Premium Ukraine sticker online unity shopping? It is dubbed a “special military operation” by the Kremlin, but Russians’ opposition to the war in Ukraine is showing through, according to an intelligence update from Britain’s Defense Ministry on Friday. Speaking out against Russia’s invasion is being criminalized, the ministry noted, adding that the war “has accelerated the state’s long-term trajectory towards authoritarianism” and that Russia’s parliament has moved to introduce 20-year jail terms for Russians who fight or take up arms against the nation. But among everyday Russians, the mood is changing, the ministry said. “Despite the majority of Russians telling pollsters they support the ‘special military operation’, elements of the population both actively and passively demonstrate their opposition,” it said. “Some high profile Russian officials have highly likely been side-lined after criticizing the war.” It said skepticism was “particularly strong” among Russia’s business elite, with migration applications indicating that some 15,000 Russian millionaires “are likely already attempting to leave the country.” Motivations for such an exodus include “personal opposition to the invasion and an intent to escape the financial impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia,” the ministry added. Discover even more Ukraine aid info at https://biolinky.co/ukraineshirts.

May 2014: The pro-West politician Petro Poroshenko, a former government minister and head of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine, is elected Ukraine’s president. He promotes reform, including measures to address corruption and lessen Ukraine’s dependence on Russia for energy and financial support. Sept. 5, 2014: Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany meet in Belarus to attempt to negotiate an end to the violence in the Donbas. They sign the first Minsk agreement, a deal between Ukraine and Russia to quiet the violence under a fragile cease-fire. The cease-fire soon breaks, and fighting continues into the new year. Ukrainian troops train with small arms on March 13, 2015, outside Mariupol, Ukraine. The Minsk II cease-fire agreement, which continued to hold despite being violated more than 1,000 times, was nearing the one-month mark.

May 17: Ukraine’s military declares an end to the Azovstal operation in Mariupol. Russia’s defence ministry confirms that 265 Ukrainians have surrendered. May 18: The European Commission announces a 220 billion euro ($236bn) plan to ditch Russian fossil fuels over five years. May 19: The US approves $40bn in new spending for Ukraine, half of it military investment. May 20: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder bows to pressure to resign his seat on the board of Russian oil giant Rosneft. May 21: Russia says it has full control of Mariupol, after almost 2,500 Ukrainian troops surrender. May 23: Ukraine sentences the first Russian soldier convicted of war crimes to life in prison.

As Russian forces begin an all-out assault on Ukraine after months of troop buildup and failed diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and its European allies to head off conflict, the situation for Kyiv is the most high-stakes in the country’s 30-year history. Since breaking from the Soviet Union, Ukraine has wavered between the influences of Moscow and the West, surviving scandal and conflict with its democracy intact. Now it faces its biggest test as Russia threatens its very existence as an independent country. Since the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, many Ukrainians have turned away from Moscow and toward the West, with popular support on the rise for joining Western alliances such as NATO and the European Union.

March 23: NATO estimates that Russia has lost 7,000-15,000 soldiers. The administration of US President Joe Biden formally determines that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine. Putin says future gas sales to “unfriendly” countries – corresponding to the US, European Union members, the United Kingdom and Japan – will be denominated in roubles rather than US dollars. March 24: On a trip to Europe, Biden pledges to provide Europe with 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) more natural gas than last year, bringing shipments to Europe to 37bcm this year. It pledges an additional 50bcm by 2030. March 25: Russia says it will focus on consolidating its control over the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, and starts to withdraw troops from Kyiv. Discover even more Ukraine aid information on https://solo.to/ukraineshirts.