(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Just a quick update tonight running through the basics. I’ve got two very busy weeks ahead of me and then things should ease up.
As we start tonight, at 8:20 PM EST/3:20 AM local time in Ukraine, all of central and eastern Ukraine, with the exception of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts, are under air raid alert. The alert maps indicate drone swarms.
President Zelenskyy travelled to Poland today for meetings and for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Berkinau.
🕯️ Zelenskyy on Holocaust Remembrance Day: Such a crime must never happen again
— Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 (@pravda.ua) January 27, 2025 at 4:26 AM
From Ukrainska Pravda:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commemorated the victims of the Holocaust on 27 January, remembering the tragedy that led to the mass extermination of the Jewish people.
Source: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram
Quote: “It was a calculated effort by the Nazis to annihilate an entire people – to murder every individual and erase all traces of Jewish existence. Six million lives were lost.”
Details: The president highlighted in his post that “unfortunately, the memory of the Holocaust is gradually fading. Yet, the evil that seeks to destroy entire nations still lingers in the world”.
Zelenskyy called on people to remember war crimes and not to be indifferent towards them.
🕯 “We know a lot about the executioners, but very little about the victims.” – Head of the Babi Yar Memorial.
On January 27, the world commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. In 1945, the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated Auschwitz. WWII saw 6 million Jews killed, including 1.5 million Ukrainians.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 6:16 AM
94-year-old Holocaust survivor Jona Laks shared her story to ensure the world never forgets and never allows such horrors to happen again.
Yet Russia, which claims victory over Nazism while ignoring nations like Ukraine that lost millions in WWII, has become its successor.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Today, thousands of Ukrainian prisoners and innocent civilians suffer in Russian death camps, as Russia continues its daily obsession with occupying and killing.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:19 AM
He did not give an address today, but he did sit for an interview with Cecilia Sali for Il Foglio.
Zelensky, in an interview with the Italian publication Il Foglio, stated that nuclear weapons should not have been given up.
t.me/c/1377735387…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Here’s the whole interview:
Georgia:
1/ Today marks the 16th day of the hunger strike by Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of @Batumelebi_ge, as a form of protest. Journalists and activists have called on the Prosecutor’s Office to change the pretrial detention imposed on Mzia and release her.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM
2/ According to her lawyer, Mzia Amaghlobeli’s condition is stable.
„Mzia Amaghlobeli’s condition is stable. She is communicative, able to speak, and capable of providing information. Of course, I am referring to her physical appearance”. – said Giorgi Khimshiashvili
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM
⚠️Over 300 media professionals in #Georgia demand the immediate release of prisoner of conscience Mzia Amaglobeli.
‼️Urging the international community to speak out against widespread persecution of journalists.
#TerrorInGeorgia
#RepressionInGeorgia
#GeorgiaProtests
docs.google.com/document/d/1…— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) January 27, 2025 at 6:18 AM
1/ The founder of @Batumelebi_ge Mzia Amaghlobeli, has been on a hunger strike for 16 days. GYLA states that Mzia’s life is in danger.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 5:34 AM
2/ The GD The Minister of Health Mikheil Sarjveladze, did not respond to journalists’ questions about Mzia Amaghlobeli’s health condition.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 5:34 AM
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Today, January 27, 2025, marks the 26th anniversary of Georgia’s unanimous accession to the Council of Europe, and of Zurab Zhvania’s historic words that expressed and defined the entire era our fight for freedom and European future:
“I am Georgian and therefore I am European.” 🇬🇪🇪🇺 1/— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:44 AM
It’s my great honour and responsibility to attend the PACE winter session as part of the delegation of 🇬🇪n democratic forces at such a decisive time for 🇬🇪.
We are putting all our efforts into not just explaining to our friends and partners how the dictatorship consolidates day by day, but also 2/— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:44 AM
communicating the risks and opportunities associated with any decision that they might make on Georgia. 3/3.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Sweden:
Swedish authorities say they’ve seized the vessel suspected of damaging the undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia over the weekend. No details as to the ship’s flag or ownership.
