Thursday morning news - February 24, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine declares state of emergency »

Ukraine is under attack. Siren’s heard there in the capital city of Kiev … where witnesses downtown described hearing explosions in the distance. Witnesses in multiple other cities reported the same.

Some reports state that the explosions they heard … were Russian missile strikes on airfields and military targets.

And CNN reports that Russian ground troops were seen entering the country from Belarus on Ukraine’s northern border.

Just minutes before explosions began shaking the ground …

           PUTIN (Russian): [in and under]

Russian President Vladimir Putin took to the airwaves announcing military action in Ukraine.

He justified it by spinning tales of neo-nazis in control of Ukraine. He also claimed that Russia needed to come to the aid of Russian speaking residents who are being persecuted in the country … though there is zero evidence of that.

A short time later, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council …

         GREENFIELD: Russia’s attack on Ukraine is tantamount to an attack on the UN and every member state in the chamber      tonight. The Security Council is charged with adjudicating threats to peace and security.

Putin in his television address also threatened any country that might try to interfere with his invasion of Ukraine … even making reference to Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

Ukraine in response has declared martial law. Outbound lanes of highways heading out of Kiev are jammed this morning … while inbound lanes were nearly empty.

Russian troops were already present in separatist-controlled regions of Ukraine. But as of early this morning, it was unclear if Russia had begun moving ground forces into other parts of the country.

White House vows to battle rising energy costs amid Ukraine crisis » The United States and its allies are expected to roll out heavier sanctions on Russia in the hours ahead.

But the entire world could pay a price for Moscow’s actions in the form of higher energy costs.

Russia is a major producer of both oil and natural gas. And Russia’s attack has already sent oil prices higher.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden will do all he can.

PSAKI: And that means engaging closely with partners around the world. It means considering a range of options that are all on the table to reduce the impact on the oil markets.

But GOP Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson charged that the president’s energy policies have made America more vulnerable to global shifts in supply.

JOHNSON: Biden administration, Democrat policies; they are what’s costing Americans and American consumers dearly.

Many Republicans say Biden’s policies have weakened domestic energy output. And they say Biden played a role in making Europe more dependent on Russian energy by waiving sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project last year.

The United States and Germany halted that project this week in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Protest convoys flock to D.C. » Truck drivers and other demonstrators are en route to Washington for what they’re calling “The People’s Convoy.” Inspired by recent demonstrations in Canada, protesters are trekking to the capital to speak out against mask and vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.

About two-dozen trucks hit the road for the first leg of the convoy from California on Wednesday. An estimated 1,000 trucks reportedly planned to join them along the way from different parts of the country.

Larry Loshiavo is part of a convoy out of Pennsylvania.

LOSHIAVO: Enough is enough. We have to take our rights back. We’ve got to maintain our freedom.

Some protesters have already arrived in Washington. Others aim to get there in time for President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The Pentagon approved deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to help with traffic control during demonstrations. Officials say The troops will not take part in law enforcement or domestic surveillance.

U.S. vaccination drive is bottoming out as omicron subsides » The COVID-19 vaccination drive in the United States is grinding to a halt as demand all but collapses in parts of the country. The average number of Americans getting their first shot is down to about 90,000 a day. That is the lowest number since the first few days of the U.S. vaccination campaign in December 2020.

About 76 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one shot and less than 65 percent are fully vaccinated.

Dr. Scott Harris with the Alabama Department of Public Health said many health officials thought that number would be higher by now.

HARRIS: We thought that by the middle of 2021, everyone would be vaccinated. We did not at all anticipate the degree to which people were resistant to being vaccinated.

More Americans began losing interest in COVID-19 vaccines when it became clear that the omicron variant caused less severe illness in most people than prior strains.

And demand is falling faster now that the omicron wave is subsiding.

A rolling 3-day average has new U.S. cases at their lowest level since July, now about 54,000 per day.

I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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