Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

In my day, never was longer.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 589: (Some of) You Have Questions I (May) Have Answers

War for Ukraine Day 589: (Some of) You Have Questions I (May) Have Answers

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Russia opened up on a small town in Kharkiv Oblast killing 50 out of a total population of 300!

Village of Hroza had a population of just over 300 people. Russia killed 50 today, including a 6-year-old child. There may still be people under the rubble of the destroyed shop and cafe, where locals had a funeral ceremony. This marks the most devastating atrocity for Kharkiv region since the war began.

Oleksandr, a resident of the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region, lost his brother, sister-in-law, and mother as a result of a Russian missile attack. He says that people gathered in a village cafe to commemorate their fellow villager who died at the beginning of the war and who was finally reburied in his native land.

🎥 Suspilne

Two night’s ago, Tzimiskes asked:

I have been lurking here for a while but first time commenting. I have been n wondering if another round of creative accounting could stretch Ukraine aid further. My understanding is that most of what we are giving them is old stuff that is being phased out. Would it be possible to write down this equipment and transfer it at $0 to Ukraine for “disposal?” Wouldn’t help with ammo or newer gear, but I don’t really understand why we’re putting a dollar value on stuff that we’re keeping mothballed and won’t ever use anyway. Seems like getting rid of it would save us money, at least by freeing up the storage space for other uses. I assume there are some maintenance costs before it can be transferred, but couldn’t this be accounted for as training or something?

The answer is yes, but. There is a little more than $5 billion left in the funding that the previous Congress had authorized. That will be spent despite kicking over into the new federal fiscal year. My understanding is that the lend-lease authority that was given to the Biden administration via legislation is also still intact. So I expect that will be leveraged. Another thing that could be done is that our EU, NATO, and non-EU and non-NATO partners and allies that buy US weapons through our various DSCA and weapons sales programs could simply order more and then donate the extra to Ukraine. What we don’t know and will have to wait to find out is what, if anything, is actually done.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

Today, our main message to the world is: evil cannot prevail – address by the President of Ukraine

5 October 2023 – 21:59

Dear Ukrainians,

We are ending this long and eventful day. The day of the European Political Community Summit. Many meetings, important negotiations.

We will have more air defense systems – there are clear agreements. This is crucial as we approach winter. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – thank you!

There will be more artillery for our warriors. There will be more long-range weapons. And there will certainly be more justice.

Today, Russian terrorists launched an attack that one can’t even call beastly. Because it would be an insult to beasts. A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region, targeting a regular grocery store and a café. Russian military personnel couldn’t have been unaware of where they were striking. It was not a blind attack. People had gathered there for a memorial meal, a Christian memorial meal. Who could launch a missile at them? Who? Only absolute evil.

Over 50 people have been killed, including a child, a six-year-old boy. My condolences to all who have lost their loved ones and dear ones!

The wounded are receiving the necessary assistance, and I am grateful to everyone who is helping.

In this village that the Russians struck, there were originally 500 residents before this war. And now, during the war, people have been leaving. It’s in the Kupiansk district, one of the areas where the front line has been particularly fierce… As of today, there were a little over 300 people left in the village. Over 50 killed among 300 residents. This is a brutal genocidal aggression of Russia. There are no words or papers that can stop such evil.

And there is air defense. There is artillery. Our missiles. Armored equipment. Our powerful warriors who repel Russian assaults and advance themselves. There are our special services. There is Ukrainian intelligence. There are sanctions from the world. Sanctions against Russia for terror. There is international justice, in particular the International Criminal Court, capable of protecting justice.

Russian terror must be defeated. And the world has the means to ensure this.

The key is unity. The key is believing in freedom and protecting lives.

Today, our main message to the world is: evil cannot prevail. And only now, only in Ukraine, can this principled moral position be maintained. But together, all together!

I thank each leader of partner countries for our meetings today! I thank you for the clear support from the European Union and the European Parliament.

Thank you, Spain, for giving us all the opportunity today to strengthen European unity.

