Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I really should read my own blog.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

I was promised a recession.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

This fight is for everything.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 595: Zelenskyy Will (Try) to Visit Israel!

War for Ukraine Day 595: Zelenskyy Will (Try) to Visit Israel!

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Art by NEIVANMADE of a Ukrainian painted black and outlined in blood red kneeling in grief with hands covering the face surrounded by the bodies of Ukrainians killed by Russians on a grey background. "Russia Is Committing Genocide Right Now" is across the top center of the image.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

President Zelenskyy was in Brussels, or, rather just outside Brussels, today at NATO headquarters. While there he told a reporter that if possible he’d like to go and visit Israel to literally stand in solidarity. In the video below President Zelenskyy speaks in English and it has Hebrew subtitles.

I’ll keep an eye on this and make sure to include any visit in an update. I’m sure Bibi is thrilled with the prospect.

From the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine:

At the first photo, my grandchildren are hiding from the rockets of russian terrorists in the Kyiv region, in the first days of the terrible invasion in Ukraine

Later, together with thousands of people, we evacuated them to Israel and Europe

In the second photo, the same people, but hiding from the rockets of terrorists from Hamas…

Two different corners of the world, but such shared pain and struggle… It breaks my heart when I see these faces, but I believe that the light of truth and faith will see us through these trials

I pray to the Almighty, that he may rain down his anger and fury on everyone who is involved in the terror of the civilian population!

Senior Hamas official Ali Baraka went on RT/Russia Today TV and made a connection between Hamas’s attack on Israel and Russia. That specific portion of his remarks starts at the 3 minute mark. The video below has English subtitles.

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

Our warriors and the entire nation are getting stronger every day – address by the President of Ukraine

11 October 2023 – 20:44

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A report on our work in Brussels today.

First of all, a meeting in the Ramstein format, our broad defense coalition, more than 50 member states. Defense ministers, top military officers. Our main focus is to strengthen our air defense and the most important tools at the front. Artillery, long-range systems. I am grateful to all partners for their continued willingness to help our defense. Defense Minister Umerov outlined the details of our priorities to our partners.

I met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin and the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown. The meeting was long and specific. It was made clear that America will continue to provide Ukraine with the sustainable and uninterrupted support necessary for our defense. We discussed how to boost our capabilities in defending ourselves against Russian terror – drones and missiles – now, before winter. I am grateful to the United States!

I had a good meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. We discussed our defense priorities, our cooperation with the Alliance. Today, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was held at the level of defense ministers, and tomorrow a meeting of NATO defense ministers will take place. Of course, we are working on further support for our warriors, on very specific things, including the supplies that the guys told me about when I was at the front, visiting brigades on the front line.

The talks with the Prime Minister of Belgium were very important and productive. Belgium has joined our aircraft coalition and will provide Ukraine with F-16s. This is a powerful step. There is a new defense package from Belgium, which has several important components. I would like to mention air defense missiles in particular. Thank you! Belgium became the first country in the world to actually use frozen Russian assets to compensate for the damage caused by Russian aggression, and next year we will receive €1 billion 700 million for our defense and recovery projects. This is very important, and I am grateful to Belgium and personally to Mr. Prime Minister De Croo. As for the sanctions against Russia, we discussed the introduction of a procedure by Belgium and a number of other influential countries to prevent Russian diamonds from being supplied to the European market. This is a blow to Russia’s profits. This long-awaited step will become a reality.

So, it was a powerful day! Belgium, thank you! All allies in Ramstein, thank you! The United States, I am grateful for your leadership and support!

Every day our warriors and our entire nation are getting stronger.

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelenskyy also tweeted out his remarks to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group/Ramstein 16.

Here’s the video, followed by the English transcript.

We need to get the instrument of terror out of Russia’s hands – speech by the President at the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format

11 October 2023 – 13:37

Mr. Minister Austin!

Thank you for your support and leadership. It indeed feels like a true warrior is leading the Ramstein team.

Dear ministers, dear generals!

I am grateful to each of you for your tireless work and for the strong joint decisions you have made for us, for all our people. Thank you so much.

General Brown!

This is the first time you are participating in a Ramstein meeting. And I think it is very symbolic, given your military background as a combat pilot – an F-16 pilot. I am sure that together we will do many good things to defend freedom.

