A staggering amount of people have been displaced by the war in Ukraine, where at least 25% of prewar inhabitants fled their homelands.. While many countries welcomed fleeing Ukrainians openly, others were less welcoming.
“Among those responsible for waging war are the human suffering caused to civilians when they are forced from their homes,” tweetedFilippo Grandi is the high commissioner to U.N. Refugee Agency, on Sunday. “The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million have fled—either displaced inside the country or as refugees abroad.”
U.N. statistics show that approximately 3.4 Million Ukrainians have fled to other countries. Most of them, approximately 2 million, fled to Poland on Saturday. Another 1.4 million Ukrainians are now in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. About 185,000 people fled to Russia in the other direction.
Poland has been praised by international refugees for their efforts to help the displaced. The influx of people is straining resources for both the government and citizens. Al Jazeera says that all buildings, including offices and hotels are being turned into refugee shelters. Individual Poles also took Ukrainians in to their own homes.
Joe Biden stated that he would welcome refugees from the conflict. His administration gave Temporary Protected status to Ukrainians who were already living in the country, beginning March. They can now stay in the country and continue to work.
CNN reported that only 690 Ukrainian refugees have been accepted by the U.S. since October 20, 222. This is due to our insanely liberal immigration system. Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States refused to give a number when asked about how many refugees they might take in. Fearing that Russian and Ukrainian ship crews might attempt to remain in the United States, border officials prevented them from disembarking at U.S. port ports.
Over the coming weeks, there will be a worsening of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. As the conflict drags on, it seems that Russia is becoming more violent in its invasion. According to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, stiff Ukrainian resistance is prompting the Russians to resort to targeting population centers with rockets and artillery.
Mariupol’s nightmarish scene in its southern port suggests a bloodier turn as fighting moves into Ukraine’s cities.
Ukraine’s civil population will flee the country the worse it gets. Reports claim that 4 million refugees may be needed worldwide according to U.N. officials. It Wall Street Journal.
Volodymyr Zeleskyy, Ukrainian President, said the same on Sunday. The Russian invasion was an attempt “to kill us” and to exterminate Ukraine. However, he expressed willingness to negotiate an end to war.
FREE MINDS
Florida-based businessman, John S. Johnson, is doing his bit to help Ukraine with weapons donations. Reports the Associated Press that 400 guns have been donated to Ukraine by Adrian Kellgren from KelTec (a Cocao-based arms maker firm), according to reports.
Kellgren said to the A.P., “The American people desire to do something.” Kellgren said that Americans cherish their freedoms and value them. We are heartbroken to see this group of people get hammered.
Nonprofits in the United States and local government officials have attempted to export arms and military equipment to the country but were generally stopped by the federal export restrictions. The A.P. reports that Kellgren’s business was granted an export license by a Ukrainian neighbor. This official also helped Kellgren get one within days.
Others are also using KelTec’s licence to import their weapons into the country.
The federal government has imposed restrictions on the sale of weapons to whom, so the private sector is free to help Ukraine with a handgun.
COVID-19
Communist China struggles to keep its Zero COVID policy. The government has been implementing strict lockdowns to combat any outbreaks up until now. However, Sunday was different. The New York Times According to reports, an extremely contagious variant of the omicron virus is causing the government concern that it will not be able to prevent infections and protect economic growth. Some pandemic restrictions have been relaxed.
For the first time last week, Mr. Xi urged officials and civil servants to lessen the negative effects of Covid on the livelihoods of people.
The changes are mostly necessary. The latest wave has only reported two deaths. So far the cases have remained relatively small. Many of the 32,000+ cases in two dozen provinces reported over the past week were of Omicron’s highly transmissible BA.2 variant.
If every individual who has tested positive was sent to the hospital as required, the rapid spread of the outbreaks could overwhelm the health system. The resulting chaos could affect the community workers and volunteer neighborhood members who are responsible for organizing mass PCR test runs every day to check on those under quarantine and conducting checks. Unpredictable, long-term lockdowns may result in the loss of profits at many factories and layoffs among service workers.
QUICK HITS
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine has suspended eleven opposition parties
- Today’s Senate confirmation hearings will be held for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Jackson. She is a former federal public defender who currently serves as a judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. Her record is generally well-received by criminal justice reformers. Republicans want to paint her as having a soft spot in their hearts for child predators.
- It Los Angeles Times The editorial board calls for water restrictions to manage the state’s severe drought. Better would be functioning water markets.
- A couple tried to renovate their San Francisco home but were stopped by both city bureaucracy, and unscrupulous squatters.
- To combat high gasoline prices, the White House had considered giving all Americans a Gas Card. They were forced to reconsider due to high implementation costs, poor benefits targeting, increasing inflation, etc. Axios.
- Connecticut lawmakers have introduced a bill to ask parents for parental consent in order for their children to use social networking sites.