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February 24, 2022
Well, today is a day that will go in the history books. First and foremost, we are thinking of those in Ukraine. We have received videos from Roca Riders showing explosions across the country, including in places where our own Max Frost visited last summer. We cover the latest below, including a Wrap with messages from those in Ukraine.
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Russia Invades Ukraine
Overview
- Russia invaded Ukraine around 10 PM EST (5 AM Ukraine time) Wednesday night
- Early Wednesday, a cyberattack shut down Ukraine's government websites and the country declared a state of emergency, calling up 36,000 reserve troops
- Around 1AM local time, Ukraine's president addressed the people of Russia, saying that whether there is war "depends only on you"
- "As you attack, it will be our faces you see, not our backs," he said. "We will defend ourselves"
- Around 9:45 PM EST/4:45 AM Ukraine time, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in which he said that Ukraine is "our historical territory"
- He likened Ukraine to Nazi Germany and said the US was trying to destroy Russia and Ukraine's "family values"
- He said Ukraine would bear "all responsibility for possible bloodshed," and that anyone who interferes "will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history"
- Immediately after the speech, rocket attacks began on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, as well as military installations in the country's other largest cities
- Within an hour, Russian troops had crossed into Ukrainian territory from multiple sides
- Russia now occupies parts of central, southern, and eastern Ukraine. Analysts say a larger ground invasion is likely to follow an air assault that disables Ukraine's defenses
- At least 40 Ukrainian soldiers and 10 civilians are confirmed dead so far
DIG DEEPER
Today's Wrap has notes from Ukrainians on the ground. See it at the bottom of this newsletter.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Do you think Alec Baldwin is guilty for the killing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins?
Yes
No
Today's Question:
What is one feature you'd like to see in the forthcoming Roca app?
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Lights, camera, GOAT: Tom Brady will produce and appear in a Paramount movie called 80 for Brady, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda
- Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving may soon be able to play in home games. NYC is considering dropping its vax mandate
- Psaki sweepstakes heat up: White House press secretary Jen Psaki is being "feverishly courted" by CNN and MSNBC for a primetime host gig
Business
- Meta been betta: Facebook's market cap is down over $500B since rebranding to Meta. The name change occurred about 5 months ago
- AT&T and Discovery are eyeing mid-April to close their mega $43B WarnerMedia deal. Discovery will take over Warner Bros. and more
- Paint me like one of your French investments: Popular champagne house Telmont now counts Leonardo DiCaprio as one of its owners
Wildcard
- A New Zealand bull survived being swept 50 miles down a river, over a waterfall, and almost out to sea! A torrential downpour started it all
- Barclays has suspended millions of dollars in bonus to its former CEO amid an investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
- Sorry mate, you're sued: Prince Harry has reportedly hit the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday with a libel lawsuit
- The FDA approved the first ever condom for anal. Failure rate was shown to be less than 1%, the required threshold for FDA approval
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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Last summer, Roca co-founder Max Frost spent 3 weeks writing a Roca Roadtrip series from Ukraine. Much of the below comes from the current experiences of people he met on that trip.
Conversations with Ukrainians on the eve of war:
“Hello Roca news. I’m from Ukraine,” a man named Roman messaged me last night. “I’d like to help you get information what do you want.”
Roman is a history student who lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city which is situated a 40-minute drive from Ukraine’s border with Russia.
“Everything is calm,” Roman said. “Kharkiv residents are very calm about all events. Ukraine has been at war with Russia for 8 years, we are used to it.”
“It’s scary to know that Russian troops are standing near our borders, but we will defend ourselves.”
Roman sent me videos of mortar explosions taken by a friend of his in Eastern Ukraine. “People in village, as my friend says, are already accustomed to shelling.”
He followed up with 2 Flight Tracker screenshots showing private jets departing Ukraine. “Someone flies away from Ukraine all the time. Someone rich.”
“Many in Ukraine are ready to kill those who go to Ukraine on tanks.”
***
“Are you in Kyiv?” I asked an activist named Vladislyav who I met there during my Ukraine Roca Roadtrip last summer.
