Kyiv and all our cities, the whole of Ukraine will put an end to the history of Moscow’s despotism – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

28 May 2023 – 19:05

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today, our country went through one of the largest Russian attacks by Shaheds – 54 drones at a time. Almost all of them were shot down… Almost! Unfortunately, there were some hits in the Zhytomyr region. We will do everything to help restore what has been destroyed.

But still, most of the destruction was averted, and most of the lives that could have been taken by these Shaheds were saved. I am grateful to each and every person who made it possible! Anti-aircraft missile troops and aviation of the Air Force, air defense of the Ground Forces and our mobile fire groups… Thank you, warriors!

During this terrorist attack, the most powerful strike was aimed against the Kyiv region. Within the city of Kyiv and the region, 36 drones were shot down. This is how Russia celebrates the day of our ancient Kyiv…

Throughout its history, Kyiv has seen various meannesses from invaders. It has survived them all, and it will survive the ruscists. None of them will be here! Kyiv and all our cities, our entire Ukraine, will put an end to the history of Moscow’s despotism, which has been bringing enslavement to many different peoples for a very long time. Neither Shaheds nor any other means of terror that it humiliatingly seeks around the world will save it. Because strength is in people, it is in cities, it is in life, and when life, people, and the most important cities for culture are despised, Russia will only face defeat. And even hundreds of Shaheds will not save it from this. They will only enlarge Russia’s disgrace.

These days, we congratulate Kyiv and Oleksandriya, Severodonetsk, Kalush, Kryvyi Rih… Cities of different destinies, but of our equal respect. Our Ukraine. Our faith that we will pass this extremely difficult stage of history… We will, and all our cities will be free, and our people will be protected from any evil that may threaten our country.

Today I want to thank all our people who have fought and are fighting for Ukraine – all our warriors, all branches of the Armed Forces and all kinds of troops, every brigade, every unit. Thank you! To all those who are in combat, to all those who are on combat missions, to all those who are at combat posts!

And I thank everyone without whom we cannot imagine effective resistance of the state and effective defense of our cities. I am grateful to each and every one who trains our warriors and heals their wounds. Who produces and supplies weapons. Who provides our logistics and communications. I thank everyone who provides Ukraine with intelligence information and who spreads the truth about the war and Russian terror around the world. I am grateful to each and every one who ensures our rescue operations after enemy attacks and eliminates their consequences.

I am grateful to everyone in the world who cares and who wants freedom to win as much as we do.

All our power engineers and transport workers. Thank you! Ukrzaliznytsia. Defense industry. All our volunteers. United24 and our ambassadors. Thank you! Our law enforcement officers. Local authorities. Employees of public utilities. Our education system. Our cultural figures. Our historians. All those who keep jobs and all those who create jobs – no matter what. Our farmers, workers of our agricultural sector. Our industry. Our IT specialists. Our civil servants. Our diplomats. I thank everyone who strengthens our defense, our state, and our people!

The fact that our capital is free, the fact that our cities defend themselves with dignity, the fact that we will liberate every currently occupied city – all this is the merit of many people. All those who are fighting and working for Ukraine. This is the merit of our powerful nation that knows how to do historic things. When it is united. When it realizes its strength. When it forgives the enemy nothing. And when it inspires the whole world.

We are going forward until we liberate all of our Ukrainian land… We are defending every city… We take care of each other and remember all our people whom we have to bring home from Russian captivity to their cities and villages.

Glory to our beautiful people!

Glory to all who care about our country!

Glory to Ukraine!

Today is Kyiv Day.

Today we celebrate #KyivDay!
Kyiv, a city of free and brave people, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit and the Kremlin’s failed imperial ambitions.
Last night, Kyiv survived one of the largest russian air attacks since the beginning of the war.
They have failed… pic.twitter.com/ex9tPQcxe8

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) May 28, 2023

Full text of Minister of Defense Reznikov’s tweet:

Today we celebrate #KyivDay!
Kyiv, a city of free and brave people, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit and the Kremlin’s failed imperial ambitions.
Last night, Kyiv survived one of the largest russian air attacks since the beginning of the war.
They have failed yet again.
Kyiv stands strong.
They didn’t take you in 3 days. They couldn’t intimidate you in 459 days. They will be defeated.
Happy birthday, Kyiv!

From the Ukrainian MOD’s Telegram channel:

More than a year, since they tried to capture it in 3 days, more than 7 months since they tried to plunge it into darkness, more than 1541 years, since it was founded
Happy birthday, my Kyiv 🤍 pic.twitter.com/mljlAX3IRu

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz) May 28, 2023

Evenings of velvet,
Joy crashing like waves,
How can I not to love you,
My Kyiv!

🎥 Moisei Bondarenko pic.twitter.com/Ohpmw4K7oH

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 28, 2023

The Russians also opened up on Ukraine, especially Kyiv, overnight.

Be brave like Ukraine.
Be strong like Kyiv.
Happy #KyivDay! pic.twitter.com/BkDjnMjGwx

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 28, 2023

Last night, russian terrorists carried out the largest drone strike on Ukraine to date.
Ukraine's air defense shot down 52 out of 54 Iranian-made Shaheds.

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 28, 2023

Russia: attacking Kyiv with Shaheds for five hours
Kyiv: celebrating #KyivDay

They say we do not exist, but here we are, and Russia will follow the ship. pic.twitter.com/l4hVCBNsCg

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 28, 2023

Largest drone attack on Kyiv yet. At least 40 drones downed. No surprise Russia attacked on Kyiv Day, it can’t get used to the fact that thousand-year Kyiv has stood and will stand. Unlike Russia. pic.twitter.com/vnauv5fVun

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 28, 2023

Kyiv is preparing to celebrate it’s Day. I love this dancing girl. It's like all of Ukraine now. pic.twitter.com/kLNsyOaocd

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 27, 2023

There is something going on in southeastern Ukraine. By something I mean strikes on Mariupol, as well as reports of strikes on Avdiivka and other locations as well. Which might provide the context to this somewhat cryptic statement of Minister of Defense Reznikov.

.@oleksiireznikov
🚀 Storm Shadow long-range missiles have hit 100% of the targets identified by the General Staff.

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 28, 2023

/1. Activity of Russian air defense was reported in Mariupol and Berdyansk areas.
Allegedly, in Mariupol area, strike was on recreation center "Solnechny" in Yurivka. https://t.co/hg9xALFGpG pic.twitter.com/sDIrBqqOFN

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 28, 2023

/3. Also Yurivka. pic.twitter.com/u8RG7g81l9

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 28, 2023

Tymofiy Mylovanov, the president of the Kyiv School of Economics, had a very good and informative thread on what life is like in Kyiv right now. First and second tweets from the thread followed by the rest from the Thread Reader App:

Here is the rest of the thread. Apologies. Twitter did not want to upload it at once and was giving repeated errors. https://t.co/caCUaLxkHf

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) May 28, 2023

Here is the McDonalds video. Some popular accounts retweeted it separately, others just copied the video without attribution.

Many of them are anti-Ukrainian, some are skeptics.

One of the frequent comments: there is no war in Ukraine, it doesn’t look like a war zone. 2/

Unroll available on Thread Reader

Let’s debunk this “no war zone” argument.

The last night, I woke up to the sound of explosions. There were three loud pops real close outside our apartment. The windows shook but held. Believe me it is not pleasant. There was a largest ever drone attack on Kyiv. People died. 3/

My sister, who lives in a different area, said they could not sleep. It was very loud, explosions, air defense, sound of shaheds.

Russia sent 54 attack drones, and 52 were intercepted. Again, civilians died.

You can read more here
ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/371… 4/

Ukraine’s defense forces destroy 52 out of 54 Shahed drones during night raidIn the early hours of May 28, 2023, the enemy attacked Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the Bryansk and Krasnodar regions, launching a record number of UAVs – 54. — Ukrinfor…https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3715113-ukraines-defense-forces-destroy-52-out-of-54-shahed-drones-during-night-raid.html

So, take me. I am the person who took that video in McDonalds on Friday night, and who could easily been hit by a drone on Saturday night. So, yes, it is a war zone. Even if McDonalds or other businesses don’t convey that impression. 5/ 

But they actually do so if you are perceptive. First, there are many more women than men in the video (approximately 27/17). Second, out of 27 men, two are wearing uniform, and another one is semi plain cloth military (hat, belt). That’s 18%. 6/

Unroll available on Thread Reader

Two more males give a military vibe. Military intelligence is often plain clothed. This applies also to territorial defense and to people on rotation or on vacation. There are several high school aged males who are not eligible to draft yet. And there are servers. 7/ 

So, if you watch the video carefully, about 1/3 or more are military or likely to be military related.

