Quick housekeeping note: I’m going to keep tonight’s update to mostly just the basics as I’ve got a couple of things to do this evening.
Right now – 6:45 PM EST/1:45 AM local time in Ukraine – a little over half of Ukraine is under air raid alert. Right now it looks like drones, not glide bombs or missiles.
Stupid russian drones, fly away‼️
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM
President Zelenskyy did not give an address today. He did, however, do over 3 hours on the Lex Fridman podcast. Since I do not listen to or watch podcasts, I had to look Fridman up. Dr. Fridman, who was born in the Tajik SSR, now Tajikistan, is a researcher and lecturer focusing on robotics and machine learning at MIT. So if there are any issues, any of the questions bother you, please complain to Tom Levenson. He is in charge of the Balloon Juice MIT complaint department.
Let’s start with this bit:
“This is bullshit, sorry”: Zelensky says he asked the US to intimidate Putin pre-invasion with weapons and sanctions:
“Don’t say, ‘If he invades, we’ll impose sanctions.’ That’s bullshit, sorry.”
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
If this sounds somewhat familiar, it should. I wrote a post arguing the US needed to do something adjacent to this back in January 2022:
And this is why I think we are still moving far too slowly and are far too late in placing the necessary assets in place to back up our diplomacy and our use of economic power to try to deter Putin. Right now Putin is getting what he wants: bilateral recognition and negotiation with the US. Putin believes Russia is still a great power the way the Soviet Union was during the Cold War. Being able to negotiate with the US, publicly demand written answers – as if formal diplomatic communication would be done some other way – and then receive them because that’s simply how diplomacy is done allows Putin to claim that victory. In order to deter him, he has to be shown that we have the will and the capability to respond. Deploying some Operational Detachments Alpha and putting the equivalent of a brigade combat team and a half on standby is not going to cut it.
In order to actually demonstrate that we have the will and the capability to respond we would need to mobilize and deploy V Corps and all of 1st Armored Division (all combat brigades and the division artillery), plussed up with one brigade combat team each from 4th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne Division/Air Assault, the 82 Airborne Division, and the 1st Stryker Regiment. This should be accompanied by a country team from the 853rd Civil Affairs Brigade with a full complement of Civil Affairs Teams Alpha (CAT-As) and a country team from the 4th Psychological Operations Group’s 6th Psychological Operations Battalion to place Tactical PSYOP Teams (TPTs) into theater. I’d put the Corps headquarters in Poland, the Division headquarters in either Finland or Estonia, and distribute the conventional forces throughout Poland, Eastonia, Latvia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The Special Operations assets – Civil Affairs and PSYOP – go into Kyiv. Then I’d put the Wasp and Kearsarge Amphibious Warfare Groups (AWG) into theater. Wasp and her float off of Finland and Kearsarge and her float in the Black Sea. I’d keep the carrier group farther out for now. In fact I’d put it in the Irish Sea and even more specifically in the “Irish Box” between Ireland and England. I’d also want Air Force Special Operations – Air Commandos and Para-Rescue, as well as forward observer controllers who paint targets – moved into theater. I’d also want our NATO allies to keep doing what they’re doing, put moving three or four Dutch F-16s to Poland isn’t sufficient either.
More at the link.
Here’s the full podcast:
As I’ve posted, the Ukrainians have been claiming for a long time that funding and material that has been announced never actually make it to Ukraine. President Zelenskyy addressed this in the podcast:
🇺🇸✈️🇺🇦 “I asked USA to transport weapons by Ukrainian planes so as not to overpay American companies, but they refused me,” — Zelensky
‼️”We could have received more weapons, but we had to pay for these expensive planes.
— MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Some companies are lobbying for such decisions, but I could not speak about it out loud, I did not want to incite a scandal. Therefore, when talking about corruption, one should ask — if there were $177 billion, and we received half, then where is the rest?”
— MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
One of the ongoing issues is that the sanctions don’t actually work and haven’t actually produced the responses that they’re supposed to because the entire regime is full of holes, which we’ve documented extensively over the past three years.
⚡️More than 50,000 foreign parts found in Russian drones, missiles launched at Ukraine this week, Zelensky says.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 5, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Russian troops launched more than 630 attack drones, around 740 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 50 missiles of various types this week, targeting settlements across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
From The Kyiv Independent:
Hundreds of drones, missiles and guided aerial bombs used by Russia to attack Ukraine this week contained overall more than 50,000 foreign components, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 5.
