Santa's Ukrainian elves are busy making HIMARS this year pic.twitter.com/OdT1fgDXrD
— Philip Ittner (@PhilipIttner) December 10, 2022
It’s so cute!
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:
Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!
The key for today is energy. The situation in Odesa region is very difficult. After the night strike by Iranian drones, Odesa and other cities and villages of the region are in the dark. So far, more than 1.5 million people in Odesa are without electricity. Only critical infrastructure is connected and to the extent where it is possible to supply electricity.
In total, Russian terrorists used 15 Shahed drones against Odesa. During one night on Saturday. This is the true attitude of Russia towards Odesa, towards Odesa residents – deliberate bullying, deliberate attempt to bring disaster to the city. Our sky defenders managed to shoot down 10 drones out of 15. Well done!
Power engineers, repair crews, regional authorities – everyone is working non-stop to restore power. Unfortunately, the hits were critical, so it takes more than just a period of time to restore electricity… It doesn’t take hours, but a few days, unfortunately. We will do everything we can to speed up the recovery.
Please, while the repairs are in progress, help your friends, your neighbors, and the elderly in Odesa to find and use the Points of Invincibility. Points of Invincibility are deployed. There you can warm up, charge your equipment, get access to mobile communication, get the necessary, important support.
In general, both emergency and stabilization power outages continue in various regions.
The power system is now, to put it mildly, very far from a normal state – there is an acute shortage in the system. That is why there are blackout schedules. The largest number is in the Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Ternopil, Sumy, Zakarpattia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky regions and in the city of Kyiv.
It must be understood: even if there are no heavy missile strikes, this does not mean that there are no problems. Almost every day in different regions there are shelling, there are missile attacks, drone attacks. Energy facilities are hit almost every day. Due to losses in the system, everyone in the system has to reduce the limits. Recovery is also very difficult. But still, our energy and utility crews are doing truly heroic things, restoring in weeks what would have required months of work. And I thank each who is working to restore power and save the power system.
I also thank everyone who realizes how hard it is for our defenders of the sky, how hard it is for the repair crews and very hard for the energy workers, how hard it is for everyone who protects our lives.
Today, we have important news from Norway. There is a new support package from this country in the amount of $100 million. And precisely for the restoration of our energy system after these Russian strikes. I thank all Norwegians for this decision. I’m thankful to the government. In general, we receive defense, economic and very important political support from Norway, as well as a lot of humanitarian assistance. Norway also helps with the purchase of gas. We will work together on the reconstruction of Ukraine. I want to thank you once again.
Today, in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, the annual ceremony of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize took place. This year, the language of Ukraine, our Ukrainian language, was heard for the first time at the ceremony – thanks to the Center for Civil Liberties and its head Mrs. Matviichuk, who became laureates of the Peace Prize. I congratulate Ms. Oleksandra, her colleagues and all Ukrainian human rights defenders on this recognition.
It is symbolic that the ceremony takes place on this very day – International Human Rights Day. In Ukraine, before there was no national day of gratitude and respect for the human rights movement – all those who dedicate their lives to the protection and restoration of people’s rights. Now such a day has been established and will be celebrated annually on December 10 – Human Rights Day.
Earlier, I signed several more important decrees. In particular, about awarding state scholarships.
And Mr. Edem Bekirov was awarded the state scholarship named after Levko Lukyanenko. This is a special scholarship with which the state supports those who were released from the captivity of the occupiers, who were saved from Russian repression.
Outstanding figures of our science, culture, and art have been awarded other state scholarships. A total of 100 Ukrainian men and women.
I thank everyone who works for our country!
Glory to everyone who fights for Ukraine and thanks to whom we can live and work!
Eternal memory to all those who died for our freedom!
Glory to Ukraine!
The Kyiv Independent‘s Illia Ponomarkenko provides an explainer on how (some) Ukrainians are dealing with the power outages caused by Putin’s and Russia’s targeting of the civilian power generation and transmission infrastructure.
…is off, I have neither heating nor hot water. And I’m screwed. So I get myself a charging station, and if things are really bad, I can turn the boiler on for a couple of hours a day and sustain more or less acceptable air temperature at home.
And I can recharge the thing…— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) December 10, 2022
…and live on. If there’s no gas supply, here you go with compressed gas cylinders. The same goes for things like portable ovens for cooking. There’s always a way to survive the winter of Russian missile terror.
Those things are pricy in Ukraine now, but they are available.— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) December 10, 2022
…by wiping out our critical infrastructure. Everyone in Ukraine is finding a way to carry on while the clock is ticking for the Kremlin.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) December 10, 2022
Here is former NAVDEVGRU Squadron Leader Chuck Pfarrer’s latest assessment of the situation in Bakhmut:
BAKHMUT /1710 UTC 10 DEC/ MASINT [Measurement & Signature Intelligence] and defense sources indicate that a series of RU assaults continue along the line of contact. Fighting is reported as heavy, although there do not appear to be significant RU gains at this time. pic.twitter.com/tplex26oEs
— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) December 10, 2022
Here’s some more on what Prigozhin’s private military contractors – aka the Wagner Group – and the Russian military are doing in Bakhmut:
1/ The Armed Forces told how the Russians changed their tactics in the #Bakhmut area : Currently, #Donbas is the main front of the struggle for the independence of Ukraine, noted the speaker of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russians have changed their tactics in one of the pic.twitter.com/DjFwHs7njy— J. comme JéJé 🇫🇷 🇺🇦 #UkraineMap (@HeliosRunner) December 10, 2022
2/ hottest areas.
