but previous cease-fires have mostly failed Print KOZELETS Ukraine — With basic survival in Ukraine growing increasingly precarious civilian evacuation efforts sputtered yet again Wednesday as Russian bombs slammed into a maternity hospital But late Wednesday afternoon, Russia appeared to break the cease-fire when bombs hit a Mariupol hospital complex, injuring 17. Images showed emergency responders carrying a bloodied pregnant woman through a courtyard littered with mangled cars and a heavily damaged building still smoldering. The bombs added to the misery of a blockaded city where hungry residents have begun breaking into stores and officials dug a mass grave to bury dozens of soldiers and civilians killed in recent days. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the hospital attack “beyond an atrocity” and appealed again to the West to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine so Russia “no longer has any possibility to continue this genocide.” The attack prompted international outrage, with a top U.S. State Department official demanding that Russia “stop these heinous acts now.” Still, Western officials continued to rule out the possibility of a no-fly zone for fear that it could escalate the conflict. “If I were in President Zelensky’s position, I’m sure I would be asking for everything possible,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said during a news conference in Washington. But, he said, the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization want to end “senseless bloodshed” and not provokeRussia by flying in aircraft or launching attacks from NATO countries. “Our goal is to end the war, not to expand it,” Blinken said. That is also why the U.S. has said it will not transfer fighter jets to Ukraine as proposed by Poland, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday, saying it was too “high risk.” Politics A no-fly zone to protect Ukraine from Putin’s bombs would involve complex ground operations and risk U.S.-Russian conflict and wider war in Europe American officials were caught off guard when the Polish government said Tuesday that it would send about two dozen Soviet-era MIG-29 fighter planes to the U.S Polish officials apparently had hoped the U.S Kirby said the aircraft are “not likely to significantly change the effectiveness” of the Ukrainian resistance and warned that the move could “be mistaken as escalatory” and result in a broader conflict with Russia lawmakers and military officials have looked for alternative ways to support Ukraine with Congress agreeing Wednesday to send $13.6 billion in aid to the beleaguered country and Defense Department officials moving Patriot missile-defense systems to Poland where Vice President Kamala Harris arrived for a three-day trip aimed at shoring up transatlantic efforts to isolate Russia officials have also continued to combat what they describe as a disinformation campaign waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin The White House on Wednesday condemned a Russian claim — echoed by Chinese officials — that the U.S is developing chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine “It’s the kind of disinformation operation we’ve seen repeatedly from the Russians over the years,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter. Americans and other outsiders are helping Ukraine mount a crowdfunding war online “Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating,” Psaki said warning Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or create a “false flag” operation with their use the bombardments across Ukraine continued despite a cease-fire agreement “Hundreds of people were saved. The humanitarian corridor was delivered,” Zelensky said of the Sumy evacuation. “But that’s only 1% of what needs to be done.” He blamed the collapse of past cease-fires on Russian “savages” who kept up their attacks on defenseless civilians, and he urged patience among his compatriots who are trying to reach safety. “Humanitarian corridors will still work,” Zelensky said. “And only time separates you from freedom.” An injured pregnant woman is carried from the maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, damaged by shelling. (Evgeniy Maloletka / Associated Press) Zelensky, whose frequent video addresses in his military olive T-shirt have endeared him to his people for their mix of defiance and encouragement, thanked President Biden for his decision this week to ban Russian oil and gas imports. “I’m grateful personally to U.S. President Biden for this decision, for his leadership, for this most powerful signal to the whole world,” the Ukrainian leader said. “It is very simple: Every penny paid to Russia turns into bullets and shells which are directed at other sovereign states.” The U.S. sanctions targeting one of Russia’s most lucrative industries are part of a wider international effort to isolate the country from the world economy and sap its ability to wage war. In recent days, a number of high-profile U.S. businesses have said that they would temporarily close locations in Russia or stop selling their products there, including McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola. World & Nation dig in as a long column of Russian tanks advances toward them But whether the sanctions will be enough to slow Russia’s onslaught remained to be seen More than 2.1 million people have fled Ukraine in the last two weeks, the United Nations said, making it Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Most have gone west, to Poland and Hungary, in such numbers that others are now heading south Despite spirited resistance from both regular and irregular Ukrainian fighters Russian troops continue to try to draw the net tighter around key cities The Ukrainian military’s general staff said Russian forces were placing equipment at farms and residences around Chernihiv Residents of Chernihiv have been leaving the city to escape the heavy fighting with some reporting that it was now under de facto Russian control those fleeing traversed backroads through small towns and villages In Kozelets, about halfway between Chernihiv and Kyiv, nervous villagers trained a machine gun at every passing car on the highway to the capital. “Yesterday we had more than 100 refugees pass by from Chernihiv,” said Irina, an administrator in Kozelets who gave only her first name. At a small local hospital, Andre Kholyavko, 32, was recovering from shrapnel wounds to his right arm, which lay bandaged by his side. Kholyavko left Chernihiv on Feb. 25, the second day of the invasion, evacuating his mother, wife and 4-year-old son to Slabin, a small village outside the city. “The day we left there were more than a hundred strikes,” he