In the first days of 2025, Russia carried out a series of attacks against Ukraine, causing the destruction of many residential buildings and infrastructure, as well as civilian casualties.
According to Zelensky, Russian troops launched more than 630 attack drones, around 740 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 50 missiles of various types this week, targeting settlements across Ukraine.
Overnight alone, 103 Shahed-type drones launched against Ukraine contained 8,755 foreign-made components, the president said.
Ukraine shot down 61 drones, the Air Force said. Another 42 drones were “lost.”
“The sanctions pressure on supply chains for foreign components remains insufficient,” Zelensky said. “Russia continues to acquire the components and manufacturing tools it needs — almost globally — and uses them in the weapons it employs to terrorize Ukraine.”
The president urged partners to bolster Ukraine’s air-defense and long-range capabilities, as well as strengthen sanctions against Russia.
North Korea:
⚡️3,800 North Korean troops killed or injured in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says.
A total of 3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman on Jan. 5.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 5, 2025 at 6:45 PM
The Kyiv Independent has the details:
A total of 3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman published on Jan. 5.
Pyongyang sent upwards of 12,000 North Korean soldiers into Kursk Oblast in the fall of 2024, amid an agreement to help counter a surprise Ukrainian incursion into the region which began on Aug. 6.
Ukrainian forces have been fighting to hold onto territory in the region ever since in hopes it can be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia.
Zelensky, in his wide-ranging interview with Lex Fridman, added that Pyongyang has the capabilities to bring additional North Korean troops to the front, as many as 30,000 -40,000 troops.
Ukraine reportedly ramped up its operations in Kursk Oblast with a new offensive on Jan. 5, with mixed reports surfacing on outcome of the renewed push from Kyiv.
The renewed offensive comes amid significant losses among Russian and North Korean forces during recent clashes, Zelensky said in his evening address on Jan. 4, citing information from Ukraine’s top commander.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Dec. 27 that North Korean units had been carrying out “human wave” attacks against Ukrainian positions in Kursk Oblast, with little effect — amounting to high casualty totals.
Kirby added that North Korean soldiers have reportedly taken their own lives rather than surrender to Ukrainian troops, out of fear their families will be targeted over their capture.
Ukraine and Russia are rushing to make up ground in Kursk Oblast before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes power on Jan. 2o. Trump has previously said he would end the war in “24 hours” with potential peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
U.S. officials told Bloomberg on Dec. 27 that they believe Ukraine may only have a few months left in its incursion into Kursk Oblast until Ukraine’s military is forced to retreat from the region or risk being encircled by Russian forces.
The comments come as Ukraine has steadily lost ground in the region amid Russian counterattacks. Ukraine has reportedly lost over 40% of territory it previously gained in due to renewed Russian efforts.
If you recall, the estimates and assessments were that 10,000 DPRK Special Operations Forces had been deployed to Russia to fight against the Ukrainians. If the numbers are correct, than the Ukrainians have killed or wounded almost half of them in about 90 days or so.
The US:
Sullivan, despite his nice guy persona and love for romcoms, has let himself be ruled by fear. To that fear, he sacrificed Ukrainian lives, as if he were some evil demigod. The towns of Vovchansk and Lyptsy, once homes for tens of thousands of people, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202…
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
now lie in ruins because of his restrictions.Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, has been bombed by Russian S-300 missiles on a daily basis for over two years, while being denied the ability to defend itself. I will not even try to speculate on overall restrictions effect on the frontline.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
According to the article, he even took Russian “dirty bomb” accusations seriously despite their being absolutely ludicrous. His first response was not to halt the Russian propaganda, but to actually investigate if Ukraine was making a “dirty bomb.”
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Russian propaganda, in this case, did what Russian money couldn’t: it scared U.S. National Security Advisor into submission.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Georgia:
Day #39 non-stop pro-Euro #protests in #Georgia
Marching towards Rustaveli ave/Parliament building from First Republic Square
#GeorgiaProtests
#არშევეგუები
#stopruzzia— Niniko Robakidze (@nuka21.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 11:46 AM
The protesters at the Public Broadcaster join the main crowd on Rustaveli. Day 39. They demand new elections and the release of the unlawfully imprisoned. #GeorgiaProtests #NewElectionsforGeorgia
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 12:53 PM
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 39— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 39— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Many joined the medical mask protest. We cover our faces (in the season of viruses too), violating the recent dictatorial laws. I’m not posting a mass picture to not help them with identification.
