(Image by NEIVANMADE)
It has been a long day, I’m fried, so I’m just going to run through the basics so I can get cleaned up and rack out.
Note the repeating trend that happens at least twice a year when Russia starts an offensive: there’s talk that Ukraine’s defence lines are about to break and thousands of troops will be trapped. The results are always the same, yet Russians still think next time will be different
— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Last night, russia turned most of its terror arsenal on Kyiv alone — 322 air threats in a 5h nonstop assault.
The Defence Forces neutralized 284, incl:
– 213 drones & 64 jammed/lost,
– 2 ballistic missiles,
– 5 cruise missiles.
Ukraine needs #SkyShieldNow and more air defences.
— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Russia has targeted more civilian residential facilities in Kharkiv in the past couple of hours.
Pure nightmare in Kharkiv.
Attacking civilians at night when they are sleeping in their homes is russia’s bloody strategy.
But the world doesn’t give a damn about these innocent people.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
At least 2 people were killed by russian drones in Kharkiv tonight. At least 28 are injured. Apartment buildings are on fire.
This happens almost every night! This is madness!
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Kharkiv right now ‼️ at least 2 people died in russian attack on our city, 37 others were injured, including 5 children.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Kharkiv tonight ‼️
Kharkiv almost every night for the fourth year.— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
As flames still rage in Kharkiv, a russian reconnaissance drone circles overhead — the final act of the strike. Somewhere, russian officers are watching the live feed of Ukrainian homes burning… and smiling. To them, burning civilians is victory.
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Here’s President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
For Months Now, Russia Has Been Steadily Increasing the Number of Means of Destruction Used in Its Attacks – Address by the President
10 June 2025 – 19:54
Dear Ukrainians!
Today is another day of exchanges. We brought home our wounded, including those with very severe trauma. These are warriors from various components of our Defense Forces. All of them require serious medical care. We will make sure to provide all the support they need. We expect the exchanges to continue, and, for sure, there will be separate updates on that. The task is to find all of our people in Russian captivity and to free them all. I thank everyone who is helping us in this effort. I also want to thank all political figures, public leaders, and every media professional – everyone who continues to spread information about Russian strikes on our cities and our villages. It is vital that there is no silence in response to Russian escalation – and it is clear that escalation is underway. For months now, Russia has been steadily increasing the number of means of destruction used in its attacks. This is a consistent trend. And it means that Moscow fears no one in the world – no one among those who have called for an end to the killings and for meaningful negotiations on ending the war. Putin wants to continue killing and exploits the lack of a strong response. They don’t listen to Washington. And that says a lot to the world – to everyone.
The European Commission has taken an important step by announcing a new sanctions package. I am grateful that this 18th package is focused on Russian energy resources and banks. That is the right direction for pressure. But this package still needs to be filled with strong details. Russia’s ability to continue the war equals its ability to sell oil and circumvent financial restrictions. That is why it is essential to maximally restrict the Russian tanker fleet, their technological capabilities for extraction and processing, and to do everything possible to keep the price of Russian oil below what they can sustain. Each of our partners knows what the necessary price cap is – no more than USD 30. That price level would mean real pressure on Russia – they must be forced to seek peace, as they don’t understand any other incentives. I know that partners are currently discussing a compromise price, but enough compromising with Russia. Every such compromise only delays peace. We call for a real reduction in the price of Russian oil – in other words, a real step toward ending the war. And I especially want to thank those in the United States who are relying specifically on strength, including the strength of diplomacy through sanctions.
Today, our military officials delivered their reports. I had a separate discussion with Defense Minister Umerov on our efforts to counter drones, protect against missiles, and reinforce our air defense. The Russians have once again used ballistic missiles from North Korea. We are also tracking evidence that Russian-Iranian drone technologies have spread to North Korea. This is extremely dangerous both for Europe and for East and Southeast Asia. The longer this war continues on our territory, the more warfare technologies evolve, and the greater the threat will be to everyone. This must be addressed now – not when thousands of upgraded “Shahed” drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo.
And one more thing.
Today’s Russian strike damaged ordinary residential buildings in various regions of Ukraine. In Odesa, a maternity hospital was hit. The Odesa Film Studio suffered major damage – decades of history destroyed. In the capital, even Saint Sophia Cathedral was damaged: part of the cathedral’s façade collapsed under the blast wave. To all those who truly know history and feel connected to Christianity, even the slightest threat of damage or destruction to Saint Sophia is utterly unacceptable, indeed catastrophic. But not for Russia. Possessed maniacs with their “Shaheds” and the red button. Catastrophe is the very purpose of their existence. They produce nothing else – and will leave nothing behind. This must be addressed. They must be stopped. And it is not only we in Ukraine that need this – the whole world will benefit when Russia is forced into peace. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine!
