Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday,?? ??? ?? staging an assault on the country from three sides: the northern, eastern, and southern borders, NPR reports. Before dawn, Russian forces attacked locations near Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles, and are using long-range artillery against targets in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city near the Russian border, according to CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law, but urged the public to remain calm.
"The most important message is that Ukraine is united, we are strong," he said Thursday morning in a public address. "We are optimistic. We are looking into the future with wide open eyes, and we shall overcome."
A map of Ukraine showing its border with Russia. Credit: Getty / DigitalVision Vectors As Russian military forces and Russian-backed separatists strike targets across Ukraine, it can be difficult to ensure you're receiving the full breadth of information at hand. There is an ongoing joke that every time something big happens geopolitically, people on the internet take on overconfident stances as experts — and that can lead to the spread of misinformation. Russia is also a country known for spreading misinformation to sow panic and confusion for its benefit.
The internet is full of grifters who rely on our basic trust to amplify their message, whether it's dipped in truth or not. On TikTok, for instance, some users are saying that they are livestreaming the "Ukrainian invasion" and asking for donations — but the videos they're posting are actually just shots of houses in the U.K. dubbed with sirens and gunshots, according to a report from NBC. So it's important to navigate this time with care.
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If you're following along with what the New York Timeshas called the "most significant European war in almost 80 years," there are plenty of trustworthy experts to listen to so that you can understand what is happening in Ukraine. Here are some of our favorites, on a variety of platforms.
Fact checking the Russian attack on Ukraine
Even if you think you're following reports from reputable sources, it's still important to do your due diligence and fact check it yourself. Here are some pointers on how to do that:
Investigative news site Bellingcat has created a frequently updated database of footage from Russia and Ukraine that is false, which they debunk. It's very helpful if you find a piece of footage that you think might not be quite right.
This piece from Poynter explains how to identify fake photos and videos.
The Verge has a guide for how to navigate the internet when lies, tricks, and chaos abound.
Live Blogs
Some news organizations put together live blogs of the news coming out of Russia and Ukraine. There are plenty of trusted news organizations that are live blogging the war in other languages — like elDiario in Spanish or Le Monde in French. But here are some of the English-language sites we're following:
BBC News
The Guardian
The Kyiv Independent
TV stations
If you want to see how different new sources are covering the invasion at the same time, Matt Taylor of the Financial Times put together a screening room with streams of coverage from BBC News, Sky News, NBC, CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera, and more.
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Twitter accounts
You can, of course, follow trustworthy news sources on Twitter to get more information about the war, and there are a few well-curated lists of journalists covering the invasion. If you're looking for individual journalists to follow on Twitter, here are a few we've been watching.
Journalists to follow:
Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent (Ukrainian media on the ground reporting in English)
Anastasiia Lapatina, a reporter for Kyiv Independent
Igor Kossov, a journalist in Kyiv
Nick Beake, the BBC News Europe correspondent
Myroslava Petsa, a journalist for BBC Ukraine
Sarah Rainsford, eastern Europe correspondent for BBC, currently reporting from east Ukraine
Christopher Miller, BuzzFeed correspondent, former Mashable senior correspondent, reporting from Ukraine
Steve Rosenberg, the Moscow correspondent for BBC News, reporting from Russia
Christo Grozev, the executive director of Bellingcat
Nic Robertson, reporting from Moscow for CNN
Andrew Roth, the Moscow correspondent for Guardian
Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times
Nataliya Vasilyeva, the Moscow correspondent for The Telegraph
Nika Melkozerova, the executive editor of New Voice Ukraine
Kristina Berdynskykh, a reporter at New Voice of Ukraine currently reporting from Kyiv
Marichka Varenikova, a journalist in Kyiv
Alec Luhn, a roving reporter across Ukraine and Russia
Olga Tokariuk, a correspondent for EFE Noticias in Kyiv
Nika Melkozerova, executive editor at New Voice of Ukraine
Shaun Walker, the central and eastern Europe correspondent at Guardian
Katerina Sergatskova, the editor-in-chief of Zaborona Media in Kyiv
Myroslava Gongadze, the Eastern Europe chief at the Voice of America
Alexander Khrebet, the international desk editor for ZN_UA (Ukraine's Mirror Weekly)
Katerina Sergatskova, editor-in-chief at Zaborona Media
Isobel Koshiw, a journalist in Kyiv
Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist in Kyiv
Tanya Kozyreva, a journalist in Ukraine
Ollie Carroll, a journalist in Ukraine
Luke Harding, journalist for Guardian currently reporting from Kyiv
Valerie Hopkins, a reporter for the New York Times, currently reporting from Ukraine
Mark MacKinnon, senior correspondent, the Globe and Mail, currently reporting from Ukraine
Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist and founder Public Interest Journalism Lab
Tim Mak, an NPR investigative correspondent currently reporting from Kyiv
Frank Langfitt, an NPR London correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine
Eleanor Beardsley, an NPR Paris correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine
Nexta, large network covering Ukraine and Russia
Public figures:
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine foreign minister
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine defence minister
Lesia Vasylenko, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English
Alona Shkrum, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English
Sam Greene, King’s College professor of politics
Michael McFaul, leading expert on Russia, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow
Edward Lucas, security specialist and author
Peter Pomerantsev, journalist and scholar
Michael Kofman, Russian armed forces expert
Michael McFaul, a Standford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia
Open-source intelligence (OSINT):
Rob Lee, reliable source tracking military engagements in Ukraine
OSINTtechnical, reliable source tracking military engagements
Jane Lytvynenko, resources for journalists
Elliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat
Maria Avdeeva, disinformation analyst in Ukraine
Aric Toler – East European researcher, Bellingcat
Oliver Alexander, geolocation analyst
Karina Nguyen, visual investigations with the Human Rights Center, New York Times
Conflict Intelligence Team, visual investigations in Ukraine
Thomas Eydoux, OSINT journalist
Michael A. Horowitz, geopolitical and security analyst
Christiaan Triebert, visual investigations at the New York Times
Christo Grozev, executive editor of Bellingcat
Regardless of how you get your news, staying abreast with the goings on in Europe now — and ensuring that you don't contribute to the spread of misinformation — is ever-important.