Jens, Mr. Secretary General!

I thank you for your faith in Ukraine – for your confidence that Ukraine will be among the allies in NATO.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Next Monday will mark the six hundredth day of our resistance to Russia’s full-scale aggression against our people, against Ukraine. And today, no one can say for sure how many more days we will have to defend our independence and identity. But we can already say several things, which are important.

First: Putin will not achieve Ukraine. Second: Russia cannot afford a new arms race. And third: democracy can win this battle. It is necessary not only for our country, but for every nation, for the whole world. Our time is not the time for the slavery of nations.

You all know that Moscow’s ambitions have never been limited to Ukraine. And we all want these ambitions to be defeated in Ukraine – as soon as possible, this is the best opportunity – so that we don’t have to look for shells and supply tanks to other countries in Europe, Asia or Africa that the Russian dictator may try to turn into ruins or seize into his crazy empire or zone of influence.

I know that NATO is ready and capable of protecting its members from external aggression. May we never have to experience this in reality. I know what steps can protect Europe and the world from the spread of Russian aggression. And I know what is needed to speed up the just end of this war – let me emphasize: a just end. Full protection of our sovereignty, full restoration of our territorial integrity, full guarantee of Ukraine’s security after the aggression.

We are now in a special situation on the front line. In a situation where it is important to put pressure. Without any pauses. It is very important – without any pauses. You all understand the principles of effective defense. It is the defense that does not leave the enemy a chance to rest, recover, or choose any other tactics. Russia has lost the initiative for today. We are putting pressure on it. We are! It is Ukrainian courage and your support that determine what is happening on the battlefield and, most importantly, what will happen on the battlefield. And although the occupiers are still trying to storm our positions, although our defense and counteroffensive actions are very difficult – it is still Ukraine, it is our soldiers who determine the course of events.

Russia cannot handle this war on its own. You can see it. It needs Iran – Russia cannot succeed without the Shaheds and other help. It needs North Korea. Just imagine – for the first time in its history, Moscow has gone to Pyongyang to bow down. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is escaping our naval drones and missiles. Traditional buyers of Russian weapons see how superior the weapons made by the free world and used by Ukrainians are. Russia is slowly but surely withdrawing from various points of geopolitical fractures in the world because it lacks its own strength. But at the same time, it still has enough resources to incite conflicts and turn them into full-scale tragedies. This is happening in the Sahel, and it can happen even more painfully in Israel and in the Middle East as a whole. We must not allow this to happen. We can prevent it! We have to put even more pressure so that the aggressor weakens faster and does not have time to adapt to our pressure. We need to make sure that Russia is heading for defeat and does not even attempt to claim anything else.

One of the most vital battles here is the one against the Kremlin’s key tool, its greatest perverted pride – the pride of the terrorist. Last winter, Russia wanted to turn it into a weapon against us by destroying our power plants and supply network. I am grateful to all of you, every country, every leader who helped us with air defense and energy equipment. It really was a life-saver for all of us, our people, our children. Obviously, this winter Russia will try to repeat those tactics, but with certain conclusions and greater terrorist efforts. Please note that even during the attack on Israel, terrorists targeted one of the largest power plants in the region. Until last winter, when Russia relied on these tactics, other terrorists had not done so in such attacks.

Of course, our task now is to get through this difficult time, through this winter. But, in fact, the real power of this task, if fulfilled, is much greater than just getting through this winter. Air defense is a significant part of the answer to the question of when this war will end and whether it will end justly for Ukraine. I am confident that it can be so. It will be so.

Everyone can see what the protection of the sky gives. It is a guarantee that there will be normal life in the cities. There will be an economy. There will be people. Long-range air defense can also ensure the functioning of our corridors in the Black Sea and the Danube region. Air defense will ensure that Russian jets will not be able to approach our borders. And therefore it will solve the issue of Russian guided bombs.

We all need this kind of push now. A step forward in our defense. Air defense. For Ukraine, this will be a victory of life. It is vital. For Russia, it will be a failure of its key strategy – the strategy of terror, what will it have left but this?

