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Wave after wave of explosions have been heard over the past few hours, not just in Kyiv but all over this huge nation, from Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the east and Odesa in the south.

There is a sense of déjà vu for those of us who were present when Russia’s extensive invasion started in February. It has been advised that we spend as much time as possible in the basement because more strikes with missiles and drones are anticipated.

However, this is also unique. The explosions in Kyiv are substantially more nearby the city’s centre. Loud reverberations near streets and places we’ve gotten to know well over the previous eight months, not far-off thumps from the suburbs.

It’s hard to know what is being targeted, but according to a statement from Ukraine’s ministry of culture, the Philharmonic building and museums were both struck.

A large crater at a playground was visible in one of the social media videos going around. Another displayed a missile striking Mayor Vitali Klitschko’s glass bridge, a well-liked tourist destination and vantage point across the Dnipro River.

Living in an apartment with a view of the playground in Shevchenko Park is Olena and Valerii Badakh.

“It was gruesome. Our lives suddenly had a gaping hole in them. It was awful, “Olena informed me.

Two days ago, when Ukrainians joyously applauded the attack on the bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, social media was swamped with videos and memes.

These days, all the films show shell-shocked locals, burning rubble, and dire warnings.

Even when it seems expected, the shock is still present.

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Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, Nike is the most recent Western company to announce plans to depart Russia. In March, the US sportswear juggernaut stopped accepting online orders and shut its local stores.

Local partners’ stores continued to be open, but the company is ending their contracts with them. Networking behemoth Cisco recently announced that it would begin to completely cease operations in Belarus and Russia. McDonald’s and Starbucks are two additional businesses that have recently finalised their exit strategies.

Nike issued a statement saying, “Nike has decided to exit the Russian market.” As we sensibly reduce our activities over the upcoming months, our first focus is to make sure we are adequately supporting our staff. Since the invasion, as the West and its allies have imposed sanctions and multinational corporations have fled the country, Russia has become more and more economically isolated.

According to Reuters, the nation is currently working on legislation that would punish foreign corporations looking to leave, enabling the government to take their assets and apply criminal penalties.

According to its website, Nike has more than 50 stores in Russia, with nearly a third of them being closed. Russian media claimed in May that the firm was terminating its contract with its biggest franchisee in that country, who was in charge of 37 locations.

Russia and Ukraine collectively contributed less than 1% of Nike’s total revenue, as previously revealed. On Thursday, Cisco announced that it had “decided to start an orderly wind-down of our business in Russia and Belarus.”A few hundred employees will be impacted by this choice, the US company stated, adding that it wanted to make sure they are “treated with dignity.”

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According to Nato’s head, the West must prepare to continue assisting Ukraine in a long-term conflict. The cost of conflict, according to Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, is enormous, but the cost of allowing Moscow to achieve its military objectives is much higher.

His remarks came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned that a longer-term confrontation was inevitable. Both Mr. Stoltenberg and Mr. Johnson stated that supplying more weapons would increase the likelihood of a Ukrainian victory.

“We must plan for the possibility that it will take years. We must not abandon our support for Ukraine “In an interview with the German tabloid Bild, the Nato head stated. “Even if the expenses are significant, not only in terms of military support, but also in terms of growing energy and food expenditures.” According to the head of the Western military alliance, providing Ukraine with more modern weapons will improve its chances of liberating the country’s eastern Donbas region, which is now under Russian control.

Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for control of territory in Ukraine’s east for several months, with Moscow making gradual progress in recent weeks.

Boris Johnson, writing in the Sunday Times, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engaging in a “war of attrition” and “seeking to crush Ukraine down by pure cruelty.”

He wrote, “I’m afraid we’ll have to brace ourselves for a protracted conflict.” “The most important factor is time. Everything hinges on Ukraine’s ability to improve its defence capabilities faster than Russia’s ability to renew its offensive capabilities.” The prime minister, who visited Ukraine’s capital on Friday, warned that supplies of weaponry, equipment, ammunition, and training to Kyiv needed to keep up with Moscow’s rearmament operations.

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After President Joe Biden announced that his administration would supply Kyiv with new long-range missiles in the coming weeks, Russia accused the US of purposefully prolonging the war in Ukraine.

Mr. Biden wrote in the New York Times that the lethal aid would strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position against Russia and increase the likelihood of a diplomatic solution. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, accused the US of wanting to “fight Russia to the last Ukrainian” and said the move discouraged Kyiv officials from seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The weapons, which Ukraine has long requested, will help strike enemy forces within Ukraine more precisely and from a greater distance, according to President Biden.

Ukraine had promised not to use the new missiles to strike inside Russia, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who warned of a long conflict ahead.

The intervention comes as fighting in the eastern Donbas region heats up, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Russia of “madness” after striking a chemical factory in the city.

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