This is a famous actress, Nanka Kalatozishvili. #GeorgiaProtests #terrorinGeorgia— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM
“rotests are underway in Batumi too. Like in Tbilisi, people are protesting continuously in Batumi.
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 38📷 Ipn.ge
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The democratic forces in Georgia address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with the request for non-veritication of credentials of the Georian delegation to PACE under rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure. 1/2
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
“The Assembly’s principled stance is vital for safeguarding democratic values in Georgia. We urge the esteemed Assembly that the credentials of the Georgian delegation is not verified.” 2/2.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
In the run-up to the OSCE PA delegation visit to Georgia, three major democratic forces in Georgia address OSCE PA, national delegations to the OSCE PA, and Luis Graça, Special Representative to South Caucasus. 1/
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 5:24 AM
“… under the circumstances, when there is no commitment to either releasing political prisoners or starting a discussion regarding a date of the new parliamentary elections, the visit might only further the goals of the 🇷🇺 -backed self-proclaimed regime of Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream.” 2/
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Therefore, we strongly recommend postponing your visit until firm commitment regarding holding new parliamentary elections and release of political prisoners is secured.” 3/3.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 5:24 AM
While the police in Georgia is busy hunting peaceful protesters over protective face masks or harmless fireworks, crime is let loose. Reportedly, a tourist was robbed, kidnapped and murdered in Mestia, while his wife was raped. Details to be confirmed.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
It is hard to convey how poor 🇬🇪 really is. Reportedly, around 34% of the population has requested state assistance, and about 12% lives below the poverty line – itself defined without any consideration of basic realities. For example, I hear lots of stories that owning a fridge disqualifies you. 1/
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Median income (income that most Georgians get) is around EUR 360 a month, while groceries are priced higher in 🇬🇪 than in many EU states.
Against this backdrop, Bidzina Ivanishvili personally owns assets worth around 20-25% of national GDP, from what I know (in 2015, RFE/RL put it at 35%). 2/— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Everything is controlled by the oligarch’s party the Georgian Dream – financially, administratively, institutionally, etc.
In a way, the miracle is that we still resist. #GeorgiaProtests 3/3.— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
It is outright nauseating how Russian the Georgian Dream is in every aspect, including their Russian colonial understanding of who Georgians are.
This is a decolonization struggle in every sense, including valuing your homeland above material success or social advancement.— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Back to Ukraine.
The year is 2025, day 1047 of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the 11th year of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Ukrainian troops, who have been occupying part of Russia’s Kursk region for five months, launched a new offensive against the Russian-North Korean forces towards the city of Kursk…
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Question: How many tranquilizer injections would a doctor have prescribed me if I had told him 10 years ago that this would be the headline of the day in January 2025?
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The December drone flights over US bases in UK & Germany: “Military analysts have concluded those drones may have been on a state-sponsored surveillance mission, according to one U.S. official familiar with the incidents” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/w…
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 3:29 AM
From The New York Times:
When mysterious drones began appearing over oil rigs and wind farms off Norway’s coast about three years ago, officials were not certain where they came from.
But “we knew what they were doing,” Stale Ulriksen, a researcher at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, said in a recent interview. “Some of it was espionage, where they are charting a lot of things. Some of it, I think, was positioning in case of a war or a deep crisis.”
The drones were suspected of being launched from Russian-controlled ships in the North Sea, Mr. Ulriksen said, including some ships that were near underwater energy pipelines. Norway could not do much to stop them, he added, given that they were flying over international waters.
In recent weeks, reports of drone swarms over the United States’ East Coast have brought fears of hybrid warfare to widespread attention. Only 100 out of 5,000 drone sightings there required further examination, U.S. officials said, and so far none are believed to have been foreign surveillance drones. But it is a different story for the drones spotted in late November and early December over military bases in England and Germany where American forces are stationed.
Military analysts have concluded those drones may have been on a state-sponsored surveillance mission, according to one U.S. official familiar with the incidents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation. British and German defense officials declined to discuss details of the sightings.
Experts said the drones’ presence was indicative of a so-called hybrid or “gray zone” attack against the West, where a range of tactics — military, cyber, economic and even psychological — are used to covertly attack or destabilize an enemy.
