Ukrainians Deflate Mainstream Alarmist Narrative with ‘Day of National Unity’

Flag-waving, not gunfire.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Ukrainians defied war-thirsty posturing from mainstream new media with a national show of flag-waving unity on Wednesday.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has project calm as well as strength during the recent media frenzy regarding his country’s relationship with Russia, declaring Wednesday a “Day of National Unity.”
  • “We are united by a desire to happily live in peace,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation earlier in the day. “We can defend our home only if we stay united.”
  • Across the country, Ukrainians of all ages waved flags in the streets and from apartment windows, according to The Associated Press.
  • Hundreds unfolded a 200-meter (650-foot) flag at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium, while another was draped in the center of a shopping mall in the capital.
  • In the government-controlled part of Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops since 2014, residents stretched another huge flag across a street, AP reports.
  • “This event, this number of people united around Ukrainian flag will show that we stand for united Ukraine,” said resident Olena Tkachova.
RUSSIA WANTS PEACE, TOO:
  • Speaking after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, Putin dismissed assurances that NATO’s eastward expansion isn’t on the alliance’s agenda as not enough to assuage his concerns, reports AP.
  • “They are telling us it won’t happen tomorrow,” Putin said. “Well, when will it happen? The day after tomorrow? We want to solve this issue now as part of a negotiation process through peaceful means.”
  • Russia has mocked Western warnings about an imminent invasion as “paranoia” and “madness.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed sarcastically at warnings of an invasion that could start Wednesday, saying that Russian officials had a good sleep.
  • Asked by German daily Welt if Russia was going to attack Wednesday, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov quipped: “Wars in Europe rarely start on a Wednesday.”
  • “There won’t be an escalation next week either, on in the week after, or in the coming month,” he said.
BACKGROUND:
  • Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed concerns of the US and its NATO allies about a Russian invasion Friday, accusing them of creating a “panic” and insisting that he knows the situation in his own country, The New York Post reported.
  • “Do we have tanks on the streets?” Zelensky asked reporters during a news conference. “No. When you read media, you get the image that we have troops in the city, people fleeing … That’s not the case.”
  • Though Zelensky declined to rule out the possibility of conflict, he denied the repeated suggestion by Washington that a Russian attack may be “imminent.”
  • “I’m the president of Ukraine and I’m based here and I think I know the details better here,” he said at one point.

LATEST VIDEO