Ukraine's parliament votes to allow citizens to carry guns, act in self-defense amid Russian invasion. Gun stores are already bustling.

'If they come, we will shoot at them from every window.'

As Russia continues to threaten a full-scale military invasion, the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday approved a draft law giving citizens permission to carry firearms and act in self-defense — and within hours, gun stores were bustling.

Reuters reported that the draft measure was approved on "the first reading."

Its authors reportedly stated in a note that "the adoption of this law is fully in the interests of the state and society," adding that the law is needed due to "existing threats and dangers for the citizens of Ukraine."

The move comes only days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "peacekeeping" troops to the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in southeastern Ukraine. Onlookers, including President Joe Biden, called the brazen maneuver the beginning of an invasion.

Russia has been massing troops on its border with Ukraine for weeks and has recently begun threatening war while continually insisting there are no invasion plans. But as of Wednesday, as many as 80% of Russia's approximately 150,000 stationed troops now appear to be in ready position, a senior U.S. defense official warned, according to the Hill.

The imminent threat of a large-scale assault has prompted Ukraine's government to issue a 30-day state of emergency, under which the Eastern European country has begun calling up military reservists and has drafted the measure to allow ordinary civilians to carry firearms.

Ukrainians reportedly responded to the draft law by descending en masse on gun stores. The Guardian reported Wednesday that the threat of attack on Kyiv has caused "an unprecedented rush to buy arms."

Gun shops are reportedly experiencing long lines already as Ukrainian citizens bolt to purchase guns, ammunition, and sniper rifles. Some weapons, such as the AR-10 and AR-15, have already sold out in gun stores.

"Of course, I’m worried about the situation," one Ukrainian told the news outlet, speaking from the basement of a gun store in central Kyiv. "I’m hoping for the best but preparing for everything."

Another citizen said, "I’ve bought two sniper complexes with good optics. I’ve also ordered a drone on Amazon. It hasn’t turned up yet."

Armed up, he felt bullish about his country's chances against an occupying Russian force.

"We can win against Russia. This isn’t 2014," he said. "We have heavy weapons, thanks to U.S. and U.K. If they come, we will shoot at them from every window."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/ukraine-parliament-allows-citizens-to-carry-guns

UK PM warns against Russophobia

Boris Johnson has urged lawmakers not to allow sanctions to spill over into judgment on the Russian people

British PM Boris Johnson has said that opposition to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine should not be allowed to turn into discrimination against the Russian people, after the UK government announced new sanctions against associates of President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, Johnson urged them not to slide into “casual Russophobia” as Western nations look to punish the Kremlin for its decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), breakaway states that most countries consider to be part of Ukraine.

In 2016, when Johnson was foreign minister, Moscow accused him of “Russophobic hysteria” after he claimed that the Kremlin had committed “war crimes” in Syria and warned that Russia could become a “pariah nation” if it continued “down its current path.”

On Tuesday, Johnson announced that he was using “new and unprecedented powers” to sanction five Russian banks and three “high net worth individuals” linked to President Putin. The PM also warned that Western nations must “brace ourselves” for Moscow’s next move, saying that Putin had “flagrantly violated” the Minsk agreements, treaties signed in 2014 and 2015 meant to bring an end to conflict in eastern Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden also announced on Monday that he was imposing heavy sanctions on the DPR and LPR. In a statement on its website, the White House wrote that Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway republics was an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

EU leaders are also reportedly considering a sanctions package that will target every single Russian MP who voted to recognize the Donbass republics, as well as going after banks located in the territories. However, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told journalists on Tuesday that while he believes Russian troops have entered Ukrainian territory, he does not consider it a “fully fledged invasion” at this point.

https://www.rt.com/russia/550275-bojo-warns-against-russophobia/

Quick and Dirty Durham Explainer

You can learn a lot by just listening — unless you’re listening to the legacy media. A recent example is the motion Special Counsel John Durham filed in the case of Michael Sussman on Feb. 11.

Sussman was indicted for lying to FBI General Counsel James Baker when he presented “evidence” suggesting an illicit connection between Trump and the Russian Alfa Bank and said he had no client; we’ll get to the details, but the gist is that Sussman was billing the Clinton campaign and Rodney Joffe when he said he had no client. At the time, Sussman was employed by Perkins Coie, a high-powered Washington law firm.