As Russia, Iran and other hostile states become increasingly brazen in their hybrid attacks on Western countries — such as the hacking of sensitive computer systems and alleged assassination plots — defense officials face a thorny challenge. How to deter such acts without touching off a broader and potentially deadly conflict? And how to assign blame against the attacker when the strikes are designed to evade culpability?Hybrid attacks are not new, but they have escalated in recent years.
One of the most visible and potentially deadly incidents came in July, when a series of packages exploded in Europe. Postmarked from Lithuania, the parcels contained electric massage machines with a highly flammable magnesium-based substance inside. Two exploded in DHL cargo facilities in Britain and Germany, and the third in a Polish courier firm.
Western officials and Polish investigators said they believed the packages were a test run by Russia’s military intelligence agency to plant explosives on cargo planes bound for the United States and Canada.
“We are telling our allies that it’s not random; it’s part of military operations,” Kestutis Budrys, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said of the explosions. “We need to neutralize and stop it at the source, and the source is Russia’s military intelligence.” Russia denies being behind acts of sabotage.Other examples of hybrid tactics include cyberattacks on Albania in the past several years, which an investigation by Microsoft concluded were sponsored by Iran, and Russia’s unsuccessful attempt to sway presidential elections using disinformation in Moldova in October and November, according to Moldovan and European officials. European countries are also investigating whether a number of ships intentionally cut underwater cables in recent months in an attempted attack.
While China, Iran and North Korea have shown a growing appetite for hybrid attacks, officials said that Russia in particular has deployed them as covert sabotage against NATO allies since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Russia has stepped it up across the board, and as a result, it is reaching levels that are of growing concern,” James Appathurai, a NATO deputy assistant secretary general who oversees hybrid warfare strategy, said in an interview. “They are willing to accept more risk to us, to the safety of our citizens’ lives.”
Britain, Germany, the United States and Baltic and Nordic countries close to Russia’s border are among the Western countries most targeted by hybrid threats, in part because of their prominent support for Ukraine, officials said. Last year, according to Western officials, American and NATO intelligence agencies uncovered a Russian plot to kill the chief executive of a German weapons giant, Rheinmetall, which has built millions of dollars’ worth of arms and ammunition for Ukraine.
The drones spotted in Britain in November — three days after President Biden said Ukraine could launch U.S.-made deep strike missiles into Russia — were larger and more durable to challenging weather than a hobbyist would be expected to own, and were mostly spotted after nightfall. That is partly why military analysts concluded that a hostile state was responsible, the U.S. official said.
Then, in early December, around the time the drone sightings in Britain began to taper off, drones appeared above Ramstein Air Base in Germany, one of the largest American military posts in Europe. Some were also reportedly spotted near facilities owned by Rheinmetall.
Investigators are considering whether the flights in both countries were “out of a Kremlin playbook,” the U.S. official said.
Russia has repeatedly denied launching hybrid attacks against NATO, in many cases ridiculing the accusations, even though NATO officials say Moscow has set up a special directorate focused on carrying them out.
Russian officials also say they are the ones being targeted. “What is going on in Ukraine is that some people call it hybrid war,” Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said in an interview with Tucker Carlson in early December. “I would call it hybrid war as well.”
More at the link.
It is almost as if the US, the EU and EU member states, and NATO and NATO member states are under attack by Russia. Eez a puzzlement.
The Kursk cross border offensive:
Ukrainian troops attacked Russian forces in several directions in Kursk Oblast, Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center, claimed on Jan. 5.
Reports by Russian pro-war Telegram channels have echoed the statement, saying that a new Kyiv offensive is underway.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Two Russian lieutenant colonels were sent to hell in Lgov, Kursk region, on December 30th, according to ru media reports.
They were identified as Tereshchenko, head of communications for the 76th Pskov Airborne Division, and Maletsky, commander of an engineering
Good riddance
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Ukrainian troops attacked Russian forces in several directions in Kursk Oblast, Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center, claimed on Jan. 5.
Reports by Russian pro-war Telegram channels have echoed the statement, saying that a new Kyiv offensive is underway. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian troops repelled two offensives conducted by Ukrainian assault groups in Kursk Oblast on Jan. 5.
The Kyiv Independent couldn’t independently verify these claims at the time of publication.
The reports come as Moscow has been ramping up its efforts to push Ukraine out of the embattled Kursk Oblast as Kyiv continues to hold on to a small piece of Russian territory in the hopes of gaining leverage in possible future negotiations.
