Caracas Chronicles

• Russian president Vladímir Putin said he didn’t have a choice but to invade Ukraine and defend Russia from security threats that never existed. It’s his cynical rhetoric to justify his war against Ukraine. At least 137 people died and 316 were injured on the first day and at least 100,000 people have had to flee their homes, some of them crossed the borders with Moldavia, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The largest Russian victories were taking over Chernobyl and the Hostomel airport, which was later recovered by Ukrainian Armed Forces. They estimate Russia sent between 30,000 and 60,000 troops so far. The EU, G7 and NATO closed ranks regarding sanctions to limit Russia’s financial and transactional capacity. 
• “We’ve been left alone to defend our State (…) Who’s willing to fight with us? I don’t see anyone. Today I asked 27 European leaders if Ukraine could join NATO. They’re all scared and won’t answer,” said President Zelensky and announced that men from 18 to 65 years old must stay in Ukraine to enlist in the militia. He asked citizens to stay in their homes and U.S. intelligence sources said that Russia intends to bomb Kyiv at 3:00 a.m. 

Only eleven countries have openly supported Russia: Belarus, Serbia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. 

• ANC-imposed prosecutor general Tarek William Saab announced a criminal gang that stole CORPOELEC property and materials operating in Miranda was dismantled. He also admitted PDVSA is being dismantled to export the scraps of metal after unions denounced it for three years. He said that they’ve arrested 12,495 for the theft and trafficking of strategic materials since 2017 and that they’ve charged 5,564. 
• The committee for judicial nominations published the list with 434 candidates, including Maikel Moreno and 16 current TSJ justices Calixto Ortega, Juan José Mendoza, Carmen Zuleta, Lourdes Suárez Anderson, Malaquías Gil, Eulalia Guerrero, María Carolina Ameliach, Danilo Antonio Mojica, Marjorie Calderón, Edgar Gavidia, Marisela Godoy, Vilma Fernández González, Yván Darío Bastardo, Francia Coello González and Yanina Beatriz Karabín de Díaz. There’s also deputies of Nicolás’s National Assembly like Gladys Requena (who was part of the committee), Hermann Escarrá and Leopoldo Pita Martínez; former TSJ chief justice, Gladys Gutiérrez; former CNE board members Indira Alfonzo and José Luis Gutiérrez Parra, current CNE board member Tania D’ Amelio and deputy Katherine Harrington. They can be contested in the next 15 days. Some quotas will be negotiated for members of the “opposition” and organizations that have reached out to chavismo. 
• Ricardo Molina, a deputy to Maduro’s AN, said that irregularities in the mining sector have been happening for 400 years but the Mining Arc is a very small area and they use mercury respecting human rights and nature. 
• Fospuca defended on Twitter the deforestation in areas like Baruta and questioned the opinion of an expert in the matter. Rafael Zurita, the founder of Inat Venezuela, said there’s plenty of evidence of works with little or no technical expertise. 
• Thousands of Russian citizens protested the invasion. At least 1,400 were arrested by Russian police.