We need to protect people. We need the opportunity to live and accumulate economic activity. We need normal exports. Grain is the key to global food security – Ukrainian grain. Then there is metallurgy. Other goods of our exports. It is the economic basis of life. We need children to be able to study at schools, not online. And we need people to live not only from one air alarm to another, but based on their plans for days, weeks… better – months. When this happens, the majority of our people who have found temporary refuge abroad will start to come back. Millions of Ukrainians! The stronger we are socially and economically, the more powerful we will be in the military sense. We will be able to ensure the work of a greater number and capacity of defense industries in Ukraine. We will be able to depend much less on the assistance of our partners. We will be able to provide more support to the front line.

Dear friends!

We must win the winter battle against terror. We can win it. And along with it, we can win the battle for how and on whose terms this war will end. Ukraine can survive. It will survive. However, it is important to take the weapons out of the hands of our enemy. What is Russia’s strength? Let’s be honest. Only the fact that they can destroy lives. Russia is not capable of doing anything else. Is it a security donor? No. A supporter of development? No. A political pole? No. A source of economic growth? No. A terrorist? Yes. That is the only thing! That threatens Ukraine and many other nations. We need to get this instrument out of Russia’s hands – the instrument of terror.

The answer is air defense and other types of weapons, the list of which we will discuss and my team will share with you. And above all, please remember that this will not only help to bring a just end to the war for us, but will also keep the war away from you, from your borders and the borders of your allies – from the Alliance. Missiles and drones will not fall in Romania, Poland or elsewhere if they cannot overcome the protection of the Ukrainian sky.

Terrorists like Putin or Hamas seek to hold free and democratic nations as hostages. And they want power over those who seek freedom. The terrorists will not change. They just must lose. And that means we must win. We do! It requires patience. It requires steady and continuous support. We need to take the right steps. Steps that save lives. For real. Vital steps. And strengthen the defense. Significantly.

Air defense is a must. I’m sure you heard me.

Thank you for your invitation! Thank you very much for your attention! And for your common big support during all these days, weeks, months of full-scale war! I thank you and your nations!

Слава Україні!

🇺🇸 $200 million — ammunition for air defense, artillery and missile ammunition, aviation weapons, anti-tank weapons
🇬🇧€115 million — aid package, demining, equipment maintenance
🇩🇰Transfer of F-16 at the beginning of next year
🇫🇮€95 million – a new aid package
🇨🇦$25 million for winter preparation
🇧🇪 F-16 pilots training, F-16 aircraft at 2025, substantial technical support
🇳🇴$18.5 million for demining
🇪🇸Additional air defense systems, help in preparation for winter,
€1.5 million for demining
🇩🇪Missiles for air defense and tanks
🇧🇬English courses for F-16 pilots
🇱🇹2 NASAMS launchers, ammunition and winter supplies

Grateful to every partner country for substantial impact in strengthening #UArmy.
#Ramstein 16 will have great impact on our victory!

 

F-16 delivery plan:
🇩🇰Denmark plans to deliver the first batch of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine in the spring (March, April) of 2024.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Denmark-to-send-first-F-16s-to-Ukraine-in-early-2024/60780948
🇳🇱Netherlands will send F-16 to Ukraine at the end of 2024.
https://24tv.ua/f-16-koli-ukrayina-otrimaye-zahidni-vinishhuvachi-vidpovid-posla_n2409136/amp
🇧🇪Belgium will transfer several F-16 to Ukraine in 2025
https://rtl.be/actu/belgique/politique/la-belgique-va-envoyer-des-f-16-lukraine-annonce-la-ministre-de-la-defense/2023-10-11/article/596901

The United Kingdom announced the transfer of stationary Terrahawk Paladin anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. In the standard configuration, the installation is equipped with a 30-mm Mark 44 Bushmaster II cannon with a possible increase in caliber to 40 mm.
A new package of the UK military support for Ukraine is worth more than £100m.
https://gov.uk/government/news/major-new-package-of-support-for-ukraines-counter-offensive-announced-by-grant-shapps

The US is currently down to a few hundred million for Ukraine. The Biden administration is trying to get creative. Politico has the details.

The Biden administration is considering using a State Department grant program to send additional military aid to Ukraine as Congress continues to battle over weapons funding, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions.

