signed [an] assurances, together with the United States and Great Britain when we denuclearized Ukraine voluntarily in 1994 – signed … gave us assurances not to attack us. So, we are first, and we need to stop Putin and this criminal war in Ukraine, rather than waiting until we all together will have to fight it everywhere.</blockquote>

Ukraine Amb References Budapest Memo: ‘Not Just Some Conflict’ Or ‘Some Regional Problem’

On Sunday, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko appeared on ABC’s “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-amb-linda-thomas-greenfield-sen-marco/story?id=83280394">This Week</a>” with host George Stephanopoulos to discuss the situation on the ground in his city, as well as what this fight means more broadly.
Following a brief back and forth regarding what’s happening in Kyiv today, Stephanopoulos asked Klitschko to explain what Ukrainians need from the West.
The mayor said that Ukrainians “need unity; we need pressure; we need sanctions. We need the weapons support because we stand in front [of] one of the strongest armies in the world, Russian army.”
Despite needs such as weaponry, Klitschko stated that the Russian forces don’t have the same level of will that Ukrainian defenders have.
“President Putin vowed yesterday to eliminate Ukraine if you keep up the fight,” Stephanopoulos said. “How do you respond?”
Klitschko replied that Ukraine isn’t merely buildings or land, but a people, and that despite Russian President Vladimir Putin essentially viewing Ukraine as part of a new USSR, Ukrainians view their “future as democratic, modern European country.”
The mayor concluded by saying that Ukraine isn’t simply fighting for itself, but for the “whole modern world.”
<blockquote>And we expect support from all world because we&#8217;re fighting not just for Ukraine, we’re fighting for others. We&#8217;re fighting for whole modern world. We have to stop Putin all together.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gstephanopoulos</a>: &#8220;What do you need from the west to defeat Vladimir Putin?&#8221;
Kyiv Mayor <a href="https://twitter.com/Vitaliy_Klychko?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Vitaliy_Klychko</a>: &#8220;We need unity, we need pressure, we need sanctions, we need weapon support.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EP7rpnbDHa">https://t.co/EP7rpnbDHa</a> <a href="https://t.co/76AX4MzOCY">pic.twitter.com/76AX4MzOCY</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1500483660021178370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>STEPHANOPOULOS: What do you need from the West to defeat Vladimir Putin?
KLITSCHKO: We need unity; we need pressure; we need sanctions. We need the weapons support because we stand in front of one of the strongest armies in the world, Russian army. But the weapons are very important for us. But Russians doesn&#8217;t have so huge will and &#8212; as we Ukrainians. We actually are very much ready. We defend our city, our houses, our families. We defend our [inaudible] and our future.
And we need &#8212; we very appreciate for the friends. We&#8217;re very thankful for support, but we have to make much more pressure and help Ukraine. We need the help. We need the help.
We&#8217;re still fighting. We still fight for our country and more pressure, more pressure. And unity between all the democratic countries around Ukraine.
STEPHANOPOULOS: President Putin vowed yesterday to eliminate Ukraine if you keep up the fight. How do you respond?
KLITSCHKO: Ukraine is not just land. Kyiv, capital of the country, is not just buildings. People is main our power. We are very appreciate &#8212; Ukraine was always friendly nation. We always was friendly country.
We never was aggressive to anyone, but right now, we have huge motivation to defend our future, our country.
Putin has huge ambition to rebuild Soviet empire. We [was in] USSR, and we don&#8217;t want back to USSR. We see our future as democratic, modern European country. And we expect support from all world because we&#8217;re fighting not just for Ukraine, we’re fighting for [others]. We&#8217;re fighting for whole modern world. We have to stop Putin all together.</blockquote>

Kyiv mayor

Kyiv Mayor: Putin Wants ‘To Rebuild Soviet Empire,’ We Are ‘Fighting For Whole Modern World’

On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, appeared on ABC’s “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-amb-linda-thomas-greenfield-sen-marco/story?id=83280394">This Week</a>” with host George Stephanopoulos to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During the segment, Stephanopoulos brought up the idea of a “no-fly zone,” which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked for from multiple nations.
Rubio responded, succinctly explaining the impact that the United States declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine would have — flying Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWAC) system planes over the country, shooting down Russian airplanes, and even taking out anti-aircraft systems.
“So basically a no-fly zone — if people understood what it means, it means World War III,” the senator said before noting that the U.S. can provide support in other ways.
Stephanopoulos then asked Rubio if he supports supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, to which the senator responded, “I do,” though he wondered about their ability to fly, given Russia’s anti-aircraft prowess.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
GOP <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRubioPress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenRubioPress</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gstephanopoulos</a> implementing a &#8220;no-fly zone&#8221; over Ukraine means &#8220;World War III.&#8221;
&#8220;I think there are a lot of things we can do to help Ukraine protect itself&#8230; but i think people need to understand what a no-fly zone means.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/TmS4hhW05m">https://t.co/TmS4hhW05m</a> <a href="https://t.co/l9EuTazsvv">pic.twitter.com/l9EuTazsvv</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1500479105527173120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>STEPHANOPOULOS: You were on that Zoom yesterday with President Zelensky. Are you and your colleagues now more open to a no-fly zone?
RUBIO: You know, the &#8212; look, a no-fly zone has become a catchphrase. I&#8217;m not sure a lot of people fully understand what that means. That means flying AWACs 24 hours a day. That means the willingness to shoot down and engage Russian airplanes in the sky. That means, frankly, you can&#8217;t put those planes up there unless you&#8217;re willing to knock out the anti-aircraft systems that the Russians have deployed — and not just in Ukraine, but in Russia and also in Belarus.
So basically a no-fly zone, if people understood what it means, it means World War III. It means starting World War III. So, I think there are a lot of things we can do to help Ukraine protect itself, both from air strikes and missile strikes, but I think people need to understand what a no-fly zone means. It&#8217;s not just &#8212; it&#8217;s not some rule you pass that everybody has to oblige by. It&#8217;s the willingness to shoot down the aircrafts of the Russian Federation, which is basically the beginning of World War III.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How about this provision of fighter jets? We would provide the fighter jets to Poland, other Eastern European nations. They would send the jets they now have to Ukraine — do you support that?
RUBIO: I do. If that can be done, that would be great. I do have concerns about a couple things. And that is sort of, you know, can they actually fly them given the amount of anti-aircraft capabilities that the Russians possess and continue to have deployed in the region?
By the way, yesterday was a terrible day for the Russian air force. They&#8217;re losing &#8212; they don&#8217;t have air control either there. But, generally speaking, it&#8217;s something I&#8217;d be supportive of, and we should do what we can to help them.</blockquote>