But it is also true that we try not to show military in the videos here, unless it is officially authorized. For obvious security reasons. 8/ 

For example, in this very video, there are two military men at the end. Later they turn around and you can see their faces. Then, they join a larger group of military. I cut that part off for security reasons. 9/ 

I put pictures of destroyed buildings and videos of civilian life, but I never take videos on military equipment or personnel. For example, in the video above, in the first tweet, the intention is to show no military, even if there were some. I trimmed the video accordingly. 10/ 

Now, let’s get to the second myth or argument: the fighting age males should be on the front line / otherwise it doesn’t look like an existential fight.

This is false. If we send all males to the front our economy will collapse. We are 40 m nation, 3m are involved directly. 11/ 

Many millions of others are involved indirectly in defense effort, but they are civilians – volunteers, analysts, donors, logistics, R&D, diplomacy, cyber warfare, etc.

So, no, not every fighting age male should be sent to the front of the war is existential 12/ 

Then, there is an argument that the vibe is too good for the wartime.

This is one is silly. Look carefully at the faces of people. Many of them are grim. They are not carefree. People are looking for normalcy, and McDonalds offers a semblance. 13/ 

A McDonalds trip on a Friday night is something from the pre war time. Something good, from the life without bombs.

Yes, my wife and I go to movie theaters. I guess the same people would be shocked to learn the theaters work and their popcorn and we watch Marvel. 14/

It helps us forget about the war for a couple of hours but it is not quite the same. There is curfew, the theaters shut down early, and you can see a lot of people in uniform or wounded.

The train shows the most in children. Anything can trigger a panic attack in them. 15/ 

Let me address the complains about good service and hygiene, better in the US.

You should not assume Ukrainians don’t clean or are not polite because of the war.

It is more of the reflection on the IS that their McDonalds are not always in a good shape. 16/ 

Then, there is this argument “our tax payers money goes to Ukraine so they can eat in McDonalds”.

The opposite is true. Because economy is operating, because people go to restaurant, Ukraine has its own tax base to defend itself and requires less support than otherwise. 17/ 

So, McDonalds on Friday night is complementary to the defense effort. Because a good economy help to have stronger military. 18/ 

Now, people also said “why should we send any money to Ukraine if our people are suffering more than those in this McDonalds”.

This is an important question. First, both in Ukraine and in the West there are poor people and there are well off people. 19/ 

Everywhere around the world we should work on reducing power Ty and inequality. But this argument is irrelevant to the support of Ukraine.

What happens if Russia wins? There will be more spending on defense on the West and funds will be taken away from education, social support 

A more fundamental question is why the West should support Ukraine. Many people said “we don’t care, it is not our fight”. Well, yes and no. Of Ukraine falls it will mean that the West is weak. The consequences – a more coloration world, weaker standing of the US and NATO. 21/ 

The consequences are clear – more terrorism, more political polarization and radicalization, threats in Europe and Asia, hurt global economy, disrupted supply chains, higher prices.

So, if we are honest to ourselves, then Ukraines victory is national interest of the West 22X. 

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Happy Sunday☺️ pic.twitter.com/liDTn75wPJ

— Patron (@PatronDsns) May 28, 2023

There’s a video(ish) version at Patron’s official TikTok, but we’ve got the embedding issue again. So just click through on this link to see it.

Open thread!

We will continue our sanctions steps, and new, even more extensive sanctions packages are on the way – address of President of Ukraine

27 May 2023 – 21:15

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

Today is another sanction day. Sanctions against legal entities and individuals – most of them are Russian – who work for terror.

In total, 220 companies and 51 individuals. These are defense industry enterprises and related Russian companies. Enterprises serving the war. And the persons through whom these companies are managed.

Not all of them operate on the territory of the terrorist state, some – in other countries. But everyone will get global pressure. Step by step, we collect complete data on everyone who works for aggression – directly or indirectly. Each such person will be blocked, and our Ukrainian sanctions are either already synchronized or will be synchronized with the sanctions of the free world.

When Russia started this aggression, they looked at the world as if they were looking at themselves in a mirror. They thought that supposedly everyone in the world was as cynical and despised people in the same way as the masters of Russia do. But the world is different – the world helps us protect life. And anyone who goes against the world will become marginal. Russia will gain nothing and lose everything. Together with those who somehow try to help it in terror.

We will continue our sanctions steps, and new sanctions packages are on the way – even more extensive.

At the end of the week, I want to thank Japan for the new sanctions package against Russia. I’m also thankful for the new security assistance from Japan. It is what really saves lives.

I’m grateful to Finland for the new defense package for Ukraine. This decision was also made this week.

I’m thankful to Germany for transferring another batch of various types of defense equipment to our country to strengthen our defense against Russian terror, including defense of the sky.

I want to thank Canada for its willingness to strengthen its leadership in supporting Ukraine.

Thank you, Iceland, for helping our defense and our people.

We will also make next week strong from the point of view of our cooperation with partners. We don’t lose a single week.

And, as always, I’m thankful to our soldiers, each and every one who played a distinguished role during the week.

Bakhmut direction… 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade – thank you, warriors, for your active actions! It is exactly what is needed. Glorious 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade Kholodny Yar – thank you for your resistance and courage! Well done!

Lyman direction… 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade – thank you, guys, for your efficiency in destroying the enemy!

Tavria task force… 35th and 36th separate marine infantry brigades, 55th Separate Artillery Brigade, 59th Separate Motorized Brigade, and paratroopers of our 79th Air Assault Brigade – I thank you all! As always – strong, as always – effective!

Glory to all who defend our state! Glory to all who help!

Glory to Ukraine!

Kyiv:

Kyiv is preparing to celebrate it’s Day. I love this dancing girl. It's like all of Ukraine now. pic.twitter.com/kLNsyOaocd

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 27, 2023

Kharkiv:

A graduation ceremony outside a Kharkiv school damaged by russian terrorists. pic.twitter.com/ivqdc1ptZ7

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 27, 2023

Marinka:

Scouring old pictures, I found this sunset photo we took during a trip to Marinka in 2016

Marinka was "war torn" at that time with half the civilians having fled the town

But now, zero civilians remain in Marinka and the Russians have wiped it off the face of the earth pic.twitter.com/X0kQPm6zIq

— Christian Borys (@ItsBorys) May 27, 2023

Let them fight:

Girkin accuses Prigozhin of preparing for a coup in Russia. He says the insults towards the Russian army by Putin's cook are unacceptable, and signal a rift in the elites which Prigozhin will take advantage of with his private army that is being withdrawn from Bakhmut. Girkin… pic.twitter.com/kKh6C2K6Fc

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 27, 2023

Somewhere in Russia near the border with Ukraine:

Russian Telegram channels are sharing reports of unconfirmed clashes in border towns of the Bryansk People's Republic. Meanwhile, let's watch a video of more vehicles at an undisclosed location, in close proximity to the border. Who said I was joking or trolling? pic.twitter.com/Hx9tfzRYBk

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) May 27, 2023

Gen (ret) Breedlove, who was the Commanding General of US European Command and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in 2014 (my boss’s boss), has some thoughts on Ukrainian pilots and F-16s:

“It’s not about delivery just now,” said retired Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. “Ukraine is going to need an air force to defend itself because Russia will be back.”

“The integration of avionics, weapons systems, and weapons are decades ahead of what they’re flying now,” Breedlove said. “There will be an increased capability, increased radar range, increased weapons range, etc. But this is not the be-all to end-all.”

Ukrainian officials have expressed hope they will be flying the planes by the fall, but some U.S. officials said they cannot guarantee the aircraft will be in Ukraine’s hands before the end of the year.

