(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Air raid alerts are up for northeastern, north central, and most of eastern Ukraine because of drone swarms at 8:00 PM EST/3:00 AM local time in Ukraine. If the pattern of the past week or so holds, the drones will be followed by ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and/or air bombs.
Here’s the updated butcher’s bill from Poltava:
The death toll from a russian missile strike on an apartment building in Poltava has risen to 14, with two children among the victims. Genocide is russian culture.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Search and rescue operations completed at the site of the destroyed five-story building in Poltava after the russian missile attack
14 people were killed, including two children aged 9 and 12.
20 people were injured, among them 4 children,
22 people were rescued from the rubble.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
Air Defense Systems and a Sufficient Number of Interceptor Missiles Are Essential for Bringing Peace Closer – Address by the President
2 February 2025 – 20:43
Dear Ukrainians!
Just today, the rescue operations in Poltava were completed after a Russian missile strike. Unfortunately, this missile killed fourteen people, including two children – a nine-year-old and a twelve-year-old. My condolences to the families and loved ones. Twenty people were injured, including four children, ranging from a three-month-old baby to a twelve-year-old. Another twenty-two people were rescued. An entire section of the residential building – from the first to the fifth floor – was completely destroyed. And this was just one Russian missile, bringing so much pain, suffering, and loss. That is why Ukraine – and real peace – require guarantees. Guarantees that such evil will be stopped. Reliably. Not just with words or a few documents, but with something that can truly ensure the absence of Russian terror. Air defense systems and a sufficient number of interceptor missiles are essential for bringing peace closer. I am grateful to all our partners who are helping us with this and who fully understand what exactly we need. Patriots, IRIS-T, all types of necessary air defense systems, the development of drones and investments in weapons production here in Ukraine – all this is what protects the lives of our people and the very idea that peace is possible. This week, we have received new aid packages. A significant package from Sweden – $1.2 billion. Thank you, Sweden! A new security package from Finland. A package from Croatia as well. Thank you. We are working to ensure that next week also brings the crucial decisions Ukraine needs – decisions to support our state, our people, and our army.
Today, I want to recognize the rescuers who have proved themselves in these difficult days and weeks. The Poltava region, first of all. The workers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the region – Oleksandr Sliusar, Serhiy Chebyshev, Yuriy Kupriakov, Oleksandr Bondar, and Serhiy Morhun. Thank you, guys! From the Cherkasy region, rescuers who assisted in Poltava — Volodymyr Babak, Serhiy Serhiyenko, Oleksandr Kolomiyets, and Andriy Kutsevol. Thank you, guys! The Sumy region – Artem Nechytailo, Ihor Kruhovoy, Dmytro Hrytsyna, Maksym Lavrinenko, and Roman Chihrin. Thank you and all your colleagues! The Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region – Oleh Riabushenko, Stanislav Romanets, Vadym Malyi, Illia Kamenda, Oleksandr Dolhyi, and the entire team in Odesa and the region. Thank you very much!
Glory to everyone who fights, works, and rescues all of us for the sake of Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine!
President Zelenskyy sat for an interview with the Associated Press yesterday. Here’s the video:
Georgia:
Hundreds of protesters have gathered on Rustaveli Avenue. They will soon be joined by others coming from Tbilisi Mall. Rustaveli Avenue is blocked.
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 67📷Giorgi Burjanadze
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 1:28 PM
In front of #Tbilisi Mall, where #GeorgiaProtests attempted to stage a massive protest march, they were met.by heavy police presence. During the clashes a TV Pirveli cameraman was injured, and several protesters were arrested. Despite this, demonstrators are now heading toward Tbilisi City Court.
— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) February 2, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The end of day 67 of continuous large-scale protests. People who marched for hours from the Tbilisi exit to Rustaveli were met by other protesters there.
“Until the end,” they chant, implying they won’t stop until victory – the liberation of Georgia. #GeorgiaProtests— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 4:46 PM
🔴 Police were beating a detained citizen in the head at the #GeorgiaProtests.
February 2 – #Tbilisi
— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) February 2, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Police threatened RFE/RL journalist Gela Bochikashvili while he was filming a protest march. A masked police officer told him, ‘Put your camera away, or I’ll break your head’.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
TV Pirveli has exclusive footage that shows the head of the Special Tasks Department, Zviad Kharazishvili, beating a detained citizen.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
More of appalling regime police brutality in Georgia. This is a woman thrown down. #terrorinGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
A video is published on Nika Melia’s FB page in which Melia tells a police officer during his arrest, “There’s a woman fallen on the ground there”. The policeman replies, “Let her be”.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 11:11 AM
This is an absolute must-watch thread! State-sanctioned torture machine in the especially designated mini-vans caught on camera! #terrorinGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This is how the Georgian police treat peaceful protesters.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Same police violence, different footage. Video by Khatia Khasaia.
This is how the Georgian police treat peaceful protesters.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 10:59 AM
The footage of the arrest of Nika Melia, one of the Coalition for Change leaders. Multiple regime policemen went after Melia and forced him into the detention van, tearing off his clothes. This happens to the number 2 in the list of the coalition that ranked first among democratic forces in October.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas responded to the today’s events in Tbilisi.
#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Back to Ukraine.
In this century, Ukraine has elected for itself more presidents than Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan combined.
Yes, Alcoholic Dimon doesn’t count.
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Kherson:
WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC CONTENT!! WARNING!! WARNING!!
Weapons change, cities change, but the outcome never does — death, destruction, pain. Today, it was a russian air bomb. Today, it was Kherson.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Russia yet again struck Kherson tonight. This time with the aerial bomb. Rescuers were able to save 3 people from under the rubble of what used to be their homes
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 12:11 PM
🇺🇦 Kherson: an aerial guided bomb hit downtown. Preliminary, 1 wounded; more people under rubble
A Russian drone attacked a public bus, at least 5 casualties reported including 2 children. (12, 13, 38, 52 and 54 y.o.
📸 Tg channel Kherson Non-fake
— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM
ALL CLEAR!!
Kharkiv:
Russian drones in Kharkiv skies right now ‼️ air defense is working
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 5:31 PM
A fire, spanning approximately 2,000 square meters, erupted in the center of Kharkiv after a russian drone strike.
The strike hit a production and storage building, causing a large-scale fire. Textile products and polyester raw materials are burning.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Siversk, Donetsk Oblast:
⚡The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a railway bridge near Siversk, destroying an important Russian logistical artery. The bridge was used for supplying ammunition, equipment, and personnel.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The Kursk cross border offensive:
🔥Soldiers of Ukraine’s 61st Brigade in the Kursk region effectively combine artillery and drones to counter Russian assaults. Artillery targets enemy groups, while drones strike individual soldiers.
Full video on the Telegram channel:
t.me/wartranslated— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Lipetsk Oblast, Russia:
One of the Russian Kh-22 missiles refused to leave Russian territory and crashed in the Lipetsk region of Russia. Almost 300km from the frontline.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 7:23 AM
That may have been one of the missiles fired at Poltava yesterday.
Arkhangelsk, Russia:
The demonstration performances of the Russian Emergencies Ministry in Arkhangelsk did not go according to plan.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 8:37 AM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
Patron expressed some thoughts on Musk and Trump going after USAID:
I have worked with USAID officers in various assignments for twenty years. I supervised one when I was at USAWC. He was a retired Coast Guard commander. Many of the USAID officers are retired military or veterans. Just as is the case with about 30% of all Federal civil servants. They do incredible work with limited resources under often less than optimal conditions. The ones deployed forward don’t work out of embassies or consulates, they work out in the field. They ones assigned to military headquarters forward work off the bases. And often they’ll go outside the wire when no one else will because they have to coordinate with the NGOs, both local and international, to provide necessary and often live saving services to the host country population. There’s not enough money going through USAID or to pay USAID personnel – civil servants or contractors – to make a dent in Federal spending. All that Musk and Trump are doing is going to harm a lot of people in dire straits and in desperate need of help. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Sudanese, Lebanese in south Lebanon, Syrians, Yemenis, Haitians, Ukrainians, and people in hundreds of other countries are all going to suffer because of this malignant jackassery. And the cherry on this sundae of ignorance and buffoonery is that what Musk, his 19-24 year old minions, his handful of actually experience adult aides, and his most important minion Trump are doing is damaging and destroying the US’s soft power. If you either didn’t vote or voted for Trump because you were angry about how Biden and his team handled Gaza, well done, you’ve played yourselves and condemned more Palestinians to die because you were too dumb to realize that when you looked around the table and couldn’t tell who the mark was, that you were the mark. As the saying goes: “…never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”
Open thread!
KatKapCC
If Musk had any capacity for shame, he’d die of it after getting his ass handed to him by a dog.
I imagine in his mind, Zelensky was shouting this part through a bullhorn outside the Oval Office.
Adam L Silverman
I’m going to bed before I say something intemperate.
Everyone is welcome.
KatKapCC
@Adam L Silverman: If something in my comment led to this, I apologize. I didn’t mean to sound flippant.
Adam L Silverman
@KatKapCC: Not you, you’re good. I was going to post that before anyone else commented, but the dogs had to be taken out. I’m not amused by what is going on.
Gin & Tonic
I was looking forward to you posting that message from Patron. Thank you.
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Jay
Sorry, Adam, but it looks like you might have a new war to cover soon,……
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Torrey
There are simply no words.
And thank you, Adam. Keeping track and bearing witness is all the more important now.
KatKapCC
@Adam L Silverman: Okay, thanks. Agree. Not amused. Half a minute from a nervous breakdown, in fact.
Gloria DryGarden
Thank you for your words about USAID.
I’ve been horrified from day 1, because of all the people hurt, plus our standing and trusted-ness in the world. I think by shutting down USAID and cutting funding for ongoing medical research (which has international implications in how we can participate) we’ve been pulled out of our soft power in the world.
I don’t know what it will take to redeem or improve this. I don’t know if we can go back. Your final paragraphs were very moving.
hrprogressive
I can’t shake the feeling that a lot of the “quote unquote” leftist outrage over Gaza was in fact a foreign psyop designed to get otherwise good people to do something really stupid.
Anyway.
Here we are.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
I’m in the,same boat as Adam, afraid of what I may say. On top of the USAID evil, I am Canadian. I am sure no one here needs me to explain my current feelings towards the Monster of Mar A Lago. I’m just glad I have you lot to help me keep sane.
KatKapCC
@hrprogressive: Some of us had that feeling from day one.
YY_Sima Qian
OT, Marco Rubio gave was interviewed by Megyn Kelly, where he made some surprising comments in multipolarity (excerpts below, full link here):
It has been long past time for the U.S. FP “Blob” to recognize the reality that the U.S. unipolar moment has expired, & that multipolarity is the emerging condition of global affairs, whether one likes it or not.
However, when MAGA borrows the language of Left Wing anti-imperialists, they are not rally pursuing anti-imperialist ends, quite the opposite. Van Jackson called it back in Oct.:
When Rubio speaks of “multipolarity”, I suspect he has subsumed his neocon inclinations to serve his new masters, toward a world where great powers can establish their own formal-semi-formal spheres of influence: the US asserts Monroe Doctrine 2.0 in the western hemisphere, Russia lords over Eastern Europe (starting w/ Ukraine) & the Caucasus, the PRC absorbs Taiwan & has hegemony over SE Asia & the Korean Peninsula, Israel/Türkiye/Gulf States to divide up MENA, & India dominates South Asia, while Western Europe, Central Asia, Japan & Oceana become buffer zones.
To me, that appears to be the logic behind the nonsensical tariffs against Canada & Mexico (to bring them to heel), seizing Greenland, & threatening to seize the Panama Canal, to lay the foundations for complete domination of the Americas. The omni-directional trade war might also serve the purpose of hastening the end of Dollar Supremacy, so as to enable re-industrialization of the U.S. Accelerationism indeed.
Of course, MAGA remains committed to the most primitive form of primacy, they will want the U.S. to dominate the other “poles”, too.
YY_Sima Qian
Not sure why my comment had been double posted. My apologies, mods please remove the 1st one.
YY_Sima Qian
Rubio was just in Panama City supposedly delivering an ultimatum to the Panamanian government, either reduce PRC influence in the country or risk the U.S. seizing the Panama Canal. Panamanian President Maliki responded w/ some Tai-Chi moves: promising not to renew the BRI agreement w/ the PRC when it expires next year, promising to conclude the “thorough” audit of the ports at the two ends of the Canal, promising to work to shut off the migration route through the Darien Gap, while being adamant that the ownership of the Canal is non-negotiable.
I think Evan Feigenbaum & Gyude Moore had the right takes:
Georgia Meloni had exited the BRI deal the previous Italian government had signed, under pressure from the Biden Administration. W/in a year she was in Beijing hoping to reconstitute much of the substance of the deal, w/o reviving the formal construct.
There is the world that MAGA hopes to create, & then there is the reality of the world as it is.
Gloria DryGarden
@YY_Sima Qian: Thanks. It’s good to understand more deeply these international details.
Gosh. Holy cow.