#Russian occupiers have changed the tactics of conducting hostilities in the #Bakhmut region of the Donetsk region.Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in an informational tv appearance that the occupiers3/ are concentrating their main efforts on the #Bakhmut & Avdiivka directions. Attacks & assaults take place there, the enemy uses all types of artillery, rocket launchers and aviation.
“The enemy has changed tactics. Instead of using company-battalion orders, he now creates
4/ such assault squads & groups, and already these groups are divided into subgroups that directly assault, and others cover them with fire. We study these tactics and for every such military poison we have an antidote,” Cherevaty said.
He also said that this tactic is primarily
5/ used by the “Wagners”, but it is also used by other types of enemy troops that are involved in attacks on Ukrainian positions.
Cherevaty noted that the Ukrainian military is actively monitoring the occupiers and trying to preemptively act.
6/ with our unmanned systems and stationary ones. We are trying to identify the enemy in advance and hit him with artillery, mortars, when approaching our positions with the fire of our small arms,” said the spokesman of the Armed Forces. According to him, now #Donbas is the7/ main front of the struggle for Ukraine’s independence.
“It is the main focus of the enemy’s efforts to push through our defenses, trying to get to the rear and seize the entire Ukrainian Donbas – this is the primary plan,” Cherevaty emphasized.
“In general, the front now has
8/ such an interesting configuration, when one cannot say that one side is in a state of attack, and the other is in blind defense. This is a dynamic process now, there are actually such binary processes, when we counterattack the enemy at the slightest opportunity and try to9/ knock them out of their positions . And the enemy, where he has an advantage and sees that he can carry out attacks, he does it,” added the speaker of the Armed Forces.10/ Also according to British intelligence, over the past three months, Russian troops in Ukraine have mostly stopped deploying in the form of battalion tactical groups (BTGs) .
The BTG concept has played an important role in Russian military doctrine for the past 10 years.
11/ However, during large-scale, high-intensity hostilities in Ukraine, several internal shortcomings of this concept were revealed.
As analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note, since April, Russian BTGs have been degraded during various failed or completed
12/ Russian offensives. The exhausting attacks of the Russian Federation on #Kyiv, #Mariupol, #Severodonetsk and #Lysychansk #Popasna #Kharkiv etc also played a role.
if not major as no more adequate materials translate to incapacity to use such “structure”13/ After the aggressor country lost its BTG, and with them its strength, the Russian command tried to restore combat power and re-create battalion tactical groups. However, it was not crowned with success.
Previously, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of Forces, Cherevaty,
14/ already said that the enemy had changed tactics in the Bakhmut direction, concentrating on small groups. In particular, the mercenaries of the “Wagner” PMC create small assault groups that try to act in a dispersed manner in order to reach our positions as quickly as possible15/ and try to penetrate into the trenches.
and as i explained early in the war or showed like here :when Ru had full load of ammo is that it takes a lot of shell to dislodge troops, or you need special systems/ammo like Excalibur or Ukr/German equiva16/ but if you don’t get yourself a very precise CAS and precise arty to deter the said entrenches troops, then you are in for a true ww1 type of war.
(or course you can use drones, but they have a short life span right now and can’t be use just to replace some heavy helos / A1017/ that could “straff” the Ru mercenaries.
also even if we saw it coming
it seems like in the famous Lamarck/Darwin discussion we are still wondering if it’s only because they couldn’t do different that they transformed like that and or if Wagner with
18/ it’s own form of organization was able to “generate” this change, because in such disastrous armored etc support, they had anyway to come up with something that is “functioning” (not great, but they also do as they can).
Anyway, that’s what is happening now on the frontline.
As I mentioned in the title of tonight’s update, things just seem to keep catching on fire in Russia:
In Barnaul, Russia, the Altai Tire Plant is on fire.
The plant also produces tires for military equipment. pic.twitter.com/LWGpZ4BrVE— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) December 9, 2022
Reuters has the details of the shopping mall fire in Moscow from a couple of days ago:
Dec 9 (Reuters) – Fire engulfed one of the largest shopping malls near Moscow early on Friday, emergency services said, leading to the collapse of part of the structure, which complicated firefighters’ efforts to douse the flames.
The conflagration spread over an area of about 7,000 sq m (75,000 sq ft) in the Mega shopping centre in Khimki near the Russian capital, authorities said. One person died in the fire, authorities say.
More at the link.
We’ve also got news from Crimea.
The first is that all the civilians residing on/near the Kinburn Spit have been “evacuated” by Russia. Evacuated here means forcibly removed and relocated. Ukrainiski Pravda has the details:
There are no longer any civilians on the Kinburn Spit, which is still under the control of the Russian occupiers.
Source: “Radio Svoboda”, quoting Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, Vitalii Kim.
Quote: “There are zero civilians left there. About a little less than a week ago, the Russians forcibly evicted them and took them in the direction of Crimea. I do not know [where they were taken – ed.] after Crimea.
There were only 37 people left. These are small villages, they basically lived there off of tourists, and 100-200 people lived there in peacetime winters. So now there are only enemy soldiers there.”
Details: Kim also believes that the Russian military, that are located on the spit, do not directly threaten Mykolaiv, and their main goal is to hold as many territories as possible.
Background: On 29 November, the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that they have not yet gained control over the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast, the Russian troops are currently regrouping there.
The second bit of news is that the Ukrainians reached out touched something on Crimea earlier today. The New Voice of Ukraine has the details:
A fire broke out early on the morning of Dec. 10 in the barracks in the town of Sovetske in Crimea, where Russian conscripts were reportedly accommodated, a number of local Telegram channels reported.
Casualties have already been confirmed.
