Balloon Juice - War for Ukraine Day 1,242: Russia Has Begun the Next Wave of Strikes As Night Turns to Morning in Ukraine

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

The russian drones continue setting Ukrainian homes on fire. The russian military keeps burning people alive in their sleep, also targeting first responders rushing to save lives.

This is what hell looks like when the good choose not to stop — but to appease and reward — the evil.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM

Monitoring channels report that russia has launched drones from 6 different directions. We expect over 500 drones to attack Ukraine tonight ‼️

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM

Air raid alerts are up for all of western and central Ukraine at 2:00 AM local time in Ukraine/7:00 PM EDT, as Russian drone swarms and ballistic missiles seek their civilian Ukrainian targets.

Shahed drones, TU-95ms bombers, MIGs airborne. A sleepless night ahead again.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM

Kyiv metro stations right now‼️ People are hiding from russian drones and missiles.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 5:55 PM

I expect the alerts will go up over the rest of Ukraine in short order.

There is no address from President Zelenskyy today, so we’ll go right to Georgia after the jump.

Georgia:

Day 235 of #GeorgiaProtests

By now, I’m absolutely sure that nothing will ever stop us until victory. And continuity has likely been the key factor here.

📷 Zuka Khidasheli / Radio Liberty

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM

Three important internal developments in the Georgian resistance in the last several weeks:

1. First contours of a political alternative that can channel the protests, and restored public appreciation of political parties leading & addressing rallies; 1/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 6:50 AM

2. The daily consistency of protests for 235 days now ensured cold-blooded patience/determination and the basal discipline of the Georgian society. We no longer hear “if I come out today, then what, what are you offering me” from those people who’d only come out at larger rallies announced; 2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 6:50 AM

3. The numbers are still very much there too – in winter, in summer, in freezing rain, in hellish heat.

#GeorgiaProtests 3/3.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 6:50 AM

Back to Ukraine.

“Children are taught in russian, using the ru curriculum and textbooks

One such book portrays Ukraine as little more than a Western invention created to spite russia, and argues that human civilisation would have possibly ended had 🇷🇺 not invaded 🇺🇦 ”

www.bbc.com/news/article…

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) July 20, 2025 at 9:29 AM

From The BBC:

Being taught to love Russia starts early for children in occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.

At a nursery school in Luhansk, more than 70 youngsters line up holding a long black and orange Russian military banner in the shape of a letter Z, the symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Across the city, seven little girls jump up and down and gesture in front of a Russian flag to the brash song “I am Russian” that blares out of loudspeakers. When the music stops they shout out together: “I’m Russian.”

In an occupied town called Anthracite, nursery school children have made trench candles and blankets for Russian soldiers.

It is all part of a campaign that seeks not only to erase Ukraine’s national identity, but also turn young Ukrainians against their own country.

To do that with children you need teachers, and as many Ukrainian teachers have fled, the government in Moscow has begun offering lump-sums of 2m roubles (£18,500) to Russian teaching staff willing to relocate to occupied parts of Ukraine.

The biggest and most powerful Russian organisation involved with children is Yunarmia (Youth Army).

Affiliated with the Russian defence ministry, it accepts members as young as eight. It operates across all of Russia, and now has branches in occupied areas of Ukraine.

“We’re providing children with some basic skills which they’ll find useful should they decide to join military service,” says Fidail Bikbulatov, who runs Yunarmia’s section in occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine.

Bikbulatov was deployed from Russia’s Bashkortostan, where he headed the “Youth Guard” division of the ruling United Russia party.

The EU has sanctioned Yunarmia, and Bikbulatov personally, for “the militarisation of Ukrainian children”. Yunarmia is also targeted by UK sanctions for being part of Russia’s campaign of “brainwashing” Ukrainian children.

Yunarmia is not alone. Other Russian state-sponsored organisations that have moved in include “Movement of the First Ones” and “Warrior”, a network of centres for “the military and athletic training, and patriotic education of young people” set up on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s orders.

These groups organise competitions such as Zarnitsa games rooted in the Soviet era, where Ukrainian children are required to demonstrate “general military literacy, knowledge of Russian statehood and military history, firearms firing skills”.

As the children progress through the education system, they are taught in Russian, using the Russian curriculum and textbooks that justify Russia’s war against Ukraine.

One such book portrays Ukraine as little more than a Western invention created to spite Russia, and argues that human civilisation would have possibly ended had Russia not invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Lisa, who attended a school in occupied Donetsk, says students there were forced to take part in events celebrating Russia and the USSR.

“When they were preparing a parade of some sort, I, the whole of my class and the whole of my year were forced to attend every weekend and train. We had to hold posters. I could not say no, it wasn’t my choice. I was told I had to do it to graduate,” Lisa says.

“Every time lessons started, our teacher made us stand up, put a hand on our hearts and listen to the Russian anthem, which she made us learn by heart, too.”

Lisa now lives in the US and has been posting about her experiences on TikTok.

10Comments

1.

Andrya

July 20, 2025 at 8:05 pm

As always, Adam, thanks for doing this.

One question- it wasn’t clear to me what the problem is with delivering packages by drone? Except for loss of jobs for the drivers?

Thanks again.
2.

Westyny

July 20, 2025 at 8:19 pm

Thank you, Adam, as always.
3.

Adam L Silverman

July 20, 2025 at 8:38 pm

@Andrya: You’re welcome.

It’s a public safety hazard.
4.

Adam L Silverman

July 20, 2025 at 8:38 pm

@Westyny: You’re welcome.
5.

Jay

July 20, 2025 at 9:06 pm

Thank you, Adam.
6.

Jay

July 20, 2025 at 9:10 pm

Darth Putin
‪@darthputinkgb.bsky.social‬
OTD in 1944 the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler failed. It left the madman with an injured ear, heroic status in his cult & a maniacal sense of his invincibility.
July 20, 2025 at 1:28 AM

Some people can reply
126 reposts
11 quotes

bsky.app/profile/darthputinkgb.bsky.social/post/3luf2l435p22g
7.

wjca

July 20, 2025 at 9:40 pm

Another Russian general Aleksandr Kornev, commander of the 7th Airborne Division — a unit involved in operations against civilians in southern Ukraine — has reportedly died of “heart failure,” according to Russian sources.

Perhaps an attempt to rebut the charge that the Russian military is heartless…?
8.

Bill Arnold

July 20, 2025 at 10:21 pm

@wjca:
Navalny Poison Squad Implicated in Murders of Three Russian Activists (Bellingcat, January 27, 2021)
All three cases were declared to be heart failure (their hearts did stop beating :-) ); with two of them, injection points were found during inspection of the bodies.
There are a few ways to stop hearts that look like natural causes; it continues to surprise that the FSB stoops to poison and compliant medical examiners.
It is said that Americans use insanity as a weapon. (Why not both?/¿Por qué no los dos? :-) )
FWIW, heart disease is very common in Russia. That makes heart failure as declared cause of death more plausible.
9.

Andrya

July 20, 2025 at 10:42 pm

@Bill Arnold: I have always assumed that the russian government used poison, including poisons not available to an ordinary criminal, precisely so everyone would understand that this was a russian government hit and not an ordinary death. Thus, enhanced fear factor.

Adam, thanks for answering my question.
10.

AlaskaReader

July 21, 2025 at 12:36 am

Thanks Adam

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

This blog will pay for itself.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

In after Baud. Damn.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Republicans in disarray!

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

It’s the corruption, stupid.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

War for Ukraine Day 1,242: Russia Has Begun the Next Wave of Strikes As Night Turns to Morning in Ukraine

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10Comments