(Image by NEIVANMADE)
It’s been a long, but good day, so I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.
Before we start, I do want to briefly touch on the death of Pope Francis. I checked the current make up of the College of Cardinals this AM, Pope Francis was able to create clear majority of left to progressive Cardinals during his tenure. Hopefully they’ll be able to fend off what we know will be an attempt to go full scale revanchist reactionary by the usual suspects. I don’t really have anything in this fight other than I am Catholic educated and don’t want to see the revanchist reactionaries get their way, but I think that Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Archbishop of Jerusalem, would be a good choice. There’s video at this link of an interview that Noga Tarnopolsky did with him over the weekend.
Russia unloaded on civilian targets in Odesa earlier today:
Russia attacked Odesa with drones, injuring at least three people. Civilian infrastructure, houses, and an educational facility were damaged.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Odesa is on fire as russia is massively attacking the city with drones.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 4:56 PM
🇺🇦🔥 Such disgusting sounds are heard now by Odesians from Shaheds flying over the city.
About 30 drones attacked our Odesa!— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Russia, of course, is assessing their own genocidal campaign of bombing, droning, and civilian bombing campaign:
Putin says Russia will “analyze” moratorium on bombing civilians. Translation: stall, lie, kill more. Russia isn’t seeking peace—it’s buying time to keep slaughtering.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Here’s President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
A Ceasefire – Real and Lasting – Must Be the First Step Toward a Secure and Enduring Peace – Address by the President
21 April 2025 – 21:35
I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
Today has been almost entirely devoted to working with partners – in various formats. We are preparing for meetings on Wednesday with partners from Europe – the United Kingdom, France, Germany – and from the United States. Meetings that could bring us closer to a ceasefire and a real, lasting peace. Now, after Easter, the whole world can clearly see the real issue – the real reason why the hostilities continue. Russia is the source of this war. It is from Moscow that a real order must come for the Russian army to cease fire. And if there is no such firm Russian order for ceasefire – then there is no ceasefire. Indeed, there were no air raid alerts on Easter, and some sectors of the frontline remained quiet. This proves it is possible – it’s possible when Russia chooses to reduce the killing. But even so, this Easter, there were still Russian assaults, strikes, and shelling, there were losses, including among civilians. Today, there have been even more Russian strikes. By just the middle of the day – by 1:00 p.m. – there have already been nearly three thousand instances of shelling, assaults, and other strikes. There were Russian missile launches, Shaheds, nearly ninety aerial bombs, the use of heavy weaponry, and drones. Russian attacks continue across the entire frontline. In the evening, I expect a new report from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi. That means Russia has rejected not only the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, which was made more than a month ago during the talks in Jeddah, but also yesterday’s proposal – the proposal to continue doing everything possible to maintain the ceasefire after Easter. All of this once again shows what Moscow truly wants. Nevertheless, Ukraine stands by its offer — at the very least, not to strike civilian infrastructure. And we expect a clear answer from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to ensure this. There is an obvious, simplest, and most reliable way: stop missile and long-range drone attacks. That alone would automatically ensure the safety of all civilian infrastructure. A ceasefire – real and lasting – must be the first step toward a secure and enduring peace. Ukrainian representatives – both at the meetings held in Paris and at the meetings scheduled this week in London – will have a primary task regarding an unconditional ceasefire. That must be the starting point. Peace begins in silence. And only when there is genuine silence, and when people trust the entire negotiation process, can the fundamental issues begin to be resolved.
And one more thing.
I thank all our warriors who are defending Ukraine, who are holding the lines, who are making diplomacy possible. Strong diplomacy is the diplomacy of a strong state and a strong nation. To all our people who are standing in defense of Ukraine, to everyone helping, to everyone supporting Ukraine – thank you! Thank you! I am proud of our people.
Glory to Ukraine!
Georgia:
⭕️On April 21, two protesters arrested in #Tbilisi rally following Easter night detentions.
🔴Two people were arrested on April 20 after reportedly only saying “Christ has Risen,” the traditional Orthodox #Easter greeting, to police officers.
#RepressionInGeorgia
#GeorgiaProtests— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) April 21, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Close-up view of a regime policeman viciously snatching a protester out of the crowd, and pushing him into the car.
Just watch. #GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 12:01 PM
This guy in a white, civilian shirt unlawfully & illegally arrested a protester.
He is Rezi Jincharadze. His brother Luka Jincharadze is apparently a false witness in regime prisoner Saba Skhvitaridze’s case, who’s been tortured (and even some state institutions admit this).— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Few people have already been arrested on Rustaveli Avenue.
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 145📷 Nino Kikvadze/Publika
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Day 145. The evening protest after quite a day.
“The enemy of his own nation won’t go unpunished,” “Georgia rise up, revolt!”
#GeorgiaProtests
📷 David Chkheidze— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 1:41 PM
“They are drowning us in a sea of lies — but we still remember reality.”
Day 145 of daily, non-stop protest in Georgia.
#GeorgiaProtests
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
A small group of protesters continues to hold daily rallies in the small town of Chkhorotsku.
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 145— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
A female chain has blocked the road, and the police is discussing what to do.
“Go home,” “until the end,” and various other protest chants are heard as the buses turn away in the background.
This happens in response to arbitrary Easter detentions yesterday.
#GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Women’s chain blocked the Rustaveli Avenue to protest Easter detentions and the Russian regime in general.
The regime police are still confused about what to do. #GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:07 AM
A regime policeman pulling the hair of a female protester.