A U.S. Air National Guard analysis assessing Ukrainian pilots’ skills, reported by Yahoo News, said they could be trained to operate the plane in as little as four months. It could take months more, however, to turn those pilots into airmen who can hold their own in combat and make full use of the F-16’s attributes, experts said.

If Ukrainians are not thoroughly trained in Western tactics, “you’re not going to realize any of the benefits of having a real four-plus generation aircraft,” said Breedlove, a former F-16 pilot. “If you take an F-16 and fly it and use it like a MiG-29, you’re just going have a hotrod MiG-29, and that’s it.”

Still, the time needed is likely far short of the 18 months the Pentagon previously cited as the fastest possible timeline.

“We always overestimate how long it’s going to take to bring a new weapons system into the Ukrainian military,” Breedlove said. “They can clearly outperform our expectations.”

And Maj Gen (ret) Stutzreim has some thoughts on Ukrainian air defense from the same article:

Instead of aircraft, U.S. officials have focused on providing Ukraine with air defenses, which has resulted in largely mutually-denied airspace over the country. But some F-16 proponents argue that since Ukraine’s counteroffensive is so critical, the U.S. should have been quicker to supply Kyiv with Western aircraft.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, a former F-16 pilot and director of research at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said military planners should not throw up their hands but should use drones, electronic warfare, countermeasures, and real-time targeting to enable Ukraine’s air force to find pockets in which it can operate and strike. Stutzriem said it’s not about only the aircraft, but the integration of many capabilities to gain air superiority. Then, the fighter can strike Russian forces and their logistics.

“It can go fast with great flexibility to strike the adversary in depth, not merely where the land forces engage along a front,” Stutzriem said. “That’s why airpower was invented, to rise above the trenches and slog of land warfare.”

More at the link.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Last night in comments, A Good Woman asked:

OK, I confess I am actually a technology idiot.

I would love to order up some packages for the orphans, but my payment options appear to be 3rd party vendors to use for payment, and I would like to stick to my trusty VISA.  Suggestions, recommendations, what do I do?

I asked Gin & Tonic if he might be able to help navigating this issue for us. Here is his reply:

Selecting “Monobank” as a payment option clicks through to several ways of paying Monobank, among which Visa/Mastercard is included. This would seem to satisfy the commenter’s request.

Here’s the link to the Patron box gift set for those interested in purchasing one or more for Ukrainian war orphans and/or Ukrainian children in hospital in Ukraine.

And here’s the 2 tweet thread in question:

🙁made a typo: PatronBox will be given to orphans or children in hospitals (depending on how many boxes can be collected)

— Patron (@PatronDsns) May 25, 2023

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Вас викликає Пес Патрон, щоб особисто побажати гарного дня!

♬ Viber – Mirsad Ramljak

Here is the machine translation of the caption:

The Patron Dog is calling you to personally wish you a good day!

Open thread!

During this week, we have also made substantial progress in providing modern aircraft for Ukraine – address of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

26 May 2023 – 19:23

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

I just held a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

The questions are obvious. The front line, our defense, and our active actions, providing our soldiers with weapons and ammunition, equipment.

Air defense and protection against terror. During the day, I receive reports on the situation in the city of Dnipro and the elimination of the consequences of another strike. It is a pure atrocity: a Russian missile, ballistics – against a hospital and a veterinary clinic. Absolutely sick creatures.

As of this minute, two people have been killed in this strike. My condolences to families and friends! Debris clearance has not yet been completed. More than 30 people have been injured, including two children.

We will do everything possible, everything impossible, to speed up the supply of more air defense systems of a higher quality to Ukraine – this is literally a daily issue for work with partners.

During this week, we have also made substantial progress in providing modern aircraft for Ukraine, which will become a key component of our defense in the sky. We are moving faster in defense modernization than could have been predicted six months ago.

General Syrsky made an important report at the Staff meeting – regarding the relevant directions in Donbas. Our soldiers are doing incredible things there, and every position retaken from the occupiers, every height occupied by our forces are new and new arguments for the world that Ukraine can, can win. Thanks to every soldier! Tavria, Odesa, Pivnich, defense of Kharkiv region – attention to each direction. Supplying equipment to offensive brigades.

The Minister of Defense reported to me about the results of the Ramstein meeting – good results.

Today, I also held a meeting with international experts regarding our movement in NATO – a more conceptual one. We have to use it – and we will use it! – every opportunity this month and next month, in general, this year, to fill our relations with the Alliance with real political content.

I had an important conversation with Senator Graham, one of the most influential and experienced U.S. senators. We discussed the situation in our defense today, our needs in the near future. Thank you for understanding Ukraine!

We are preparing several international appeals to increase support for our state and our struggle for freedom – support among our traditional allies and partners and in the countries of the Global South.

I held a meeting devoted to new sanctions against those who support Russian aggression.

And one more.

Today Georgia celebrates Independence Day. I greet all the people of Georgia and wish them to be together with us and all other European nations in a free, peaceful and united European family. I wish this for the entire Georgia – and those parts of your country that are still under Russian occupation. Yet! Georgia is one of the ancient and respected historical forces, and this force CANNOT be defeated, I am sure of it. The occupier will lose. გაუმარჯოს თავისუფალ საქართველოს!

Glory to Ukraine!

The Ukrainians have commissioned a new gunboat!

A small armored artillery boat (project 58155) entered into service with the Naval Forces of Ukraine today.
It was named “Bucha” in honor of the town on the outskirts of Kyiv, which, in the early days of the full-scale invasion, became a symbol of an indomitable Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/uHNvHslqmD

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 26, 2023

The Bucha is a Gyurza-M class gunboat. Her official name is BK-08 Bucha and its pennant number is P181. Her hull number is 01036 and it was laid down on 8 FEB 2019. Would one of our Ukrainian speakers please let me know if I should be referring to the Bucha as a he, which, if I’m recalling correctly, was the standard usage in the Soviet and now the post Soviet Russian Navy?

Regardless, fair winds, following seas, good hunting, and if I may cross Service lines and use my brigade combat team’s motto: Strike Hard!

Here’s some more on the Bucha from the Ukrainain MOD’s Telegram channel:

And another one:

Bakhmut:

Awful, apocalyptic scenes of the ruins in Bakhmut after 10 grueling months of Russian attacks using some of the most brutal weapons and tactics. Video comes from Russian state propaganda outlet RIA.pic.twitter.com/gH5eLM6PIZ

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 26, 2023

More from Dnipro:

A missile strike on a medical clinic has left at least one person dead and 16 injured in Dnipro.

A difficult couple of weeks for Ukrainian cities under Russian missiles. pic.twitter.com/JQyTCMTEV3

— James Waterhouse (@JamWaterhouse) May 26, 2023

⚡️Zelensky: 1 killed, 15 injured in Russian strike on clinic in Dnipro.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the rescue operation is ongoing at the site of the missile strike that Russian forces launched on the morning of May 26.

Video: President's Office pic.twitter.com/AWoJfZa1J1

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 26, 2023

Mariupol:

Strike/Explosion reported in Mariupol. Somewhere in Azovstal area. https://t.co/J655BgSkWg pic.twitter.com/0UeTPSPtJd

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 26, 2023

Explosions in Mariupol. Possibly a missile strike around Azovstal. Where will Russia store the ammo now? pic.twitter.com/UdwcJE9Ead

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 26, 2023

Merefa:

This is how Russia is killing Ukraine's economy. Modern oil refinery in Merefa totally destroyed. pic.twitter.com/tcCToIi6z2

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 26, 2023

Trotsnoyets:

The Mondelez International factory in Trostyanets after russian occupation.
But at the same time, this company's three factories continue to operate in russia, and contributed $61 million in taxes to the terrorist state's budget in 2022, allowing it to continue to wage war. pic.twitter.com/GSsqG2zX5Y

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 26, 2023

Marinka:

#Ukraine: The Ukrainian 79th Air Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian T-62MV tank (Possibly Obr. 2022) in the vicinity of Marinka, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/gn54ytNGHZ

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 26, 2023

Kyiv:

13th missile attack on Kyiv in May. And no, you don’t get used to it. My whole neighborhood was awake when a missile was shot down nearby. So instead of debris I post these Irises for the incredible Ukrainian air defense. pic.twitter.com/CB0zdBrrJE

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 26, 2023

Spirne, Donetsk Oblast:

Russian most modern working tank T-90M tried to hide underground from Ukrainian drones but failed. 54th Brigade of Ukraine. Soledar-Siversk direction. https://t.co/NJuT62UH5o pic.twitter.com/Kvu6xlIzoH

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 26, 2023

From Dmitri of War Translated, an interview of a Ukrainian Gepard operator with English subtitles:

Ukrainian serviceman talks about his experience commanding the Gepard air-defence system crew. pic.twitter.com/scAEWVHNRx

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 26, 2023

Krasnodar Krai, Russia:

Footage of one of the UAVs that struck Krasnodar. 3/https://t.co/evM3PJfiXF pic.twitter.com/aTlMtG5pFU

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) May 26, 2023

Footage of two unidentified drones waking up the residents of Russian Krasnodar this morning. pic.twitter.com/n1vstsv7Sk

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 26, 2023

The Kyiv Independent‘s Ilya Ponomarenko has published a new and very timely op-ed. Here are some excerpts: (emphasis mine)

You’re closely following the living history of a nation bravely resisting an imperialistic war of aggression that has inspired the world when, all of a sudden, you come across a picture of a Ukrainian soldier wearing a Totenkopf “skull and crossbones” patch or giving the Nazi salute.

Rightfully so, the use of Nazi or neo-Nazi-related symbols by Ukrainian combatants is shocking and almost always causes controversy.

These symbols, reminders of some of history’s worst crimes against humanity and the attempt to exterminate entire groups of people, are deeply offensive.

Of course, seeing these symbols on soldiers is always distressing, to say the least. While these soldiers do not represent a widespread practice in the Ukrainian military, the use of these symbols nonetheless discredits Ukraine and scares away some potential supporters worldwide.

After almost a decade of reporting on this war, I’d like to chip in with a couple of thoughts on why you might see these symbols on the battlefield in Ukraine. Not to justify these soldiers’ decisions — as any use of Nazi symbols should always be condemned — but to offer my explanation for this phenomenon.

So, why are these symbols present on the battlefield?

First of all, let’s establish one fact. No, Ukraine does not have “a Nazi problem.”

Ukraine is no more “Nazi” than any country that has its small number of misfits who admire Adolf Hitler and form fringe groups and gangs based on those views. Ukraine has its groups like the U.K. has the neo-Nazi organization Combat 18, the Scandinavians have the Nordic Resistance Movement, and the United States has the Aryan Brotherhood.

With absolutely no proof, the Kremlin’s war propaganda created the absurd narrative that Ukraine is a full-fledged, World War II-style Nazi nation that needs to be “de-Nazified” as justification for its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Just like in many places around the world, people with far-right and neo-Nazi views, driven by their ideology, are prone to joining the military and participating in conflicts. One also has to take into account that in Ukraine, nationalism with deep historical roots is tied to a desire for independence from Russia. It has driven many to take up arms to fight in what they believe is an existential war against a neighbor that seeks to subjugate and destroy their country.

Among them, people with far-right views.

This feeling was very real back in 2014, in the early days of Russia’s war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas. Ukraine’s military was deeply disorganized and disoriented. Ultra-nationalist and far-right groups were among the many others that organized volunteer battalions to fight Russia’s invasion in the east.

These groups were aggressive and highly motivated. It is, of course, true that, for instance, the Azov Battalion was originally founded by neo-Nazi and far-right groups (as well as many soccer ultra-fans), which brought along with it the typical aesthetics — not only neo-Nazi insignia but also things like Pagan rituals or names like “The Black Corps,” the official newspaper of Nazi Germany’s major paramilitary organization Schutzstaffel (SS).

But as with any country, real neo-Nazis in Ukraine were and still are a tiny minority.

All former guerilla groups with far-right ties were quickly absorbed into Ukraine’s Armed Forces or the National Guard between 2015-2016 as linear, disciplined, and fully-controlled combat units.

From my experience observing this war over the years since 2014, the Ukrainian military has done a rather good job of “secularizing” and isolating these units from their far-right origins, largely due to pressure from the West.

This policy could be described as “keep your views to yourself and train hard.”

This is what happened with Azov. Far more moderate servicemembers rose to prominence (and even to fame during the Battle of Mariupol and the siege of Azovstal), along with military specialists from other branches of service, who joined Azov because they wanted to serve with a highly professional combat unit.

It hasn’t helped that, since 2014, some Western journalists have made the supposed “rise of the far right” a staple of their coverage of Ukraine, as headlines of supposed neo-Nazis in the country are consistently attention-grabbing.

And right before the full-scale invasion, certain American journalists wrote about how Ukrainian neo-Nazis were allegedly using the threat of Russia’s full-scale invasion to seize power in the country.

But guess what — the Russian invasion did happen, and the neo-Nazi power grab never did. Not only was there no serious evidence ever presented to support claims of an attempted “coup,” these fringe elements are nothing compared to Ukraine’s state and military machine.

A drop in the ocean, as the saying goes.

Nevertheless, notorious Nazi and quasi-Nazi symbols are sometimes used by soldiers who do not come close to having any extremist or hateful views.

Nevertheless, notorious Nazi and quasi-Nazi symbols are sometimes used by soldiers who do not come close to having any extremist or hateful views.

So why is this happening? In the oversimplified memory of some around the world, particularly within various militaristic subcultures, symbols representing the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany’s Armed Forces, and the SS are seen to reflect a super-effective war machine, not the perpetrators of one of the greatest crimes against humanity in human history.

While this, of course, does not absolve these soldiers of wearing extremely offensive insignia, it offers a partial explanation as to why, in my opinion, these symbols have become an integral part of global militaristic subcultures that embrace different historical symbols of war, particularly Nazi ones.

As these insignia were absorbed into militaristic subcultures around the globe, many who wear Nazi patches on their uniforms have come to disassociate these emblems from the crimes committed by their original users 80 years ago.

Although the presence of Nazi symbols on the battlefield generates the most controversy, they are just a fraction of the militaristic emblems embraced by combatants worldwide. Norse and pseudo-Norse, or Viking, symbols of war — the very symbols that the Nazis themselves used to create their own insignia — are also very common.

The culture of modern war patches, a strange, pseudo-art form in militaristic subcultures, has developed into a standalone phenomenon in which those who bear them sometimes completely divorce their modern use with any former ideology. And some symbols hardly have any ideology behind them at all – such as the ubiquitous Punisher skull patch coming from the famous Marvel show.

This phenomenon is hardly unique to Ukraine.

One might remember a scandal over the fact that U.S. Marines Scout Snipers used the SS runes as their unofficial symbol. In 2012, they thought it was a good idea to take a picture of themselves posing next to an SS flag in Afghanistan, prompting swift action from the Corps.

Russia’s propaganda created and cultivated for years the myth about the Ukrainian far-right, inflating their numbers and so-called power within the country. Many Western journalists have built their entire careers feeding off of Moscow’s narrative.

The irony is that Russia has long promoted not only Nazi-style symbols but Nazi practices, morphing into a fascist state that has made war crimes part of its foreign policy.

The Russian far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary unit Rusich uses both the swastika and the 88 symbol, a neo-Nazi numerical code for “Heil Hitler.”

Dmitriy Utkin*, the alleged co-founder and top commander of the notorious mercenary army Wagner Group, has a large swastika and the Wehrmacht symbol tattooed on his body. And yes, he goes under the nom-de-guerre Wagner not because he’s a big fan of the opera. Hitler was a great admirer of the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and glorified him during his reign.

Russia’s official policy is ethnic cleansing, killing those speaking Ukrainian, kidnapping Ukrainian children and raising them as Russian, and denying a nation of 40 million the right to exist.

More at the link!

* If you want to know if anyone talking about Wagner knows anything about Wagner, ask them the following question: how many Dmitriy Utkins are there? If the answer is one, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’ll put the correct answer in the first comment.

Also, you’ll notice what Ponomarenko is describing in his op-ed: that this entire discussion, including that being done in legitimate news reporting, is occurring within Russia’s informational framing. As I wrote the other night, Russia won the information war on this and a number of other issues – many not related to Ukraine at all – way back between late 2011 and 2014. The result is that far too much of our policy discussions are occurring within Russia’s framing. And that includes the domestic moral panics that just miraculously reignited in time for the 2020 election and have been artificially amplified and boosted ever since. Does anyone really think a loser like Chris Rufo – failed career, failed political bid – actually managed to create the overlapping anti-CRT, anti-woke, anti-trans (the “grooming”) moral panics on his own? Of course not, don’t be naive.

Our last bit of serious stuff for tonight is an op-ed by RAF Air Marshal (ret) Edward Stringer published in The Financial Times:

Many have questioned why President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so determinedly pressed for the supply of F-16 fighter planes to his forces in Ukraine. Can one particular aircraft make such a difference? The answer, in the case of the F-16, is yes.

In using the G7 summit to announce that the US would help train Ukrainian pilots to fly the aircraft, Joe Biden tied his allies into the decision. In effect, Zelenskyy hijacked the event so that major nations swung in behind Ukraine, just as the Russian military leadership appeared to be turning on itself.

Biden’s initial reticence on F-16 training was the fear of escalation. That the White House has overcome this caution suggests that their risk appetite has increased. Its other concern was that the Ukrainians would not be able to operate these jets effectively. Nato would usually package F-16s with a full range of supporting aircraft that are considered essential to their operations: electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defences and airborne command and control. Without these, critics argued, the planes would be of little use.

The easiest charge to dismiss is that it would take 18 months to train Ukrainian pilots. Recent US Air Force trials proved that even though the F-16 is a high-performance fighter, experienced Ukrainian pilots could learn to fly it in four months.

In fact, Ukrainian forces have integrated western weapons on ex-Soviet aircraft in timescales that should embarrass our own peacetime processes. There are legitimate questions about who does deep maintenance on this western aircraft, but maintaining the F-16 on the frontline should not be an issue: it is a straightforward, single-engine aircraft, produced in great numbers, and so spare parts are plentiful.

The far bigger issue is who sustains the supply of western air-to-air missiles. The US Amraam is very capable but cost an estimated $1mn each. The longer-range European Meteor is even more expensive. While national war stock levels are understandably classified, it is an open secret that most Nato air forces are short. Allies would do well to accelerate their missile supply chains as a matter of urgency.

The lack of supporting air power is harder to remedy. Of course, Ukraine cannot replicate Nato support functions. But it doesn’t have to: Kyiv is not seeking a package of expeditionary air power, operating at range, deep into enemy territory. It only needs to keep the Russian air force (VKS) on the back foot in the skies over Ukraine.

The war has so far revealed that the VKS is restricted to operating in very small formations and only in airspace over land it controls. But it is shielded by extensive surface-to-air missiles and has longer-range air-launched weapons that give it the advantage over Ukrainian equipment.

The F-16, with its longer-range radars, sensors and missiles, would restore the Ukrainian air force’s edge both qualitatively and quantitatively — and push the VKS back into Russia. That will, in turn, protect both Ukraine’s ground forces and its critical infrastructure. But boosting its effectiveness in the absence of wider air power packaging will require imagination.

For me this is the heart of the Air Marshal’s argument, not the technical discussions: (emphasis mine)

Finally, there is a moral dimension to consider. Nato would fight Russia by winning the air battle first, and then using air superiority to drive a more efficient land battle. Given the weakness of the VKS, this is no pipe dream. But the west’s constrained donations to date have forced Ukraine to pursue grinding land tactics. We have restricted Kyiv to fighting in a way that we would not, and to take casualties that we would not.

This is, perhaps, the best articulation of what has been frustrating and angering me for the past 15 months! Especially as all Ukraine asked for was the means to defend itself rather than asking us to come fight for them. And our response has been we support Ukraine completely all while forcing them to fight in a manner so constrained that we would never even remotely consider fighting that way. For all the aid we and our allies have provided, for all the encouraging statements of moral support, if we had any self awareness at all we will look in the mirror and find ourselves morally wanting. Unfortunately, as a society we don’t have any self awareness and will likely applaud ourselves for our moral courage, when in reality we should be repenting our moral cowardice.

That’s enough for tonight.

We have more Ukrainian strategic wildlife assets!

A Ukrainian kamikaze titmouse, grown in a bio-lab, eats plastic explosives before a sortie. pic.twitter.com/vfaRg0fBO4

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 26, 2023

Your daily Patron!

I’m just going to repost last night’s tweets about the Patron boxes for Ukrainian children:

🙁made a typo: PatronBox will be given to orphans or children in hospitals (depending on how many boxes can be collected)

— Patron (@PatronDsns) May 25, 2023

And a new official video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Ось таке макеба наразі! #песпатрон #патрондснс

♬ оригінальний звук – Patron_official

The machine translation of the caption is:

That’s the kind of makeba we have now! #песпатрон#патрондснс

Open thread!

The more Russian prisoners of war we will take, the more of our people we will return – address by the President of Ukraine

25 May 2023 – 21:14

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today we have another positive result from our team working on exchanges. We have returned 106 more of our warriors from Russian captivity – they fought in the Bakhmut sector.

It is very important that there was no information about many of these 106 people at all – they were considered missing. But we found them. We brought them back home. 8 officers, 98 soldiers and sergeants…

I thank everyone who made this possible. Budanov, Yermak, Usov, Lubinets, Malyuk, Klymenko – everyone who prepared this exchange – did a great job! Well done!

Of course, I am also grateful to each of our soldiers who ensured that we have an appropriate exchange fund. Everyone on the frontline should remember this: the more Russian prisoners of war we will take, the more of our people we will return.

Today I met with the Minister of Defence of Sweden in Kyiv. I thanked him for the continued support for our country and our soldiers. The meeting focused on strengthening our defense with armored vehicles. We also discussed our aviation coalition, which we are creating with our partners.

Today, Finland has sent a new package of defense support – the 16th one. The total amount of this package is over 100 million euros. Thank you for this!

Today, the Council of the European Union also made an important decision for Ukraine: trade liberalization for Ukrainian products was extended for another year. In fact, this means the complete abolition of duties and quotas by June 2024. This is a new stage in the sectoral integration of our economy – Ukraine and the entire European Union – that will definitely make us all stronger in Europe.

As we move towards the European Union, we must make this liberalization, which is still temporary, permanent, and without any exceptions or restrictions. Which is actually in line with the spirit of a united and free Europe – without barriers.

I thank our European partners for this decision! Anyone who wants strength and stability for the whole of Europe makes decisions like this.

We have to be aware that there is a risk that some restrictions may still remain. If the pressure from individual governments on the EU continues.

But domestic policy should not overlap with common European goals. So, I am sure we can find a solution, in particular for farmers in Ukraine and in some neighboring countries, that will meet our common European interests and standards.

Today I had the honor to congratulate our State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine on its professional day. I thanked them for the fact that communication in Ukraine remains stable for the state, our military, and ordinary citizens despite all the threats. This is an important result that helps us steadily and effectively counteract the Russian occupiers.

There is also much to thank our National Guard warriors for, particularly in the Zaporizhzhia sector. The 15th operational brigade of the National Guard destroyed a couple of Russian Su-type aircraft. I am grateful to two of our particularly accurate warriors. By the way, one of them has already been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine and has downed not only enemy aircraft, but also a cruise missile. Thank you, guys! Well done!

Donetsk direction… The 128th separate mountain assault brigade, the 18th and 137th separate marine battalions and the 74th separate reconnaissance battalion particularly distinguished themselves. Thank you to each and every warrior!

Glory to all who are fighting for Ukraine! Thank you to everyone in the world who helps us!

By the way, I had the opportunity to address the community of Johns Hopkins University. This is one of the leading educational institutions in the United States. Its alumni are powerful individuals, and some of them have had a significant impact on politics. I wished them to value time as much as possible. Because every day matters. The more we do today, the sooner we will end the war with our victory. And only ours.

Glory to Ukraine!

Apparently someone started a conspiracy theory that General Zaluzhny had been wounded by shrapnel to the head, requiring emergency surgery, and leaving him incapable of continuing to lead the Armed Forces of Ukraine. General Zaluzhny decided to deal with this himself:

Here we go! 🇺🇦
Zaluzhny, May 25,2023!

Vatniks, my "HELLO" to you 😉 pic.twitter.com/204tCKuq74

— MAKS 23 👀🇺🇦 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) May 25, 2023

Mykhailo Podylak, who is the Senior Advisor in President Zelenskyy’s office, made the following statement about the counteroffensive:

Once again about the #counteroffensive. Without further questions.

1. This is not a "single event" that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon.
2. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the #Russian occupation forces in…

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) May 25, 2023

Bakhmut:

Reminder of the stakes: Artem Chekh, Ukrainian soldier and writer who 10 days ago was speaking in NYC at PEN Global Voices Festival panel, narrowly survives stint in Bakhmut: “The scariest five days of my life in position. I didn’t believe we would survive. We did.” pic.twitter.com/3g3rgbovXa

— Megan Buskey (@megan_buskey) May 25, 2023

Iryna’s full post, which everyone should read to understand the hellish reality for so many Ukrainians because of Russia’s invasion. pic.twitter.com/7VYueNGLdl

— Megan Buskey (@megan_buskey) May 25, 2023

Here’s Ms. Tsilyk’s full post in both Ukrainian and English:

Yevgeny Prigozhin says Wagner is beginning to pull out of Bakhmut after leading the Russian effort to destroy and seize the city. The mercenary group will complete its withdrawal on June 1, and hand over positions to Russia’s regular military, he says. pic.twitter.com/LC4z7x57Gx

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 25, 2023

She seems nice…

A Russian woman living in the U.S. wrote “Bakhmut is ours, thank you Wagner” on her garage in order to upset the Ukrainian neighbors that live on the same street as her.

The Ukrainians tell her “how can you write that after so many children killed?” pic.twitter.com/8oZBHcz3YK

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 25, 2023

What an asshole!

Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia:

Russia says it has intercepted everything in Berdyansk. Yep, nothing to look at. pic.twitter.com/h71jDar6gU

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 25, 2023

Explosion/strike reported by locals in Berdyansk https://t.co/HXfo5oyhaP pic.twitter.com/gzAhXvac5d

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 25, 2023

Belgorod:

Something may be happening. BNR here stands for the Belgorod People’s Republic, which is not the official name for Belgorod, but mirrors what the Russians did when they renamed Donetsk and Luhansk.

Another column of unidentified vehicles displaying unfamiliar markings has emerged near the BNR border. This development has left experts with burning questions to ponder: Who exactly are these BNR insurgents? What are their motives, and who are their leaders?🤔 pic.twitter.com/Kh0Bj9bBc9

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) May 25, 2023

Rostov, Russia:

Rostov Governor Golubev says it’s “Ukrainian missile”. Keep calm, he adds. Usually it means something really bad happening in Russia. pic.twitter.com/jPAJaDufGL

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 25, 2023

Russian cruiser Ivan Khurs may be missing!

Yesterday Russia released a video of their ship intercepting a USV. This video appears to show a successful hit from another USV. Authenticity unknown. Is Ukraine holding naval raiding capabilities in reserve for its offensive? https://t.co/eFUudZ38Sv

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) May 25, 2023

/1. Yesterday, Russian media reported that Russian reconnaissance ship "Ivan Hurs" was attacked, the ship was allegedly not damaged, and all the naval drones were destroyed.
Today, a video appeared showing how one of the drones reaches the targethttps://t.co/1ehvYl7J8n pic.twitter.com/qtIcxNS8bY

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 25, 2023

/3. The ship was attacked (according to Russians) 140km away from Bosphorus. Сondition of ship is unknown.
PS: One of the interesting things is that after the attack, American drone seemed to show interest in the place where the incident took place. Coincidence or not? pic.twitter.com/gSlE83lUWu

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 25, 2023

Not sure how realistic this demonstration is:

Challenger 2: If there is such a thing as "dragon teeth", there must be a "dragon dentist." pic.twitter.com/ieB13uVGTt

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 25, 2023

The State Department has approved the sale of NASAMs to Ukraine:

“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Ukraine of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $285 million.” pic.twitter.com/WiYpTvhQcW

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 24, 2023

Apparently the Ukrainians should give Putin what he wants and negotiate right away stupidity is making the rounds again. I think this is a very good take down of the same argument we’ve been seeing since the late summer of 2021:

One of the many ridiculous things about the argument that it's a "realist" position to suggest we get peace by allowing Russia to gain and keep Ukrainian territory is that this is literally what happened in 2014 and it led directly to this current war. This isn't hypothetical.

— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) May 24, 2023

This approach had plenty of other spillover effects too, of course. A civilian airliner blown out of the sky. Chemical weapons deployed to murder British civilians on the streets of Salisbury. Russian dominance in Syria. Refugees driven into Turkey, through Europe and to Britain.

— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) May 24, 2023

This thread really took off! 300k views and rising. If you’re interested in genuine realism and true peace in Ukraine, please donate to Come Back Live to help Ukraine stay free https://t.co/V1REy1zLMp

— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) May 25, 2023

Hakka time!

New Zealand war dance in support of Ukraine.
Yes, dance is also a weapon. Anyone who follows our account knows this well. pic.twitter.com/ILGmAiebNn

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 25, 2023

That’s enough for today!

Your daily Patron!

🙁made a typo: PatronBox will be given to orphans or children in hospitals (depending on how many boxes can be collected)

— Patron (@PatronDsns) May 25, 2023

You all know what to do!

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok. The embedding seems to be working again.

@patron__dsns

Оцініть наш рівень милоти від 1 до 100🤭

♬ original sound – aakritilovesssyouuuu

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

Rate our level of niceness from 1 to 100 🤭

Open thread!

The first Ukrainian F-16 will be one of the strongest signals from the world that Russia will only lose – address by the President of Ukraine

24 May 2023 – 21:56

I wish you health, dear Ukrainians!

Today, I held the first meeting of the Staff after all the important visits, meetings and decisions – defense decisions that we have been working on for quite some time and are now getting them in cooperation with our partners.

First of all, this concerns the aviation coalition – a coalition of modern fighter jets for Ukraine.

We are doing everything we can to reduce the time until the result is achieved, until new and powerful aircraft with Ukrainian pilots emerge in the Ukrainian skies.

It is clear that this global step will allow us to expand our defense capabilities. Because it is only with powerful aircraft that an air defense system can be complete.

On the other hand, the first Ukrainian F-16 will be one of the strongest signals from the world that Russia will only lose because of its own aggression, becoming weaker and more isolated.

This will be a signal that Russian terror has lost, and our world, which is based on respect for independent nations and the right of peoples to choose their own path, has endured.

We will prepare the necessary basis to ensure that our aviation transition is as quick and efficient as possible.

Our warriors have already proved that they can master modern weapons with efficiency that was not expected from us. I’m sure they will be just as successful with the aircraft.

The main thing is the speed of training and supply, i.e. the time that will pass between decisions and the actual defense of our skies.

Today, as usual, I heard reports from the commanders, the Commander-in-Chief, the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate on the current situation at the front, our counteraction to the occupier, and the capabilities that Russia is going to use against us.

We know how to respond. In particular, this applies to the missile threat and the constant terror of kamikaze drones.

Now Russia is increasingly resorting to so-called combined strikes – different types of missiles, different types of drones.

I am grateful to our Air Force, to all our defenders of the sky, to our intelligence for improving our defense faster than Russia can change its terror tactics.

If we take, for example, just one weapon of Russian terror, the Iranian Shaheds, our soldiers have shot down almost 900 of these drones to date. In total, about 1160 Shaheds have been used against Ukraine. We shoot down most of them.

And we are constantly looking for tools to make the share of downed Iranian drones 100%.

But today, given that such strikes are ongoing, I would like to appeal to the people of Iran directly. To everyone – to society, to Iranian ulama, to every Iranian family, to those people who are able to influence government decisions in Iran. A simple question: why do you want to be accomplices in Russian terror? Why are you on the side of the evil state?

The world sees what is happening, and you all in Iran see it. Support for evil cannot be denied.

Even though we have learned to shoot down most of your kamikaze drones that you are handing over to Russia, there are still hits.

When an Iranian drone kills a pregnant Ukrainian girl and her husband in their home, why do you, mothers and fathers in Iran, need this? When your Shahed hits a dormitory with our students, people die, a fire starts, rescuers arrive, and in a few minutes a second Shahed hits, taking the lives of those who were saving the lives of others… Why does Iran need such cynical murders? Committed by Russia’s hands, yet with your weapons.