said But the Russian shells followed him: Late last week as he collected wood with his son and his sister “I barely had time to cover my son,” he recalled The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been informed of the loss of electricity but saw “no critical impact on safety.” Utility company Ukrenergo said “military actions” meant there was currently “no possibility to restore” the plant’s connection to the grid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s social media savvy has helped give Ukraine a fighting chance against the Kremlin’s massive army and disinformation juggernaut The Russians had overrun Mykolaiv’s airport, but it was retaken by Ukrainian forces, the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim, said this week. On Wednesday, Kim said food and water supplies remained stable, but some residents were leaving because of airstrikes. “They are afraid of bombs,” he told the BBC. The governor sounded an optimistic note on the city’s ability to hold out under the constant barrage. “We’re going to defend and attack also. The enemy is very exhausted — he is without diesel and without ammo, no motivation,” Kim said. “So I think the situation is not very bad for us.” An elderly woman is wheeled in a shopping cart after being evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 8, 2022. (Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press) Bulos reported from Kozelets, Linthicum from Mexico City and Kaur from Washington. Times staff writers Andrea Castillo and Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report. Nabih Bulos is the Middle East bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. Since 2012, he has covered the aftermath of the “Arab Spring” revolution as well as the Islamic State’s resurgence and the campaign to defeat it. His work has taken him to Syria, Iraq, Libya, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen as well as on the migrant trail through the Balkans and northern Europe. A Fulbright scholar, Bulos is also a concert violinist who has performed with Daniel Barenboim, Valeri Gergyev and Bono. Kate Linthicum is a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City. Anumita Kaur is a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, based out of the Washington, D.C., bureau. Kaur was born and raised in California. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara, where she studied sociology and history. Prior to joining The Times in November 2021, she was a reporter for Pacific Daily News on Guam, where her work spanned just about everything, but brought particular focus onto the island’s U.S. military presence. She is a member of the 2021-22 Los Angeles Times Fellowship class. California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited access Site Map Subscriptions Chris York reports from the town of Kozelets directly in the path of any Russian military advance on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv Sign up to emails Subscribe to Byline Times For a woman who – at least according to the US Government – could find herself face-to-face with the Russian army any day this week 57-year-old Vera Lomonos is calm and confident when asked about the threat of another invasion into Ukraine we’re going to kill them,” she told Byline Times We’re home and that’s where we’re going to stay.” Lomonos speaks from beside her small market stall selling bright, summery dresses and sheets, that contrast sharply with the frozen road on which she stands in the town of Kozelets Fifty miles north of Kyiv, home to around 7,600 people, and dominated by a large 18th-century Baroque-style cathedral, Kozelets is one of the population centres directly in the path of Russian forces should they decide to take or encircle the Ukrainian capital “There was some advice about having a packed suitcase ready but that’s all we’ve heard,” says Lomonos The comments are echoed by 52-year-old Lena Kotyk cigarettes and groceries in a small shop in the centre of town “It’s quite quiet here so we don’t have any information that anything is going to happen here so everyone is very calm,” she says we don’t even have bomb shelters in the village The local authorities haven’t told us anything.” this lack of information about what to do in the event of a Russian invasion is in line with the Ukrainian government’s approach to the crisis as it tries to keep its population calm and avoid mass panic Even as Western nations such as the US, Germany and the Netherlands relocate embassy staff to the relatively safer western city of Lviv and some international airlines cancel flights in and out of the country Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said: “Right now the people’s biggest enemy is panic.” He added that he was yet to see any firm evidence of an invasion in the coming days “I don’t believe a war is going to happen I just live like I’ve always lived,” one woman told us as she packed up her market stall selling cured meats and sausages said: “I don’t think there will be an invasion because if it was possible “We stopped watching the news because it’s just politics.” Yet two Ukrainian soldiers stationed at a nearby military base who spoke on condition of anonymity gave no indication they were prepared for anything remotely “imminent”. “We don’t think it’s going to happen but if it does then we are ready to go and fight,” they said “There’s not much difference now to how it’s been over the past few weeks We have’t been told anything different yet We haven’t been told anything about a war starting on Tuesday or Wednesday There is also a deeper apathy underpinning attitudes here to the ongoing crisis a sense that events are far beyond their control Almost every person interviewed by Byline Times repeated a version of “if it happens “There’s not much reaction because the war probably isn’t between us as a people but more between presidents,” said 20-year-old Yulia Burun “What’s going to happen is going to happen and if we’re going to become a Russian republic then we’re going to become a Russian republic There might be some resistance but the powers are not equal It is worth noting, however, that a recent opinion poll found 44.9% of Ukrainian civilians were prepared to take up resistance against Russia indicating such apathy may not be widespread across the country Vera Lomonos places all the blame squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks he can enter Ukraine “as a saviour” and “needs glory and wants to be famous” “But if he starts to kill people he won’t have any respect and he won’t get what he wants,” she added While the threat of an invasion is almost inconceivable for those living countries in like the UK whose borders have remained