Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Every day Vance writes another chapter in the book called “Worst VP Pick Ever”.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

ha ha ha! Nice try weird people.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

People are weird.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 919: Kharkiv Burns

War for Ukraine Day 919: Kharkiv Burns

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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)

Two quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is doing great. She’s a little bummed because it keeps monsooning and when not deluging, it is hot and humid. Her next treatment is Tuesday. It is the first of her final round of chemo. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, despite sleeping much of the day, I’m still fried. Part of that is I spent most of the week dealing not just with bureaucracy, but also the petty bureaucrats. I never had much patience for that to start with. I have almost none now. As a result, the bill has come do and I have to pay for the amount of energy that I had to expend to get through the week. We’ll be sticking to the basics tonight so I can go back to sleep as soon as I hit publish.

All of eastern and central Ukraine, with the exception of Mykolaiv Oblast, are under air raid alert as of 8:10 PM EDT/3:10 AM local time in Ukraine. The alert maps are not indicating that Russian bombers are in the air, so this is likely another drone swarm attack.

Russia unloaded on Kharkiv again today.

The Russian strike on Kharkiv directly on people, on ordinary house. All services are currently engaged in the rescue operation. I thank everyone who is helping to save lives at this moment.

This strike was carried out using a Russian guided aerial bomb—a strike that could have been prevented if our Defense Forces had the capability to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror.

This is an absolutely legitimate need. There is no rational reason to limit Ukraine’s defense. We need long-range capabilities and the full implementation of air defense agreements for Ukraine. These are life-saving measures.

Russian airstrike on Kharkiv on August 30th killed at least 7 people and injured 77, including 18 children, according to the State Emergency Service. Search and rescue operation continues.

Among the killed was a 14-year-old girl whose father went missing on the Donetsk front.

A fire covering an area of over 1500 square meters in a 12-story residential building, caused by the Russian strike, was localized at 7:20 PM. The State Emergency Service continues to extinguish it

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

We Must Strengthen Ourselves and Take Care of People, of Personnel – of All Our Warriors – Address by the President

30 August 2024 – 20:13

Dear Ukrainians!

Rescue operations are currently underway in Kharkiv where Russian bombs hit. Unfortunately, there are dead people. Among them is a child. A girl, Sofia. She would have turned 15 this fall. My condolences to all the families and friends. There are many injured. Everyone is receiving help, and the rescuers are doing everything they can to save as many lives as possible. I thank everyone who is involved and who is supporting Kharkiv and Kharkiv residents. These are terrible, vile Russian strikes directly on buildings, on a city park. Russia will definitely be held accountable for all its evil. But everyone in the world must remember that the most effective tactic is to prevent evil from acting. We need decisions that can be made by our partners, by those countries on whom it depends – whether we have the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft exactly where they are based, exactly where the elimination of these terrorists and their aircraft can be the most effective. We in Ukraine, along with our friends around the world, are not just talking about long-range decisions. About strong decisions. About things that can bring us closer to ending this war, because, for Putin, the most important aspect of his wars is the terror against civilians, the intimidation, and the abuse of people. This is how the Russian evil came everywhere, to Syria, and Georgia, and Ukraine. They have the same terror tactics everywhere, and we must put a stop to this. It can be ensured by our, Ukrainian, long-range capabilities, with appropriate support for our Defense Forces and air defense systems for Ukraine. All the things we are talking about with our partners.

Today we had many meetings about our military work. There was a report by the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. Today, I also held a meeting of the Staff. First, there was a report by the Commander-in-Chief about the front, with a focus on the Pokrovsk direction. Toretsk. Defense against Russian assaults. The most challenging areas. It is crucial that everyone, at all state levels, who is involved in this, really make their maximum efforts to ensure our resilience and that of our warriors. And I thank everyone who is now really effectively destroying the occupier and protecting our positions. I thank every soldier and commander, everyone who produces and supplies the necessary weapons, shells, drones. Also today, the Commander-in-Chief reported on the development of our actions in the Kursk region. The daily result there, which is important for all of us, is the replenishment of the exchange fund for Ukraine. And the more this replenishment is, the more of our people we will be able to bring back from Russian captivity. This is our strategic priority.

Also today, at the Staff meeting, I received reports on preparations for the school year. This is the personal responsibility of Government officials: both the Prime Minister and the Ministers. The maximum number of schools should be opened offline – first of all, this is a question of shelters. Also, the readiness of schools to meet the existing energy challenges. This is the direct task of the Government. And today there were several important dialogues on energy – the consequences of the strikes and the defense that should be in place. And in the Staff meetings, it was repeatedly discussed and decided what to do, how to act, what to provide. Now it is time to draw conclusions.

I have decided to replace the Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I am immensely grateful to all our military pilots, all engineers, all warriors of mobile firing groups, air defense units. All those who really fight for Ukraine – for the result. And the same goes for the command level – we must strengthen ourselves. And take care of people. Take care of personnel – take care of all our warriors.

Glory to Ukraine!

Apparently part of the motivation for the removal of the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force is the allegation that Colonel Mes – he was posthumously promoted – was shot down by friendly fire from a Ukrainian Patriot battery.  We will have to wait for the outcome of the investigation to see whether or not this happened, but if it did, it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened. During the first few years of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a couple of F-16s were brought down by friendly fire from Patriots because the targeting software couldn’t discriminate between an incoming missile or a US F-16. Raytheon created a fix about twenty years ago. I would expect the Patriot systems provided to Ukraine to have fully up to date targeting software, but at this point anything is possible.

The cost:

18-year-old artist Veronika Kozhushko was killed by the Russian strike on Kharkiv.

Serhii Zhadan, famous Ukrainian writer, musician and serviceman reported that on Friday, August 30th.

“Today, during a strike on Kharkiv, Nika Kozhushko died – very young, sincere and gifted. An hour before her death, she sent her new drawing. That is, her last drawing. Russians continue destroying our future. There is no explanation for that. And there is no forgiveness, as well,” Zhadan wrote.

RIP.

Was honored to meet with @SecDef Lloyd Austin in the United States.

An important, constructive meeting.

I briefed Secretary on the operational situation on the battlefield and our further objectives, the priority needs of the Ukrainian army in terms of weapons, equipment and training of our troops.

Air defense remains our priority—we need air defense systems and interceptors to protect our critical infrastructure, our cities, and our people.

Special thanks to Lloyd Austin for his personal contribution to the work of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Another focus of the meeting is the development of the Ukrainian defense industry.
Over the past two years, we have launched hundreds of new businesses capable of rapidly producing high-quality weapons. Cooperation with our partners is critical for expanding production and ensuring an even more effective defense of Ukraine.

At the meeting, the Ukrainian side was represented by the head of the Office of the President @AndriyYermak, Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration @O_Balanutsa, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Major General Volodymyr Horbatiuk and Chief of the Main Logistics Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lieutenant General Mykola Shevtsov.

Thanks to the USA for their leadership and support 🇺🇦🇺🇸

Poland:

With friends like these, neither Poland or Ukraine don’t need enemies.

There is something devilishly helpless in a policy of just expecting Vladimir Putin to show reason and de-escalate the war on Ukraine and giving his bombers a comfortable safe haven to devastate Ukrainian cities unpunished.

Historians of the future will have to write tons of volumes of works to try and comprehend this absurdity.

You may be wondering how are the sanctions against Russia are working:

From The Financial Times:

Russia’s “overheating” economy will slow sharply next year with interest rates stuck at well above prewar levels until 2027, the Russian central bank has said.

Rapid growth, expected to hit 3.5 to 4 per cent this year, has been driven primarily by strong domestic demand from consumers and the state, which has outpaced supply, the CBR said in its annual report.

It said acute labour shortages and the negative effects of western sanctions were crimping production.

The central bank assessment underscores the challenges facing the Russian economy, despite its better than expected overall performance even with sanctions imposed by the west after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The CBR projects economic growth of 0.5 to 1.5 per cent in 2025 and 1 to 2 per cent in 2026, under its baseline scenario. However, longer-term expansion will be limited by “restrictions on technological imports and the outflow of skilled labour”, it warned.

It said the country’s production capacities and labour resources had already been “nearly fully used, with utilisation close to 80 per cent”. Manufacturing, trade and agriculture are among the sectors facing the most severe labour shortages.

“Available production capacity is depleted,” CBR deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin told reporters on Thursday. “The pace of expansion is held back by sanctions barriers and by physical limitations on the output of the means of production. The economy needs additional labour for this as well,” he said, adding that labour shortages had “significantly worsened”.

To address the issue, Russian businesses have resorted to increasing wages. In the first quarter of 2024, nominal wages in Russia increased by 19.2 per cent. The growth slowed slightly in the second quarter to 17.4 per cent.

Rising wages, coupled with escalating budget expenditures, are fuelling inflation, which is expected to reach 6.5 to 7 per cent by the end of 2024, the CBR said. It also pinpointed “sanctions barriers in payments and logistics” that resulted in lower imports of goods into Russia.

The CBR forecasts inflation falling to 4 to 4.5 per cent in 2025 and stabilising around 4 per cent thereafter. Throughout this period, the CBR key interest rate is expected to remain in double digits, a significant shift from prewar levels when it had not exceeded 9.5 per cent for many years.

More at the link.

Oy vey:

Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast:

This is what Putin and the Russians have planned for Kharkiv City, Kyiv, Lviv, and every other city, town, and village in Ukraine.

Kharkiv:

I would like to once again invite @JakeSullivan46 to visit Kharkiv.

Explain to the families of those who burned alive in their own homes today how preventing it was “escalation.”

Explain to the parents of children bombed on the playground how saving them was “escalation.”

📸: @GwaraMedia (subscribe to them for Kharkiv updates)

I would not hold my breath.

A poignant mural depicting a ‘Patriot’ missile system has appeared on the ruins of bombed-out by russia Epicenter shopping center in Kharkiv.

The artwork, a testament to the resilience of Kharkiv residents, expresses our deep appreciation for the international support provided to defend our city. It also serves as a plea for continued assistance as we strive to rebuild our lives and community in the face of war.

Kurahove:

Pokrovsk:

The Financial Times has the details.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come under a barrage of criticism from soldiers, lawmakers and military analysts over the rapid advances made by the Russian army in eastern Ukraine since Kyiv launched its bold incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Many Ukrainians celebrated their army’s invasion of Kursk on August 6, hoping the gamble would force Moscow to divert resources to the new front and swing the momentum of the war in Ukraine’s favour.

However, a breach in the frontline in the strategically important Donetsk region this week has triggered a backlash against the leadership in Kyiv, with critics arguing Ukraine’s positions were weakened by the redeployment of thousands of battle-hardened Ukrainian troops to the Kursk operation.

Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk taking several nearby towns this week and forcing undermanned Ukrainian units to retreat from prepared defensive positions.

Pokrovsk is one of two key rail and road junctions in the Donetsk region and its loss would threaten the entire region’s logistics for Ukraine’s military, according to Frontelligence Insight, a Ukrainian analytical group.

Satellite imagery analysed by open-source investigators at the Finland-based Black Bird Group shows Russian forces now just 8km from Pokrovsk. In response, local authorities have ordered the evacuation of residents in the area.

Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst at the Kyiv-based Information Resistance group, called the situation on the eastern edge of Pokrovsk “a complete defensive failure”.

“It’s not the fault of ordinary soldiers holding positions,” he wrote on Telegram. “The problem lies with those who make decisions for these soldiers,” he added, pointing to Ukraine’s leadership.

Several soldiers in the area expressed concerns about the defences around Pokrovsk.

Zhenya, a Ukrainian soldier in the 93rd Mechanized Brigade who fought in the gruelling 10-month battle of Bakhmut last year, described a fast-deteriorating situation in Pokrovsk. In a candid assessment on X, he criticised the military’s command structure, citing systemic failures and inadequate responses to evolving battlefield conditions.

“Honestly, I have never seen anything like this. Everything is falling apart so quickly,” he warned. “Pokrovsk will fall much faster than Bakhmut did.”

Ukrainian troops this week pulled out of Novohrodivka, 8km south-east of Pokrovsk. The Centre for Defence Strategies (CDS), a Kyiv-based security think-tank, said the withdrawal indicated a shortage of defensive resources, despite Pokrovsk’s importance as a logistical hub.

Mariana Bezuhla, an MP and member of the defence committee in parliament, shared photos on Facebook from a visit last week to the frontline near Novohrodivka. She claimed they showed the path to Pokrovsk wide open.

“The trenches in front of Novohrodivka were empty. There was practically no Ukrainian army in the once 20,000-strong city,” she wrote in a scathing post.

Gen Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s top military commander, said in a statement on Thursday that he had visited the Pokrovsk area and was working “to strengthen the defence of our troops in the most difficult areas of the front, to provide the brigades with a sufficient amount of ammunition and other material and technical means”.

In the past three weeks, Moscow’s forces have quickly captured more than two-dozen towns and villages with minimal resistance, including the long-held stronghold of Niu-York.

Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, attributed the Russian gains to a shortage of experienced Ukrainian infantry and the diversion of resources to the Kursk offensive.

“Ukraine committed reserves to Kursk, leaving fewer options to plug gaps elsewhere. Some of the more experienced brigades have been replaced by newer, less experienced units,” Lee said.

Soldiers who were mobilised this summer following the Ukrainian government’s new conscription laws meant to fill Kyiv’s dwindling ranks have been sent into the fray with little training or experience.

“They freeze . . . they don’t know what to do in real combat,” said a lieutenant whose troops are on the frontline near Pokrovsk. Many “turn and run at the first explosion”.

Soldiers in artillery units near Pokrovsk also highlighted a deficit in shells and a severe mismatch in firepower compared to Russian forces.

“Our shells are running out. We just don’t have enough,” said an artillery commander, noting that many resources had been redirected north to Kursk. For about the past month, his unit has had one shell for every six to eight fired by the Russians.

More at the link including maps and other imagery.

The strategist’s dilemma is always how to balance risk versus reward. The Kursk offensive is a high risk course of action. If successful it could bring great reward, but that was not and is not guaranteed.

The Kursk cross border offensive:

“They filled their pockets and left us all behind,” residents of Sudzha, Kursk region of Russia, told about the local authorities and the so-called “evacuation” from the town.

The settlement is now under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population. This is very different from what Russia does to Ukrainian cities.

Locals complain that there was no coordinated evacuation from the town after the outbreak of hostilities, and officials simply fled, leaving people to fend for themselves.

📹: Donbas. Realii

That’s enough for tonight.

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    16Comments

    2. 2.

      wjca

      I would like to once again invite @JakeSullivan46 to visit Kharkiv.

      I understand the sentiment.  But it might be more useful to extend the invitation to VP Harris’ national security advisor.  Who at least doesn’t own the current failed policy, and so might be willing to change it.

      Yes, I get the horror of having to wait until January for a change.  But there really isn’t any reason to think Sullivan is going to have a sudden attack of reality.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Jay

      The cost,…….

      Anton Gerashchenko
      @Gerashchenko_en
      6h
      “If I don’t go, and someone else won’t go, the Russians will soon be running our yard.”

      Oleksii Tyrpak is a Ukrainian serviceman of Roma origin, a scout from Zakarpattia with the call sign “Angel.” He joined the AFU as a volunteer at the beginning of the full-scale war when he was 24 years old. Despite being wounded numerous times, he returned to the battlefield every time. However, during a combat mission at the beginning of 2024, Oleksii died in the Donetsk region.

      Eternal memory to Ukrainian Hero

      📹: Suspilne

      tribute video in the link, from his Mom.

      https://nitter.poast.org/Gerashchenko_en/status/1829595103632986521#m

      Required,

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu8m5FA2nL8

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Khlyvnyuk

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Jay

      WarTranslated (Dmitri)
      @wartranslated
      17h
      Soldiers of the special battalion “Shkval” made up of Ukrainian former convicts, and the 5th rifle battalion captured three Russians in Toretsk direction. The rest were destroyed in battle.

      Next was an equally difficult task – evacuation. The enemy continuously hit the settlement with artillery, although they knew about the presence of their soldiers in it.

      After providing first aid to the captives, soldiers waited until dusk and pulled the occupiers out under the strikes of their “brothers”.

      t.me/ombr_28/1259

      https://nitter.poast.org/wartranslated/status/1829447950013018530#m

      Reply
    7. 7.

      Gin & Tonic

      Western partners have advised Poland not to shoot down “unidentified” targets in its airspace

      I have a feeling Poland isn’t terribly interested in this “advice” and will do what they feel they need to do.

      I also have a feeling if Jake Sullivan were to visit Ukraine, he’d do well to pack his asbestos underwear, because it won’t be fun.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Jay

      Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦
      @jurgen_nauditt
      9h
      ❗️Western partners have advised Poland not to shoot down “unidentified” targets in its airspace, — Sky News

      russian drones can safely fly into the territory of a NATO country.

      https://nitter.poast.org/jurgen_nauditt/status/1829562348199170439#m

      Solidarność fella 🇺🇦🇬🇪🇮🇱🎗️🇵🇱🇬🇧🤍❤️🤍✡️
      @SolidarityRnwd
      6h
      Seriously, what the fuck is actually going on!? I want to know who these western partners are, they can shove their advice right up their cowardly assess 🖕 Poland has an absolute right to defend herself and must, it’s the single most important duty if any government or protect its people

      https://nitter.poast.org/SolidarityRnwd/status/1829602277222728157#m

      Reply
    11. 11.

      West of the Rockies

      At this point I would celebrate a post of nothing but Russian stuff blowing to hell and taking many orcs with it.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      wjca

      @Jay:  I want to know who these western partners are,

      I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that Hungary/Orban is one of them.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Jay

      @wjca:

      That’s one, Germany, two, the USA three.

      While Orban is ruZZian owned, Germany and the US are just pussies.

      Even beloruZZia shoots down ruZZian drones over their territory.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Eolirin

      I really don’t see how there’s going to be any resolution to this without the complete destruction of Ukraine or the complete destruction of Russia’s entire air force and their ability to build weapons.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      wjca

      @Eolirin:

      Well, hypothetically Putin could die, and be replaced by someone who wants to take Russia in a different direction.  It seems more likely that a successor would be as much of a Greater Russia type as he is, but it’s not a certainty.

      Still overall, taking out both the Russian air force and its military manufacturing capability seems a more promising approach.  Especially if combined with enough damage to its petroleum infrastructure to make just purchasing weapons no longer a viable approach.

      Reply

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