— Mike Eckel (@mikeeckel.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 3:45 AM
The US:
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign development assistance for 90 days has thrown Ukrainian organizations into turmoil, in some cases threatening their very existence and leaving the people they support in limbo.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
From The Kyiv Independent: (emphasis mine)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign development assistance for 90 days has thrown Ukrainian organizations into turmoil, in some cases threatening their very existence and leaving the people they support in limbo.
These non-profit organizations provide a huge range of humanitarian services, including counseling, organizing cultural events, and providing basic services, often to some of the most vulnerable segments of society.
“Honestly, we still don’t fully understand the scope of the impact this decision will have on the civic sector and everyone affected,” Olha Kucher, head of the services department at Veteran Hub, an NGO that supports Ukrainian soldiers, war veterans, and their families, told the Kyiv Independent on Jan 27.
“The civic sector plays a massive role in supporting veterans and their families, particularly through psychosocial services, as we do.”
One of Trump’s first actions upon entering the White House was to sign an executive order freezing foreign development assistance for 90 days to conduct a review and ensure it aligns with the new administration’s policies.
The wording of the executive order was broad, making no distinction between humanitarian and military aid, and no mention of any exemptions.
The Pentagon clarified on Jan. 23 that relating to Ukraine, the directive “only applies to development programs, not military support.” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 25 that the U.S. aid had not stopped flowing to Ukraine.
But any relief that crucial U.S. weapons would still be sent to Ukraine was tempered by the prospect of a pause in humanitarian aid.
This was compounded a day later when U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio issued “stop-work orders” on nearly all existing foreign assistance grants. The orders were effective immediately.
“State just totally went nuclear on foreign assistance,” one unnamed State Department official told Politico.
As a result, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was ordered to stop projects in Ukraine. Affected organizations were notified of the decision on the morning of Jan. 25.
Ukraine currently tops the recipient list of U.S. development assistance as it continues to face Russia’s war, official data shows.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, USAID has provided Ukraine with $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and more than $30 billion in direct budget support.
As well as the precarious financial situation now facing the NGOs, individuals working from them have lost their jobs, at least temporarily.
The head of a regional office for a State Department-funded organization in Ukraine spoke with the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity due to the fear of retaliation for speaking out.
He said that the organization has projects funded by USAID that involve Ukrainian contractors. Due to the freeze, they will lose income from these projects.
“I explained the situation to them, and, you know, they’re part-time contractors, this might not be their only livelihood, but for some people, it will be,” he said.
“Three months can be a very long time, and if they can’t pay their rent, or something like that, that’s the situation that these people can be in,” he added.
Hopes had been raised that Ukraine could be made exempt from the USAID freeze on Jan. 25, when the Financial Times (FT) reported that senior diplomats in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs requested a full waiver foroperations in Ukraine, citing national security concerns.
This had gone unheeded a day later when a U.S. State Department press release said Rubio had “paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID for review.”
But an American working for a State Department-funded organization in Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity that the waiver could still be being processed.
“It’s unlikely that they would have received an answer by now. I mean, it’s only Monday,” they said, adding “I don’t think any waivers would have been processed in time. It’s possible that a waiver for Ukraine could still happen.”
The Kyiv Independent contacted USAID about the status of the waiver request but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
In any case, until either the 90 days are up and USAID assistance resumes or the waiver request is approved, some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine will be left without crucial support.
More at the link!
Back to Ukraine.
Russian assault group on civilian unarmored vehicle hits an anti-tank mine.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Video shows the aftermath of a missile strike on a Russian military unit located in a five-storey building. The building has been almost completely destroyed.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 7:55 AM
The Kursk cross border offensive:
North Korean troops seem to temporarily withdraw from one section of front in Kursk Oblast, military says; Russia claims to capture Velyka Novosilka, Ukraine admits partial retreat but says battles ongoing; and more.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 27, 2025 at 4:24 PM
From The Kyiv Independent:
North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of the front in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 27 as Pyongyang’s troops reportedly suffered significant losses.
The statement came after Sky News reported, citing a commander of a detachment of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center with a callsign “Puls,” that North Korean troops have temporarily withdrawn from the contact line in the embattled Russian region.
Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson of the Special Operations Forces, clarified to the Kyiv Independent that the North Korean troops appear to have had to temporarily withdraw only from one of the axes of Kursk Oblast where the 73rd SOF Center is deployed.
North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, hoping to leverage their positions for potential negotiations.
North Korean forces are taking respite from hostilities, presumably to treat the wounded, wait for reinforcements, and work on mistakes made during the fighting in this sector, according to Sky News.
“Puls” assumed that this break will not last long and the North Korean military “will be back soon.” The soldier also noted North Korean troops’ high motivation and that they continued the offensive despite heavy losses.
North Korean soldiers were unaware of the threats from drones and artillery and attacked on foot in large groups, “like in World War II,” becoming an easy target, “Puls” added.
There is poor coordination and a language barrier between North Korean and Russian troops barrier that has already led to North Korean soldiers targeting Russian positions, according to the Ukrainian military.
South Korean intelligence announced at the end of January that Pyongyang was planning to send more troops to Russia to participate in the war.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, also said previously that Pyongyang is preparing reinforcements, mainly gun and rocket artillery units. The New York Times reported that according to an undisclosed U.S. official, fresh North Korean troops could arrive within two months.
Photographs and documents taken from North Korean soldiers killed on the Kursk front, published by SkyNews.
news.sky.com/story/north-…— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
From Sky News:
Interviews with several Ukrainian troops reveal remarkable details about how the North Koreans have been fighting since they arrived on the battlefield in the Russian region of Kursk last month. This includes:
• An apparent initial lack of awareness about the threats from drones and artillery, with North Korean soldiers attacking on foot “like something out of World War Two” in groups of 20, 40 or even 60 men, making themselves easy targets
• “Brainwashing” which means they keep pushing forward despite being under Ukrainian fire and with comrades being killed and wounded around them
• A desire to remove evidence of their presence from the warzone, with North Koreans in white helmets spotted trying to recover the wounded and the dead
• A refusal to be taken alive, with claims that North Koreans have been seen blowing themselves up with grenades rather than risk capture. Puls even claimed a North Korean has been heard shouting “For General Kim Jong Un” before killing himself
• Poor coordination between North Korean and Russian forces because of the language barrier. One soldier claimed radio intercepts revealed North Koreans accidentally targeted Russian positions. He also said they would storm Ukrainian positions, suffering losses, but Russian troops would then fail to exploit the gains
• Better kit than many Russians, including rifles and uniform, but a lack of heavy armour, with North Koreans only moving on foot and using golf buggies to transport ammunition.
“They were all clean-shaven and perfectly groomed, like models,” said Puls.
“Every single one – no beards, unkempt hair, or bald heads… It was also hard to determine their age. They all looked between 25 and 35, maybe up to 40.”
Puls commands the 1st Combat Divers Battalion of Special Operations Forces.
His elite commandos were tasked with capturing DNA samples and documents from a unit of about 25 North Korean soldiers who were killed in a drone and artillery barrage about a fortnight ago inside Kursk.
Body camera footage from the mission has been shared with Sky News. Edited clips have also been posted on social media.
Ukrainian soldiers can be seen carefully sticking cottonwool buds into the mouths of dead North Korean troops to take samples of saliva and place them in an evidence bag.
They then remove the troops’ helmets, cutting clumps of hair and bagging them as well.
In addition, body armour is cut away so the Ukrainians can more easily access the documents and other items on each soldier, including military identity cards, dog tags, handwritten notes and photographs.
One of Puls’s men, who took part in the operation and goes by the codename “Trainer”, said he was surprised that the North Koreans only had ammunition and chocolate as supplies to sustain them in the fight.
“Not a single soldier had a water bottle,” he said.
“They rely on the idea that they will storm through, take positions, and then eat and survive off our supplies.”
Asked what personal belongings he found, Trainer said: “There were letters. Of course, there were notebooks, notes. There were hand-drawn maps… There were photos of children, mothers, letters they tried to send home.”
The military identity cards were Russian – a seemingly clumsy attempt to hide the true ethnicity of the soldiers.
Trainer said some of the notes appeared to be of soldiers’ experiences in battle. He said it seemed as though they were trying to learn from their exposure to modern warfare.
“It’s the experience they are accumulating for their country, for conflicts they might face in the future,” he said.
Puls described how the North Koreans fought differently from the Russians.
“They are far more disciplined, with exceptional morale and determination – completely brainwashed, really,” he said.
More at the link!
Pokrovsk:
⚡️Russia intensifies attacks near Pokrovsk, seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces have intensified their assaults near Pokrovsk, deploying small groups in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops, said Victor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of forces.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 27, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Avdiivka:
Russian soldier proudly demonstrates what the city of Avdiivka has turned into after being “liberated” by the Russian army.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Zaporizhzhia:
Today, Russia bombed an apartment building in the Zaporizhzhia region, injuring at least four people and destroying several homes.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Kharkiv:
A second underground school opens in Kharkiv. A cruel irony: protecting young minds while the world above loses its own.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Kharkiv has opened its second underground school today, accommodating 750 children.
It’s wonderful that these children can resume their studies, but in a city as large as Kharkiv, two underground schools are just a drop in the ocean. Most of our children are now missing their third year of school.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Explosion in Kharkiv ‼️
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 5:33 PM
More russian drones in Kharkiv‼️
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 6:26 PM
The Siversky Donets canal en route to Chasiv Yar:
“The Russians blew up the pipes of the Siversky Donets canal to expand the offensive towards Chasiv Yar.” – said Dmytro Zaporozhets, the spokesperson for the Operational-Tactical Group “Luhansk.”
t.me/c/1377735387…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Toretsk:
Ukrainian soldiers are storming a building with the support of a tank and two Senator armored vehicles, capturing four Russians in Toretsk.
t.me/c/1377735387…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Ryazan, Russia:
Some details appeared regarding yesterday’s attack on Russian oil refinery in Ryazan:
“Facility was attacked by at least 18 Ukrainian drones. Three of them hit the enterprise. As a result, the AVT-4 unit caught fire – a tool that produces distillates of gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel and fuel oil.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 10:05 AM
/2. In addition, as a result of yesterday’s attack on the oil refinery, a fire occurred at the unit for cleaning compounds and moisture, and at the unit, which converts vacuum gas oil into high-quality. The sulfur cleaning unit was also damaged.”
t.me/astrapress/7…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery has suspended operations after an attack by Ukrainian drones. – Reuters
Ryazan oil refinery processed 13.1 million metric tons (262,000 barrels per day), or almost 5% of Russia’s total refining throughput in 2024. www.reuters.com/world/europe…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 2:24 PM
That’s enough for tonight.
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Open thread!
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Jay
BTW, while the SoBe- It “Union” liberated Concentration and Death Camps in Poland and Eastern Germany, freeing mostly the Concentration Camp inmates that the SS could not force march in to Germany, the worst of the sick, starving and dying,
They quickly put the camps back into use, for their own preferred victims and their own campaigns of extermination.
https://www.france24.com/en/20200419-forgotten-the-dark-legacy-of-soviet-internment-camps-in-germany
SSDD, Same ruZZian MIR.
ruZZians will always be ruZZians.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
dimmsdale
Thank you, Adam.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
Thank you Adam.
way2blue
One of my sons, freshman year of high school, had a joint AS History/English topic assigned to him. The Prophet Abraham. A couple years earlier I’d picked up a copy of Time magazine (I *think* it was Time) at an airport bookstore with Abraham on the cover. Naively thinking that since Judaism, Islam & Christianity all recognized Abraham, maybe that offered a way to find common ground. Anyway. I assisted my son a bit by looking into how many people of each faith were in the world. And made the astonishing discovery that the Nazis almost succeeded in annihilating a whole people.
way2blue
Adam. A bit off topic. And late. But I’m beginning to sense—as Prof Snyder might say—we’re missing the forest for the trees. Meaning we need to focus on patterns as much as specific injustices flooding our world. In dismantling our civil government, I fear Trump is in it for the longterm. That he has no plan to leave office after 4 years—and let someone follow him who might undo his masterpiece.
Which is why I’m tapering off reading news in the evening. Haunts my dreams…
Yet again. Thank you for keeping us informed. Wish we had tougher leaders fighting for us as well as for Ukraine.