UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson says Ukrainians fleeing the warzone can join their families in the United Kingdom.

“As tensions remain high with Russia’s invading troops and tanks driving deeper into Ukraine, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday that Ukrainians fleeing the invasion will be welcomed into the country if they have family in Britain.
“The U.K. will not turn our backs in Ukraine’s hour of need,” Johnson said in a statement, announcing that visa restrictions are being eased for Ukrainians who have immediate family in Britain, Reuters reported.
The prime minister also said at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Mayfair, London, Sunday night that the U.K. would be “very generous” toward Ukrainian refugees, The Telegraph reported.
Speaking to a group of Ukrainians at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, Johnson promised a system that would allow people to enter the country due to fear of persecution, to reunite with family or “other purposes.”
Family members eligible to apply for these visas are a spouse or civil partner, an unmarried partner of at least two years, children younger than 18, a parent if their child is younger than 18, and adult relatives who are carers, according to the BBC.
Johnson also announced that the U.K. would send over $53 million (£40 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including medical supplies to support those fleeing the invasion.
“We are providing all the economic and military support we can to help those Ukrainians risking everything to protect their country,” he was quoted as saying.”

Courtesy the Christian Post

Texas Governor John Abbott

Texas To Potentially Prosecute ‘Sex Change’ Surgeries On Minors As Child Abuse

In a letter last week, state Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate certain “so-called ‘sex change’ procedures” found to “constitute child abuse under existing Texas law.” Abbott cited an opinion by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“[I]t is already against the law to subject Texas children to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning, including reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen,” Abbott wrote.

“Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse,” he continued. “There are similar reporting requirements and criminal penalties for members of the general public.”

Courtesy the Daily Wire

---

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

Japan has decided to join the United States and European allies in removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial messaging system, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday.

Japan will also freeze assets of President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials, while sending $100 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Kishida told reporters.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a unilateral attempt to change the status quo and the act shakes the foundation of the international order. It’s an outright violation to international law and we strongly denounce the act,” Kishida said. “Japan stands by the Ukrainian people who are fighting hard to defend their sovereignty and territory, their homeland and families.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. needs to decrease its reliance on foreign oil by switching over to renewable energy, not increasing domestic production.  “We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, on oil in general, and we need to look at other ways of having energy in our country and others,” Psaki said during an interview with ABC This Week Sunday. “We’ve seen over the last week or so… a number of European countries are recognizing they need to reduce their own reliance on Russian oil.” Psaki’s comments come as fears grow that energy prices could continue to rise amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, with many NATO countries such as Germany dependent on Russian oil to fuel their countries.

Courtesy Fox News

BP is abandoning its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft in an abrupt and costly end to three decades of operating in the energy-rich country, marking the most significant move yet by a Western company in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Rosneft accounts for around half of BP’s oil and gas reserves and a third of its production and divesting the 19.75 percent stake will result in charges of up to $25 billion, the British company said, without saying how it plans to extricate itself.

“I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes out to everyone affected. It has caused us to fundamentally rethink BP’s position with Rosneft,” BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney said.

Courtesy Epoch News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) signs documents as Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a signing ceremony in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 17, 2018.

White House and NATO officials on Sunday responded to a statement issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would activate his strategic deterrence forces, which includes his country’s nuclear arsenal.

“If you combine this rhetoric with what they’re doing on the ground in Ukraine, waging war against an independent sovereign nation, conducting a fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN.

The secretary-general added: “That’s the reason why we both provide support to Ukraine, but also why we over the last weeks and months have significantly increased the presence of NATO in the eastern part” as “allies are now stepping up with more troops, more ships, more planes, and why we also have to realize that we are now faced with a new normal for our security.”

On Sunday morning, Putin said in a televised address with his top ministers that he would increase the readiness of his deterrence forces. The move, he said, was in response to European Union sanctions and economic penalties, including removing some Russian banks from the SWIFT banking information service.

Courtesy Epoch News

An 80 year old grandpa showed up to join up with the Ukrainian army. He had his suitcase filled with some extra tee shirts and clothes, a toothbrush and some sandwiches for lunch. When asked why he wanted to fight he said it was “for his grandkids!” A true hero!  America could use heroes like this fellow.  God bless him!