The Krymsky Veter channel posted a video from the scene of the incident. The post specifies that the fire started at around 06:00 a.m. on Dec. 10.
Those barracks could house from several hundred to several thousand people, Serhiy Bratchuk, an Odesa Oblast military administration official, wrote on Telegram.
“At about 6 a.m. today. The barracks are on fire… There are dead and wounded people,” the message reads.
More at the link.
Please note and keep in mind that Sovetske is around 149 miles from Ukraine’s southernmost position in Kherson. As such, it is out of HIMARS range as currently configured for Ukrainian usage. So this was most likely a combo of Ukrainian SOF and Ukrainian partisans targeting the barracks from inside Russian occupied Crimea.
The Kyiv Independent‘s Illia Ponomarenko has reported that Israel might be willing to do more if Ukraine’s official position was not in support of better treatment for the Palestinians, including recognizing the Palestinians’ right to autonomy.
Over the last few weeks, the question of Israeli support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia has returned to the spotlight.
After many months of ambiguity and silence, rumors circulating in the media suggest that Israel, amid Russia’s ravaging brutality and its new alliance with Iran, secretly initiated the first steps to provide Kyiv with defense technologies.
Despite multiple reports about ongoing Ukraine-Israel military consultations and even the sale of important hardware via mediators in the West, the official Jerusalem does not publicly confirm any of it.
According to the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, Ukraine enjoys rather broad public support in Israeli society, despite what is believed to be a strong Russian influence among Russian-speaking Israelis.
Many people in Israel, Brodsky said, do a lot to provide humanitarian assistance to Kyiv. But when it comes to military support, the situation is much more complicated as Israel has its own “red lines” regarding its security in the Middle East.
Moreover, support for Kyiv in Israel has been jeopardized after Ukraine recently voted in favor of a number of United Nations resolutions condemning Israel in its dispute with Palestinian Autonomy.
“Speaking as not only a diplomat but also a person who has a lot of contacts for Israelis supporting Ukraine, I can tell you that some were very upset about the Ukrainian position,” Brodsky told The Kyiv Independent in a recent interview in his Kyiv office.
“They said they halted their active assistance to Ukraine. To be honest, they did not understand the Ukrainian position regarding the Israeli question and the Middle East. They were upset, and they felt betrayed.”
Amid many decades of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Ukraine recognizes the Palestinian Authority as an independent nation and has diplomatic ties with it.
“Hundreds, if not thousands,” of people in Israel fundraise or volunteer to help Ukrainian refugees, gather pro-Ukraine rallies in Israeli cities, or purchase helmets and armored vests for the Ukrainian military, the ambassador said.
Various private and state-run projects have ensured humanitarian assistance to Ukraine worth tens of millions of dollars. They include a field hospital and medical equipment worth over $1 million, food packs, drinking water, and other essentials.
In the near future, Israel will provide Ukraine with 20 large power generators, and Israeli hospitals are ensuring medical treatment to Ukrainian children struggling with cancer and to wounded Ukrainian soldiers in need of prosthetics, the ambassador said.
Brodsky knows of two Israeli nationals, who were also Ukrainian citizens, who volunteered to fight and were killed while defending Ukraine.
Many in the country also changed their attitude towards Russia after Feb. 24.
“What has happened over the last nine months — the Russian aggression against Ukraine — has undoubtedly affected the way people in the world see Russia and the region. Israel is no exception.”
When it comes to weapons, things are much less enthusiastic and much more obscure from the Israeli side.
Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, has called multiple times on Israel to step up and provide the country with Israeli weaponry to counter Russia’s relentless bombardment of vital civilian infrastructure.
In November, Israeli media said the country’s leadership had given the green light to NATO allies, particularly the United Kingdom, to provide Ukraine with Israeli-made “strategic equipment,” such as optoelectronics and fire control systems. The decision reportedly came following a U.S. diplomatic effort.
That would be a major step in switching from humanitarian aid to defense assistance for Ukraine.
Besides, in late November, Israeli journalists said a high-ranking Ukrainian delegation visited Israel to discuss a possible acquisition of Israel’s “early warning missile technology.” It is not clear what this technology actually is – a better radar system or something else.
The early warning system is something that Israel wouldn’t mind providing to Ukraine, according to ambassador Brodsky.
But regarding weaponry, things are much more complicated.
“Such things shouldn’t be discussed in the media,” Brodsky said.
“There shouldn’t be a public discussion about this. Because as distinct from NATO nations, Israel can count only on itself when it comes to its security. Israel is not a formal member of any military bloc.”
“And the threats that Israel faces are not comparable with the challenges of many other nations that openly support Ukraine. So when it comes to Israel, such questions should be discussed via special channels, preferably without the involvement of the general public and media,” he went on.
“Any leaks of information regarding the Israeli assistance only jeopardize the process. So if one wants a result, it’s better to talk less about this.”
The diplomat could not tell if his country really helps Ukraine with defense technologies.
But he said the Ukrainian leadership knows that Israel has certain “red lines” it can’t cross and that no Israeli government would risk endangering Israeli civilians and soldiers.
“Any incautious step in the Middle East may lead to an outburst of terror or, in the worst case, to a new regional war,” Brodsky said.
The Israeli public opinion tends to support the government’s cautious position regarding weapons for Ukraine, according to the ambassador. According to a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute published in October, only 21% of Israelis firmly support providing Ukraine with weapons.
The recent Ukrainian voting in condemnation of Israel at the UN had reinforced this position, Brodsky added.
The key reason for the Israeli hesitation is, of course, Russia.