The White House is weighing a range of options as it scrambles to find additional money to support Ukraine after lawmakers stripped funding in a last-minute deal to avert a government shutdown, said the officials, who like others interviewed for this story were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

President Joe Biden hinted at this strategy on Wednesday, saying “there is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that.” He declined to comment further.

One of the officials said the president’s comments referred to “existing funding authorities” Congress previously gave the administration “that allow us to provide additional support to Ukraine for a bit longer if Congress doesn’t act.”

One option under consideration is using foreign military financing — a program run by the State Department that provides grants or loans to help partner countries purchase weapons and defense equipment — intended for Ukraine and other countries impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion, said the two officials.

As of Sept. 21, the U.S. had roughly $650 million remaining out of $4.6 billion in foreign military financing that Congress appropriated across two supplemental packages for Ukraine and “countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine,” according to the State Department.

Even if the U.S. uses the financing authority to purchase weapons, Congress still needs to authorize additional funding to support Ukraine, the U.S. official said.

The administration could also potentially ask Congress to redirect funding from elsewhere in the Pentagon budget to support Ukraine, according to a Defense Department official familiar with the discussions. However, this route would require approval from lawmakers.

A top Pentagon spokesperson said no decision had been made on what route the department will take.

“Reprogramming is always an option for urgent needs. At this time right now, though, to my knowledge, no decision has been made on using reprogramming as a way to support Ukraine security assistance,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder. “We remain committed to working with Congress on the Ukraine supplemental and receiving a full budget.”

Pentagon leaders warned lawmakers last week that department’s portion of previous aid packages has nearly run out. Comptroller Mike McCord wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that the Defense Department “has exhausted nearly all available security assistance funding for Ukraine.” No money remains for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the program used by the Pentagon to purchase new weapons and equipment for Kyiv, while $1.6 billion remains to replenish U.S. inventories.

More at the link.

I know there has been speculation in comments, as well as in reporting that the Biden administration will try to bundle funding for Ukraine’s war effort with additional funding for Israel and even possibly with further defense aid to Taiwan. That’s somewhat creative, but the congressional math is still a problem. There is a significant block of Republican senators who oppose any new aid to Ukraine and have the ability to individually hold up any funding package that includes it. Even more of a problem is that the majority of the GOP caucus in the House is now opposed to any additional funding for Ukraine. Meaning that the minority of that caucus that does want more funding would have to partner with the Democrats, force a discharge petition to get the bill to the floor, and then vote with the Democrats to get it passed. Given that the GOP House caucus cannot even get a majority of its members behind one of the two candidates for Speaker of the House and we are down to about 9 actual working days on the congressional calendar to get another short term CR out, the administration is fighting both the numbers needed to pass a supplemental aid package and the calendar.

This is what the Biden administration and, especially, the Ukrainians are up against:

Especially because the Republicans have decided to do what they usually do:

As a result I expect that any attempt to bundle additional support for Ukraine with additional support to Israel will either be short lived or not even be attempted because of domestic political considerations in the US. My impression is that part of President Biden’s we just quietly get things done political strategy is avoiding fights he knows he can’t win. Right now getting more support to Israel, regardless of whether Israel needs it or not, is a major domestic political imperative in the US. Getting more support to Ukraine, which Ukraine desperately needs, is not. I would like to be wrong, but I do not expect to be.

Michael McKinley, a retired Senior Foreign Service Executive, has some thoughts on this in Politico:

The unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel will complicate the debate in the United States and internationally about sustaining assistance for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s aggression. Israel merits the unquestioned support of its allies as it responds to the most significant challenge it has faced since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. But it does not follow that the conflict in Ukraine should fade into the background.

Events in Israel along with other worrying developments — including Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh and Serbia’s border build-up with Kosovo — only underscore how quickly the international order we’ve long taken for granted has been undermined since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 20 months ago. The world we’re entering is becoming a more volatile, violent place.

For Western nations who want to forestall that future, the first line of defense remains Ukraine. Israel is receiving support and likely to prevail in its conflict with Hamas, but without continued assistance from the United States and its allies, Ukraine is much less likely to win its war with Russia.

If Ukraine is not to suffer the fate of other “forever wars” and become a secondary priority to a possibly wider conflict in the Middle East, or a global landscape with other pressing demands, U.S. leaders need to recast the case for staying the course on Ukraine. Messaging on Ukraine should include greater realism about the conflict, its complexities, its likely outcome and what it means for global security.