He responded with a list of messages:
“Yes”
“We are prepared to defend our land”
“Freedom”
“Diplomacy does not work with aggressor”
“Putin is crazy”
“United States are very helpful. It seems your government has a plan, long term to defeat Putin. But the price…the question… and who will pay :)”
“Never the less, we will make hell for Russians if they come. Everything will be ok”
***
I was monitoring the start of the invasion from Ukrainian group chats on Telegram, the encrypted messaging app. Right until the end – until 9:30 EST / 4:30 Ukraine time – there was speculation that Russia would figure out a way to deescalate the situation; figure out an excuse for their soldiers to go home.
Then came a message at 9:34 PM: “Putin is delivering a live address right now”
9:38 PM: Putin says the US is an empire of lies
9:39 PM: Putin says the US wants to destroy our family values
9:41 PM: Putin says Russia already destroyed the fascists once in 1945
9:45 PM: Putin says we are moving in to Ukraine
9:57 PM: The Kremlin says that war operations are beginning
10:12 PM: Explosions in Kyiv
In the 30 minutes that followed, explosions were reported in nearly all of Ukraine’s other major cities. Ukraine was at war.
Each message had dozens of replies, with most conveying fear, curses at Russia, or humor.
Friends from Ukraine began messaging me:
“War has begun,” said Alex in Kyiv.
“The war is start,” said Roman in Kharkiv.
“We heard a very loud noise,” said Sonya in Odessa (Sonya had returned from a trip to the US on Tuesday night. "Thankfully" she was able to get back to Ukraine to be with her family during the war, she said.)
“It’s happening…people in panic,” said Oleg in Chernivtsi.
Alex in Lviv shared a video of him vaping in the town square: "What a day."
Vladimir Putin says Russia’s goal is the demilitarization and “denazification” of Ukraine (since 2014, Russia has accused the US of installing an anti-Russian, Nazi government in Ukraine). Reports suggest Russia is trying to dismantle Ukrainian military installations before launching a ground assault to occupy the country.
There’s no telling what all that means for those people listed above. We’ll be keeping you posted here in the coming weeks.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
In what year were these the top 5 Google searches? "Kobe Bryant" and "Iraq" were also popular searches this year.
- Britney Spears
- Harry Potter
- Matrix
- Shakira
- David Beckham
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Do you want more Wraps on the situation in Ukraine, or do you not really care?
More Wraps: 86.8%
Don't really care: 13.2%
Yesterday's Question:
Who is an underappreciated musician whose music you love? Why?
Kenneth from Texas: "Greta Van Fleet, they’re really good and remind me of Zeppelin & old rock and roll. They’re doing a show with Metallica in Vegas in like 2 days!"
Matt from Illinois: "The answer is most definitely Nickelback. Everyone loves to hate on them. However, even if you are embarrassed to admit it, you know you have a favorite Nickelback song. (mine is Far Away) You don't stick around for multiple decades if no one is listening..."
Stefanie from California: "VHS Collection! Their work is fresh but has nostalgic, retro vibes. Got me through quarantine with some semblance of sanity in tact."
General Feedback:
Amanda: "There’s no way to put this that isn’t selfish, but this was the longest 3 day weekend of my life waiting to hear the real news. The Ukraine/Russia conflict the first time I’ve been old enough to feel the real weight of what’s happening internationally, and it’s truly terrifying. Thank you for bringing the real news, everyday."
Isaiah: "Appreciate all the good laughs each day. Fascinating stories, too!"
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20 Questions: 16-20
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers. Last week's theme was "Pick your Favorite" in each category.
16. ABBA songs
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"
"The only correct answer is Dancing Queen. Come on"
"Take a Chance on Me"
17. Reality shows
"Jersey Shore. Modern artistic masterpiece"
"Survivor"
"Anything on the Food Network"
18. Disney movies
"Mulan"
"Lion King"
"Does Pirates of the Caribbean count?"
19. Meals of the day
"Dinner"
"Snacks!"
"Lunch - especially when there's tacos"
20. US presidents
"JFK"
"Lincoln"
"Teddy and FDR. Roosevelts ftw"
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― Final Thoughts
Stay tuned to our Instagram for ongoing updates about the situation in Ukraine. We'll be sharing the photos and videos our sources there send us.
And despite all that is going on, have a great day – and THANK YOU for riding the Roca wave!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is part 2 of our 3-part series on Vladimir Putin. It's more relevant now than ever...
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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