Roman Alyokhin, a Russian pro-war blogger and a former advisor to Kursk Oblast’s governor, claimed that Kyiv launched an attack northeast of Sudzha toward the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye, using armored vehicles and demining equipment.
According to him, the Ukrainian army also “intensified its actions” in other areas of Kursk Oblast.
Kovalenko said that Ukrainian troops attacked Russian forces in several directions in Kursk Oblast, which “came as a surprise to them.”
“Kursk Oblast, good news! Russia is getting what it deserves,” Andrii Yermak, head of the President’s Office, wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian military has not publicly reported any new operations in Kursk Oblast.
Acting Kursk Oblast Governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Jan. 5 that Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov had arrived in Kursk.
It was not immediately clear whether this visit was related to the ongoing activity in the region.
Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in early August, achieving initial tactical success.
In recent months, Ukraine has been on the back foot as Russia reportedly recaptured half of the lost territory and deployed reinforcements, including North Korean troops.
The White House said on Dec. 27 that North Korean soldiers suffered over 1,000 casualties in Kursk Oblast over the past week alone as they carried out “human wave” assaults with little effect.
Kisvsharivka, Kharkiv Oblast:
A Russian artillery strike on Kivsharivka, Kharkiv region at 11:45 a.m. damaged a hospital and an ambulance, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 11:23 AM
One of the Russian drones struck the roof of a private household in Kharkiv, damaging it and the car nearby.
What a petty bastards they are, bombing people’s homes for no military purpose
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Kherson:
Putin wants Kherson.
In time for Trump’s inauguration, Russia is attempting to recapture Kherson. More and more destruction and death but “they are just feeding the crawfish” in the Dnipro, say the Ukrainian military.
The latest for @EuromaidanPress
euromaidanpress.com/2025/01/05/k…
— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 1:55 AM
From Euromaidan Press:
To secure territorial gains ahead of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, potentially as leverage in peace negotiations, Russian forces are intensifying assaults on Kherson City.
Their objective is to cross the Dnipro River and establish a foothold on the Ukrainian-controlled western bank. Unprecedented artillery barrages, aerial bombings, and “human safari” drone attacks are being used to cover these efforts and spread panic—though so far, unsuccessfully.
Five days before Christmas, the residents of Kherson City woke up before dawn.
“Almost an hour of hell… The roar, earth-shaking, flashes, and horror do not stop for a moment. I write I’m alive and afraid to jinx it,” wrote a Kherson writer and artist Alyona Maliarenko in a Facebook post, hiding in the hallway. “The shelling continues. There is no light.”
Like many Khersonians, Alyona survived nine months of occupation, flood, and two years of shelling, and is used to non-stop explosions. Liberated in November 2022 after nine months of Russian occupation, the city endures daily attacks.
“Since the start of 2024, the Russian army has shelled the Kherson OblAST over 39,000 times, firing approximately 212,000 shells from various weapons. Russian aggression during this period killed 251 people, including one child, and injured 1,838 residents, among them 50 children,” said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, spokesperson for the Kherson Military Administration, in an interview with Euromaidan Press.
In the summer of 2024, Kherson became the first known site of massive small drone assaults on civilians, a tactic now infamously termed “human safari.” An early Euromaidan Press investigation in August 2024 first highlighted this dystopian form of modern warfare, drawing global attention, yet efforts to halt its escalation remain inadequate.
“Drone attacks intensified in early August and injured over 500 residents, mostly in Kherson. Forty-five people died after being injured by explosives dropped or strikes by drones,” said Tolokonnikov.
Since the beginning of 2024, the Russian military targeted the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region with 10,300 drones, with approximately 2,700 attacks per month in spring and fall, according to the Kherson military administration.
Much more at the link.
Nikopol:
🚨My report from Nikopol, a town targeted by the Russian “human safari”: a systematic use of drones to kill civilians.
Nikopol, across the Dnipro River from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power point, is hard to access. Drone terror is underreported.
fresnoalliance.com/human-safari…
— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) January 5, 2025 at 6:44 PM
From The Fresno Alliance:
“I was six in 1942—or was it 1943?” says Svitlana. “I remember a shell swishing by and ducking to hide.”
Svitlana ducks. Small and neat, with shiny blue eyes and silver hair tucked under a purple-pink headscarf, she’s standing in the middle of what used to be her apartment. In the winter of 2022, another war came to her hometown, Nikopol, and a Russian artillery shell destroyed her place. The shock wave threw her family photos all the way up to the top floor, as her ceiling was gone.