Today, First Lady Zelenska participated in and addressed the all-Ukrainian “Barrier-Free Means When You Can” social change campaign, which promotes accessibility.
Georgia:
#GeorgiaProtests
Day 195 of continuous protests in Georgia.— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Day 195 of daily protests in 8+ cities across Georgia. #GeorgiaProtests
— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Giorgi Akhobadze is one of the detainees from the pro-European rallies who is being accused of drug possession and faces a sentence ranging from 8 to 20 years or life imprisonment. He denies the charges and says he is being punished for participating in the protests.
#TerrorinGeorgia
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 8:48 AM
“She saw the red flags, trained the people now dismantling democracy—and stayed silent too long.”
This is a great article. How the domestic illusion of security (that 🇬🇪 could never be Russified) got us where we are in a record time – and how Western money trained and enabled the dictatorship. 1/
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Thank you, @euromaidanpress.bsky.social, and thank you, Nino Robakidze, for speaking up. 2/2.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:02 AM
From EuroMaidan Press:
“We fucked up.” It’s not often you hear a democracy activist open with those words, but Nino Robakidze, a veteran democracy activist with over 15 years fighting for Georgian freedom, isn’t interested in pretty narratives.
Speaking at the “FuckUp Night” panel at the Lviv Media Forum 2025, Robakidze laid bare how Georgian civil society enabled the fastest documented democratic collapse in modern European history.
The timeline is breathtaking: December 2023, Georgia receives EU candidate status. Eighteen months later, dozens of political prisoners, including four high-profile politicians, fill Georgian jails, independent media faces criminal prosecution, and the government has abandoned European integration entirely. Over 200 public servants were fired simply for posting pro-European statements on Facebook.
“Georgian civil society is in a perfect storm,” she says. “We saw the red flags. We really saw the red flags. But it was so uncomfortable to really talk about that.”
Twenty-one years after the Rose Revolution promised Georgia a European future, the country has achieved something unprecedented: the fastest documented slide from EU candidate to authoritarian crackdown in European history.
But Robakidze, former Country Director for IREX Georgia, isn’t just analyzing the crisis—she’s dissecting how democracy defenders like herself enabled it through a fatal dependency that made Georgian freedom hostage to foreign funding.
For two decades, the US government poured millions into Georgian civil society—building the independent media, NGOs, and democracy programs that became the envy of the former Soviet space. That investment created something genuinely remarkable: a vibrant civil society that helped Georgia become a beacon of democratic progress in the region.
For two decades, Georgian civil society lived on life support: US government funding. Independent media, NGOs, democracy programs—all relied heavily on American largesse because local businesses feared government retaliation for supporting critical outlets.
“This was mainly the US government funding because there was not enough advertising money in independent media,” Robakidze explains. Vulnerable to state pressure, “big business did not want to work with media outlets like this because they were investigating government corruption.”
The dependency created a catastrophic vulnerability. When Georgian Dream wanted to crush civil society, they had a ready-made weapon: the “foreign agent” narrative borrowed directly from Putin’s playbook.
But the irony runs deeper—and darker. Western funding didn’t just create the vulnerability; it actively trained the oppressors.
Georgian Dream created Western-funded strategic communication units across government ministries. “And then this communication in the crisis, when the crisis was approaching, was used against those who were actually protecting Western values—civil society, media, free media, etc.”
The absurdity was complete: civil society trained its own oppressors. “We were inviting representatives of this group to different trainings, on strategic communication, on public opinion research, and they learned the lesson really well. Maybe they were the best in their class, actually.”
The students became the masters, using Western-funded skills to dismantle Western values.
Much more at the link.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zviad Kharazishvili (Khareba) has left his position – Roman Khartsivadze has been appointed as the new Director of the Special Tasks Department.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Norway:
Norway transfers over twice the number of F-16s promised to Ukraine
Norway’s arms report indicates eight more aircraft than declared.
euromaidanpress.com/2025/06/10/n…— Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The US:
‼️In the US, Dmitry Gugnin, the founder of the crypto company Evita, has been accused of laundering over $500 million for Russia.
From 2023 to early 2025, Gugnin used his company to transfer ~$530 million through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, concealing their origin and destination.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:19 PM
/2. According to the FBI, he helped sanctioned Russian companies move money and gain access to export-controlled western technology for the Russian government: www.justice.gov/opa/pr/found…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Back to Ukraine.
Our people are home!
This time, Ukraine returns injured defenders from russian captivity.
Welcome home, heroes! 🇺🇦❤️🩹
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 10:45 AM
🇺🇦🫂 Birthday on the day of release—a Ukrainian soldier is free and celebrates this day with his loved ones, who have been waiting for him for so long.
Sincere congratulations to our hero!— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM
HUR commented on the condition of prisoners released from Russian captivity.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
2xAASM Hammer air strike on Russian base.
t.me/BaluHUB777/1…— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Kyiv:
This is one of the worst and largest russian drone attacks on Kyiv I can recall, the buzz of incoming drones and air defences firing is literally non-stop. God, save us all.
— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 9, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Kyiv last night. This is terrorism
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 7:45 AM
🔴 Russian forces launched a massive attack against Kyiv overnight.
The capital was attacked with drones. There is destruction in seven districts of the city, with high-rise buildings and private homes damaged.
— UNITED24 Media (@united24media.com) June 10, 2025 at 2:33 AM
The Kyiv Patrol Police have released footage capturing the first moments of a Russian strike hitting a residential building.
t.me/c/1377735387…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
🚁 A helicopter was deployed to extinguish fires in Kyiv that erupted as a result of a nighttime attack by the Russian army.
❗️As of this morning, the sky in the capital remains thick with smoke.
— The Ukrainian Review (@theukrainianreview.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Russia launched a mass air attack on Kyiv for the third night in four days. Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired 315 kamikaze drones, two ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles towards Ukraine, with Kyiv as the main target. @fabricedeprez.bsky.social
on.ft.com/45dMdhH— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) June 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
From The Financial Times:
Russia has launched a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv for the third night in four days, following Moscow’s vow to avenge an audacious Ukrainian operation that destroyed Russian strategic bombers at air bases on the ground hundreds of kilometres from the front line.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 315 kamikaze drones, two ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles towards Ukraine, with Kyiv as the main target. All the cruise and ballistic missiles and 220 of the drones were reportedly shot down.
The Ukrainian capital emerged from the night under thick plumes of smoke after dozens of drones had flown into the city over several hours, hitting several residential buildings and industrial areas, according to city officials. At least four people were injured in the attack.
The latest Russian aerial assault also targeted the seaside city of Odesa, in the country’s south. Two people died and nine were injured in that attack, with the drones damaging a maternity ward, residential buildings and a zoo, city officials said.
Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign and such attacks now routinely involve hundreds of kamikaze drones and decoy unmanned aerial vehicles at a time. It launched a record 479 drones and 20 missiles across Ukraine the day before, with the Ukrainian air force claiming to have intercepted the majority of those.
“Russian missile and Shahed strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a message published on X.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said earlier that a strike conducted overnight last week had been made in response to Kyiv’s “terrorist acts” committed on June 1 when Ukraine’s security service attacked four Russian airfields in several corners of the country, destroying at least 12 military aircraft.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also told Donald Trump that Moscow would have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields, the US president said on June 4.
“But Russia has done this sort of attack before and without any justification, just because they can do it,” said Pavlo Narozhny, a Ukrainian military analyst.
“They understand we lack sophisticated air defence systems, that we don’t have enough planes, and they want us to run out of all of this,” he added.
More at the link.
What a symbolic photo: the light vs the darkness in Kyiv. The light shall eventually prevail. Otherwise, the consequences will be felt globally…
— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast:
A 70-year-old man was killed in an airstrike on Kupyansk when the Russians dropped a guided aerial bomb on the city today, according to Kharkiv region police.
Two other people, aged 68 and 38, were injured, and over 30 private homes were damaged.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Tsapivka, Russia Oblast:
At approximately 10:40 AM, Russian aircraft dropped two guided aerial bombs on Tsapivka in the Kharkiv region, hitting a densely populated private residential area. The strike damaged at least 10 homes, with two completely destroyed.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Odesa:
🔥🇺🇦 As a result of the night attack by russian Shaheds on our Odesa, two people were killed. Nine people were taken to the hospital: five were hospitalized, four are undergoing outpatient treatment.
— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 6:05 AM
🙏 Residential buildings, a maternity hospital, an emergency medical station, a private medical clinic, a sports complex, a zoo, and a railway station building were damaged in the city.
The pavilions of a film studio were also damaged.— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 6:05 AM
At least 2 people died in last night’s russian attack on Odesa, and 9 others were injured.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
The Ukrainian Air Force has released footage showing how mobile fire teams in Odesa region destroyed seven Shahed drones overnight.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Tatarstan, Russia:
There was no calm in Russia either. Some unknown drones carried out an attack on a Shahed drone production facility in Tatarstan.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
There are no new Patron skeets or videos tonight. Here is some adjacent material.
Kharkiv after the Russian drone attack‼️
survival means choosing life over belongings. In the chaos, stuff stay behind, but our little friends never do.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Open thread!
Fresh Ripe Fragrant Peaches and Jeni’s Vanilla Ice Cream for Dinner Open Thread
rekoob
Dr. Silverman — Thank you again for allowing us all to bear witness to the atrocities, leavened with a bit of pet blogging/vlogging.
Tying into a couple of earlier threads, I’m thinking about “fuck” as an intensifier and not strictly as a verb. While it sounds like a non-sequitur, @HopefullyNotcassandra cites an article that may be useful to @RevRick, among others:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-does-dagnabbit-mean
TL;DR: We sometimes name things we’re scared of by different (Bowdlerized) names to ward off evil spirits/intentions. In the case of “Fuck you!”, however, I believe it’s shorthand for “Fuck you with a rusty implement!” or some such. It implies that you don’t get the pleasurable aspect of fucking, but rather the sexual assault aspect.
Similarly, when we use “fucked” as an intensifier, we’re implying the latter.
Thank you for listening to my TEDTalk.
Bupalos
Every time you do these I’m just embarrassed by my inability to engage with them.
And thankful that you keep it rolling.
In case you wonder (from the lack of comments) I pretty much always follow and click through, all the way… and I bet others do too.
It’s difficult content to engage with. It was interesting to see the burst of engagement around spiderweb. The reality here is that we’re in for another 2-6 years of indiscriminate murder that somehow Ukraine is able to absorbe.
We would have folded a year ago.
Bupalos
@Bupalos: : that last bit: Meaning I don’t think the United States could have endured, or continue to endure, what Ukraine is going through. I interact with this folks occasionally. I don’t know what it is. They have a character that I think characterizes the ideal of the United States much more than we do. Maybe more than we ever did.
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
Westyny
Thank you, Adam.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Aziz, light!
дякую.
Gloria DryGarden
@rekoob: I think when I use f— you, I mean may things be f’d up for you the way you’ve been f—‘ing it up for me/ others.
your version is pretty graphic, and it may be what some people mean.. But someone wishing that may not have actually experienced sexual assault. For those who have, your descriptor, however finely tuned, crisp and possibly accurate, is sort of a trigger warning topic…speaking for myself, of course. YMMV.
I have separate Ted talks for the c word, and the b word, some other time.
rekoob
rekoob
@Gloria DryGarden: Thank you, and I should be more careful. I see where you’re going, and I’m sympathetic to it.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
There is a dude on YouTube named Casey Jones, whose presentation is terrible, Dude! Relax! But is a real live professional engineer, who has a video explaining that the Kerch Strait Bridge is incredibly robust, and can take a lot of punishment before losing carrying capacity. It’s a bit boring, but it is useful.
Thank you Adam. Get some sleep.
YY_Sima Qian
A candid assessment from Tatarigami_UA. The current flow of aid & support from the West to Ukraine is steering toward a “Lose-Lose” outcome, per his construct:
Addendum:
YY_Sima Qian
An account of someone who recently visited Russia, although perhaps biased toward the views out of the Moscow-Saint Petersburg metropole:
Someone in the comments said the described vibe resembles Berlin circa 1940.
Gloria DryGarden
@rekoob: thx. I appreciate your understanding.
I don’t object to the f word, and I swear a lot if I’m not at a job. I just don’t connect it as far as you do, aside, of course from the occasional chance to humorously come back with “not enough time, or “not today, thank you. Or “thanks for offering…
the c word, I prefer to reserve for women, usually feminists, who reclaim it as an alternate name for a body part. Other wise, it’s a deep insult almost directly attacking our bodies. There, that was my Ted talk.
Gloria DryGarden
@YY_Sima Qian: it’s Enlightening to get the insider information, the sense of the local pov. Thanks, and holy cow, that’s pretty different.