It is very important to make sure that Moscow cooperates with Jerusalem and does not undermine the Israeli ability to combat the Iranian presence and the activities of anti-Israel militant groups in Syria, Brodsky said.
Much, much, much more infuriating diplomatic weasel speak at the link.
Once again my co-religionists, to repurpose Abba Eban’s famous saying, have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
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I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but the new video at Patron’s TikTok is the same as in his new tweet.
@patron__dsns Придбати таку благодійну листівку можна за посиланням у шапці профілю❤️ #песпатрон #патрондснс
The caption machine translates as:
You can buy such a charity postcard via the link in the profile header❤️ #PatrontheDog #PatronDSNS
You all know what to do! Shop till you drop!
Open thread!
trollhattan
Whoo, this is the mega-size roundup, thanks, Adam!
Heard BBC interview with an FT reporter just returned from Bakhmut. He describes a frontier between entrenched soldiers, lots of artilliary, repeated frontal assaults across it that are driven back, and a hellscape of unrecovered bodies straight out of WWI.
IIUC both sides are taking heavy casualties, and the Ukraine field hospitals are very busy handling the wounded.
Alison Rose
I hate putin so much. The thought of him just makes me want to scream and break things.
What they are doing to the energy and power systems is so unbelievably cruel. And I still don’t get what they think this will achieve. Do putin and his minions really think that enough blackouts will make Ukrainians just go “Yeah, he’s right, fuck Zelenskyy, we’re all russian now”???? Or do they not actually care about that anymore and just want to decimate the whole population?
I know it’s likely the latter. And that’s why I hate him and any single person who supports him.
Also JFC Israel. The whole lot of them are a shanda fur die goyim.
If I had Muskrat money, I’d make sure every single home in Ukraine had a generator and anything else they needed. And then I’d also arrange for many many many more fires to spontaneously occur around russia.
Sigh. Thank you as always, Adam.
Anoniminous
“The enemy has changed tactics. Instead of using company-battalion orders, he now creates … assault squads & groups, and already these groups are divided into subgroups that directly assault, and others cover them with fire.”
Since the latter part of World War I that’s called “Infantry Tactics 101.” Advance students study Sturmtruppentaktik as practiced by Captain Ernst Rommel at the battle of Caporetto. The Russian Army will never get that far. The RA is a strictly Top-Down organization with small group initiatives and tactical adjustments strictly forbidden.
PaulB
As always, thank you so much for everything you’ve shared here, Adam.
I can’t help thinking that even if Russia had been more successful on the battlefield that they still would be in trouble, from the same kind of guerilla activity that an occupying army always has to worry about. It worked in Afghanistan and I suspect it would work in Ukraine. We may find out next year.
Sister Golden Bear
So, so much careless smoking.
Thanks again Adam for your efforts.
Miss Bianca
You know, Adam…I hate to feel like I’m joining the “Do Something!11!!” crowd, but GodDAMN…I wish we were just opening up on these Russian bastards in the trenches and over the Ukrainian sky and pushing Putin’s military and regime into total collapse. I know why we can’t, and won’t…but I can’t shake this feeling that we could be doing more.
Anonymous At Work
Israel really infuriates me. Bibi’s bent but do you think Putin owns a piece of him like Putin does a lot of hard-right politicians? Or is it just that the Russian emigres vote as a bloc in a very tightly divided electorate?
Lyrebird
Yes, THANKS to Adam, and I want to ask Gin & Tonic or Dr. Luba with help on a translated recipe if possible.
This recipe for cabbage rolls calls for “bulb onions” and I am curious what “bulb” means there.
Thanks so much for the culture connections.
Can’t wait for when we are switching to post-victory travel plans.
Lyrebird
[deleting duplicate]
Foodies should check out the recipe site I linked to. I don’t know how good the recipes are, but there are descriptions of the Ukrainian fast before Christmas and what people eat to break the fast.
ian
@Anonymous At Work: Netanyahu, for his many flaws, is not the one yet in power. His new government doesn’t get formed until Dec 21.
Link
Chetan Murthy
@Lyrebird: maybe this? https://organicseeds.top/shop/8939/desc/lyubchik-ukrainian-heirloom-onion
I never knew.
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: I highlighted Christopher Miller’s, the FT reporter you’re referring to, reporting in last night’s post. Including a decent sized excerpt and several of his tweets with video.
And you’re most welcome.
Adam L Silverman
@Anoniminous: Wagner has formed at least one wilding company.
scav
@Lyrebird: Could also just be what we in English think of as an onion. Other members of the family like leeks, spring onions, and chives don’t have the bulby bit, or have cloves like garlic. Other languages might distinguish the different options in different ways (e.g. globe onion, skinny onion, clove onion, etc.). Maybe.
Adam L Silverman
@Anonymous At Work: There is a huge Russian mob presence in Israel. Additionally, Bibi needs Putin to allow him to strike Iranian targets in Syria. Finally, Putin has established in Russia the type of managed, illiberal democracy that Bibi would like to establish in Israel.
Adam L Silverman
Everyone is most welcome for the posts. I wish I didn’t have to do them, but as long as it’s necessary to do so, thank you all for the kind words.
CarolPW
@Lyrebird:
Unless you patronize a farmers market in an onion growing region few people realize the diversity onions come in. Some onion relatives do not ever form a real bulb – leeks, chives, some varieties of green onions. Bulb onions varieties can also be harvested before they have formed a distinct bulb. Here we can get Walla Walla sweet onions in an early stage that looks like gigantic green onions that are spectacular to cook with.
Bulb onion citations in US recipes usually mean the onion has been harvested after the tops have completely dried, and in the market they are the usual round yellow, red or white onions.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@ian:
@Anonymous At Work:
I thought he was supposed to be facing corruption charges? What happened to that?
ian
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I don’t have any great insights, here is a NY Times article that may help.
Geminid
@Anonymous At Work: Netanyahu has not yet put a government together (unfortunately, he will soon). These policies are a continuation of those put in place by PM Lapid, his predecessor and Defense Minister Gantz.
Jay
@Anoniminous:
The ASRU Army forces were organized into various Special Forces Groups, Rocket Forces, etc, but the mass of their organization was based around BTG’s.
These were Battalion sized, combined arms teams of infantry, armor, mobile air defence, intelligence and artillary, organized and in theory, trained to operate as a single, mutually supporting tactical group. In the past, several BTG’s would attack an objective from several different axis, (if possible), and in theory, ( but not in practice), provide mutual support and interaction.
That Russia is down to trying squad level and platoon level attacks in attempts to gain the trenches, shows how degraded their military has become. And should a squad or platoon gain a section of trench and clear it, who is going to exploit that marginal victory.
Stoßtruppen in WWI attacked in company sized groups, spaced out horizontally in depth at the squad level, with the goal of finding and breaking through a weak point, and keep going further into the enemy rear. Once one squad created an exploit, the other squads would follow, leapfrogging each other. Once they had signaled a sucessful exploit, the Regulars of the Germany Army would strike at the same point of penetration and fan out in an arc along the trench lines and at the same time, into the rear.
Geminid
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Netanyahu went on trial for three corruption charges in April, 2021. At the current rate there might be a verdict by March. That is, if Netanyahu’s allies don’t derail the prosecution.
Gin & Tonic
@Lyrebird: Knowing what’s being made there, that’s just standard yellow onions.
Interestingly, this year’s Old Farmer’s Almanac has a good set of recipes and explanations for same, for a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner (no meat, no dairy.)
Anoniminous
@Adam L Silverman:
I don’t know what a “wilding company” is.
Jay
Jay
@Anoniminous:
a “wilding” Company would be part forager, part looter, part terrorist, part enforcer.
Alison Rose
@Gin & Tonic: No meat, no dairy? You’re singing my song! (I’m vegetarian, not vegan, but I’m not one for a lot of dairy in a meal.) Although there may be fish involved?
Another Scott
ICYMI, …
Thanks Adam.
Cheers,
Scott.
Amir Khalid
I have a question for anyone who knows: Do Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on 25th December, or on the Orthodox holiday two weeks later?
Another Scott
@Jay: I think we should remember that, at least in the USA, “wilding” was one of the racist tropes used against the “Central Park 5”.
We have perfectly good terms for what russia is doing in Ukraine – “war crimes”.
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
Anoniminous
@Jay:BTGs were purposely kept light on the infantry component to reduce Russian casualties. Some infantry units didn’t even comprise a full company. The idea was they would hire mercenaries, aka “Contract Soldiers,” to take up the slack. After the supposed “elite” VDV got their asses kick outside of Kyiv the supply of mercenaries dried up. Another reason Putin
kidnappedmobilized ignorant hicks-from-the-sticks to fill the ranks.If you’re interested in the Stormtroopers “Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914 – 1918” by Bruce I. Gudmundsson is still the go-to source. With very little imagination it and Rommel’s “Infantry Attacks” will also serve as an introduction to “blitzkrieg” (sic) tacticsRe: Wilding Company — IOW mercenaries, e.g., The White Company, between terms of employment during the 100 Years War. “Useless and dangerous… valiant before friends, but cowardly before enemies… in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy.” — Machevilli
Yutsano
@Amir Khalid: I believe the Orthodox church of Russia celebrates Christmas on the day the Catholics celebrate Epiphany, which is January 6th. I am willing to be corrected here however!
Lyrebird
@Chetan Murthy: Thanks for the link, and glad to know I’m not the only one who didn’t know! That site is great, it has a basil variety I have been looking for for ages. Have to see if they will ship to the USA
Jay
Jay
in moderation at #34, probably too many hashtags in the tweets.
Mai Naem mobile
@Amir Khalid: I have a Ukrainian friend who is a member of the orthodox church and he celebrates on 1/7.
Lyrebird
@scav: @CarolPW:
Thanks! I was wondering if it might just mean that it’s not a green onion or something. Hadn’t seen that terminology before in US recipes. And hey, looks like we have some confirmation of your theory from @Gin & Tonic:, so must be right on
:-)
Our synagogue has been working with the local Ukrainian churches. Maybe a big cook-off fundraiser, hmmm…
Amir Khalid
@Yutsano:
@Mai Naem mobile:
Thanks.
Chetan Murthy
I recently made a Ukrainian borscht recipe ( yeah, not really echte: https://ifoodreal.com/ukrainian-borscht/ ) and am looking for others. I remember back in the day at KK’s (1st Ave in the East Village) they had 4 kinds of borscht, and the Ukrainian borscht had something green (maybe green onions, maybe something else — it was in the late 90s sigh) and a halved boiled egg. I’m on a search for the best borscht recipes …. b/c boy howdy, ain’t nuthin’ like borscht.
P.S. And of course, a *different* yummy borscht was the kosher borscht at the B&H Dairy (2nd ave and St. Marks): different in the summer from the winter (cold vs hot, in winter with potatoes) but always delish.
Martin
@Amir Khalid: I believe they celebrate on both days. Used to only be on Jan 7, but Dec 25 is now a national holiday as well as the country has opened up.
Sister Golden Bear
OT: Thankfully, according to my friends who performed there, the all-ages Fresno (CA) Drag Festival finished up safely despite death threats, as well as protests by the Proud Boys and Christofascists outside. But they had to hire armed security guards, and escort people in/out of the Lutheran church where it was being held. Surprisingly, the police actually were there in force as well — and didn’t side with the Proud Boys.
Amir Khalid
@Martin:
Sehr interessant. Danke schön.
Sister Golden Bear
Speaking of arson, Twitter reports of a fire at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow yesterday. Spectulation that a number of artworks will be reported as destroyed, and then sold on the black market.
Jay
Adam L Silverman
@Anoniminous: Should’ve been wild company. This thread is a good explainer.
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: I’ve freed it.
Adam L Silverman
@Sister Golden Bear: The police showed and did they right thnf because it was at a church.
Glad everything went well.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Golden Bear: Oh, man. Those are my old stomping grounds.
zhena gogolia
@Chetan Murthy: Was the green stuff sorrel?
Jay
@Adam L Silverman:
Thank you, and once again, thank you for all the posts you have written and will write.
Sister Golden Bear
@Adam L Silverman: Your cynicism is undoubtedly entirely warranted.
Chetan Murthy
@zhena gogolia: It was 25yr ago; I have no concrete recollection. But I want to learn how to make all the borschts!
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid: Martin is correct, the country is in the process of transitioning to the 25th, but this year is a mixed bag. In the Ukrainian diaspora, you can see either the 25th or the 7th.
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: Green borshch is also called shchav. It is made from sorrel, and is a summertime dish.
If you want a really good recipe (very time-consuming) check the Veselka cookbook. But keep in mind that borshch is an idea, not a recipe.
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: As an unbeliever, I guess I don’t have any dog in this (uh) fight, but … geez, isn’t it somewhat sad, that the traditional day of celebration (7 Jan) is being supplanted by that of the commercial West (25 Dec) ? I’m reminded of how Halloween took over in Europe and Japan (and South Korea? I forget?) For no good reason. And the same has happened with St. Valentine’s Day, IIRC.
It’s all so sad (to an unbeliever, for whom the ancient cultures seem more valuable than some one set of beliefs as opposed to all the others).
Maybe I’m completely wrong.
zhena gogolia
@Chetan Murthy: Yes, see G&T at #54. The green one is shchav, made with sorrel. Delicious.
zhena gogolia
@Chetan Murthy: 25 Dec is just as ancient as 7 Jan! It’s whether you want to be aligned with Russia or not.
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: ah. OK. So for sure, I’m not a “green borscht” fan. I want my borscht to be purple, with *beets*. *Beets*. Also, with *beets*. And finally, gotta have *beets*. [*grin*] But I’ll check out the Veselka cookbook. Thing is, from living in NYC in the late 90s, I learned pretty quickly that there were a *bunch* of different kinds of borscht, and they were all different-while-delicious. So specifically, I’m looking to learn how to make that Ukrainian borscht, albeit having nearly-no-memory of it. Sigh. If only I’d realized that I’d remember it a quarter-century later, maybe I’ve had tried to memorize the flavors more.
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: It is more about Eurointegration.
Chetan Murthy
@zhena gogolia: Oh, interesting. Are you saying that the Orthodox church in UA celebrates Christmas on 25 Dec ? [I have no clue, myself]
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: I remember there was a celebration (in France) around this time, where kids would leave their shoes outside their bedroom doors, and some good spirit [== “parents”] would leave chocolates in those shoes. I’d never heard of such a thing, and thought it was just so sweet. And more generally, having different folkways in different parts of Europe, I found really sweet.
Though perhaps, as I mull over it more, having the same folkways everywhere will result in less factional violence. No idea. But it seemed so twee at the time.
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: Well, borshch always has beets. Except when it doesn’t 😀
Geminid
From an AP report of remarks by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:
I’m not sure what Kirby means by “disrupt.” We certainly could disrupt the transfer of these missiles by destroying them while they were still in Iran. That would mean a larger war with Iran though, and I don’t think President Biden wants to fight that war, at least not at this point..
dr. luba
@Lyrebird: Yes, ordinary onions.
But you want cabbage rolls? Try my recipe (with photos). I am firmly of the freeze the cabbage school of cabbage prep, but either frozen or steamed would work.
Gin & Tonic
@zhena gogolia: Jan 7 is “more ancient” as it is the date according to the Julian calendar. Dec 25 is according to the Gregorian calendar, which is why the Orthodox churches have been observing Jan 7.
Jay
@Geminid:
The US has a bunch of ways to “disrupt” arms shipments. They range from further economic and financial sanctions, to the physical interdiction of the shipment and components.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman:
Doesn’t sound like any form of legitimate combat organization to me. More like a walking war crime.
Bill Arnold
Politico, and since S. Gorka was involved: — SPOTTED at Matt and Mercy Schlapp’s annual Christmas party at their Alexandria home on Friday night: Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Ginger Gaetz, Sean Spicer, Alex Acosta, Sebastian Gorka, Stephen and Katie Miller, Chad Wolf, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Laura Schlapp and Bryan Wells, Brendan Carr, Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), Erin and Nick Perrine, Erik Prince, Ziad Ojakli, Peter Davidson, Steve Holland and Ben Terris.
Those thinking about a [missed oppourtunity], well, best not to think those thoughts out loud, OK?
Carlo Graziani
Here’s an interesting tidbid from ISW, citing The Times (not that one, the other one):
The thinking in Washington is evolving…
Jay
@dr. luba:
I am of the opinion that one uses Savoy cabbage, partially cooked to make rolling easier, and that the cooking is done in a 316 SS pot or baking dish to prevent sulphides.
Jay
@Omnes Omnibus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirlewanger_Brigade#:~:text=Waffen%2DGrenadier%2DDivision%20der%20SS,their%20service%20with%20the%20unit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_military_unit
Alison Rose
@Carlo Graziani: To quote the philosopher Lizzo, it’s about damn time.
Omnes Omnibus
@Chetan Murthy:
I would think that the actual difference is whether you celebrate it according to the Gregorian or Julian Calendar not due to commercial concerns.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jay: I think you missed my point.
dr. luba
@Lyrebird: Arrgh! I was editing and timed out.
Your recipe calls for buckwheat and, if you like it, it can be used in my recipe as well. (I have a congenital inability to stomach buckwheat. No idea why. And radishes.)
Holubtsi (cabbage rolls) can be either baked or cooked on a stovetop in a pot. In either case, you need a liquid to cook them in. I use a tomato/carrot sauce, and add water as needed. Water can be used, but a flavored broth gives a tastier result.
And Ukrainians eat them with sour cream. To be honest, we eat pretty much everything with sour cream. But definitely holubtsi. Tomato sauce is more of a New World thing. But you can do a bit of both.
If you’re interested in Ukrainian cooking, and want recipes written in English by native speakers, you could join my FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UkrainianRecipes We have a huge file of tried and true recipes, and there is the ability to ask questions of other cooks.
dr. luba
@Jay: We’ve always made them with ordinary cabbage. I used to steam/cook in the past, but scalded myself once too often. Freezing softens the cabbage leaves and makes them easy to work with. But it does increase the cooking time; I bake for 3 hours instead of 2 when I freeze.
For small quantities I don’t mind steaming the cabbage. But I usually make lots when I do make them.
Bill Arnold
@Geminid:
Yeah, that was unusually blunt, and appropriately ambiguous. The Iranians should be realizing by now that they are making new enemies, some of them formerly non-hostile (or even friendly), some of them powerful, both with this support of Russia and with their abominable domestic repression.. Those, combined with reactions to their openly-flirting-with-breakout nuclear program.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Without a doubt.
Jay
@dr. luba:
Holubky has to be made in large quantities, several trays worth in order to have a second meal and left overs, and there are just two of us.
When we don’t want to put in the effort, but want the comfort, we make “Cabbage Roll Soup”, all the ingredients with the cabbage shredded and stirred in, ( more like a stew).
Dirk Reinecke
I know this thread is most likely dead but there has been an interesting thing in South Africa. A Russian civilian freighter had docked at the main South Africa naval base and was seen offloading and on loading supplies.
Our government (which remains friendly to the Russians) has not made any comment
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-09-mystery-russian-ship-leaves-simons-town-still-no-official-explanation/
ian
@Bill Arnold: that’s a nice list of some of the shittiest people I can think of. I wonder what the party was like?
Gin & Tonic
@dr. luba: Another vote for freezing here.
ETA: And mushroom sauce for the holubtsi
dr. luba
@Gin & Tonic: The number of recipes for borshch is at least 3x, when x = number of Ukrainian cooks.
Each cook has her/his own recipe, and usually several, as the available produce varies throughout the year. And you need to have a Lenten version (meat-free, fish OK) for Sviat Vechir (Xmas Eve).
And if you’re adding green borshch (щавлевий борщ) to mix, that’s even more, as most cooks make it in the spring.
My borshch recipe, which I’ve cooked on at least four continents, is here. It’s won best borshch at our church twice (out of three total competitions). Mine is an easy version, because I use bouillon, which saves a day of cooking.
I also make a Lenten borshch using mushroom and vegetable base for the broth, and adding extra mushrooms.
Geminid
@Jay: Yeah, I know how sanctions could be used to retard further production. But it sounds like these missiles are already built. So interdicting or destroying them inside Iran seem like the only ways to stop their transfer.
At this point, if there are in fact hundreds of missiles intended for Russia I’m not neccesarily opposed to destroying them. That would mean a wider war, though and like I said President Biden may not want to fight that war at this point. And I notice that Kirby said Iran has not yet followed through on this deal and he couldn’t say why.
Chetan Murthy
@dr. luba: Thank you! I’ll try this next!
dr. luba
@Chetan Murthy: The Ukrainian Orthodox church in UA currently follows the old calendar and celebrates on the 7th. There has been talk of switching to the new calendar, but there is resistance.
Most who wish to switch want to do so to differentiate themselves from the russians.
The 25th is a bank holiday, basically, for now. The day for commercialized “Xmas” is still NYD for most, a remnant of Soviet celebrations. There is a New Year’s tree, and and gifts.
dr. luba
@Jay: My friend in the UP, whom I visit for 2 weeks most years in May, has a huge roaster. I can easily make 100+ holubtsi in it–and I do. I share with lots of folks up there, and a bunch get frozen. It’s four large or three small heads of cabbage to start…..
As a guest, I cook for them. Borshch, my version of bigos, peanut noodles, and other things.
Jay
dr. luba
@Gin & Tonic: Smetana based mushroom sauce?
The best sauce I’ve ever had on holubtsi was served my a friend in Lviv (well known cook and pysankarka). It was a fast day, so the holubtsi were made with buckwheat and potato, and the sauce was sour cream based with a touch of tomato paste. Quite yummy.
Carlo Graziani
I’ve been trying to understand what the UA is trying to accomplish in their Svatove-Kreminna offensive since the ground froze, and I have to say that I’m a bit at a loss. There is evidently some progress, but it’s in the face of stabilized, adequately manned, engineered Russian defenses now. The conflict intensity is high, so the Ukrainians are really pushing hard here. I can’t tell whether there’s an expectation of a breakthrough (seems unlikely), or it’s somehow a feint to favor another effort elsewhere (doubtful) or the idea is just attrition, on the theory that the Ukrainians can afford it better than the Russians can. That last one isn’t crazy, but it also isn’t really consistent with how the Ukrainians have fought this war so far — they have accepted attritional battles offered by the Russians (Severodonetsk, Lysichansk, Bakhmut) but they have only chosen to fight such battles when they’ve been able to set the conditions in their own favor, as when they set the Dnipro Bear Trap.
I have to say that I think I need to wind up my expectation for a big shove east with the forces freed from the Kherson campaign. At this point it doesn’t really look as if we’ll see any more breakthrough battles in the east for a while.
Jay
@dr. luba:
a 10″ x 14″ tray here lasts one meal, with 1sts, 2nds, 3rds and then later, a snack.
We ususally make 3 trays at a time, one large Savoy or two small ones.
Jay
Chetan Murthy
@dr. luba: oh wow. I have to try this sometime. Don’t think I can make a full recipe — more like 1/8 or 1/4 at most.
Jay
dr. luba
@Chetan Murthy: The basic recipe is 1 head of cabbage, 1 pound of ground pork, and 1 cup uncooked rice. This should yield 25 or so holubtsi. They vary from large to small, because leaf size varies. And they freeze well
I took the photos when cooking a triple batch….
Chetan Murthy
@dr. luba: I’ll be trying it with turkey or chicken (don’t cook with red meat at all — not that I dislike it (I eat ham all the time), but …. don’t cook with it).
dr. luba
@Chetan Murthy: My mom makes them with ground turkey all the time. Quite tasty.
Pork is a more traditional meat for Ukrainian cookery, as opposed to beef, and tastier. Turkey will work, but will need more seasoning.
Jay
@Carlo Graziani:
the ground has not yet frozen there yet.
Ukraine is keeping the pressure on.
Jay
@Chetan Murthy:
@dr. luba:
here it’s ground beef, (Alberta corrupted my Grandmother) and bacon.
dr. luba
@Jay: Most North Americans use ground beef, I’m afraid. And use beef for their borshch base. Very different flavor profiles.
As to Alberta–did your grandmother drench everything in a dill cream sauce, too?
Jay
@dr. luba:
nope, tomato based. In Alberta, for most of it’s history, beef was cheaper than pork. Grandma was in The Pass, dairy was expensive.
When T and I met, her dinner splurge was lobster, being an Alberta girl, she almost never ate beef as an adult. Me, being a Maritime boy, ate my allotment of lobster by the time I was 15, because you could buy “pounders” cheaper than ground beef, cheaper than baloney, so my dinner splurge was a steak.
Torrey
@Jay:
I can’t help wondering if there have been any suspicious deaths among the staff who do Putin’s laundry.
Amir Khalid
As I understand, 7th January in the Gregorian Calendar is 25th December in the Julian. The discrepancy is because the two calendars count leap years differently. In the older Julian Calendar, all century years are leap years; the Gregorian Calendar corrected this to one century year out of four, and deleted 11 days. The difference has since grown to 13 days.
MomSense
@zhena gogolia:
Is Epiphany still a big holiday? I think it’s the 19th for the Orthodox who follow the Gregorian Calendar.
MomSense
@Amir Khalid:
The Julian calendar is the “new” or “revised” Julian calendar which makes it even more confusing.
JAFD
Note that there’s a Ukrainian-Rite Catholic Church,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Greek_Catholic_Church
(I lived across the street from St. Nicholas, at 24th & Girard in Philadelphia, for a few years – that’s how I know of it – but that was a few decades ago, and have forgotten much about it except the tastes.)
Part of the Roman Catholic Church, but the Ukrainian Rite churches in the US ‘report to’ the Pope through a seperate set of bishops.
ExpatchadPutin has become Stalin, the destroyer of worlds
@Alison Rose:
@Alison Rose: Now Putin is become Stalin The destroyer of worlds
JR
@scav: you can eat the greens of standard onions, but they are usually allowed to wilt and dry out so that the onion can be stored.
Uncle Cosmo
@Chetan Murthy: In Prague in 1990 I went to a Russian-fast-food outlet** called the Arbat (after the district in Moskva) and ordered two small burgers and borshch, which looked like nothing so much as a Siberian-size helping of Pepto-Bismol in a stainless-steel bowl.
Dismayed, I dipped in my spoon – and found all the veggies at the bottom of the bowl. Quite tasty, actually. And so were the burgers – what a generation later would be called “sliders.”
** Aaaaand here is a source: Arbat: První oficiální fast food v ČSSR – the “first official fast food in the Czechoslovak Soviet Socialist Republic”! (NB unless you can read Czech, fire up Google Translate.) I had vaguely remembered it near Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square), and apparently it was not far around the corner: byl v ulici Na Příkopech hned vedle kina Sevastopol – i.e., on the street “Na Příkope” right next door to the Sevastopol cinema. Pánbůh, some days I love the Net! :^D
Geminid
https://www.eenews.net/article/attacks-on-grid-in-4-states-raise-alarm/
Geminid
@Geminid: Sorry, a bad link. I was trying to link to an E&E News article about the recent string of electric grid substation attacks. They detail 6 in the Pacific Northwest- two in Clackamas County, Oregon and 4 in Washington state. The Moore County attack last Saturday and a couple subsequent ones in Maysville, N.C. and in South Carolina are also discussed.
dr. luba
@MomSense: We celebrate theophany, not epiphany. It’s the baptism of christ, and it’s still celebrated.
brantl
@Lyrebird: scallions, I bet.