What do you, the people in Tehran, or in Shiraz, or in Saqqez, or in any other city in your country, get from this?

Unfortunately, even greater isolation from the world and even greater problems.

For Russia, absolutely everything is a target. Homes, schools, hospitals, houses of worship, churches, power plants, markets, even humanitarian aid distribution points and bus stops… There are thousands of examples of this. People of Iran! Russia is hitting everything indiscriminately. With artillery and mortars, missiles and drones – with what it has and what Russia is given on your behalf.

I am sure you must be on the other side of history – not with evil.

Russia started this war for the sake of enslavement. It is a war of a colonizer against a neighboring nation. Russia even steals people – our children! Thousands and thousands… Only absolute evil can steal the children of another nation. And by going against Ukrainians, the Russian occupiers are destroying all other national communities that have lived on the land of Ukraine for centuries. The villages of Greek Christians burned by Russians and Russia’s systematic repression of the Crimean Tatar people, our Ukrainian Muslim community, are proof of this.

The people of Iran could live a very different life if you were not put on the same side with such evil as Russian aggression.

Your Shaheds who terrorize Ukraine every night only mean that the people of Iran are being pushed deeper and deeper into the dark side of history.

Glory to all who defend life!

Thank you to everyone in the world who helps strengthen our air defense, our aviation and save our people from Russian terror!

If we are strong, we will live!

Glory to Ukraine!

Bakhmut:

Bakhmut before and after the russian invasion.
Like a cancerous tumor on the body of Europe, Ruscism brings only destruction and death wherever it spreads. pic.twitter.com/TwROmElHd3

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 24, 2023

Avdiivka:

Yesterday, russian terrorists completely destroyed a 9-story and partially damaged a 5-story residential building in Avdiivka, Donetsk region. The bodies of two dead people were retrieved from the ruins of a collapsed structure. One woman is in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/LlLraKqbcQ

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 24, 2023

Crimea:

Crimean bridge. Russia says it is closed due to military exercises. Better run now. pic.twitter.com/TtbLDnqGUF

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 24, 2023

The Belgorod crowd:

Answering journalists' questions, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, White Rex, says the unit had no losses during the Belgorod incident, only two wounded. He somewhat dodges questions about American combat vehicles, saying these could be re-captured from Russians,… pic.twitter.com/mQRSPIfvlA

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 24, 2023

Here’s the full text:

Answering journalists’ questions, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, White Rex, says the unit had no losses during the Belgorod incident, only two wounded. He somewhat dodges questions about American combat vehicles, saying these could be re-captured from Russians, including in Bakhmut. He also adds that there appears to be considerable support for the unit among the Russian population in Belgorod.

Free Russia Legion published a separate comment on the press conference, saying Russians did not show much resistance despite numerical superiority, and bombed their own citizens trying to hit the group. The Legion appears to have suffered more serious casualties than the Corps -… pic.twitter.com/0wBbwdUsrV

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 24, 2023

Full text of the tweet:

Free Russia Legion published a separate comment on the press conference, saying Russians did not show much resistance despite numerical superiority, and bombed their own citizens trying to hit the group. The Legion appears to have suffered more serious casualties than the Corps – two dead and ten wounded combined. This is in contrast with the Corps who are said to have lost two people wounded. It is still unclear whether the two groups were fighting in the same area, or separately.

And here are the screen grabs of Dmitri’s translation of the statement:

That’s all I’ve got time for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

#NAFOfellas , congratulations 😍 https://t.co/r9yexHGmSo

— Patron (@PatronDsns) May 24, 2023

The link of Patron’s new video at his official TikTok doesn’t want to embed. You can click through and see it here.

Open thread!

The key task of our state is to strengthen Ukraine and enhance our defense capabilities – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

23 May 2023 – 22:24

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today I was in the Donetsk region, at our frontline positions near Vuhledar and Maryinka. I had the honor to congratulate our marines on their professional holiday, the Day of the Ukrainian Marines.

I presented state awards to the warriors and ribbons “For Courage and Bravery” to the best units defending this part of the frontline. I’m sure you remember these units – in my evening addresses, I often thank them for the extraordinary results they ensure for Ukraine in combat. Today I have awarded them personally. These are the 35th separate marine brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi, the 406th separate artillery brigade named after Brigadier General Oleksiy Almazov and the 140th separate reconnaissance battalion. These are very powerful units, and I am grateful to each of you, warriors!

And thank you for the chevrons, it’s really a great honor!

Today, exactly on the frontline, it was the right thing to announce the creation of a Marine Corps in Ukraine. New marine brigades will be added to our existing units, and we will provide them with modern weapons and equipment.

In fact, this trip to the frontline was the final component after numerous meetings and negotiations with partners that took place these days and in the previous weeks.

Everyone should understand this: the key task of our country and the purpose of virtually every international communication of ours is to strengthen Ukraine, to bolster our defense, to increase the capabilities of our warriors and our country as a whole. Every foreign visit and almost every negotiation allows Ukraine to become stronger.

Of course, I would also like to thank our 36th separate marine brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi. This unit, fighting now, often deserves gratitude for its strength and efficiency. And it is fair to mention them now as well. Thank you and congratulations on your day!

Warriors from the 137th separate marine battalion – I thank you today personally – every soldier – for the very good results you are achieving on the frontline. Well done! And congratulations on your holiday!

Congratulations to everyone who is gaining respect for the title of Ukrainian marine!

Today I also have the honor to thank other units of our defense forces who are fighting in the most violent areas…

The 55th separate artillery brigade “Zaporizhzhia Sich” is always good, always effective. Thank you, warriors!

The 59th separate mechanized infantry brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk is, as always, the strongest! Thank you!

The 74th separate reconnaissance battalion – thank you, warriors!

The 5th separate Slobozhanska brigade of our National Guard, which is fighting in the Luhansk region together with other units of the defense forces, defending its positions and destroying the Russian occupiers in the way that is necessary… Thank you, our warriors!

I thank everyone who gives Ukraine strength! The strength of our state now, the strength of our defense now, is the basis of the strength of the rules-based international order.

We will win together!

Glory to Ukraine!

Today is Ukrainian Marine Corps Day.

Today, Ukraine honors its brave Marines.
On sea, land, and coast, they fight for our freedom.
Thank you for your service. Always Faithful!
📷 https://t.co/E9KDk4Rq9n pic.twitter.com/J0dkO2wART

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) May 23, 2023

President @ZelenskyyUa visited the front lines, where he congratulated our defenders on Ukraine’s Marine Corps Day. pic.twitter.com/eiUh4lSnBQ

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023

I looked, but could not find any reporting on the flavor of the crayons served as refreshments.

Zelensky discloses that he visited and and awarded medals to troops at the frontline near Mariinka and Vuhledar, eastern Donetsk oblast. pic.twitter.com/657V3ygkBN

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 23, 2023

Bakhmut:

(Adjacent…)

We believe in our Victory.
Near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

📷AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky pic.twitter.com/3LvgP9eL3t

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023

Vuhledar-Maryinka:

.@ZelenskyyUa
Vuhledar – Maryinka defense line in the Donetsk region. I awarded the strongest. We honored the memory of the best.
I would like to wish our warriors to take care of their lives, for the life of Ukraine depends on their lives. pic.twitter.com/9vTyOCSvDa

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023

Avdiivka:

A large unit of 28 Russian soldiers surrendered to Ukrainians together with officers. After a defeat in Avdiivka by the UAF's 59th Motor Rifle Brigade on 21 May, surviving soldiers of the Russian 110th Brigade, assault platoons specifically, surrendered, and recorded a video… pic.twitter.com/Lxsl2DRhk5

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 23, 2023

Here’s more on Belgorod:

Col General Lapin leads the operation in Belgorod. Under his command Russian army withdrew from 10 cities in Kharkiv region. Now I see why. pic.twitter.com/z4PgSShuhQ

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 23, 2023

Russian MOD claimed to have wiped out the anti-Kremlin groups who raided Belgorod region. But Russian Volunteer Corps says it suffered “no losses.”

