memeorandum: The Mysterious Right-Wing Group Funding the Trucker Convoy (Roger Sollenberger/The Daily Beast)

9:20 AM ET, February 24, 2022

Top Items:

Statement by President Biden on Russia's Unprovoked and Unjustified Attack on Ukraine — The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war …

Associated Press:

Russia's Putin announces military operation in Ukraine — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it's intended to protect civilians. — In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine.

New York Times:

Putin Issues Threat Against ‘Anyone Who Tries to Interfere’ — Several Ukrainian cities were under attack on Thursday morning. President Biden condemned President Vladimir Putin's actions, saying he would speak to the American people on Thursday.

Discussion: HotAir, UPI, Insider, Politico, politicalwire.com, Responsible Statecraft and ukraine@war

Politico:

Battles flare across Ukraine after Putin declares war — KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched an all-out assault on Ukraine with missiles, warplanes and tanks that threatens to push Europe into its biggest conflict since World War II.

Discussion: CNBC, National Review, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Insider, Metro.co.uk, Forbes, NBC New York, WAVY-TV, Breitbart, The Hill, Indie News Network, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Townhall, Politico and Hollywood Reporter

Lorne Cook / Associated Press:

NATO vows to defend its entire territory after Russia attack — BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday that the military alliance would defend every inch of its territory should Russia attack a member country, as he slammed Moscow for launching a brutal act of war on Ukraine.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Associated Press, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and TASS

The White House:

Statement by President Joe Biden on Phone Call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine — President Zelenskyy reached out to me tonight and we just finished speaking. I condemned this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. I briefed him on the steps we are taking …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and Forbes

Wall Street Journal:
Russia Attacks Ukraine, Drawing Broad Condemnation

Discussion: Common Sense, Reuters, CNN, RedState, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Financial Times and Metro.co.uk

Associated Press:
Russia attacks Ukraine, ‘shattering’ European peace

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox News, Insider, The Guardian, Associated Press, UPI, Metro.co.uk, Al Jazeera, Power Line, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, WAVY-TV, New York Times, KTLA, Boston.com, National Newswatch and Vanity Fair

Zoya Sheftalovich / Politico: Ukraine's Jewish President Zelenskiy asks Putin: ‘How could I be a Nazi?’

Jim Swift / The Bulwark:
“Pain, Blood, Mud, and Death”: Putin Attacks Ukraine

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, Outside the Tent and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:
The Latest: Biden condemns Russia for ‘unjustified attack’

Discussion: KRQE-TV, New York Post, WFLA-TV, NBC New York, Insider, Associated Press, PIX11 and KTLA

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Putin Spins a Conspiracy Theory That Ukraine Is on a Path to Nuclear Weapons

Discussion: Just Security, Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Last Refuge and Foreign Exchanges

NBC News:
Russia-Ukraine conflict live updates: Ukraine battles Russian attack on multiple fronts

Discussion: Mediaite

Sean Lyngaas / CNN:
Key Ukrainian government websites hit by series of cyberattacks

Discussion: Washington Examiner, From The Forests of Arduinna, The Hill and New York Post

Phil Helsel / NBC News:
Biden condemns Putin for launching ‘premeditated war,’ vows harsher sanctions

Discussion: The Guardian and Washington Post

CNN:
Russia launches military attack on Ukraine with reports of explosions and troops crossing border

Discussion: Media Matters for America and One America News Network

Paul Sonne / Washington Post:
Ukraine's Zelensky to Russians: ‘What are you fighting for and with whom?’

Discussion: CBS News, TASS, Metro.co.uk, Washington Examiner and The Daily Beast

Michael Kofman / The Economist:

Michael Kofman, an expert on Russia's armed forces, explains why the Kremlin will seek regime change in Ukraine — Scenarios involving only limited fighting make little sense militarily — AFTER A LENGTHY and ominous speech, Russia's President Vladimir Putin chose to recognise …

Discussion: Axios, Boston.com, Axios, Bloomberg, Associated Press, bellingcat, Insider, A Conservative Perspective, U.S. Department of Defense, AP-NORC, Washington Post and NBC News

Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:

Putin's war will shake the world — Russia intends to install a puppet government in Kyiv. The west must now respond — ADD TO MYFT — The phoney war is over. The real war has begun. For several weeks, the US and British governments have believed that Vladimir Putin was intent on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Dispatch, New York Times, TheJournal.ie and The Drive

Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:

Calamity Again … The poem is called “Calamity Again.” The original version was written in Ukrainian, in 1859, and the author, Taras Shevchenko, was not speaking metaphorically when he wrote about slavery. Shevchenko was born into a family of serfs—slaves—on an estate in what is now central Ukraine …

Ann Coulter:

Stop Talking About Ukraine, Republicans! — Amid the media's 24/7 UKRAINE UPDATES, perhaps some enterprising journalist could write an article explaining how our esteem for that country's borders benefits a single American — other than President Joe Biden.

