Submit your Article

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order, Associated Press reported.

Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.

Scores of Ukrainians, civilians and service members alike, were killed in the first full day of fighting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and chillingly referred to his country’s nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with “consequences you have never seen,” as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible.

Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an attack that one senior U.S. defense official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers, “decapitating” Ukraine’s government and installing a new one. Already, Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

“Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he pleaded Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days.

Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 “heroes,” including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included all border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians.

He concluded an emotional speech by saying that “the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.” He also said the country had heard from Moscow that ”they want to talk about Ukraine’s neutral status.”

U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin “chose this war” and that his country would bear the consequences. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly.

Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv’s subway stations.

Russian military forces have seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials say, BBC reported.

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said the "totally pointless attack" on Thursday amounted to "one of the most serious threats in Europe today".

An explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 led to the worst nuclear disaster in human history, both in cost and casualty.

Ukraine's president warned such a disaster could happen again if Russia continued its invasion.

"Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote earlier on Twitter.

"This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also warned of the possibility of "another ecological disaster" at the site.

Chernobyl's "exclusion zone" - a 32 km (19 mile) radius around the plant - remains largely devoid of life 36 years after a faulty reactor caused a major explosion at the plant.

The plant's three other reactors were all shut down by 2000 and it has since been decommissioned.

Radiation levels in the area remain dangerously high since the 1986 leak, chronicled in an eponymous HBO mini-series in 2019 that helped make the site a tourist attraction.

Russian troops reportedly entered the exclusion zone earlier on Thursday before crossing over into Ukraine.

The White House says it has received reports that staff are being held hostage at the site by Russian soldiers.

The forces are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" in their neighbouring country.

Chernobyl is located about 130 km (80 miles) north of the capital Kyiv and could provide a path into the city for the invading forces.

Chinese Communist Party Foreign Department Deputy Chief Chen Zhou held a virtual meeting with CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Nepal on Thursday and expressed concern over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

During the meeting, he said that China is ready to invest in the development project that Nepali people wanted independently.

Similarly, Chairman Nepal said that Nepal is committed to one-China policy and will not allow anti-China activities in Nepal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks responding to the controversy over a US deadline to Nepal to pass the MCC compact through parliament by February 28.

“How could a ‘gift’ be sent by an ultimatum? How could people accept such a ‘gift’?” said Hua on Wednesday at a press conference in Beijing. “Is it a ‘gift’ or a Pandora's box? Is it afraid that just as the old Nepali saying goes, it looks delicious, but it's actually a meat tough to chew.

 

The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has expressed concerns over the safety of Nepalis in Ukraine following the recent developments there.

Issuing a statement onThursday, NRNA said that 38 Nepalis living in Ukraine since long are in contact of Nepali National Coordination Council, Ukraine and all of them are safe.

The Council has received the information that 44 other students in Ukraine and more than 200 Nepalis are in transit and all the Nepalis in Ukraine have been requested to inform the Council about their condition. 

Similarly, the NRNA has urged all the Nepalis in Ukraine to stay safe and assess the situation and return home if necessary. It has asked to contact Chairperson of the Council, Hari Malla, on 380934347700, [email protected] and NRNA Secretariat in Nepal. RSS

Nepal logged 318 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Thursday. 

With this, the country's active caseload mounted to 1,115,650. Similarly, the death toll has climbed to 11,931. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 5, 508 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 151 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 235 people underwent antigen tests, of which 167 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 562 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 9, 678 active cases in the country. 

The Ministry said that 9, 406 people are staying in home isolation while 272 are in institutionalized isolation.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba urged the main opposition CPN-UML to take part in the discussions on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

PM Deuba made such a request during a meeting held with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli at the Parliament building on Thursday afternoon, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa said.

The Prime Minister urged UML Chairman Oli to take part in the discussions by lifting the House obstruction saying the MCC is a matter of international concern and should be resolved without any further delay, he said.

“MCC is not just an issue of arithmetic. This is also an issue of international concern. This should be resolved at any cost. We all parties are ready to hold discussions. The government also wants the UML to participate in the discussions by lifting the House obstruction,” Thapa said as PM Deuba saying.

It has been learnt that PM Deuba and Oli will meet again in Baluwatar at 7 pm today.

I am a 27-year-old male who has had anxiety issues since childhood. I recently started seeing a counselor with whom I share all my problems. She listens to me patiently and she has, in a way, become a motherly figure to me. (I didn’t have a good mother.) But of late, I feel that I am attracted to her. I think of her all the time. I cannot wait to see her again. I find that I am emotionally dependent on her. Is this feeling natural? What should I do? -A.R.A.

Nishma Choudhary, Student of MA in Clinical Psychology and Co-founder of My Sirani 

It is normal to develop feelings for your counselor. You are sharing your deepest secrets with her. Developing feelings for someone who patiently listens to your problems and who gives you non-judgemental advice is natural. She is giving you a space where you’re comfortable being vulnerable. Maybe that’s a state you associate with feeling loved, whether it is with a parent or a partner. 

You need to take into consideration a couple of things. How long has it been since you started developing feelings or attraction towards her? Is the termination of the feelings taking longer than needed? 

Maybe you can start by contemplating why you may be feeling this way. If counseling has been helping you with your anxiety, then you must be getting positive nurturing feelings out of your sessions. And perhaps this feeling is causing you to look at your counselor as a motherly figure. Your feelings may have also born out of the gratitude you hold for her for listening to you and helping you. Or, because you long to have someone to talk to, someone who understands your struggle with anxiety, which your counselor is for you right now.

One thing that you can do is talk about your feelings with your counselor. At the end of the day, she is there to support you emotionally. She understands your condition and she will know how you can understand and deal with your emotions in the best way. There is in fact no one better to talk about this issue than your counselor.

I understand it can be awkward for you, but chances are your counselor has experienced something similar before. So I advise that you talk to your counselor before you seek advice from anyone else. She is there to help you.