“No more home,” Svitlana says. “But the photos survived.”
Kateryna, her neighbor, a robust and energetic woman in her late 70s, walks through the ruins of her apartment on the second floor. The shell hit when she was getting ready for bed, following the rule of staying behind “two walls” to avoid injuries from shrapnel and glass. She fell to the floor. Fire, smoke, dust and ashes filled the air, and when it all cleared, she saw she had no windows left.
With pensions of 3,700 hryvnias (US$88), the women now rent apartments for 1,000–2,000 hryvnias (US$23–$46) a month. Yet money is not their worst worry. They speak, interrupting each other, as they sit outside the ruined building in a grape and ivy-covered gazebo.
“We had 26 attacks here yesterday,” says Svitlana. “Artillery and drones. Drones buzz.”
“Like a washing machine,” says Kateryna. “We see them every day.”
“A drone has four legs,” adds Svitlana. “On top, it has devices to take photos.”
The residents of Nikopol are accustomed to artillery strikes. With Russian troops based across the Dnipro River at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station only 4.2–6 kilometers away, daily attacks started in July 2022 and have never subsided. In 2024, Russian forces added “killer drones”—small FPV and Mavic drones—to their arsenal, bringing what is now known as “human safari” to Nikopol.
“For almost three years, Nikopol has been in an active war zone,” says Natalia Gorbolis, head of Nikopol’s city council executive committee. “We face daily shelling. Residents, educational institutions, buildings and medical facilities are under fire. In addition, we suffer from daily, 24/7 drone attacks. I believe their goal is psychological pressure.”
“Drones flew here before,” explains Kateryna. “But they never attacked us. They were just doing reconnaissance. We didn’t understand. We thought they were strange, moving stars. Later, we realized: drones.”
Vira, another neighbor—a friendly woman in her 60s, with short hair and a warm smile—joins the conversation. She lived on the first floor of the same building but was visiting her grown daughter by the river when the shell damaged the walls and ceilings of her apartment.
“My daughter’s house is by the port,” she says. “We run from the kitchen garden to hide at home all the time because drones are targeting us. It’s horrible. I was counting—six, eight drones. You step out, and one is flying over your head. There’s no military there.”
Vira describes drones in strangely endearing terms: They have “four little paws” and carry a deadly load dangling underneath. The drones drop their load, fly away and the load explodes. The explosions are deafening.
“We invite everyone to Nikopol,” say Kateryna and Svitlana. “Come see what’s happening.”
Their building is missing the top floor, but a rose garden blooms in front of it. It is late October, warm and sunny. A family is walking a black puppy, which chases a tabby cat up a tree to the sounds of artillery explosions. A woman picks up the puppy and says, “Our military rescues animals from the front line and brings them here.”
Her husband pats the puppy, glancing upward to check for drones.
“I already said goodbye to my life last week,” he says. “The drone was hovering above me, buzzing. Last week, a couple was walking to city hall, and a drone dropped a grenade right under their feet. Both died. They fly daily—sometimes 50 or 60—and target buildings, cars, factories and gas stations. Yesterday, one drone flew right into the window of a city administration building.”
Another artillery explosion rumbles close by.
“Yet, we stay. We have an old grandma who can’t go anywhere, and we can’t leave her. My kid doesn’t want to leave. I’m 50, I work at the factory. Where would I go?”
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KatKapCC
I find myself wondering how Sullivan sleeps at night, but I fear the answer would be “like a baby”.
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Jay
https://nitter.poast.org/Gerashchenko_en/status/1875824183856218309#m
Halteclere
Thank you, Adam, for putting these together every day.
YY_Sima Qian
Thanks Adam! A minor point:
It should be killed or wounded nearly half of them, as that is Zelenskyy’s claim. Of course, each side in any armed conflict almost inevitably overestimate the losses they have inflicted on their opponents, for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, it seems the NK special forces have not had as much of an impact as initially feared?
Jay
@YY_Sima Qian:
It’s basically because of how the ruZZian’s are using the NORKs.
Gin & Tonic
@KatKapCC: I hope he sleeps like a baby – awake and screaming every two hours.
YY_Sima Qian
@Jay: Yeah, as expendable fodder, which Kim the 3rd is just fine w/.