The truth is that sustaining assistance for Ukraine is already a challenge, as much psychological as political. Fatigue has kicked in among Ukraine’s supporters notwithstanding reassuring statements by President JoeBiden and European leaders following the revolt by congressional GOPhardliners in Washington against further financial support for the war effort. In our recent past, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, costing trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives, increasingly came to be described as forgotten wars as they dragged on for many years.

Ukraine should not be seen in the same way. The moment is fast approaching for the Biden administration to strengthen the rationale for sustaining the war effort, by starting first with redefining the strategic commitment of the U.S. and its allies. At the NATO summit in June, it became clear that the allies have yet to provide everything Ukraine needs to significantly improve its battlefield performance. The debate continues over what weapons to supply. Allies also pushed off Ukraine’s NATO membership into an indefinite future.

This hesitancy is driven by genuine concerns about taking steps that could provoke an unpredictable Russian response. Nonetheless, it’s time for Western leaders to be more forthright and strategic in explaining what the endgame is: that military assistance to Ukraine will help not just defeat Russia now but also transform Ukraine’s military capabilities so it can serve as a bulwark against further Russian aggression in Europe and Central Asia. Making this case requires that Western leaders be clearer about the fact that Russia is stronger militarily and politically than many suggest, a longer-term threat to global stability and not just in Europe, and acknowledging that the war may go on for some time and cannot have a defined timetable.

Much more at the link!

Avdiivka:

Here’s the details:

Since he left Ukraine on Tuesday, Russian forces have stepped up attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, marking their first offensive actions in months. Launched in May with the goal of clawing back lost territory, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has so far struggled to gain momentum.

As Zelenskyy spoke in Brussels, Russian forces pushed ahead with an assault on the eastern industrial city of Avdiivka.

Oleksandr Stupun, a military spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern front, said Russian forces were fighting with “all their might to show some kind of success and are trying to surround Avdiivka”.

The industrial city is home to Ukraine’s largest coking plant, which videos posted on social media and verified by the Financial Times showed was targeted by artillery attacks and air strikes on Tuesday. Some videos showed plumes of smoke rising from the battered city, while those posted by Ukrainian drone operators revealed a convoy of Russian armoured vehicles and infantry troops moving towards the frontline.

Of Avdiivka’s prewar population of 30,000, authorities say only a little more than 1,000 residents remain in the city, much of which has been reduced to rubble by relentless shelling.

Ukraine’s General Staff said that “up to three battalions” of Russian soldiers were involved in the offensive around Avdiivka.

“They are not succeeding, but they will try to gain some operational space,” Stupun said of the Russian assault. “At the moment they are suffering losses, our soldiers are standing firm and defending Avdiivka and the neighbouring settlements.”

Russia also continued its air strikes on Ukraine’s Danube ports, used to export grains and by the country’s military for its seaborne operations, the General Staff said.

Much more at the link!

/1. About today’s large scale Russian attack on the Avdiivka front, by DeepState:

Today was one of the most difficult days at the Avdiivka direction
⚔️ The enemy went on the attack with several columns, filled with infantry. The attack was accompanied by artillery, aviation and missile strikes. Columns advanced from Krasnohorivka, Novoselivka Druha, Vodyane, Pisky and Vesele. Russians managed to capture certain positions, but considering the number of personnel and equipment that was involved, the results are simply deplorable for the enemy.
⚔️ Russians hoped for a blitzkrieg. Losses of equipment are colossal, analysts will soon be counting. Hundreds of Russian infantrymen were engaged and they are still roaming the no man’s land. The fighting continues. Indeed, everything could have been much worse, but the coordinated work of the Defense Forces of Ukraine produced results. Of course, it was not without losses.

⬅️ Russians statements about the entry into Berdychi which were circulating on the Internet – is just another sick fantasy of propagandists. Of course, not everything is rosy near Avdiivka, but the first attack of the real Soviet army was repelled.
https://t.me/DeepStateUA/17797

Hroza:

Here’s the details from The Financial Times:

Ukrainian authorities have accused two brothers of helping the Russian military carry out this year’s deadliest missile strike, which hit their hometown of Hroza, killing 55 people.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and prosecutors in Kharkiv region on Wednesday announced treason charges against Volodymyr Mamon, 30, and his younger brother, Dmytro Mamon, 23, who are alleged to have long collaborated with Russia.