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg and The Atlantic

Ryan Lizza / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: War in Europe

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Post

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Is It Amnesia or Hypocrisy That Fuels the GOP's Crazy Response to Putin?

Discussion: National Review, Dakota Free Press, HuffPost, Mediaite, Fox News, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Free Beacon, The Mahablog, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Bulwark and Politico

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:
Biden's Own Aides Feared His Sanctions Wouldn't Stop Putin

Discussion: CBS News, Summit News, Florida Politics and Morning Consult

Wall Street Journal:
How Ukraine Was Betrayed in Budapest

Discussion: Tablet Magazine, NBC News, KRQE-TV, PBS NewsHour, Washington Times, TASS and CNN

Washington Post:
Why Ukraine — and Russian aggression against it — matters to Americans

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Convert or Die

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
A deadly, devious intelligence war unfolds in Ukraine

Discussion: WHYY, The Atlantic, Townhall and Politico

Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
Trump and his supporters praise Putin and dismiss Biden as crisis unfolds

Discussion: Fox News, USA Today, CNN, Jihad Watch, Bloomberg, Today's Edition Newsletter, POLITICUSUSA, New York Post, Raw Story, Mike Klonsky's Edu/Pol, Mercury News, Alpha News, Takes & Re-Takes, Politico and Insider

Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
Many Russians Feel a Deep Unease Over Going to War

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg and Insider

Michael Wines / New York Times:
North Carolina Court Imposes New District Map, Eliminating G.O.P. Edge

Discussion: Political Wire, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Roll Call, CBS Philly and POLITICUSUSA

Lauren Gill / New York Focus: Hochul Proposes Bringing Back Private Prison Labor

Katherine Doyle / Washington Examiner:
Putin is ‘improvising’ and ‘adapting’ to US response, White House says

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost and Supercreator

New York Times:

2 Prosecutors Leading N.Y. Trump Inquiry Resign, Clouding Case's Future — The prosecutors had abruptly stopped presenting evidence to a grand jury in the high-stakes criminal investigation into the former president's business practices. — The two prosecutors leading …

Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:

The Mysterious Right-Wing Group Funding the Trucker Convoy — A conservative dark-money group created to fund election challenges has pivoted to funding the trucker convoy. — A rowdy convoy of truckers is descending on the Beltway outside of Washington, D.C., presenting itself as an organic reaction to mask and vaccine mandates.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine and IJR

James Osborne / Houston Chronicle:

Ex-ERCOT chief says he was following Abbott's direction when they ran up billions in bills during freeze — The former head of the Texas power grid testified in court Wednesday that when he ordered power prices to stay at the maximum price cap for days on end during last year's frigid winter storm …

Discussion: Raw Story, Off the Kuff, Church of the Poison …, HillReporter.com, Daily Kos, Insider, littlegreenfootballs.com and POLITICUSUSA

Lola Fadulu / New York Times:

Columbia Psychiatry Chair Suspended After Tweet About Dark-Skinned Model — The post from Jeffrey Lieberman, which described the model as possibly a “freak of nature,” drew negative attention from medical professionals. — The chair of the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry …

Discussion: The Hill and NBC New York

Samuel Benson / Politico:

Hard pivot toward Trump proves costly for red-state ally — Like many GOP primaries this year, the challenge to Sen. Mike Lee in Utah turns on the question of fealty to Donald Trump. Unlike in most of those primaries, however, the issue isn't whether he's loyal enough. It's whether he's gone too far.

Discussion: USA Today and Raw Story

David M. Herszenhorn / Politico:

Ukraine naval base drew Putin's wrath, then Russian fire — OCHAKIV, Ukraine — Two explosions rocked the port of Ochakiv around 7 a.m. on Thursday, as Russian forces unleashed a fierce assault on a Ukrainian naval base President Vladimir Putin had personally griped about as a symbol …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Insider, South China Morning Post and Shoaib's Newsletter

Jo Yurcaba / NBC News:

Texas governor calls on citizens to report parents of transgender kids for abuse — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on “licensed professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving gender-affirming medical care.