(The actual motion names “Law Firm 1,” “Tech Executive 1,” and others. All of these people have been openly identified, so I’m just going to translate the names.)

Now, fair notice: I’m heading pretty deep into the weeds here, so here’s the TL;DR:

In paragraphs 2 through 7, under the heading FACTUAL BACKGROUND, Durham details important points about the indictment that show Sussman working with Rodney Joffe and his firm Neustar, who passed information to researchers under a DARPA contract at Georgia Tech and coordinated an effort to build up a falsified case for investigating Trump’s connections to Russia. This also involved the Clinton campaign, and the Clinton campaign’s general counsel — a familiar name, Marc Elias. This data was, to put it gently, massaged in order to make an incriminating case against Trump that fed into the Clinton campaign’s other efforts, like the “dossier,” and thus into the fraudulent FISA warrants and more intelligence operations against the Trump campaign.

You can see why this caused a lot of agitation on the Democrats’ side: Durham is laying out a case that Perkins Coie, through Sussman and with the active participation of Mark Elias, purposefully manufactured evidence against Trump that factored into the four-year investigation into “Russian collusion”.

I’ve talked to several lawyer friends, and frankly, this appears to indicate many violations of law — too many to list. But plenty that would send mere politically unconnected mortals to Leavenworth for the rest of their lives.

Now, into the weeds.

What the motion is actually about. The actual action Durham is requesting is in paragraph 1 of the motion. Sussman has retained Latham and Watkins, another D.C. law firm, to represent him. The problem: Latham and Watkins has significant conflicts of interest. Sussman has already agreed to waive the conflict of interest concerns for Latham and Watkins, on advice of his counsel — Latham and Watkins. Durham’s motion asks the Court to investigate this and ensure that Sussman is fully informed, including possibly getting external counsel to advise Sussman, so it would be on the record that Sussman was fully informed.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/charlie-martin/2022/02/23/quick-and-dirty-durham-explainer-n1561262

EU sanctions senior Russian officials, incl. Defense Minister Shoigu, Foreign Ministry spokesperson

The European Union has imposed sanctions on a series of senior Russian officials – including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and presidential chief of staff Anton Vaino – as well RT’s own editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, accusing each of helping to “threaten the territorial integrity” of Ukraine. (edited)

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

https://www.rt.com/russia/550400-eu-sanctions-shoigu-ministers/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-02-24/dinosaur-asteroid-fish-fossils-tanis-site-suggest-spring-death/100843598

Australian State Media is getting out on the edge

>>15703290

FBI distraction

BOMB THREATS: FBI says 57 HBCUs and churches targeted since January

FBI Statement on Investigation into Bomb Threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Houses of Worship:

The FBI is continuing to aggressively investigate the ongoing nationwide bomb threats targeting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, houses of worship, and other faith-based and academic institutions.

From January 4 to February 16, a total of 57 institutions across the country were targeted. The bomb threats have been made in phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, and anonymous online posts. FBI agents from multiple field offices are conducting hundreds of interviews and gathering a variety of electronic evidence for analysis.

This investigation is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves 31 FBI field offices that are actively working with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to identify those involved. The FBI is investigating these cases as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes.

Although at this time no explosive devices related to these threats have been found, the FBI takes all of these threats with the utmost seriousness and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.

The FBI has been prioritizing information sharing and officials in Washington, DC have briefed approximately 2,800 law enforcement partners, and community, academic, and faith leaders. Senior leaders in a number of our field offices also have engaged with university leaders in their respective communities to maintain direct lines of communication.

We recognize the fear and disruption this has caused across the country, and we will continue our work to make sure people feel safe in their communities, schools, and places of worship. We would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious or have information about potential threats to report it to law enforcement immediately, call their local FBI office, or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.

Due to the ongoing investigation we are unable to provide more details at this time, but we will continue to share with schools, partners, and the public as information becomes available.

https://breaking911.com/bomb-threats-fbi-says-57-hbcus-and-churches-targeted-since-january/

>>15703844

>https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/1496642280966574085

panic

>>15703887

>>15703883 Find 4-Year-Old Boy Dead Inside Freezer After Sister Brings Note to Teacher