TUESDAY February 8, 2022: 'WAITING for PUTIN: Ukraine Braces' by ZUMA Press award winning photographers Bryan Smith and Celestino Arce Lavin: Is Ukraine Caught In New Kind Of Cuban Missile Crisis? Will there, or will there not be a Big War with Russia? Ukrainians try to gauge what happens next as tensions remain following the call between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Both Biden and Putin spoke in clear and plain terms, over a secured video link recently, as Russian troops have amassed at the Ukrainian border and the world fears the growing risk of an invasion. Putin insisted that NATO missiles in the region are a red line, while Biden threatened to cut Russia out of the international financial system if Russia invades Ukraine. Caught in the middle, Ukrainian politicians think tanks and ordinary citizens on social networks are offering their own assessment of the threat of war, which comes seven years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Welcome to 'WAITING for PUTIN: Ukraine Braces'
© zReportage.com Story of the Week #825: TUESDAY February 8, 2022: 'WAITING for PUTIN: Ukraine Braces' by ZUMA Press award winning photographers Bryan Smith and Celestino Arce Lavin: Is Ukraine Caught In New Kind Of Cuban Missile Crisis? Will there, or will there not be a Big War with Russia? Ukrainians try to gauge what happens next as tensions remain following the call between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Both Biden and Putin spoke in clear and plain terms, over a secured video link recently, as Russian troops have amassed at the Ukrainian border and the world fears the growing risk of an invasion. Putin insisted that NATO missiles in the region are a red line, while Biden threatened to cut Russia out of the international financial system if Russia invades Ukraine. Caught in the middle, Ukrainian politicians think tanks and ordinary citizens on social networks are offering their own assessment of the threat of war, which comes seven years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Welcome to 'WAITING for PUTIN: Ukraine Braces'
Ukrainian ALEX CHEREDNICHENKO, a businessman, points his automatic rifle through his kitchen window. Alex says he will take up his weapons and defend and fight for Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion. According to U.S. officials, Russia has already placed around 70% of the military forces needed for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in bordering areas.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
People hold a long blue and yellow Ukrainian national flag during a nationalist march along the Paton bridge while marking the Day of Unity celebration, which marks the unification of Ukraine in 1919 in Kiev.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
Wearing a fur hat and coat a woman and child with shopping bags walk past an electric tram at Kontraktova Square in Kyiv. Ukraine inflation slowed down only slightly to 9.9 percent in January as worries about a Russian military attack dragged down the Ukrainian hryvnia and weighed on prices despite another interest rate increase.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
President of Ukraine, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, during the signing of cooperation treaties between Turkey and Ukraine in Kiev. The two countries signed a dozen agreements including a free trade deal when President Erdogan visited Kyiv.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
A man holds a huge banner as a reminder of the 8 year duration of the Russian invasion in Crimea and Donbass, during a demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
ELENA, 26, looks on as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together under the shadow of a possible Russian invasion. According to U.S. officials, Russia has already placed around 70% of the military forces needed for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in bordering areas.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A civilian volunteer for the Territorial Defense Brigade of Kiev, performs a military exercise inside a building with a wooden training rifle. In response to the huge Russian military buildup in the border with Ukraine, many cities organized training for civilian defense brigades.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
A Ukraine nationalist sings the national anthem at the entrance to the TV channel NASH headquarters in Kiev during a demonstration demanding the closure of the channel accusing them of spreading Russian propaganda. The entrance gates were painted with yellow graffiti stating ''separatists,' during increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
Civilian volunteers for the Territorial Defense Brigade of Kiev with wooden training rifles in a military exercise inside a building with the word 'No Fate' on wall on the outskirts of the city. According to U.S. officials, Russia has already placed around 70% of the military forces needed for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in bordering areas.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
People walk past a sign that states 'I Love Ukraine' in Kyiv city center. Life goes on for Kyiv residents who maintain calm amid an ever growing threat of Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A man walks past graffiti of staring eyes as Kyiv remains calm in the face of an ever growing Russian threat.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
An Orthodox Christian crosses himself in an icy bath at the edge of a frozen lake during the celebrations of the Epiphany on a clear winters day in Kyiv. With roughly 35 million Orthodox Christians, Ukraine now has the third-largest Orthodox population in the world.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
A priest says a prayer inside the narthex of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine. With roughly 35 million Orthodox Christians, Ukraine now has the third-largest Orthodox population in the world.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A young couple embraces in a park overlooking the Dnieper River at sun down in Kyiv. Though tensions have escalated along the Russia-Ukraine border, many residents in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, are familiar with the anxieties of war given the long history of ongoing conflict in the region.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
Young men walk along a street on a winters evening in Kyiv. Life goes on for Kyiv residents who maintain calm amid an ever growing threat of Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A crescent moon rises behind St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
Runners jog past the People's Friendship Arch on a winters day in Kyiv. The monument was commemorated in 1982 for the 60th Anniversary of the USSR and the celebration of the 1,500th Anniversary of Kyiv.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
Ukrainian military veterans practice self-defense as part of rehabilitation at the Yarmiz Center in Kyiv. The center provides sports, psychological and social aid to the Ukraine veterans, servicemen of the Armed Forces, as well as members of their families helping with reintegration back into society.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A female volunteer looks on as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together and learn how to operate automatic weapons in preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A female trainee soldier, wearing red nail polish, from the civilian volunteer of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force learns how to handle an automatic weapon. Men and women in Ukraine feel an obligation to learn the skills required to be able to defend the country in case of a large-scale invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
ELENA (C), 26, is taught how to handle an automatic weapon as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together. Men and women in Ukraine feel an obligation to learn the skills required to be able to defend the country in case of a large-scale Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
Automatic weapons are laid down next to lunch as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together in preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A Ukrainian Soldier from the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade of Kiev explains how to hold a rifle to a couple of civilian volunteers with wooden replica guns, during a military exercise in the outskirts of Kyiv. The Ministry of Defense created defense brigades in the main cities because the high tension with the buildup of Russian troops in its border.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
Civilian volunteers for the Territorial Defense Brigade of Kiev, learn how to point with a wooden training rifle in a military exercise inside a building. Men and women in Ukraine feel an obligation to learn the skills required to be able to defend the country in case of a large-scale invasion.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
A trainee fighter moves across a field with his weapon up, as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together in preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
A smoke bomb goes off as civilian volunteers of the Obukhiv Civilian Protection force train together on the outskirts of Kyiv, in preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
© Bryan Smith/ZUMA Press Wire
Civilian volunteer of the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade of Kiev takes aim with his rifle during a military event to help train civilians to fight on the outskirts of Kyiv. The Ministry of Defense created defense brigades in the main cities because the high tension with the buildup of Russian troops in its border.
© Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire