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: that is heartbreaking. Like the USA civil war, brothers fighting brothers. To need to erase your wife and child, and completely separate from them.. it’s so painful sounding.
Jay
@Gloria DryGarden:
He abandoned his Ukrainian family in 2016, and went back to ruZZia, because he “believed” all the ruZZian propaganda about Ukraine and Ukrainians.
Who does that?
Gin & Tonic
@Gloria DryGarden: Bullshit. Ukrainians and russians are not brothers. There is nothing fraternal about the war crimes russians are committing. This is not a civil war, it is a naked war of aggression. I can’t believe this shit.
Gin & Tonic
I’m signing off before I have a fucking stroke.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
@Gin & Tonic: Calm down! She was talking about the NORKS.
Jay
@Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom:
Gloria was responding to my post about a ruZZian who moved to Ukraine, married a Ukrainian woman and had children with her,
abandoned them in 2016 for ruZZia because of ruZZian propaganda about Ukraine and Ukrainians,
tried to illegally leave ruZZia because of the draft, got caught, was given the choice of signing a contract or jail.
fought in Ukraine, killed Ukrainians, was taken prisoner, and now that he is a POW, wonders about the Ukrainian family he abandoned.
gene108
@KatKapCC:
I read the WaPo piece on Blinken.
He views himself as someone trying juggle unwinnable situations to minimize harm to the U.S.
His biggest success was convincing Biden and Congress to pass the CHIPS act, framing it as a matter of national security.
He apparently wanted to work on domestic policy, but Biden asked him to head the NSC and agreed.
He took the intelligence warnings of Putin using nukes seriously, because the intelligence community took it seriously.
Seems to have done a fair amount of diplomacy on behalf of the U.S.
My take is he said yes to a job that he wasn’t ready for and didn’t really want, because who turns down a job offer from the President?
Jay
@Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom:
BTW, Gin and Tonic was also reacting in part to the endless, first Imperial, then Soviet, then ruZZian, propaganda, dominant in the West, and still dominant, that the ruZZians and the “Little Slavs” are brothers.
Bucha , rape, torture chambers, mass graves, execution of POWs, castration, starvation and human hunts are not very “brotherly”.
Jay
@gene108:
Lots of people.
While the IC, still wets their beds over every new ruZZian red line,
State pulled up the history and pointed out that since the end of the So-Be-it Union, over 30 years, that ruZZian “red lines” were always empty threats and that agreements and treaties with ruZZia were worthless.
Sullivan is a coward and is trying to polish his record, but he is just wanking off in public.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
gene108
@Jay:
The WaPo piece was very much trying to burnish Sullivan’s reputation.
Jay
@gene108:
So was the FT article a few days ago.
I guess he’s saving everything real, for his book deal.
YY_Sima Qian
@gene108: Blinken has been a FP advisor to Biden for a long time. He was NSA for VP Biden during the Obama Administration. Tabbing him for a FP role is the obvious choice.
Are you sure you are not confusing Blinken w/ Jake Sullivan? Sullivan has been the motivating force behind the CHIPS Act & the IRA on natsec grounds & Great Power Competition w/ the PRC, as well as characterizing economic nationalism (Biden just vetoed the proposed takeover of US Steel by Nippon Steel on natsec grounds) as “FP for the middle class”, as replacement for neoliberal economic domestically.
He is also the brain behind the “small yard” (that has been expanding precipitously) & “tall fence” (that has been rising rapidly) strategy of technology export controls toward the PRC, which has roiled global supply chains, jeopardized the revenue streams that US companies depend on to fund their own R&D to stay at the leading edge, slowed the transition to green energy in the US & increased its cost, heightened Sino-US rivalry, strained US relations w/ key allies/partners (by drawing down US geopolitical capital through arm twisting the latter to impose their own export controls), solved coordination challenges across PRC state/industry on de-risking from dependence on US or Western components. The tech war certainly has caused complications for PRC industries, & created impediments & challenges & constraints. However, 2+ years in it is not clear it has slowed the PRC down sufficiently in advanced semiconductors manufacturing, AI LLMs, green tech supply chain dominance, to justify the costs.
In fact, in none of the “exit interviews” w/ outgoing Biden Administration officials, has there been an assessments of the costs vs. the benefits. A lot of them have asserted success in the tech war on metrics such as number of PRC companies placed on the export control list, which has a whiff of using Vietcong/NVA “body counts” as metric for success from the Vietnam War.