Unity is the answer. We will do everything to preserve it!

Glory to Ukraine! 

The cost:

Ukrainian musician Andriy Chepil died heroically in battle near Robotyne on June 28.
He played the trembita in the folk-rock band “KORALLI”. When the full-scale invasion began, Andriy went to defend his country. He fought near Izyum and Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. Later, he joined the famous 47th Mechanized Brigade. He trained in Germany and became an M2 Bradley commander.

If anyone had any doubts, this is what Putin’s and Russia’s intentions for Ukraine are:

Russian “writer” Aleksey Sukonkin describes his vision for the future of Ukraine: he predicts the repeat of the 1950s anti-Soviet underground movement, and suggests that Russia has rich experience in eliminating resistance. Just read it, it’s even crazier than it sounds. He believes it will take Russia 20 years to establish order (kill everyone who doesn’t want the Russian world on their land).

Thought I would only read such things in history books. As insane as his words sound, I encourage people to believe this is exactly what is going to happen if we do not stop the Moskva regime and the Kremlin Ripper from achieving their goals.

https://t.me/A_S_Sukonkin/5178

Putin also can’t help a little casual antisemitism:

Putin also had some thoughts on Prigozhin:

Wallace is right:

Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast:

Russian missile struck an ordinary grocery store in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region. This was a fully deliberate, demonstrative, and brutal terrorist attack.

As of now, more than 51 people have been reported dead. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones! Assistance is being provided to the wounded.

Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals. Those who continue to support Russia are all supporting evil.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for one reason only: to make its genocidal aggression the new normal for the entire world. And I thank every leader and every nation that supports us in the defense of life!

We are now focused with European leaders, in particular, on how to strengthen our air defense, reinforce our troops, and protect our country from terror.

Terrorists will face retaliation. One that is both just and powerful.

#RussiaIsATerroristState

Beryslav, Kherson Oblast:

Irpin:

Luhansk & Donetsk:

Tatarigami has another good assessment of what Russia is doing behind the lines in Luhansk and Donetsk. First tweet from the thread followed by the rest from the Thread Reader App:

2/ In this specific image, we can observe the emergence of a new training facility with fresh infrastructure within the boundaries of preexisting tank training grounds near the Novopavlivka mining settlement in the Khrustalnyi area of Luhansk oblast.Image
3/ A closer examination of the facility reveals the presence of a training lane designated for infantry and armored vehicles like tanks. Furthermore, multiple clusters of smaller buildings have emerged across the training grounds.Image
4/ Numerous expansions and enhancements to facilities like these have been occurring, particularly in late 2022 and continuing into 2023. This suggests that the russians are aiming to optimize their training facility capacities and align training programs with recent experiences 
5/ While this fact may not be groundbreaking on its own, it does, in my view, signify the russian objectives of continuous mobilization and training. It underscores their commitment to a sustained, enduring war of varying intensities, whether it be low or high-intensity warfare. 
6/ If you find this thread useful, I kindly request you to like, follow, and share the first message in the thread.

These materials are accessible thanks to the support received through Buy Me A Coffee. This support enables me to acquire and share imagery with you 

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

A new video from Patron’s official TikTok:

@patron__dsns

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The caption machine translates as:

I couldn’t resist the stick :)))

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

51Comments

  1. 1.

    Chetan Murthy

    For those who have not read it, Tony Judt’s _Postwar_ (among many other fine works) describes in some detail what this asshole Aleksey Sukonkin is talking about.  Oh and of course, Timothy Snyder’s work is relevant here too: I’m sure he describes it too, though perhaps it’s too grim for some.

    We should all hope (and our governments should work) so that this outcome described by this asshole doesn’t transpire.

  2. 2.

    Chetan Murthy

    I know we here don’t need to read this.  The people who need to read this (some of them) are beyond reaching.   But ….wow, this woman’s life.  It is difficult to imagine what it took to keep going.  It’s a thread.

    https://nitter.net/EerikNKross/status/1709995474546012651#m

    Eerik N Kross@EerikNKross
    6h

    I keep hearing that “the people” in the West are getting “tired” of the war against Ukraine. In case any of these tired people read this, I tell you a story. Its about not getting tired.