relatively stable for centuries, in a country like Ukraine whose short 30-year history has been marked by revolutions and conflict, the latest crisis is just another obstacle in an already eventful and difficult life in the rural areas of Europe’s poorest country Although only an hour’s drive away, Kozelets is materially a million miles away from the Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent stores in Kyiv, frequented by blacked out Mercedes-driving clientele who live in the newest and most luxurious of the city’s new apartment buildings. And seven years of simmering conflict with Russia has put extra pressure on an already fragile economy further exacerbating the gap between the rich and the poor Standing on the side of the road next to his car and a small pile of woven baskets he is selling Mykola Smyk told Byline Times: “It’s hard to live “Politicians eat well but us pensioners have to sell things like this to survive.” “We’ll just take the weapons and we’ll go out there “If I were younger I would go to the front but I am 72 so I can help carrying missiles because you have to defend your homeland.” Byline Times is brought to you by a dedicated team of journalists and contributors – producing independent, fearless, investigative and thought-provoking journalism not found in the established media. We are regulated by Impress To find the nearest newsagent stocking this month’s edition, search here. About Contact Subscriptions Complaints Byline Media Holdings Ltd, Byline Times & Yes We Work Ltd Sign In Subscribe Now A group of Maple Ridge students are lending refugees a helping hand with their new English as a second language (ESL) classes Antonina Kozelets is one of eight Maple Ridge Christian School students behind these new classes and is actually a Ukrainian refugee herself Kozelets said she’s already seen a major improvement in her English and wants to help her fellow refugees achieve the same thing “I know a lot of friends who don’t know English at all,” said Kozelets “It’s hard to pay rent for an apartment if you don’t know it We need to help Ukrainians with this so they can do basic things like buying groceries.” RELATED: A B.C. woman’s guide to making Ukrainian Easter eggs Quentin Flokstra, lead principal at Maple Ridge Christian, explained that this new student-led program is specifically aimed at providing Ukrainian refugees in the Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows area with a low-key environment to help them better learn English. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ukrainian Refugee Group (@mrcshelpingukraine) a Grade 10 student named Vera Gileff is a multi-lingual teacher and leader of the student group “Vera speaks Russian because both of her parents are from Russian-speaking countries,” said Kozelets “But she also knows English really well because she was born here.” The group gets together every Thursday from 3:15 to 5 p.m where students who know both English and Ukrainian or Russian are available to help individuals improve their English skills for free Interested individuals are encouraged to drop by and can reach out to the group on their various social media channels or by calling 672-673-2806 RELATED: Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine war Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines By Frank Bucholtz/Special to Black Press Media A family with roots in both Maple Ridge and Langley is celebrating a Christmas like no other – with two additional families from Ukraine The Gileff family is comprised of father David and five of the children are part of the Langley Ukulele Ensemble They are now sharing their home with two other families who have been uprooted from the war zone in Ukraine The Kozelets family consists of two parents and four children while the Tiuptia family is two parents and one child Every refugee family from Ukraine has a unique story One of the two families staying with the Gileffs came to Canada in May; the other came in August Four of the seven Ukrainians living with Gileff are hard of hearing which makes communication more challenging One family is actively looking for housing of their own and rents have risen significantly in the past year and the two Ukrainian families live on the lower floor there is little in the way of additional space David is a lawyer who works from home – his downstairs office has been moved into his family’s living area and the sheer number of people in the home sometimes makes it hard for him to finish his work “At time I have to find ways to get out of the house altogether to get my work done,” he shared The family took on the challenge of providing shelter for refugees after their church in North Vancouver became aware of all the challenges facing the refugees who were coming to Canada Westlynn Church is a multicultural church with members speaking English church members are also helping Iranian refugees “”We started talking about the needs at church We learned about people wanting to come to Canada Other members were collecting donations of money and clothing and we have given out a lot of clothing at church One of the families with us had jobs waiting for them the Gileff family felt it was their responsibility to help as much as they are able RELATED: Maple Ridge committee now helping 31 people from Ukraine There are always hurdles – language for many getting proper documents such as medical cards social insurance numbers and other needed paperwork The system to get these to refugees has been slow and cumbersome and often the refugees need a lot of help in navigating it One of the benefits of living with the Gileffs is that communication is generally pretty good David is of Ukrainian and Russian background and speaks Russian fluently That is the main language he uses to communicate with the people in his home The Ukrainian children are becoming quite fluent in English and assist with sign language for those who cannot hear “The kids are amazing at sign language,” he noted The winter weather has been a great bonding experience with the children enjoying each other’s company outdoors They generally get along quite well and the experience has been very beneficial for children in all three families All three families have already enjoyed some Christmas events at the church and they are looking forward to celebrating Christmas together David is asking people to consider taking in refugees “If they have the room to take somebody in It is nice to get to know a family and spend time with them Everyone who has done this has found something rewarding.” RELATED: Little church with big heart in Maple Ridge raises thousands for Ukrainians displaced by war Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines.