Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

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

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

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

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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

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

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

We won’t go back.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

He really is that stupid.

Donald Jessica Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 891: The Bombardment of Kharkiv Oblast Continues

War for Ukraine Day 891: The Bombardment of Kharkiv Oblast Continues

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Painting by NEIVANMADE. It has a white background an in the center are Soldiers in green doing air defense by firing at incoming Russian missiles in the upper right. The missiles are red and yellow. In the upper left, written in green, is the text: "SAVE THE BRAVEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!" Below the Soldiers, also written in green, is "SUPPORT FOR KHARKIV"

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

A couple of quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is doing great as she comes to the end of her week off. Her next treatment is Monday. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, I’m going to keep tonight short. It’s been a long week and I’m fried.

Third for those in Florida keep a weather eye on Tropical Depression 4 so you can be prepared.

As of 6:15 PM EDT/1:15 AM local time in Ukraine, air raid alerts are up over most of eastern, central, south central, and north central Ukraine.

Russian continued its bombardment of civilian targets in Kharkiv Oblast today:

More from Kharkiv after the jump.

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

We Are Preparing New and Absolutely Modern Solutions for Our Warriors – Address by the President

2 August 2024 – 18:56

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today there were many substantive meetings. The beginning of the day was devoted to military matters. There was a report from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi regarding the frontline situation. And of course, most attention was paid to the Pokrovsk direction. This is where the fighting remains the most intense, and this direction requires our most intensive responses to the occupier. Each brigade, each unit in the Pokrovsk direction – all our warriors who are maintaining their resilience there and defending our positions despite the Russian assaults, are in many ways also holding the foundation of the defense of the entire eastern part of our country. At the same time, we do not diminish our attention to all other directions on the front – in the Donetsk region, as well as in the Kharkiv region and our southern regions. I am grateful to everyone whose courage is fully working for Ukraine. Also, today there was a report by Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Budanov. The details are not public. Minister of Defense Umerov also reported, in particular, on our cooperation with Türkiye. Among other things, he spoke about the construction of our corvettes for Ukraine: we will continue this cooperation. I also held a meeting with the team of the Ministry of Defense. We are preparing new and absolutely modern solutions for our warriors, which will definitely eliminate a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork from the units. Soon these solutions will be presented to our society. They look really innovative. Also today, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the international experts of the Office reported on our special foreign policy opportunities – opportunities that our country has thanks to many Ukrainians and millions of citizens of other countries who believe in Ukraine, who support us. These are opportunities to keep Ukraine in the focus of the world’s attention, to increase support for our state, for our people, and to really effectively advocate Ukraine’s needs and the main need – the need to end the war as soon and as fairly as possible. Ukrainians have withstood in this war and have been able to do so much because they have been united not only within the country, but for years now they have kept the world united for the right reasons – for the sake of Ukraine and for the sake of everything that makes this world human and capable of defeating evil. Our unity must be maintained in the future – all of us here in Ukraine, all of us in Europe and in the world who value Ukraine, who value life. As early as this August, we are preparing news about greater consolidation of both our people and everyone in the world who helps us. But for this, the Government and the Verkhovna Rada need to do some more work in August.

Glory to our people!

Glory to Ukraine!

Fair winds and following seas!

Minister @rustem_umerov and the First Lady of Ukraine @ZelenskaUA took part in the launching of the Ukrainian corvette “Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi”.

It’s the second Ada type corvette, manufactured in 🇹🇷. “Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi” and “Hetman Ivan Mazepa” are equipped with cutting-edge weapons and will become a significant addition to our fleet, increasing the defense capability of Ukraine.

We are grateful to our Turkish partners for their support during a difficult time for our country.

The reason:

The Olympic Games are taking place in Paris, but many Ukrainian athletes are currently at war. Among them is Oleksandr Dolhopolov, once the 13th racket of the planet, 4-time winner of ATP tennis tournaments.

He volunteered for the frontlines in the spring of 2022. At first, he fought in intelligence, and later joined the Ground Forces of Ukraine.

Oleksandr is also helping to develop an exercise program for people on the front line.

📹: Voice of America

 

 

 

Kharkiv:

From The Kyiv Independent:

The wail of the air raid siren in Ukraine, which signals potential or incoming attacks, has become as burdensome and commonplace a sound as that of traffic or construction work.

More than 40,000 air raid sirens lasting from minutes to hours throughout the day and night have sounded across Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale war over two years ago, according to official reports.

Choosing to take shelter during a Russian attack can often mean the difference between life and death. However, in certain situations, such as when there is no time to activate air defense systems or heavy weaponry is launched, survival might just boil down to pure luck.

Yet, despite the threat the air raid siren signifies, many Ukrainians, even in frequently targeted cities like Kharkiv, Odesa, and Kramatorsk, often don’t seek refuge in a bomb shelter when they hear it.

The decision not to go hide amid the threat of attack can vary by person and is usually influenced by factors like time of day, location, and whether a person is by themself or with their family.

And in some cases, the reluctance to take shelter is driven by a sense of fatalism, an outlook that has been adopted by many Ukrainians during the full-scale war that has killed tens of thousands of their fellow citizens.

“I think that people who stay in (a city like) Kharkiv today accept the strict rules of the game and understand that every day and every moment could indeed be the last,” Ivan Senin, a local poet and musician, told the Kyiv Independent.

On the first night of Russia’s full-scale war, Senin and his brother were in the latter’s fourth-floor apartment in Kharkiv discussing the “rule of two walls,” a strategy meant to better ensure a person’s safety by maintaining at least two walls between them and a potential blast impact.

“My brother put it quite simply: above us, there were two walls, and on three sides, there were three to four or even more walls. On the only side with a window, our forces were stationed,” Senin said.

“This would definitely protect us from multiple launch rocket attacks, but against the (ballistic) S-300 missile, Iskander missile, or something similar, not even a basement would save us.”

After that first night, Senin has mostly opted out of going to seek shelter, even though an S-300 missile landed near his building entrance in summer 2023, and a glide bomb early this May.

Kharkiv, situated about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, has faced repeated attacks over the past two and a half years. Protecting the airspace over Ukraine’s second-largest city is more challenging due to its proximity to Russia.

There were nights during the first weeks of the full-scale war when Russian forces bombarded Kharkiv with “seemingly everything they had,” according to Senin.

As Ukraine repelled Russian forces’ attempts to seize the city in 2022 and liberated occupied settlements later that year along the border, the situation improved enough that people who had fled the city started moving back.

But the past several months have seen an increase in attacks against Kharkiv and the surrounding region.

In one recent attack at the end of May, Russian forces launched glide bombs at a home goods hypermarket in Kharkiv on a busy Saturday, killing 19 people and injuring almost 50 others.

Despite the uptake in attacks, most shops don’t close, public transport continues to run, and people in Kharkiv generally don’t react to the air raid sirens.

“I can’t say that I see any defiance or anything like that in this decision,” Senin said. “Unfortunately, this is just the reality of living in Kharkiv today.”

The air raid siren can sound multiple times a day in Kharkiv and last for hours at a time. At the end of July, Kharkiv broke the record for having the longest air raid siren since the start of the full-scale invasion. It lasted for nearly two days, starting at around 6:31 p.m. on July 23 and ending at around 9:02 p.m. on July 25.

“Responding to each of them and running to the shelter means that one might just never leave it.”

Much more at the link.

Chasiv Yar:

Somewhere on the Dnipro:

The Toretsk direction:

Kyiv:

Sevastopol, Russian occupied Crimea:

ATACMS + Wild Hornets = Democracy. Sevastopol will confirm

HIMARS rocket artillery and FPV drones have become game changers in this war. So we decided to organize a little collaboration).

We publish an exclusive video of the night operation of HIMARS rocket launchers with ATACMS missiles.

We thank our artillery troops for burning the katsaps.

We are not hinting at anything, but the S-400 “Triumph” air defense system was hit in Sevastopol.

More to come!

Obligatory!

I want to take a moment and deal with this news:

CNBC has the details.

If a voter in Michigan performs a search on Google, a somewhat shocking ad might pop up.

The ad shows a young man lying in bed late at night when someone else texts him, “Hey you need to vote,” and then sends the man a video of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The man can hear the gunshots and people screaming in the background.

As Trump is rushed off stage with blood pouring down his face, the man watching the video types in response, “This is out of control. How do I start?”

The ad then displays a website for a group called America PAC.

The website says it will help the viewer register to vote. But once a user clicks “Register to Vote,” the experience he or she will have can be very different, depending on where they live.

If a user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, like California or Wyoming for example, they’ll be prompted to enter their email addresses and ZIP code and then directed quickly to a voter registration page for their state, or back to the original sign-up section.

But for users who enter a ZIP code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.

Rather than be directed to their state’s voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cellphone number and age.

If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a “thank you” page.

So that person who wanted help registering to vote? In the end, they got no help at all registering. But they did hand over priceless personal data to a political operation.

Specifically, a political action committee created by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one aimed at giving the Republican presidential nominee Trump an advantage in his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee.

“I have created a PAC, or a super PAC … the America PAC,” Musk said in a recent interview.

Musk also owns the social media platform X, and has a net worth of more than $235 billion, according to Forbes.

The combination of owning a social media company that gives him an enormous platform to push his political views, and creating a PAC with effectively unlimited resources, has made Musk, for the first time, a major force in an American presidential election.

The America PAC has spent more than $800,000 since early July on digital ads that target voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact.

The ads appeared on Facebook, Instagram and Google through YouTube, and many encouraged people to register to vote at America PAC’s website.

The PAC’s effort to collect information from people using the idea of “voter registration” is a critical piece to its plan to make personal contact with these voters.

“America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing in support of Trump,” said Brendan Fischer, a deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented.

“I think it is safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC’s canvassing and other political activities,” he added.

Fischer pointed to the group’s privacy policy which says it can use the data they’ve collected on “other activities and/or fundraising campaigns.”

Since June, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on canvassing, digital media, text message services and phone calls, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The PAC’s website offers no indication one way or another what the group’s political leaning is. But in its federal filings, the group discloses that all of its work is designed to either help Trump or hurt his opponent.

Fischer said he has seen some other PACs try to use a “register to vote” message to gather people’s data.

But what is unique about America PAC’s project is who is backing it and the timing of its creation.

In most cases, super PACs are not allowed to directly coordinate the ads they pay for with the campaign. But this spring, regulators ruled that door-to-door canvassing falls outside the scope of the ban because, unlike an ad, it is a person-to-person exchange.

“What makes America PAC more unique: it is a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing, which it can conduct in coordination with a presidential campaign,” Fischer said. “Thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion, America PAC may legally coordinate its canvassing activities with the Trump campaign — meaning, among other things, that the Trump campaign may provide America PAC with the literature and scripts to make sure their efforts are consistent.”

“Coordination is incredibly important: it ensures that the PAC’s activities are maximally beneficial to the campaign, and frees up the campaign’s own funds for other uses,” he said. “I suspect that the PAC’s ability to coordinate its data-driven canvassing activities with the Trump campaign made it very appealing for donors.”

Longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Generra Peck and Dave Rexrode are among those now guiding the PAC after a shake-up in mid-July, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. This person was granted anonymity to speak freely about a private matter.

The change suggests there could be a shift in tactics by the PAC come November. The New York Times first reported on the moves.

Musk is not the only tech executive backing this effort.

The America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, according to FEC records. It has received donations from veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, according to FEC records.

Lonsdale, a co-founder of the software company Palantir, is also a leader of the PAC, and “serves as a political confidant to” Musk, according to the Times.

The records do not yet list Musk as a donor. He recently said on X that he is “making some donations to America PAC,” but did not say how much. The PAC is not required to file a third-quarter report until Oct. 15, the first time that Musk’s name could be listed as a donor.

A spokesman for America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not return emails seeking comment.

Much more at the link.

This is important not just because it actually prevents people from registering to vote who want to, nor because others have been charged and convicted for similar voter registration scams, but because this is the type of data needed to run active influence operations on potential voters. With name, address, age, and phone number, especially cell number, you’ve got everything you need, especially if you have the financial resources, to develop an audience to target for influence. The ripple effects from what Musk and his fellow weird, creepy, and dodgy oligarchs are doing has the potential to become incredibly damaging.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Another vacation video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Мав маленьку відпустку, всього три дні. | я щасливий, що побачив їх — наші Карпати. Про гори я чув і раніше, але ніколи не мріяв про них. Дарма, як виявилося. Це той випадок, коли мрія здійснилася ще до того, як я встиг її загадати. Тут, у горах, відчув себе малим та великим одночасно. Бо наче ось вона — могутня Говерла. Але якщо дивитися на неї з підніжжя, то вершина вміщається на кінчику мого носа. Та коли почав підніматися, то втома гуде в ногах ще до першої полонини. А далі — краса без кінця. Сідаю перепочити, підкріпитися, помилуватися природою і відчуваю, як вона ділиться зі мною своєю силою. Шум лісу, дзюрчання річки та навіть дзвіночки у корівок на шиї гомонять одне: «Все вийде, ти зможеш, вперед!». Втома зникає швиденько. І далі мчу вгору, аж доки смачнюща вода із гірського струмка не змусить зупинитися. А на вершині розумію, що ще ніколи не був так близько до хмар. Але й до землі теж, бо мої очі вперше можуть охопити так багато простору. Дивлюся на сусідні гори, на безкрайні ліси, на далекі полонини і ще раз переконуюся: такою гарною є наша Україна. Михайло протягує мені шматок сиру, бо на спуск теж потрібні сили. Жую його і, здається, підкріплюся не лише ним… Про гори можу розповідати ще багато. А поки залишаю для вас цілющий карпатський лизь 👅 P.S. Привіт всім, кого зустрів дорогою на Говерлу. Так, то був я 🤭 #песпатрон

♬ original sound – Nostalgia

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

I had a short vacation, just three days. | I am happy that I saw them – our Carpathians. I had heard about the mountains before, but I had never dreamed of them. In vain, as it turned out. This is the case when a dream came true even before I had time to make it.

Here, in the mountains, I felt small and big at the same time. It seems like here it is – the mighty Hoverla. But if you look at it from the foot, the top fits on the tip of my nose. But when I started to climb, fatigue was buzzing in my legs even before the first meadow. And then there is no end to the beauty. I sit down to rest, refresh myself, admire nature, and feel it sharing its power with me. The noise of the forest, the murmur of the river, and even the bells on the cows’ necks are all saying the same thing: “You can do it, you can do it, go ahead!” Fatigue disappears quickly. I continue to run uphill until the delicious water from the mountain stream makes me stop.

At the top, I realize that I have never been so close to the clouds. But also to the ground, because for the first time my eyes can cover so much space. I look at the neighboring mountains, at the endless forests, at the distant meadows, and I am once again convinced that our Ukraine is so beautiful. Mykhailo hands me a piece of cheese, because the descent also requires strength. I chew on it and, it seems, I’ll be refreshed not only by it… I can tell you a lot more about the mountains. In the meantime, I leave you a healing Carpathian slip 👅

P.S. Hello to everyone I met on the way to Hoverla. Yes, it was me 🤭 #песпатрон

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

15Comments

  3. 3.

    KatKapCC

    I guess one reason why Musk and Trump like each other is that both of them excel in one skill only: Always managing to get worse even when you thought they couldn’t possibly get any worse than they are. Ugh.

    That Patron video was a nice way to end things, though.

  4. 4.

    dr. luba

    I miss the Karpaty.  I used to go there every summer prior to COVID/2022 invasion.  Hope to be back next year (knee is messed up).

    We have still been running summer camps there, but without me….

    The kids are still climbing Hoverla (the highest mountain in Ukraine) or other peaks.  I’ve never tried, but did go on a 14 km (one way) hike through the mountains in 1998.  I discovered it actually was possible to go uphill both coming and going.

  5. 5.

    MagdaInBlack

    I’m so tired of Elon.

    Thank you, Adam, and as Kat said at # 3, thank you for always ending with Patron.

  6. 6.

    Bill Arnold

    That story about Musk’s America PAC is disturbing.
    Still thinking about it, and about whether there are effective ways to counter such operations that aren’t Soviet/Russian-style active measures.

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Bill Arnold: There are, but the government won’t run a counterop because of the 1st amendment. If you had a few wealthy donors who would fund it, you could do it as a private initiative. The bigger worry, however, has to be that Musk gives the info to a hostile foreign actor to exploit.

  8. 8.

    Jay

    @Bill Arnold:

    The counter to the PAC would be to have an organized campaign amongst the Swifties, the K-Hive, the K-Pop and NAFO to flood the site with garbage. GIGO.

  9. 9.

    RaflW

    Off topic, but defense and nat. sec. related: Anyone have insight into Lloyd Austin’s move to dismiss the retired officer who, in her role at Guantanamo, approved* the plead deal with KSH and the other two?
    Via NYT

    “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024.”

    Ms. Escallier’s approval of the agreement that was reached between prosecutors and the defendants over two years of negotiations had appeared to resolve the case, which had been mired in pretrial hearings since 2012.

     
    *edit to correct a big error in my brief summary

  12. 12.

    Jay

    Saw a drone vid today about the evolution of assault tactics by the small “Storm Z” units sent into meat assaults.

    You take up the “tailgunner” or “sweep” position in the rear of the formation.

    Once in firing range of the Ukrainian positions, you gun down everybody in your “Storm Z” formation, and retreat to the rear, then report to Command that your squad was wiped out.

  13. 13.

    Gin & Tonic

    Thanks to the Biden administration’s efforts, Vladimir Kara-Murza is released, and promptly covers himself in shit.

    Kara-Murza’s rhetoric calling sanctions imposed against Russia “unjust” and “counterproductive” and Pivovarov urging the West to lift some of the sanctions as a “gesture of goodwill” do not inspire confidence in long-term logic behind the decision to swap for them. 9/9
    — Madi Kapparov (@MuKappa) August 2, 2024

  14. 14.

    Jay

    @Gin & Tonic:

    All the Russians released, are Russian political figures.

    They are not pro-Ukraine,

    At best they are anti-Putin or anti-war.

    It’s like Navalney, who wanted a kinder, gentler Russian Imperial Empire.

    And when they speak, they are speaking to Russians.

    None of them will be joining the  Freedom of Russia Legion, the Siberian Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, the Ichkerian Special Purpose Battalion, The Russian Insurgent Army,…….

Comments are closed.