  5. 5.

    Alison Rose

    Today, russian terrorists launched an attack that one can’t even call beastly. Because it would be an insult to beasts.

    Very true. Every single animal on this earth has more soul and goodness in it than the orcs.

    Absolutely horrific. I would really like to make all the anti-Ukraine putin-fluffers in Congress go over there to help with recovery of the bodies. Make them see firsthand what is happening, make them smell it, make them taste it. Force them to reckon with what their refusal to support aid would do. Have them piece together a body’s missing parts and be in the room when survivors are notified of their loved ones’ deaths. Most of these tankie assholes don’t have souls, but I still want the images and smells and sounds of this burned into their memories for the rest of their hateful lives.

    Also “a little bit Jewish” fuck him. Ruen zol er nisht afile in keyver.

    Thank you as always, Adam. On days like this, I don’t know how you manage to put these posts together without just typing out a thousand word all-caps curse-filled screed.

  7. 7.

    NutmegAgain

    @Chetan Murthy: Endorsement of both Postwar, and both of Snyder’s books that are regionally topical (Bloodlines: Europe between Hitler and Stalin, and Black Earth: The Holocaust as history and warning.) It’s dense historical writing, if you aren’t used to that sort of thing, but worth the effort.

  9. 9.

    japa21

    @Alison Rose: ​
      Had to check my dictionary of Yiddish curses. I was actually quite close. Of course, knowing your understated feelings about Putin, it wasn’t that hard to surmise.

  10. 10.

    AlaskaReader

    Murkowski, Sullivan float pairing Ukraine aid with funding for border security
     

    …well, that and Sullivan’s wish to tie it to funding steps towards a war with China.

    With these two MAGA Republicans, none of your best interests are of any concern.

  13. 13.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Chetan Murthy: It is this part that gets me as a nat-sec professional:

    She told them, as in 1948, that their goal was to fight until the Soviet power is thrown out of Estonia and the were hoping for help from the USA and England.

    Because help did not come.

  16. 16.

    HumboldtBlue

    Are the Ukrainians (as I suspect) getting training from NATO special ops people along with basic troop training. and if so, do we know who and where?

    Also, is there any context or meaning to this?

    An American F-16 fighter jet just shot down a Turkish Anka-S drone over Syria after it was deemed a threat to U.S. forces in the area.

    The drone had earlier bombed SDF (Kurdish) positions.

    It’s the first time ever that the U.S. shoots down a Turkish aircraft

  17. 17.

    Alison Rose

    @Bill: Okay, but it also and often refers to:

    A hardline Stalinist. A tankie is a member of a communist group or a “fellow traveller” (sympathiser) who believes fully in the political system of the Soviet Union and defends/defended the actions of the Soviet Union and other accredited states (China, Serbia, etc.) to the hilt, even in cases where other communists criticise their policies or actions. For instance, such a person favours overseas interventions by Soviet-style states, defends these regimes when they engage in human rights violations, and wishes to establish a similar system in other countries such as Britain and America.

    Also: “Tankie is a pejorative reference to hard-line, pro-Soviet members of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and in some cases more broadly to supporters of authoritarian socialism.”

    Obviously the GOP aren’t members of Communist groups but they sure as shit sympathize with the (former) Soviet Union and the echoes of it that exist today and defend human rights violations, and they may say they hate socialism but they love authoritarians

    Appreciate the condescension, though! Good start, bro. Very cool.

  22. 22.

    AlaskaReader

    @Chetan Murthy: Yeah, well, …they’ve both demonstrated many times before this that the ‘getting people killed’ part isn’t an issue of concern for either of them.

  25. 25.

    Carlo Graziani

    Not sure why, and can’t believe I’ve come to this. But.

    It really is past time for the US to begin making explicit threats against Russia, to counter the threats that Russia uses to attempt to weaken Western resolve.

    This is not a playground manhood-affirming display proposition. Rather, it is rational response within the IR model of Russia as Gangland Bully. That model posits that Russian behavior and response to external assault by unchallengeable pressure is well-described by the analogous response of crime families under assault by legal authority (in jurisdictions where legal authority cannot be intimidated).

    Mob bosses back down and retrench, prioritizing their own survival over any philosophical principle supporting their dominance. The notion that there is a Russian political philosophy that might out-prioritize Putin and the Siloviki’s system survival is basically absurd. The “Russian Dream” is a romantic fantasy covering a pervasive kleptocratic reality that assures its supervisors of the power and wealth that is their real uncompromisable goal. Threaten that power and wealth, and they will back down rather than see it compromised, irrespective of any violent bluster that they imagine may bolster their position. That position is not different in any meaningful way from that of a John Gotti, with the FBI and DOJ fully engaged in shutting down him down. The priority is always survival, not “principle”.

    Send ATACMS, in the handfuls practicable, but also send Tomahawks. Send military advisors. Send F-16s. Open the Abrams tank warehouse. Make it absolutely clear that US policy is Russian defeat in Ukraine, at maximum cost to Russia. And meet every threat that they make with a serious counter-threat, privately, but in unmistakeable dead seriousness, and without exception.

    They are bullies by their psychological constitution, and bullies are cowards. No theory of national greatness can change that fact. This is not the USSR—they have no true ideological commitments to stiffen their spines. They live only for power. If we scare the living shit out of them, they will submit.

  28. 28.

    way2blue

     

    Another thing that could be done is that our EU, NATO, and non-EU and non-NATO partners and allies that buy US weapons through our various DSCA and weapons sales programs could simply order more and then donate the extra to Ukraine. What we don’t know and will have to wait to find out is what, if anything, is actually done.

    My pipe dream is that a handful of sane House Republicans partner with the Democrats to elect a moderate speaker next week.  If it only takes 5-10 rabid Republications to jam up the House—seems a similar number could sideline them.  With some sort of bipartisan agreement on which bills are brought to the floor.  Did I mention it’s a pipe dream…

  29. 29.

    Jay

    @Carlo Graziani:

    One does not, ( if you are smart), respond to threats with counter threats, private or other wise.

    One responds with action.

    Unfortunately, a bunch of US “leaders” and EU “leaders” have their panties in a bunch about, “escalation”.

  30. 30.

    way2blue

    I read somewhere online today [can’t remember where] that stripping the Ukraine funding was intended to be a ‘poison pill’ for the Democrats.  And they would balk at voting for the CR and thereby be blamed for the ensuring shutdown…  Sounds perverse enough to be true.

  31. 31.

    Chetan Murthy

    @way2blue: There was a tweet-thread from a Dem staffer that made this point, and have to say, it was convincing.  Not just stripping UA funding, but the whole “you have ten minutes to decide whether you’re voting for this, Dems, and no, we won’t give you 90min to read the damn bill, decide you fuckers, decide!”  Gosh, maybe MyKevin was trying to goad Dems into voting “no”.

  32. 32.

    RaflW

    @Alison Rose: Aha! I had just thought ‘tankie’ meant in the tank (for socialism, generally, or, sometimes, for wildly unrealistic peacenik ideas). Like, people so focused on their goal (or idol) that they lose all sense of proportion or ability to be persuaded. Unable to see out of the tank of water they’re submersed in.

  35. 35.

    Adam L Silverman

    @way2blue: Based on your answer, you should not go for a urinalysis drug test this week. Because you’ve obviously been imbibing the good stuff.

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jay: Correct. There are a lot of actions we could take, Deity or Deities (or for the atheists no Deity or Deities) know I’ve delineated a lot of them over the past 18 months. But undertaking them would require a greater appetite for risk than the Biden administration currently has.

