The 24th of February will go down in world history as the day Russian forces started the war against Ukraine.
The day was beginning to dawn that Thursday, when strong explosions were recorded in at least five cities in Ukraine, including the capital, Kiev, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation in the country.
At least two explosions were heardat dawn in central Kiev, followed by ambulance sirens, according to journalists.
On the same day, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, said that “there will be a new Europe after today’s invasion” and added that the West was preparing a package of sanctions for the country.
Ukrainian tanks prepared for offensive – Reuters/Carlos Barria/Rights Reserved
The Russian attack was the culmination of an escalation of tension between the two countries that intensified in January and February. At the beginning of the second month of the year, already on the 1st, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of to create a scenario designed to attract you for the war.
The next day, Russia transported about 30,000 soldiers and weapons to Belarus. It was Moscow’s largest military deployment to the country since the end of the Cold War. Faced with the threats, Ukraine considered revising their intentions to join NATO and tried to score a meeting with Russian representatives??
Tensions rose as Russia massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine and held large-scale exercises. On the 12th, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, asked the population to don’t paniceven in the face of intensified military exercises??
The American president, Joe Biden, said that the United States would respond to a possible offensive?? On the 23rd, Russian forces were already massed around Ukraine in an attack position.
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Tragedy in Petropolis
Drone images of the landslide areas in Petrópolis, due to the heavy rains that hit the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro – TV Brazil
On the national scene, the beginning of the year brought a tragedy to the municipality of Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro. On the 15th, in just six hours, the Accumulated rainfall reached 259 millimeters (mm), surpassing the average of 238.2 mm expected for the entire month of February. The storm caused landslides in several hills and flooding with strong currents in the streets.
Castelânea neighborhood in Petrópolis, after heavy rains that hit the mountainous region of Rio – Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
On the 18th the president Jair Bolsonaro flew over the affected areas and classified the scenario as “pictures of war”. On the 10th, the government released to Petrópolis and three other cities the possibility of make a withdrawal from the Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS) by calamity. Until the end of the month, on the 24th, more than 200 bodies had been located??
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Case Moise
Images released by the Civil Police at the beginning of the month (1st) show the attacks made on Congolese Moïse Kabamgabe, on January 24th. Three men were indicted for double murder. The next day they were arrested and the family testified??
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postponed carnival
With the change of the date of the event to April because of the covid-19, the street vendors who would work at the street carnival in the city of Rio de Janeiro received aid of R$ 500, which was paid in a single installment on February 18. The announcement was made on the 4th by the city hall and aimed to supplement the income of these informal workers, after the cancellation of the festivities for the second year in a row.
The new phase of the covid-19 pandemic, driven by the Omicron variant, led to the cancellation of carnival in almost all capitals in the country. The exception was the city of Belo Horizonte, which did not issue a rule with an explicit prohibition. Most cities allowed parties and events in open and closed places.