Additionally, authorities charged Volodymyr with directly aiding and abetting the Russian army in the murder of his neighbours. Prosecutors said they were working to locate the brothers, who are Russian passport holders and are believed to be in Russia.

The Russian missile attack on October 5 struck a grocery store and an adjacent café, where civilians and military personnel had gathered to commemorate a fallen soldier. Almost every family in the village of 330 people had at least one relative at the gathering, said Ukraine’s interior affairs minister Ihor Klymenko, underscoring the devastating impact the attack has had on the community.

Fifty-one people — about a sixth of the village’s population — were killed instantly when the Russian Iskander missile hit, reducing the buildings to rubble. Dmytro Chubenko, a spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office, said on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 55 and could increase since several people remained in hospital with serious injuries.

Prosecutors said the Mamons had willingly collaborated with Russian forces while the region was under occupation in 2022. For their efforts, authorities said, the Mamons were appointed to law enforcement jobs in the Russian occupation administration. Prosecutors shared photographs of law enforcement documents issued to them by Russian authorities.

The Mamons fled to Russia last autumn, as Ukrainian forces moved in to retake the area during a counteroffensive that brought the Kharkiv region back under Kyiv’s control.

In self-exile, the brothers allegedly continued their work with Russian forces, building a local network of sources on the ground in Kharkiv from whom they would glean details about Ukraine’s military.

Ukrainian authorities say the Mamons’ relatives, neighbours and acquaintances from Hroza and other towns and villages in the Kharkiv region unwittingly participated in the brothers’ intelligence-gathering operations.

Under the guise of ordinary conversation over messenger apps, the Mamons asked several people, including Dmytro’s wife, for information about the movements of Ukraine’s troops and public events that involved the military in the Kharkiv region.

Prosecutors said the brothers caught wind of the funeral service in Hroza days before.

“The older brother found out in detail from fellow villagers who will be at the memorial event, what time it will be and where exactly,” prosecutors said. “He passed this information on to his Russian supervisors, who . . . made a decision [to attack] a civilian target.”

Authorities published text messages they say show conversations between Volodymyr and Dmytro and residents in Hroza in which the time and location of the funeral were discussed. The exchanges appear to show that the brothers knew people who would be present at the wake but believed a majority of the attendees would be military service members.

More at the link!

After:

Before:

Putin has some thoughts on who actually invaded Ukraine in 2014 and then expanded the war in 2022. Hint: it wasn’t Russia!

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight. Here is some adjacent material from the Ukrainian Army Cats & Dogs account.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

33Comments

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    As much as I would respect Zelenskyy for going to Israel, it would terrify the absolute shit out of me, unless he visited people while traveling around in a giant armored hamster ball. I don’t doubt for a nanosecond that Hamas would enjoy…I don’t even want to type it, but you know what I mean.

    Thank you as always, Adam.

  3. 3.

    cain

    What was the purpose of Hamas spokesman telling everyone that Russia sympathizes? What is to gain by that? I assume that Russia OK’d them saying that?

    I mean, it counters the propaganda by Russia saying Ukraine gave Hamas weapons.

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    I’m sure Bibi is THRILLED that Z wants to show solidarity with Israel with a visit.  Such a thing would put Bibi even more on the spot than he already is.  I think he’s toast.  He’s going to suffer for his insouciance about Gaza, to the point of moving troops north to help out the settlers on the West Bank.

  6. 6.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    I hope Bibi is toast. I hope the shake up absolutely undermines the ultra-Orthodox and other right wing loons.

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: There is no shakeup. This is a national emergency government. Gantz and one other opposition leader joined, they will each be given a cabinet portfolio. No one in Bibi’s coalition that existed prior to the formation of the national emergency government is going anywhere. The only thing that has changed is that nothing that is not related to the current state of emergency can or will be brought up for business in the Knesset or for action by the cabinet. Of course I expect Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to continue to use this emergency to expand their power and check of their wish lists claiming that all of those items are things covered under the emergency.

  9. 9.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Adam L Silverman: There is no shake up yet. However, Bibi’s failures will hopefully lead to one. That remains to be seen, but his political downfall would be better for both the US and Israel.

  10. 10.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose: I think I understand your feeling, and I share it.  Zelenskyy means a lot to a lot of people, and it would be an enormous hit if ….. [like you, not going to write it down].  It’s got nothing to do with his personal courage: he’s demonstrated that over and over in Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and elsewhere.  It’s about his importance as a …. well, a sort of talisman for so many people all over the world (and, I’m guessing, in Ukraine too).

  12. 12.

    YY_Sima Qian

    The Russian military using an Iskander MRBM on a funeral, this is so f*cked up on so many levels…

  15. 15.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Not sure if Adam will do a Hamas-Israel War update today. Reading the news accounts the last couple of days, the Hamas-PIJ massacre of civilians in the southern Israeli settlements are stomach churning. It’s like Hamas executed a brilliant military operation just so they could carry out old fashioned pogroms.

    Israel’s intelligence & defense planning failures (in addition to being strategically adrift for so long) are colossal & utterly unfathomable. The credibility of Israel’s military deterrence has take a huge hit, & plenty of establishment voices inside & outside of Israel are advocating that Israel “reestablish deterrence” by leveling Gaza, disregarding collateral damage. At the most cynical & amoral level, it makes some kind of sense, & Israel has had a long history dealing out such punishment to maintain “deterrence”, but to any normal human being this is f*cked up on multiple levels. & the way Israel dealt out such punishments in the past were generally effective as short to medium term measures, it may well be counterproductive here.

    There are disturbingly genocidal rhetoric coming not just from the usual suspects in Bibi’s cabinet, but IDF spokespersons & officers. The IDF PAO is posting drone footage that clearly shows IDF soldiers executing presumed militants (can’t tell, they were unarmed in the footage waving a white rag, the photos show the bodies lined up lying prone on the ground, stripped to the waist, arms raised) that have surrendered & planting weapons next to their bodies after, & celebrating the apparent war crime. When the border fence was breached in dozens of locations, it was not just Hamas & PIJ militants that rushed through, but many unarmed civilians as well. The avg. age of Gazans is 18, & most of them have never been outside of Gaza, When the IDF claims to have killed 1500 terrorists, I wonder how many may be these unarmed tag alongs. On the other side of the coin, these unarmed tag alongs may or may not have joined in the pogroms, as well.

    For the time being, the lives of the Gazan civilians seem to be at the bottom of the concerns of the powers that be, be they Israel, Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran, US & Western governments & those of the ROW, or Egypt & other Sunni Arab states.

    Things are devolving so quickly that it is difficult to process. It is reminiscent reading about Russian atrocious in Ukraine, but Ukraine to its enormous credit has not responded w/ bloodlust. Israel is.

  16. 16.

    wjca

    @Alison Rose: As much as I would respect Zelenskyy for going to Israel, it would terrify the absolute shit out of me, unless he visited people while traveling around in a giant armored hamster ball.

    It might be more doable than you think.  Biden managed to visit Kyiv, after all.

    Sure, there would be security challenges.  But those could be managed.  (It’s not like anybody has managed to assassinate Bibi.  And not for lack of interest.)

  17. 17.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Gin & Tonic: I am not surprised that Zelenskyy is nor universally loved in Ukraine, but why is he not [nearly] universally respected in Ukraine, given the extraordinary way he has conducted himself & carried out his duties throughout the current war?

  18. 18.

    Lyrebird

    @Gin & Tonic: Understood that it’s way too complicated to cover fully.  Not surprised – I got the impression frm the start of my reading Illia Ponomarenko that he wasn’t a huge fan.  Uk. is bigger than a postage stamp, and opinions will vary, I figure.  You know I’ve been hugely impressed by the pulling together, like multiple Poroshenko (sp?) interviews where he has stayed laser focused on the country as a whole.  Unlike some Representatives here.

    I don’t know if I am imagining things, but it seems like the ceremonies and selfies with troops have grown more warm

  19. 19.

    Lyrebird

    @YY_Sima Qian: Not going to say it’s not a horror show, but just want to mention that when I looked at mainstream news I saw several headlines about US and Egypt trying to get a humanitarian corridor opened so civilians can get OUT of Gaza while this is going on.