  38. 38.

    wjca

    @Chetan Murthy: Gosh, maybe MyKevin was trying to goad Dems into voting “no”.

    And when that plan was shown up for the massive (and typical) misjudgment that it was, he found that the CR had passed.  Which meant that his beloved Speakership was toast.  Incompetent to the end, McCarthy.

  39. 39.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose: I thought that the etymology of “tankie” specifically derives from people who supported/excused the Soviet re-invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia in 1956 and 1968.  Reinvasions with tanks, natch.’

    That is to say, they support all militaristic acts by Russia, and oppose any militaristic act against Russia.

  40. 40.

    Adam L Silverman

    @way2blue: @Chetan Murthy: That’s exactly what it was. The intention was to jam the House Democrats and then, if they caved, jam the entire Senate. As in if they could’ve jammed something with poison pills through, they’d immediately recess so that the Senate either had to pass it or vote it down and get blamed as there would be no House members to engage in the reconciliation process.

  41. 41.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Adam L Silverman: I read yesterday that some EU folks calculated that if UA joins the EU, they’ll be due $186B in transfer payments over 7yr.  It’ll change many recipient countries into donor countries,  EU-tax-wise.  I keep on thinking “you think that’s bad, wait’ll 40m Ukrainian refugees stream across your borders (if Ukraine collapses),  you sweet summerchild.”

  43. 43.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    and if RuZZia takes Ukraine, there won’t be grain and seed oil exports for a decade at best.

    15% of the World’s food gone.

    It won’t be just Ukrainian’s flooding Europe.

  44. 44.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: And if Ruzzia wins this war, they’ll be destabilizing all over Africa, just to amp up those refugee flows.

  46. 46.

    matt

    @Bill: Hey Bill, why don’t you go fuck yourself? The idea that someone can be a moronic shill for the Russians but if they have some peace beard they’re not a tankie, that’s too stupid for you to be treated like a human being. Sorry.

  48. 48.

    wjca

    @Eolirin: If that was the intention of was handled with absolutely zero tactical skill.

    And reflected a stunning misreading of the priorities and cohesion of the Democrats.  It’s as if McCarthy, and the rest of House Republican leadership, had been paying zero attention for the whole time they had been in office.  That or they actually believed their fantasy of Pelosi as a unique evil genius, and that with her out of office, they could easily out maneuver the Democrats.

    Living in an information bubble once again shows its downside.

  49. 49.

    Ben Vernia

    I missed the post last night, so a late question: Ukraine “aid” would not be necessary if frozen Russian assets ($300B?) were simply transferred to Ukraine because of Russia’s war of aggression. Ukraine could then just buy the weapons it needs (at least those whose sale is approved). Is that a possibility?

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    @HumboldtBlue: Turkiye announced a couple days ago that it would attack Kurdish YPG positions in northeast Syria. They blame Sunday’s attack in Ankara on the PKK (which itself claimed credit). The YPG is the most active component of the SDF forces the US partnered with a decade ago to suppress ISIS. Turkiye considers the YPG to be the PKK’s Syrian branch.

    Yesterday Politico Pentagon correspondent Laura Seligman posted excerpts from remarks from Pentagon Spokesman Gen. Ryder on the UAV downing. He said that the UAV came with half a kilometer of US forces before an F-16 downed it, but there was no indication that the UAV was intentionally targeting US troops. Ryder said that new Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown had spoken by phone to his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Metin Gurok, about the incident and that they had discussed deconfliction protocols.

    Per Ms. Seligman, Gen. Ryder noted that “Turkey is one of our strongest and most valued NATO allies, and our partnership continues and will continue.”

  51. 51.

    Captain C

    @RaflW: IIRC the term came about as a pejorative aimed at the British Communists who supported the USSR sending in tanks in 1956 to remove the Hungarian government which had strayed maybe a couple inches too far from the Soviet doctrine and ideology of the day.  Those opposed pointed out that it was no different from the Western interventions they had been decrying.  The tankies evidently did not care.

Comments are closed.