He must have drunk a traditional toast or two for females yesterday at his Easter feast. #GeorgiaProtests
📷 Protest 24— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 7:42 AM
1/ The GD political council has issued a statement on the 13th anniversary of the party’s founding.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:17 AM
2/ According to the GD’s propaganda statement, their government is the first since Georgia’s restoration of independence under which the country has not experienced war.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:17 AM
3/ They also claim that Georgian Dream has not diverted the country from its European path and that it “will meet the announced EU enlargement by 2030 better prepared than all candidate countries”.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:17 AM
4/ However, on November 28, 2024, GD announced it was suspending EU accession negotiations ‘until 2028’. This declaration was followed by large-scale protests, the brutal dispersal and beating of protesters, and the imprisonment of more than 50 political prisoners.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:17 AM
5/ While the protests are now relatively small in size, they continue uninterrupted across Georgia. Citizens are demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of regime prisoners.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:17 AM
London:
On April 23, a meeting will take place in London between Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Moscow on the Potomac:
An initiative group of Russians in Washington plans to hold the first “Immortal Regiment” march in recent years on May 3 in the center of the U.S. capital.
This is stated in a leaflet distributed by the organizers among Russian-speaking groups in the United States.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:57 AM
From UNITED24 Media:
A group of Russian nationals in Washington is planning to hold the first Immortal Regiment March in several years on May 3, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the “Great Patriotic War,” Ukrinform reported on April 21.
According to a flyer distributed by organizers among Russian-speaking communities in the US, obtained by the news agency, the event is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. local time in Lafayette Square, adjacent to the White House complex. From there, participants are expected to march down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the World War II Memorial in downtown Washington.
“We will march with an orchestra, songs, and portraits of our heroes,” the organizers stated in a flyer adorned with Soviet symbols and the black-and-orange St. George’s ribbon—a symbol that, since 2014, has become associated with Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
The event will also feature a “small concert” near the World War II Memorial in central Washington, according to the flyer.
According to the outlet, the organizers claim they have already received official permission. The press office of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to Ukrinform’s request for comment.
In December, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights deemed Ukraine’s ban on the St. George’s Ribbon lawful in its ruling on the case Borzych v. Ukraine. The case concerned the public ban on wearing the St. George’s ribbon in Ukraine, which came into effect in 2016.
I’ve written before about the Immortal Regiment and the cult that Putin and other Russian leaders have built around them over the past fifteen to twenty years or so. I’ll have more about this later in the week.
Back to Ukraine.
A rare Russian reconnaissance-strike UAV “Forpost” (worth approximately $7 million) was taken down by a Ukrainian FPV drone ($6,000) at an altitude of 4 km. The UAV, carrying two KAB-20 bombs, was targeting during the “Easter truce.” After being hit, it descended into Russian territory.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast:
A 54-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man died in Petropavlivka, in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, as a result of an airstrike by Russian forces, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Kharkiv:
Today, Kharkiv opened its third underground school, providing safe education for 377 children.
It is a drop on the sea for a city of over a million people. Normalcy in education will only be possible when Russia stops its attacks.
Yet every effort counts, and this is a start.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Pokrovsk:
Pokrovsk. Once a lively town of 60,000 now lies in ruins, with only 2,000 people still living there.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Donetsk Oblast (I think):
Fiber optic drones of the Birds of Magyar unit explore basements and buildings from the inside to find Russian infantry.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Kherson Oblast:
AASM HAMMER air agile by MiG-29 on Russian positions. Kherson region. t.me/soniah_hub/1…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Residents of Kherson were simply driving down the road when they spotted a Russian drone. So they chased after it — and it never took off again.
t.me/c/1377735387…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Toretsk:
Russian troops are using Chinese-made Type 56-1 rifles, which are copies of the Soviet AKM with a folding stock. One of these rifles was captured by Ukrainian forces near Toretsk — it was brand new and oiled.
youtu.be/n6OiEP8hgjY?…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.
🌞🇺🇦 Morning breakfast with a taste of kindness!
A spark of humanity that warms the heart 💙💛— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) April 19, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Open thread!
Wag’s Photos from the Denver Protest
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Jay
https://nitter.poast.org/slantchev/status/1914358800548503805#m
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: You’re welcome.
J. Arthur Crank
I am lapsing at being a lapsed Catholic, so I don’t have much of an opinion on the matter, apart from the observation that the fewer right wing reactionaries we have in high positions, the better.
wjca
Thank you, Adam
Adam L Silverman
@wjca: You’re welcome.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Ksmiami06
Ok I hate to be mean but where the fuck is Europe in this.
Jay
@Ksmiami06:
Busy building weapons factories in Ukraine, turning the largest MFGR of commercial gun cotton into a weapons guncotton factory and shell plant, converting an unused Volkswagen plant, the largest in the world, into a tank factory, oh, and supplying Ukraine with 65% of their financing and 78% of their weapons, with no holds barred.
Australia, Australia, alone has sent more tanks, IFV’s and arty to Ukraine than the US has.
What the US has and has grudgingly supplied, that makes a huge difference, is Patriots, and nobody else has domestically produced equivalence.
Ukraine’s “other” allies sent over 940 “modern tanks” to Ukraine. The US sent 34, despite having over 3600 mothballed in the desert.
Lithuania, a tiny little fart of a country, sends 1500 drones a week to Ukraine.
Jay
@Ksmiami06:
Sucking Putin’s cock since 2012.
Adam L Silverman
@AlaskaReader: You’re welcome.
Westyny
Thank you, Adam.
HeiSokoly
@Jay: Fighter jets too — and the AWACS which appears to have made its debut over Lviv today, all from European countries, none from the US…
Ksmiami06
@Jay: oh I know Trump sucks etc. But what I meant is Europe should do even more and faster- the wolf is at their door.