Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

We still have time to mess this up!

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Democrats are back in array!

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

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

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 704: A Brief Sunday Night Update

War for Ukraine Day 704: A Brief Sunday Night Update

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The crest of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. A wine colored cross on a silver shield with the gold Uktainian Tryzub in the center on a circular blue medallion. A pair of silver maces and an upright sword are between the blue medallion and the wine colored cross.

We’re just going to cover the basics tonight since I did the update for the other war earlier today.

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

It is due to our warriors that the world keeps the faith in Ukraine – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

28 January 2024 – 21:07

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A few things are worth mentioning today.

First of all, gratitude to all our warriors. To everyone who is now in positions, in combat, at combat posts, on combat missions along the entire front line – from Kupyansk to Krynky. To everyone who is recovering from wounds. And to everyone who trains to join the ranks of Ukraine’s Defense and Security Forces. Today, I would like to especially recognize our border guards – the warriors from the units of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who are not only defending our state border, but also fighting alongside everyone else in various areas of the front. The Steel Frontier Brigade – tough warriors. They are defending Kharkiv region in the Kupyansk direction. I am very thankful to all of you.

I would also like to mention the efficiency of Soldiers Artem Tsapliuk and Ihor Kamenetskyi, Junior Sergeants Yurii Popish and Yaroslav Sholom, and Lieutenant Colonel Valerii Havryliuk. Thank you, guys, for your skillful actions! The warriors of the Luhansk Border Guard Detachment – the Revenge Brigade – strong warriors, they are back on the front line, in the Lyman and Bakhmut directions. I am especially grateful to Soldier Yevhen Serdiuk for his courage and Senior Sergeant Kyrylo Chumachenko for his personal efficiency. Maryinka area – the Rapid Response Border Commandant’s Service of the Zhytomyr Detachment: I thank all of you, our warriors, for your accuracy and destruction of Russian equipment. And I would like to especially recognize Junior Sergeant Pavlo Shevchuk and Sergeant Radion Blashko – well done, guys! Each personal result in this war is the result of the whole of Ukraine. Because it is the personal results that make up the resilience of our state, our joint state capabilities and the success of Ukrainian defense.

The warriors of the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also deserve special gratitude. Ukraine is thankful to all of you who are always bravely defending the state. In particular, it is worth mentioning Senior Soldier Yevhenii Kuchmenko and Soldiers Mykola Mantula and Vitalii Kurdin for their combat operations. Thank you, guys, for your bravery and for your ability to really care about your brothers-in-arms! The 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade – Soldiers Anatolii Vlasiuk and Mykola Chubyk – thank you and all your brothers-in-arms for your dedication and ability to become role models for others. I would also like to mention the 100th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade and, in particular, Senior Soldier Mykola Panasenko and Staff Sergeant Oleksandr Bereznyi. These guys are so brave, so conscious, so selfless that it is due to such warriors that the world keeps the faith in Ukraine, in our ability to finish this war in the way Ukraine needs.

We already have an international communication schedule for the upcoming week that will strengthen our country. This encompasses both our standing in Europe, including our relations with the European Union and our EU neighbors, as well as international institutions tasked with upholding international law. Of course, we are preparing new defense packages for our soldiers as well. Summarizing the results of the new week, we will be able to say that Ukraine has become stronger. It is crucial that each week brings more clear agreements to our bilateral relations with partners, and more stability to defense coalitions in the supply of weapons, shells, and equipment. I am grateful to everyone in the world who helps in this way – making the agreements work, and the resilience of our warriors based on the resilience of our partners.

Glory to everyone who fights and works for Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

Greece:

 

Greece has approved the transfer of Soviet-era air defense systems to Ukraine. The details of the military package have not been disclosed, but it is known that the country is armed with Tor, Osa, S-300 and ZU-23-2 air defense systems as well as their respective ammunition.

Source (Greek): kathimerini.gr/politics/forei

#Greece #Ukraine

I think this is a very accurate assessment of Russia’s use of diplomatic power:

Imma say it why Russians keep hurling in these ‘The Kremlin sends signals of peace’ messages, including via top global press.

Because it’s just music to the ears of those who are supposed to be decision-makers but are hell-bent on weaseling out of the whole thing, doing as little as possible, assuming as little responsibility as possible, and passing the consequences to whoever is next in charge.

This war is particularly a maturity test, and the free world is not looking good at it.

Still no real clarity on the downed IL-26:

It’s been five days since Russia’s Ilyushin Il-76M crashed near Belgorod.

Still no undeniable proofs from Russia regarding 65 Ukrainian POWs on board, no international agencies on site, no clear answer if Russia had properly notified Ukraine it would transport POWs for swap on a military aircraft within a restricted air combat zone.

Avdiivka:

Bakhmut:

In civilian life, “Mavka” enjoyed computer games and worked as a barista. After February 24, 2022, she joined Territorial Defence and found her calling in drones. The aerial reconnaissance unit is now operating in Bakhmut. “Mavka” shares her impressions of the Russian military, expresses her attitude to the mobilisation of women, and talks about her favorite ammunition for destroying the invaders.

Novokalinove:

Krynky, left bank of the Dnipro, Russian occupied Kherson Oblast:

Magyar’s Birds finished off an earlier hit!

Kharkiv:

For you ATGM enthusiasts:

For you DIY enthusiasts:

Somewhere in Russia or Russian occupied Ukraine:

Budapest, Hungary:

It is unclear if Toroczkai is claiming Zakarpattie Oblast for Hungary or just for himself.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight. So here’s some adjacent material from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

19Comments

  1. 1.

    Yarrow

    Thanks, Adam

    Edit: For Jay, when he shows up, I explained the Nitter situation here and in a subsequent comment in the same thread.

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    I appreciate how Ukrainian soldiers have familiars. Especially black armour with black kitteh.

  3. 3.

    Alison Rose

    This war is particularly a maturity test, and the free world is not looking good at it.

    No lies detected.

    I have no idea if the EUs gambit will work, but I like that they’re doing it.

    Thank you as always, Adam.

  5. 5.

    jackmac

    Thanks Adam for your double duty efforts today covering two depressing conflicts.  (Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia)

  7. 7.

    Gin & Tonic

    A “mavka” in Slavic mythology is the spirit of a young woman (girl), often portrayed as luring men to their death. An apt nom de guerre. 

  9. 9.

    gene108

    Something posted awhile back about the Putin government re-evaluating the treaties, land sales, etc. made by the Soviet Union and Imperial Russia, with respect to considering them still valid.

    I don’t know why it took me this long to make a connection, but this is very much the PRC’s position with respect to prior Chinese governments agreements, and a cause of their border disputes with so many neighbors.

    I feel like this is the source of a lot of potential conflicts.

  11. 11.

    Alison Rose

    @Gin & Tonic: In the captions on the video, she said that before the full-scale war, she “lived like a regular dudess” which made me smile, but I’m wondering what the Ukrainian word was? Because I’d like to use it.

  12. 12.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gin & Tonic: That works too. This appears to be common to almost all the Northern European cultures, as well as those they influenced. Its almost proto-cultural.

  13. 13.

    errg

    Thanks Adam for the update. I don’t often comment, but I almost always read your updates and learn something.

  14. 14.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Alison Rose: The Ukrainian word for “dude” is чувак (chuvak.) The feminine form would be чувачка (chuvachka) but is less often used. Thing is, from what I can make out in the audio, what she’s saying is close, but not exactly it. As you know there’s a lot of slang in the military, so it may be slang-ified.

  16. 16.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @gene108: Um, the PRC’s territorial claims has pretty much followed that of the preceding ROC, including those over Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, & the infamous Nine Dashed Line in the South China Sea. I am not aware of a single claim that the PRC is asserting that had not already been asserted by the ROC. To the extent there are differences, the PRC has relinquished claims asserted by the ROC, such as those over Outer Mongolia (now the Republic or Mongolia), or other border territories given up during the land border settlements the PRC concluded w/ Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Myanmar & Vietnam from the 50s – 00s.

    Both the ROC & the PRC proclaimed that the treaties signed by the crumbling late Qing Empire, which ceded territories to the Russian, British & Japanese Empires, to be unequal treaties forced on China under duress & thus illegitimate. However, the PRC has not yet tried recover these ceded territories, nor asserted territorial claims over these territories, nor drawn them as Chinese territory on official maps. The PRC waited until the British lease on the New Territories was set to expire in 1997 before demanding the UK to return all of Hong Kong. Portugal wanted to surrender its colony at Macau since the 70s, but the PRC held it off, wanting to resolve Hong Kong 1st, finally negotiating its return in 1999. Contrast this w/ the Republic of India annexing the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman & Diu by force in 1961.

    If the US had not given Taiwan & Penghu back to the ROC at the end of WW II, & instead had allowed it become independent, the KMT regime probably would not have been able to escape there after losing the Chinese Civil War on the Mainland & maintain a rump regime, & Taiwan probably would not be a territorial hotspot today.

    In the case of disputed borders w/ India & Bhutan, the Qing Empire refused to recognize the treaties signed between the Tibetan government & the British Raj as legitimate or binding, asserting that Lhasa had no power to conclude treaties w/ foreign powers w/o the approval of the Qing court, being under its suzerain. The ROC & the PRC have held the same position.

    One can certainly reject the claims being asserted by the PRC (& by the ROC before it) as being unreasonable & unsupportable, in the case of the Nine Dashed Line I would completely agree, but the PRC has not been making up claims out of thin air. Just look at the official maps of the ROC & the PRC. For the decades the KMT government on Taiwan made propaganda hay against the CPC government on the Mainland for “surrendering Chinese territory” in these border settlements, trying to re-seize the mantle of being the legitimate force for advancing Chinese nationalism.

  18. 18.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Someone, presumably militia affiliated w/ Iran in Iraq, Syria or Lebanon, attacked an aid base in northern Jordan w/ drones. This time, AD failed & 3 US soldiers were killed, dozens wounded. The domestic political pressure for the Biden Administration to escalate strikes against Iranian affiliated groups across the ME region will be immense, thus accelerating the process toward a regional conflagration.

    We are not yet out of Jan., 2024 is shaping up to be a real doozy.

  19. 19.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    Someone, presumably militia affiliated w/ Iran in Iraq, Syria or Lebanon, attacked an aid base in northern Jordan w/ drones.

    Typo, should be “a US base”.

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