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    @YY_Sima Qian: I’m aiming for tomorrow, but if tomorrow goes like today did, then it will be Friday.

    Sorry, but there is only so much time to work with.

  21. 21.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Lyrebird: That would be great news! Egypt has been deeply complicit in the suffering of the Gazans, because the blockade has been a joint Israeli-Egyptian endeavors, though it does not participate in Israel’s periodic “grass mowing”.

    Complications: Egypt is on the verge of economic collapse & the political situation seems to be quite precarious, not sure it is in any shape to handle a million or more refugees, or the reintroduction of tens of thousands (or more) of Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers. That also assumes Israel would allow what it believes to be members of Hamas to escape Gaza through the humanitarian corridor. The Israeli DM has promised a relentless siege.

    We are heading toward a very dark time (“polycrisis” being the new fad to describe the situation), & IMHO there is very little ballast at the global, regional, nation-state & sub-national levels to withstand the turmoil.

  22. 22.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Adam L Silverman: No problem. There are actually pretty good resources on Twitter collating the latest updates, & there is a huge amount of information & rapid developments. Shashank Joshi has been very good w/ his threads. Everything is bleak, though.

  24. 24.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Lyrebird: @YY_Sima Qian: The Egyptians have made it clear no Palestinians will be allowed out into Egypt. The corridors, if Egypt will agree to them, will only be for supplies to go in. The Egyptian position is that Palestinians both belong on Palestinian land, but must fight for it from there. There will be no escape for the non-combatants.

  26. 26.

    wjca

    @YY_Sima Qian: The Israeli DM has promised a relentless siege.

    The descriptions of his plans appear to include no supplies of any kind, including food and water, to be allowed in.  (And no people allowed out.)  So there are only three ways that ends:

    1) The Palestinians in Gaza somehow magically round up all of Hamas (despite them having the guns), and turn them over to the Israelis.  Presumably the official goal.  Even though it is obviously impossible.

    2) Everybody in Gaza dies of starvation.  I have the bad feeling that this is the preferred solution for much of Netanyahu’s cabinet.

    3) Israel decides that enough civilians have starved — it’s not like the guys with guns are going to starve first.  So they pack it in.  Despite having accomplished nothing effective.

  27. 27.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    @Gin & Tonic: I would really be interested to hear about this. I do know that, before the invasion, his ratings were terrible & there were doubts he would be re-elected. So I’m curious about why he would still have his doubters/opponents.

  28. 28.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    Horrifying as what Hamas has done/is doing, what Israel is doing is a crime against humanity as surely as what the Russians did to Bucha. I trust the current Israeli government about as much as I trust the current government of Russia, which is to say not at all. The palpable thirst for vengeance, while understandable, is so very, very dangerous.

  29. 29.

    Martin

    @Alison Rose: I don’t think Hamas wants any harm to come to Zelensky. It doesn’t help their efforts.

    I think Hamas and Bibi are both getting exactly the political outcome they want. Bibi seems to believe he needs Israel sitting on knifes edge to keep him in power so he’s not motivated to pacify groups like Hamas, and Hamas wants Israel to do what they are doing in Gaza because it’ll build support for the cause of the Palestinians – Israel will overreact and drive more and more Palestinians to support groups like Hamas, because Israel won’t take particular care over who actually gets hurt in this moment.

    Zelensky doesn’t fit into that dynamic. Any harm to him would bring sympathy away from what’s unfolding. Note that while a lot of the headlines are still on the terrible things that happened to Israeli citizens, the imagery is increasingly showing Gaza in ruins, and the humanitarian crisis developing in Gaza threatens to push that further toward sympathy toward Palestinians. Hamas doesn’t want that trajectory to change.

    The US is pretty good at taking a tragedy and turning itself into a villain in the aftermath, but Israel is speedrunning that shit right now. It’s hard to watch.

  32. 32.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @wjca:

    2) Everybody in Gaza dies of starvation.  I have the bad feeling that this is the preferred solution for much of Netanyahu’s cabinet.

    Lack of water, and people dying of thirst is likely a far greater threat, and likely to reach a crisis far sooner. (Caveat, I have no knowledge of what water shortage capabilities Gaza has on its own, nor what water sources it may have.)

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