Almost all of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alert at 9:15 PM EDT/3:15 AM local time in Ukraine.
— Stephen Collins (@stephencollins.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I started last night post’s with this assessment of Trump’s objectives regarding Ukraine.
To answer to Ambassador Sepp’s question the “justification for this,” as well as the bottom line reality of what Rolling Stone has reported that Trump is trying to do, is to force Ukraine to give up its defense against Putin’s/Russia’s genocidal re-invasion, force Zelenskyy from office so Putin can install a puppet replacement, all so Trump can do business with Putin. It would also mean that despite withstanding Putin’s and Russia’s genocidal re-invasion for the past three years, and the more limited one for almost eleven years, that Ukraine as Ukraine would functionally cease to exist. There might be a rump statelet in what is now western and part of central Ukraine, but that would still be under Putin’s and Russia’s control. eastern and much of central Ukraine would be directly under Russia’s thumb. And the US will simply take whatever wealth Ukraine has in the ground for itself as profit all while functionally indenturing Ukrainians. Thats what this and all related Trump admin efforts are.
I understand that President Zelenskyy has no choice but to go through the motions right now, but I do not see how he or any other potential Ukrainian president, Zaluzhnyi for instance, could sign onto what Trump is demanding. Only someone willing to be Putin’s puppet and Trump’s useful idiot would.
NBC News now brings us more clarity as to what Trump expects:
WASHINGTON — As U.S. and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia this week, President Donald Trump has privately made clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, according an administration official and another U.S. official.
Trump wants the deal, which would give the U.S. a stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources, signed. But he also wants to see a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace talks, the officials said, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving up territory to Russia. Trump also wants Zelenskyy to make some movement toward elections in Ukraine and possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader, the officials said.
Elections in Ukraine have been paused under the country’s constitutional provision for martial law, which has been in effect since Russia invaded in 2022.
Given that Putin has made it clear he’s not stopping and the reality that none of what Trump wants is acceptable to Ukrainians, I don’t see how this is going to play out in a positive manner for Trump. It is important to remember that President Zelenskyy has already called Trump’s bluff. He has already stated that he’d be willing to step down if it meant proper security guarantees and NATO membership for Ukraine. The demand that he step down is being made by Trump, who refused to accept that he lost the 2020 election. This is the difference between being all class and being like school in the summertime: no class.
It is also important to remember that Trump and his surrogates view of the dispute is that only Ukraine has agency. The war could end immediately if Putin abandon’s his genocidal re-invasion and just redeploys his forces back to Russia. Putin won’t do this because his intention is, as it has always been, to take and hold Ukraine because he believes that Ukraine belongs to him and Russia, not to the Ukrainians.
Now we wait.
What we can see happening is Trump’s behavior towards Ukraine setting the condition to seriously harm the US defense sector.
‘Sir Ben Wallace, former UK defence secretary, said that, if he were still in post, his first response would have been to commission “an appraisal of our dependencies and vulnerabilities across international partners — including the US”…’ www.ft.com/content/1503…
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 5:47 AM
From The Financial Times:
With the US cutting off military support to Ukraine in an abrupt pivot towards Russia, many European governments are feeling buyers’ remorse for decades of US arms purchases that have left them dependent on Washington for the continued functioning of their weaponry.
“If they see how Trump is dealing with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, they should be worried. He is throwing him under the bus,” said Mikael Grev, a former Gripen fighter pilot and now chief executive of Avioniq, a Swedish defence AI company. “The Nordic and Baltic states need to think: will he do the same to us?”
Such is the concern that debate has turned to whether the US maintains secret so-called kill switches that would immobilise aircraft and weapons systems. While never proven, Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said: “If you postulate the existence of something that can be done with a little bit of software code, it exists.”
In practice, it may not even matter because of how already reliant advanced combat aircraft and other sophisticated weapons — such as anti-missile systems, advanced drones and early warning aircraft — are on US spare parts and software updates.
“It is not as simple as a kill switch,” said Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi). “Most European militaries depend heavily on the US for communications support, for electronic warfare support, and for ammunition resupply in any serious conflict.
”Europe’s reliance on the US, meanwhile, has been rising, with America accounting for 55 per cent of Europe’s defence equipment imports between 2019 and 2023 — up from 35 per cent in the previous five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Sir Ben Wallace, former UK defence secretary, said that, if he were still in post, his first response would have been to commission “an appraisal of our dependencies and vulnerabilities across international partners — including the US”. This would allow reflection “on whether there needs to be any strategic changes”.
Trump has repeatedly stated his intent to buy — or take over — Greenland, an autonomous territory within the kingdom of Denmark. Citing the Arctic’s strategic importance, Danish ministers have signalled they will try to reinforce the island — potentially by expanding an airport runway to accommodate US-bought F-35 fighters.
But, for this one particular mission, those jets may well be next to useless. “What’s the point of Denmark sending F-35s to protect Greenland?” asked Sash Tusa, an aerospace and defence analyst, pointing to the uncertainty of whether the F-35s would fly — if the US did not want them to.
The plane relies on continuous updates and maintenance support from the US through its Autonomic Logistics Information System — which is to be replaced by a successor programme known as Odin, the Operational Data Integrated Network. The systems manage everything from mission planning and threat databases to maintenance diagnostics.“
The problem with really sophisticated defence equipment is that [it needs] so much support from the vendor, that if the vendor decides to stop supporting [it], the equipment stops working, if not instantaneously then very, very quickly,” said Tusa.
“The question they will be thinking is ‘how do you add US-proofing into your defence structure?’” More than half of Europe’s advanced combat aircraft — mainly the F-35 and the F-16 — are bought from the US.
Even before the Trump era, in the early stages of the F-35 programme, the UK — a top buyer that makes many parts for the plane — asked for guarantees of “operational sovereignty”. Some assurances were given in 2006, but no US ally has Washington’s level of access to the source code for the system.
Much more at the link.
Right now the US’s soon to be former allies and partners are wondering if their F-35s, as well as other US made weapons systems and munitions, can be bricked on a whim by Trump or Musk. Especially given what Musk got up to today.
I hope my friends in Poland have no illusions about this administration. No matter how much you praise them or speak kindly, they will still attack you the moment you have even the slightest disagreement.
— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Because I suspect this is going to get lost in the flood of everyone paying attention to Elon, here is the current, Russia-supporting Secretary Of The United States admitting outright that he understands Russia likely has plans on invading other European nations.
— Schrödinger’s Sneetch Belly (@rtodkelly.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
First, I believe Musk challenged Putin to a fight when an independent source can provide vetted and verified confirmation. Second, Foreign Minister Sikorski is a tall man and he appears to be in good shape. Musk looks like ambulatory semi-melted ice cream. Third, Musk, like Trump, does not believe that Putin and Russia have any agency, just President Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Fourth, Poland spends just a little more than 4% of its GDP on defense.
It seems like someone is trying to rehabilitate themselves after spouting nonsense while still maintaining their position and refusing to back down from their words.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 1:13 PM
I can count at least a half a dozen time that Musk has threatened to turn off Ukraine’s Starlink access regardless of who is paying. I also know, because I included it in updates when it happened, that he geofenced/caged Ukrainian Starlinks so they couldn’t be used in counter-Russian operations in Crimea. He’s a lying, delusional, megalomaniacal junkie.
Also, Vance’s accusation that he and his three year old were chased and threatened by pro-Ukrainian protestors yesterday was just as much bullshit as his fictional family history.
Can’t help but get emotional every time Georgia is mentioned alongside Ukraine in Russian crimes, because we come from a place of such a betrayed oblivion. And Chechnya even more so.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
More on the man of a thousand names in a bit.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
Diplomacy Will Only Be Strong with Strong Frontline Positions – Address by the President
9 March 2025 – 22:18
I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
A few points from today. Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi’s report – the frontline, the main directions in the Donetsk region, and the Kursk operation. I want to thank all our units who, steadfastly and despite everything, are destroying the occupier, repelling assaults, and defending our positions. Diplomacy will only be strong with strong frontline positions. And we are doing everything to ensure that Ukraine’s frontline needs are met. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Umerov reported on his contacts and meetings with our partners on new support packages. Poland is preparing support packages and continues its participation in the “Czech initiative” for ammunition. Germany – we expect an expedited delivery of IRIS-T air defense systems and ammunition for them. It is extremely important that Germany understands its role as one of the greatest security pillars of Europe and the modern free world. We deeply appreciate this. The European Union – we are working at the level of EU institutions to cover existing supply shortages. The Netherlands – there is readiness to continue investing in weapons production in Ukraine. The Nordic and Baltic states – there is full support, and this means new packages, new investments in weapons production, new political initiatives that will strengthen us all – both Ukraine and Europe. I would like to thank all partners. Tomorrow, we will continue working to bring peace closer – there will be my visit to Saudi Arabia. Also, today, the meeting of our teams – Ukraine and the United States – in Saudi Arabia has been further prepared. We hope for results – both in bringing peace closer and in continuing support.
And one more thing. All week long – just like every week after the shelling, after Russian strikes – our rescuers are always there, always helping our people. And we are always grateful to them – all the personnel of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Today, I especially want to recognize our rescuers working in the Donetsk region, particularly those who assisted our people in Dobropillya – Dmytro Aharkov, Artem Bernada, Yevhenii Osadchyi, Dmytro Litovchenko, Oleksandr Masliuk – thank you, guys! Also, Andrii Zemlianyi, Serhii Konov, Denys Sukhanov, Volodymyr Allik, Serhii Usov, and the entire State Emergency Service team in the Donetsk region. And in the Kharkiv region – Oleksii Makushenko, Kyrylo Shvachka, Andrii Oliinyk, Oleksandr Rabcheniuk, Maksym Adamovych, Roman Veretelnyk, Andrii Valuiev, Pavlo Sarancha, Andrii Tur, and Yurii Denchyk. Thank you so much! Thank you to everyone working for Ukraine and Ukrainians! Thank you to all our Ukrainian warriors!
Glory to Ukraine!
Today is Taras Shevchenko’s birthday. Good reason to reshare this.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 8:45 AM
President Zelenskyy also made remarks at the ceremony to award the Shevchenko prize laureates.
Georgia:
Day 102. Protesters list names of regime prisoners and chant “freedom” after each name.
There will be no resolution to this deepening crisis without new, free and fair elections.
All our friends should stress this. #GeorgiaProtests— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM
1/ Students at the Theatre and Film University have been protesting against the GD regime for months without stopping. Today, March 9, police visited them three times.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 9:58 AM
2/ During the second visit, they fined the students 5,000 GEL each. According to the repressive GD law, protests cannot be held in a closed space without permission. The rector and lecturers did nothing to support them.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 9:58 AM
3/ During the third visit, police demanded that the students to leave the building. They decided to comply. According to lawyer Guja Avsajanishvili, there was a threat of their arrest. The students will continue their protest in a different form.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Businessman Giorgi Chikvaidze who defected from the dictator reports 36 cases of surveillance on him just today, which involved 37 cars & 64 persons.
👇🏻A notable incident of a man running, exposed, and throwing a yogurt after Chikvaidze chased: “Did you just steal a yogurt?” 🍿— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Lithuania:
Here is former Foreign Minister Lansbergis’s assessment of Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine:
The Trump-Putin Pact already exists, and we should act accordingly. There are some things we will never change with nice words or smart clothing. If you are worried about those things, you should understand where Trump’s tactics come from. From Russia.
A thread. 🧵1/14— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
The fact that military assistance to Ukraine might have been cut before Zelensky’s meeting with Trump in the Oval Office—and only later reconnected—should serve as an example of the current mindset in Washington.🧵2/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Trump is seeking alignment with Putin. Putin has asked for concessions, and concessions have been promised. We may not know the full extent of those promises, but we must be prepared for all of it.🧵3/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Ukraine’s sovereignty, military support, security guarantees and political future could have already been handed over in exchange for the alignment with Russia that Trump is pursuing.🧵4/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
But since openly selling out like that to Putin looks politically unpalatable, the administration will use any means necessary to cover its tracks.🧵5/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
As someone who grew up in 1990s Lithuania, I remember all too well how older kids from the nearby Russian school would wait for us on our way to class. If they had decided to beat you up, they would find a reason. Whatever you did, they would make it happen.🧵6/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
It reminds me of an old Russian prison joke. A man asks another for a cigarette. The other says he doesn’t have one. “Do you have a light?”—“No, I don’t smoke.” The first man sighs, then punches him. “Why?” the beaten man asks. “Because you’re not wearing a hat.”🧵7/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
That’s how it worked in the streets too. If you had a cigarette, they took it. If you had money, they took it. If you gave them nothing, they hit you just because. There was no right answer, because it was never about cigarettes, or money, or hats. It was about power.🧵8/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
And if you wanted to survive, you had to act accordingly. If you could fight, you fought. If you couldn’t fight, you avoided their territory. If you couldn’t avoid it, you made sure you weren’t alone.🧵9/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
What you didn’t do was think that carrying a hat, cigarettes, or money would save you. That was the mistake of those who didn’t understand the rules—they gave up everything and still got beaten. Because the Russian thug stops only when challenged.🧵10/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
And the same logic plays out not just on the streets, but in geopolitics.
–“Sign this deal on your minerals.”
–“Ok.”
–“Well… then we’ll punch you because you didn’t wear a suit.”
It’s not about the minerals, or the elections, or any of it.
It’s about submission. 🧵11/14— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
That was true in 1939, when the Soviet Union signed a Mutual Assistance Pact with Lithuania and stationed 20,000 troops in our country. A year later, the Soviets said there was an “incident” involving some Soviet soldiers. This was used as the pretext for an ultimatum.🧵12/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
The Soviets demanded the resignation of Lithuania’s government within 48 hours or surrender to occupation. But at the time the Foreign Minister received this ultimatum, a Soviet invasion force was already marching towards our border. The occupation was a fait accompli.🧵13/14
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
We didn’t know then that it had all been agreed in advance in the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
Today, we have no excuse for such naivety. It’s a safe bet that the Trump-Putin Pact already exists—and we should act accordingly.🧵14/14— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
For regular analysis subscribe to my newsletter here:
landsbergis.com/the-trump-pu…— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@glandsbergis.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Romania:
The Central Electoral Bureau of Romania has disqualified pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu from the elections, citing his anti-democratic stance, following complaints, as reported by Bloomberg. Violent unrest erupted in the capital, with Georgescu’s supporters clashing with police forces.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The US:
Ukraine seeks to persuade US to resume aid in high-stakes talks
https://www.ft.com/content/842692b9-ffa3-422d-9343-0d7cd0b2392d
— Financial Times (@financialtimes.com) March 9, 2025 at 3:42 PM
From The Financial Times: (emphasis mine)
Ukraine will try to persuade the US to resume intelligence and military support in high-stakes bilateral talks this week by convincing Donald Trump that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants a swift end to the war with Russia.
Officials briefed on preparations for the negotiations in Saudi Arabia said Kyiv was set to propose a partial ceasefire with Russia for long-range drone and missile strikes and combat operations in the Black Sea, in the hope that the talks’ progress would lead Washington to reverse its decision to freeze intelligence sharing and weaponry supplies.
Ukrainian negotiators are travelling to Saudi Arabia on Monday after the first days without US support led to the country’s troops giving up Russian territory they seized last year in the Kursk region.
One Ukrainian official added that Kyiv would in the short-term prioritise fixing its ties with the US, while two European officials said Kyiv saw progress in the ceasefire talks as a quid pro quo for restarting military and intelligence aid.
“The goal of any negotiations between Ukrainian and US authorities in Saudi Arabia will be, in particular, to agree on a resumption of assistance,” Fedir Venislavskiy, a Ukrainian MP from Zelenskyy’s party and a member of parliament’s national security committee, said late last week.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio will be in the Saudi city of Jeddah from Monday to Wednesday for the talks, with a brief to “advance the president’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war”, a spokesperson said.
In comments on Fox News on Sunday, Trump did not mention the bilateral talks directly but said he was confident that a “valuable” minerals deal would be signed with Kyiv soon.
He rejected criticism that he had been comparatively soft towards Moscow, which he threatened with sanctions last week after suspending the aid to Ukraine. “Nobody has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump,” he said.
The US pressure on Kyiv has forced Zelenskyy’s administration to shift its position after a disastrous meeting on February 28 at the White House.
“The tactics have changed,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst based in Kyiv. “Now the most important [thing] is to normalise the relations with the US and, if before the plan was to get security guarantees first and then push for a ceasefire, it’s now obvious it won’t happen in that order.”
He added: “Trump says that Ukraine doesn’t want a ceasefire, so the goal for us is to show the US that we’re ready to act as quickly as possible, and to start direct negotiations with Russia.”
Zelenskyy told EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday he wanted to strike a general framework agreement with the US that would pave the way for further, more detailed agreements on mineral resources and security guarantees.
The broader deal would start with a cessation of aerial attacks, operations at sea and strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
It would continue with prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by the Russian authorities, measures intended to build confidence between the two sides.
More at the link.
The simple fact is that Putin is not going to agree to an actual short term truce. Thanks to Trump’s actions, Putin thinks he has the advantage now and he’s going to keep pressing it. He may agree to a truce, but he won’t honor it.
And, quite frankly, there’s no good faith negotiating with Trump:
“He took money out of this country under Biden, like candy from a baby…” – Trump on Zelenskyy and U.S. support for Ukraine
This is genuinely scary. How long before every Republican in the U.S. stops questioning anything and begins actively wishing harm upon us?
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Apparently, JD Vance’s first cousin has been a volunteer fighting for Ukraine for several years. He gave an interview to France’s Le Figaro. Here’s a machine translated excerpt.
When Nate heard it his cousin JD Vance s’en take to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, he entered a black anger. In his motorhome, lost on the roads of the American west he has been crisscrossing since his return from’Ukraine in January 2025, Nate was disappointed. Disappointed with this cousin, a few years his younger – Nate is 47 years old – of which he’ never stopped defending the integrity. « JD is a good, smart guy explains. When he criticised l’aid to’Ukraine , I told myself that it’ was because he had to please a certain electorate, that it’ was the game of politics. But what’s they did to Zelensky (with Donald Trump, NDLR) it’was an ambush of’an absolute bad faith », he fumes.
« Being in your family doesn’t mean that I’m going to agree to see you kill my comrades », plague Nate Vance. With method, the soldier responds to the arguments of his cousin, emphasizes the benefits that the United States derived from their involvement in the war, the proper use of American equipment on the front.. I was disappointed. When JD justifies his distrust of Zelensky by the “reports” that he has seen, I thought I was going to strangle myself, he complains indignantly. His own cousin was on the front line. I could have told him the truth, without pretense, without personal interest. He NEVER’a sought to learn more », he sighs. Yet Nate tried several times to make contact with his cousin. « From’Ukraine, reaching a senator is not simple », he admits. « But I left messages at his desk. I NEVER have had news », laments the soldier.
More at the link.
And here’s the video of an interview he did that touches on the same topics:
Back to Ukraine:
Ukrainians yearn for lasting peace, a concept seemingly beyond Elon’s grasp.
What he proposes, however, is sweeping this war under the rug for a few years, offering no real security guarantees for Ukraine. This approach would allow russia to regroup and rebuild. 1/4.🧵
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Without the assurance of lasting peace, the vital investments Ukraine desperately needs will never materialize. Stripped of infrastructure, jobs, and hope, a significant portion of our war-weary population, seeing the inevitability of another conflict, would likely emigrate.
2/4.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Russia, having learned from its earlier missteps, wouldn’t repeat the folly of invading with a 200,000 soldiers with parade uniforms in their backpacks. Instead, they’d return with a much stronger force to finish the job of swallowing our country whole, murdering
3/4.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
activists, journalists, police, military, and veterans, and leaving behind only mass graves and puppets.
We want peace. But it must be a peace that ensures our survival, not one that leads to our annihilation.
4/4 🔚
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
In February, frontline clashes fell by 36%. Pokrovske (1042 clashes, 33.91%) and Kursk (444 clashes, 14.45%) remain the hottest zones. Eastern pressure holds, yet overall activity is waning.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
💥Spectacular detonation of the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defence system filmed by Russians. t.me/ButusovPlus/…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 7:53 AM
The 44th Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces targeted Russian howitzers with both MLRS and field artillery. The Russians’ open position made the strike easier, as guns in cover are usually harder to hit.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM
🇺🇦🦾 Despite the somewhat disappointing news in the media in recent days, the 6th Special Forces Battalion of the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” continues to tirelessly fulfill its tasks of destroying enemy manpower and equipment! 🔥
— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Ukraine’s Defense Forces have destroyed the Russian Tor surface-to-air missile system, designed for air and missile defense at the division level. Exclusive video and photo evidence showcase the successful operation.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Kharkiv:
Kharkiv’s Taras Shevchenko monument remains shielded by sandbags and plastic to protect it from russian bombings. Yet, for the great writer’s birthday, the city decorated it nonetheless.
I miss our Taras deeply and can’t wait for the day I can see him again.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The Russian occupied portion of the Black Sea:
Russians published a video that allegedly shows a Ukrainian naval drone launching a smaller naval drone to strike a gas platform in the Black Sea that Russians have captured.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 6:16 AM
The non-Russian occupied portion of the Black Sea:
Combat group NORD Karjalan ryhmä, fighting for Ukraine with the RDK, shared a photo from the “Crimea-2” platform with an M2 Browning .50 HMG. “Crimea-2” is a Black Sea drilling rig recaptured by Ukraine’s Armed Forces from Russia in 2023.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, Russia:
Check out the latest from the ‘Russian gas service’ on combat duty! They sent the whole squad to unclog the Sudzha pipes – but the Ukrainian Armed Forces upgraded the service with cluster ‘plumbers,’ and now it’s less gas, more blast!
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Cheboksary, Russia:
Tonight, Ukrainian drones attacked the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant and the Burevestnik oil refinery in Cheboksary, Russia. Explosions were also heard in Korenevo in the Kursk region, near a distillery in the Voronezh region, at a refinery in Kstovo, and in Ryazan.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 6:41 AM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
There are no new Patron skeets or videos today.
Here is some adjacent material:
The cats got his back.
#MenWithCats
— Greg Morosoff (@gregmorosoff.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Open thread!
Matt
Elmo in a fight with Putin would break out his top-secret “defeat your enemy by sucking his soul out through his junk” maneuver.
Adam L Silverman
@Matt: I did not need to read that.
Jay
As always, thank you Adam.
Jay
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1898694298884862419.html
Something ruZZian warbloggers are continually angry about is “flag waving”. Commanders claim that they have captured a Ukrainian position, but they haven’t. So they get a big ruble bonus for the claim. ruZZian meat cubes trying to take the position, because it is already marked on the maps as ruZZian controlled, go into assaults with no armour, artillery or airpower.
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: You’re welcome.
u
@Matt: I’m pretty sure that Elmo would use the time-honored tactic of just not showing up for the fight. What a pathetically repulsive piece of shit that guy is.
Gin & Tonic
@Jay: Too bad, so sad.
RaflW
I don’t mention this to seem like I have any special insight or knowledge, in fact quite the opposite. But if I had this question a day ago, it seems that of course any nation that currently procures weapons from us already asked itself some version of this.
What Trump is doing has so many ripples and consequences that will unfold very badly for US power.
Halteclere
Thank you, Adam, for these posts.
If Europe managed to extract itself from reliance on US manufacture or developed military hardware, what impact would that have to the US military-industrial complex? $$$ for the development of the latest and greatest systems is not all coming from DOD, but also from expected futures sales to other countries.
Jay
Soon, coming to America.
https://nitter.poast.org/Gerashchenko_en/status/1898658543340761093#m
This now what the USA stands for.
Jay
@Gin & Tonic:
Yup, I read up on the trials of ruZZian “soldiers”, I don’t care about their suffering, their deaths. It is systemic to the ruZZian MIR and this is the system too many ‘Mercans embrace and admire.
J. Arthur Crank
Thanks Adam. I didn’t think my opinion of Musk could drop further, but he came through again, so to speak.
Putin and Musk are in a cage and are set to go at it. Who do you root for (besides injuries I mean)?
Also too: didn’t Musk challenge Zuckerberg to a physical fight at one point? I would support such a contest (in case my vote is needed). Furthermore, I would support a round-robin style tournament whereby billionaires like Musk, Bezos, Thiel, et al. beat the crap out of each other. You wouldn’t necessarily need to be a billionaire to enter, so Trump, Vance, Rubio, etc. could also enter.
Jay
@Halteclere:
It’s a $318 billion dollar industry in the US, and that is just exports. It’s not just Europe, it’s global.
Everybody buying anything, anything with “tech”, from the US, needs a major rethink.
sentient ai from the future
@RaflW:
i would like to ensure that everyone calls what will happen to the US defense industry as a result of these decisions by its proper name.
Zune-ification
Jay
https://nitter.poast.org/KonstantinKisin/status/1898860298884587549#m
Adam L Silverman
@Halteclere: It would be a huge problem. The only fiscal policy we allow ourselves is military Keynesianism with weapons sales. If the foreign market dries up, that’s going to be ginormous economic hit.
Adam L Silverman
@J. Arthur Crank: You’re welcome. And yes he did until his mommy called it off.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Jay
@Adam L Silverman:
Now his Mommy is crying on social media about all the Tesla protests, boycotts and vandalism.
John S.
Ugh, and here I thought it impossible for me to have any more contempt for Musk. Rubio, too. What a horrific exchange, and on social media no less. What a stupid world we live in.
Thanks as always for documenting the atrocities, Adam.
dr. luba
Love the Ukrainian Gothic” painting. The Kremlin on fire in the background is the proper finishing touch.
FYI: the two people depicted are both authors; Ukrainian heroes are quite often writers. Taras Shevchenko, on the right, was a poet and painter and former serf, who was conscripted and sent into exile for the crime of writing in the Ukrainian language. His anti-russian imperialism poetry lives on. He is celebrated in March, born March 9 1814, died at the age of 47, and is a national hero.
The woman is Larysa Kopach-Kvitka, pen name Lesia Ukrainka. She was one of Ukrainian literature’s foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active political, civil, and feminist activist. Died age 41 of TB.
Today the children of our Ukrainian school honored both of them with recitations and singing of their poetry, and a bit of dancing.
bad Jim
Guardian headline:
Russian officials criticised for giving meat grinders to mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine
YY_Sima Qian
@Adam L Silverman: I posted the FT article on the potential impact to US defense industry from European “de-risking” in one of the prior open threads. As I said there, given how unapologetically primacist, hegemonist, imperialist & militarist MAGA is, US MIC getting kneecapped in the process is still bemusing.
One hopes that the Europeans have enough leverage via their contributions to programs such as the F-35 to ensure any attempt by the Trump gang to cut them off will mean MAD.
For all of the tough talks by the Trump gang about focusing on the “Indo-Pacific” to win the Cold War 2.0 w/ PRC, the vibe I am actually getting is that MAGA will hang Taiwan out to dry, & leave South Korea, Japan & Australia to fend for themselves, (after extorting as much as they can from these countries, of course).
YY_Sima Qian
@bad Jim: Putin trolling his own population, specifically people paying the price for his decisions. Unbelievable.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
God damn, Musk really think he’s Tony Stark and Vance is now trying to play bothsides.
Jay
@YY_Sima Qian:
The wives actually asked for those as compensation for their dead husbands. They are electric.
kwAwk
Elon Musk is so out of touch it is unbelievable. There are literally over a dozen countries in Europe and more in Asia and Australia that don’t pursue nuclear weapons because they feel protected by us. Imagine how fast nuclear war comes if 20 countries in Europe have nuclear weapons? And how many other countries around the world will want nuclear weapons if all those countries in Europe have them.
We have benefited as country so much from the peace that has been created the past 80 years centered around American military power. This dude is so drunk on his own power and ego that he is reaching insanity. $400 billion and it isn’t enough for him.
Seriously Elon, get a fucking hobby that involves leaving the rest of us alone.
Jay
@kwAwk:
$1 million to be with a group in the same room with him, DJTdiot, $5 million for a one on one, $25 million in taxpayer paid golf fees so far.
kwAwk
@Jay: It’s wild how he used to be the computer/technology guy, but now he’s convinced himself he’s the expert on every subject on Earth.
He’s the expert on NATO. He’s the expert on Social Security. He’s the expert on foreign aid. He’s the expert on military aircraft.
This shows why Starlink should have been a government project and not a private sector project. And it is 100% an argument for why SpaceX needs to be broken up.
kwAwk
And let me say, I don’t believe for 2 seconds that Musk cares about the two astronauts on the space station. He just wanted to show off and rub it in Boeing’s face. And if he could have fit an extra rocket launch into the annual budget, doesn’t that just say he was over charging in the first place?
Jay
@kwAwk:
He did his own research.
Jay
@kwAwk:
It was bullshit, still is, idiots still buy it.
Westyny
Thank you, as always, Adam. Now that we have become pariahs to the democratic and democracy-aspiring world, I hope Euro engineering, technology and manufacturing can reinforce Ukraine rapidly enough to forestall capitulation. My biggest nightmare is that Putin nukes Kyiv with assurances that we will stand down and sandbag any Euro retaliation. The escalatory threats mount from there and we have a conflagration before Trump dies or is forced from office. Second nightmare is Proud Boys and National Guard acting like Georgian thugs. Hard to sleep these days.
Nettoyeur
@sentient ai from the future: Zune?
am
Hi Adam, I’m not a regular commenter in your daily posts, but I’ve read almost all of them.
I don’t want to overstep, but you touched on it today, with “I don’t see how this is going to play out in a positive manner for Trump”
I’m just assumed this is strategic for someone, and assumed it was someone in his orbit in a position to manipulate him. I can speculate, but it sounds like you think it is not necessarily the case? I know that those are not entirely mutually exclusive. It is just hard to believe someone can achieve such brilliant tactical success – even if it is abominable – by accident. I am assuming the destruction of US soft power, near term economic output, and societal stability and cohesion is the objective. But when you also say “Trump and his surrogates”, I was sure you were talking about a group that was the same as the ones indirectly controlling him.
In summary, I’ve had a hard time getting a read on what’s happening and the motives and rationality of those involved. Any help you can offer – even it is some links or a reading list – would be appreciated, but I know it is a tall order, so I’ll understand if you pass.
The return of Mo Salad
Did anybody else want to yell at that cartoon?
NO! That’s Popper’s Paradox you’re thinking of, not Godwin’s Law!
Stupid fucking Hitler.
charon
Trump may aspire to a Ukraine shakedown and bustout, but why would Putin not keep the stuff for Russia when Russia gets control? Perhaps a pittance to Trump personally to wet his beak, otherwise all for Putin.