Marco Rubio

Rubio Explains Why A ‘No-Fly Zone’ Is A No-Go: ‘It Means Starting World War III’

Joseph Cirincione, distinguished fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and author of multiple books on nuclear weapons, appeared on CNN recently to discuss the Russian takeover of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
During the segment, co-host Alisyn Camerota asked Cirincione about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions.
Cirincione said that while he doesn’t believe Putin wants a nuclear incident, “he does want to terrorize the population of Ukraine,” and “cut off their electrical supply.” He added that with any other energy source, such a takeover wouldn’t be as concerning, but a nuclear plant is an extremely delicate operation the mishandling of which could lead to disaster.
He continued, noting that there are numerous other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, and that we could see this again.
Co-host Victor Blackwell then asked Cirincione to explain the danger of overworked or stressed operators in this facility.
After suggesting that none of the invading forces would know how to operate a nuclear family, Cirincione stated:
<blockquote>…the people at Chernobyl didn&#8217;t intend to cause an accident; the people at Three Mile Island didn&#8217;t intend to cause an accident — but accidents happen under perfect condition. And this is war.</blockquote>
Cirincione concluded by saying this “could lead to a mass destruction event.”
In a <a href="https://www.axios.com/russians-shelling-ukraine-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-6183147f-e674-4b0d-bbf0-9aa93fef678b.html">statement</a> following the seizure of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s actions “nuclear terror.”
“Russian tanks are shooting at the nuclear blocks. These are tanks equipped with thermal imagers, so they know what they are shooting at. They have prepared for it,” Zelensky said, later adding: “No country has ever shot at nuclear blocks except for Russia. … First time ever. For the first time ever in our history, in the history of human kind, the terrorist country has reverted to nuclear terror.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IzDHUAboWZk" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>CAMEROTA: Here again, I ask the question I&#8217;ve been asking all week, which is: What is Vladimir Putin&#8217;s endgame here? If there&#8217;s a nuclear accident or nuclear explosion, obviously that hurts Russia as well. So, what is he thinking right now?
CIRINCIONE: Yeah, thank you, Alisyn. I don&#8217;t think that Putin intends to cause a nuclear accident, but he does want to terrorize the population of Ukraine, and he&#8217;s doing that. He does want to cut off their electrical supply, so, you seize an electric power plant. Now, if this was a coal plant or a wind farm, and you cut it off or you blew it up, it wouldn&#8217;t matter — but this is a nuclear facility. This thing has to be maintained at a very high level of integrity at all times.
And anything like this — completely unprecedented. No one has ever attacked a nuclear power plant in the history of the nuclear age. Not even during wars in the Middle East, no one&#8217;s attacked a power plant. We&#8217;re seeing this for the first time, and we could see it repeated. Remember, they have 15 nuclear power plants in Ukraine. And, you know, I don&#8217;t want to be alarmist, I don&#8217;t want to scare people, but I follow the advice of the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi. [You] look at his Twitter feed, he is extremely concerned, he says; the facilities are at severe risk. The Russians are not respecting the fundamental principle that the integrity of these plants must be maintained at all time[s]. We are in deep trouble here, and I&#8217;m afraid it&#8217;s going to get worse.
BLACKWELL: Explain for our viewers the vulnerability of these workers at gunpoint. These are not people you want to be stressed or overstretched, working around this type of technology.
CIRINCIONE: That is exactly right, Victor, that is exactly right. You think these tank commanders know how to run a nuclear power plant? Do the political operatives traveling with the Russian force know how to run a nuclear power plant? Is there any indication that any of the Russians have any idea what they&#8217;re doing here? No. That&#8217;s why the director general of the IAEA wants to go to the plant; he&#8217;s urging them to let him into the plant, to let the IAEA ensure the safety of these things. You know, the people at Chernobyl didn&#8217;t intend to cause an accident; the people at Three Mile Island didn&#8217;t intend to cause an accident — but accidents happen under perfect condition. And this is war. This is an act of terror by these Russian forces, even though they&#8217;re wearing Russian army uniforms. This is a terrorist act against a nuclear power facility that could lead to a mass destruction event. We should be deeply concerned about what is going on in Ukraine overall, but particularly at its nuclear power facilities. I&#8217;m afraid our nuclear nightmares in Ukraine are multiplying.</blockquote>

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Frank Camp