“We do not know what columns of equipment Mr. Konashenkov says we’re destroyed, but the Russian Volunteer Corps has no losses.” pic.twitter.com/3bt6O5Wqyr

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 23, 2023

From The Financial Times:

Far-right militias who stormed a Russian region bordering Ukraine this week used US-made tactical vehicles in the attack, raising questions over Kyiv’s support for the Ukraine-based Russian extremist groups.

Ukraine has denied direct involvement in the raid on Monday, but one military official acknowledged “co-operating” with the nationalist groups, who on Monday entered Russian territory to “liberate” a village.

Denis Nikitin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told the Financial Times that his fighters assaulting the Belgorod region were in possession of American-made military vehicles. These included at least two M1224 MaxxPro armoured vehicles and several Humvees, he said, while declining to disclose how they were obtained.

Some but not all images of US-made vehicles in the raid were taken on the Russian side of the border, according to FT analysis of the videos and photos. Russian defence ministry footage separately showed the US-made tactical vehicles damaged by gunfire and apparently abandoned.

Ukraine has received the same military vehicles from the US as part of the $37bn worth of assistance provided to the country in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion.

American officials have repeatedly stressed that they are not encouraging or enabling Ukrainian forces or their allies to attack inside Russia using US equipment. One US official said: “We are sceptical about the veracity of such reports and remain in close contact with our Ukrainian counterparts.”

State department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was up to Ukraine to decide how to conduct their military operations but that the US opposes attacks in Russian territory. “We have made very clear to the Ukrainians that we don’t enable or encourage attacks outside Ukrainians’ borders,” he said.

Initially, Ukrainian officials publicly kept their distance from the Russian sabotage units.

But on Tuesday, Andriy Chernyak, an official from Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, HUR, acknowledged for the first time some form of co-operation with the Russian Volunteer Corps and Free Russia Legion.

“Of course, we communicate with them. Of course, we share some information,” Chernyak said. “And, one might say, we even co-operate.”

However, he said that Ukraine’s military was not directly involved in the attack, suggesting that it was the Russians’ own initiative.

“They are rebelling,” he said. Chernyak also denied having supplied the militias with any equipment. All western weaponry obtained by the Ukrainian armed forces remains “under . . . the toughest control”, he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office declined to comment on the Belgorod incursion and the use of American equipment.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, founded by Nikitin last summer to fight against his home country’s invading army, includes self-avowed neo-Nazis. Born in Moscow, Nikitin also uses the surname Kapustin and goes by the call sign White Rex. This is also the name of his white nationalist clothing brand, which is popular among western far-right extremists.

“Nikitin is a real self-promoter, an intelligent, educated man who seems to be primarily interested in his own power, image, and standing,” said Michael Colborne, a journalist at the open-source investigative group Bellingcat who leads its research on the global far-right.

Colborne identified another member of the Russian Volunteer Corps in photographs posted by the group during its Belgorod operation as Russian Aleksandr Skachkov, a rightwing extremist. Skachkov was arrested in Ukraine in 2020 during a raid on people selling translations of the manifesto of the gunman behind the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to Bellingcat.

The Free Russia Legion says it was formed after the full-scale invasion in spring 2022, “based on the desire of Russians to fight against [Vladimir] Putin’s armed gang”. The legion claims to be officially recognised by the Ukrainian military “and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command”.

Much more at the link!

And if anyone is still unclear, the plan is to not stop with Ukraine. It is to also take the Baltics and Finnland and Poland and Moldova and Romania, etc, etc, etc.

Notice the words "quasi-state developments" he used: he is not just talking about Ukraine, he is also talking about the Baltic countries, perhaps Finland, Central Asia, and other nations and territories that were fully or partially annexed by the Russian Empire. For this…

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 23, 2023

Here is the full text of the first tweet:

Self-proclaimed “fighter against nazis”, the president of the so-called Russian Federation had a lackey bring him a 17th-century map to show that no Ukraine existed back then. Typically, this is enough grounds for him to kill several hundred thousand of foreign and own people in the 21st century. After over a year of getting beaten, having ran his country into the ground, and leaving it with no future, the accused child kidnapper continues pushing the line he made up just to stay in power for the rest of his life.

And of the second:

Notice the words “quasi-state developments” he used: he is not just talking about Ukraine, he is also talking about the Baltic countries, perhaps Finland, Central Asia, and other nations and territories that were fully or partially annexed by the Russian Empire. For this individual, none of these states should exist, they should be eliminated and annexed back to Russia.

That’s enough for tonight.

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@patron__dsns

Обожнюю наздоганялки!🤭 #песпатрон

♬ original sound – Vanessa Sirias

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

I love catching up! 🤭 #песпатрон

Open thread!

Every week we add value for Ukraine from the NATO Summit in Vilnius – address by the President of Ukraine

22 May 2023 – 18:08

I wish you health, dear Ukrainians!

We have already started preparing for this and the coming weeks. We expect new meetings and negotiations, so far to a greater extent – ​​visits to us, to our state. There will be more weapons for our warriors.

Every week we add value for Ukraine from the NATO Summit in Vilnius. We are doing everything to make sure that the decision at the summit is the one that will work for us. We’ll see, but still we’re working on it.

By the way, today there is an important declaration from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Things are called what they are: a clear recognition of Russia’s crimes against our country as genocide, a clear condemnation of ruscist ideology. This is the right basis for other international organizations as well.

We are preparing for several interim security measures in our neighboring countries, those that support us the most. We will also make new appeals to ensure that the world understands Ukraine and to strengthen our ties with partners.

And we will continue our intensive foreign policy, various non-standard formats, maximizing the world’s useful attention to Ukraine and our defense. More and more results for Ukraine – air defense, artillery, armored vehicles, shells, training – all of this is a must.

Today I want to thank all our warriors who are defending the sky. From last night to this morning, they have shot down 25 Shaheds. 25 out of 25. An excellent result. And each such downing means saved lives, saved infrastructure. Thank you!

They also managed to shoot down some of the terrorists’ missiles, but unfortunately not all of them. Unfortunately, there were hits. Dnipro and Kharkiv, Odesa and Lviv, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia – all our cities and communities need to receive a full-fledged air shield. We are working very hard on this together with our partners.

Today, it is worth celebrating the units of the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops, which are the most resilient and effective. The 3rd and 5th separate assault brigades, the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, the 93rd separate mechanized brigade “Kholodny Yar”, the 214th separate special forces battalion… Thank you, warriors! This is the Bakhmut direction, this is the extraordinary strength of our people.

Glory to all our warriors who are destroying the enemy!

Glory to all who protect our cities from terrorist attacks!

Glory to all those who make our victory closer every day!

Thank you to everyone in the world who supports us! Thank you!

Glory to Ukraine!

Belgorod, Russia!

Small insider teaser: an undisclosed group of liberators is preparing to assist in the establishment of emerging and sovereign republics within the former territory of russia. pic.twitter.com/7K2Gd7k7iJ

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) May 22, 2023

The Russian Legion that has been fighting in Ukraine on behalf of Ukraine appears to have decided to cross the border back into Russia and liberate Russia from Russia.

In particular, the fighters published a video against the background of road signs of the settlements of Lyubimovka, Bezlyudovka, Churovychy in Russia

— Ukrainska Pravda in English (@pravda_eng) May 22, 2023

Here are more details from Ukrainska Pravda:

The Russian Volunteer Corps, whose fighters claim to be fighting on the side of Ukraine, said it was performing combat missions on the territory of the Russian Federation, and the Freedom of Russia Legion called on residents of Russian border regions to stay at home and “not resist”.

Source: Freedom of Russia Legion; Russian Volunteer Corps; Russian local Telegram channels

Details: On the morning of 22 May, fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps reported that they were in Russia.

In particular, the fighters published a video on the background of road signs in the proximity of the settlements of Lyubimovka (Bryansk Oblast), Bezlyudovka (Belgorod Oblast) and Churovichi (Bryansk Oblast).

Meanwhile, the Freedom of Russia Legion, fighting on the side of Ukraine, recorded a video message calling on Russians to fight for a Russia free of Putin.

Then the legion published an appeal to the inhabitants of the border Russian oblasts: “Stay at home, do not resist, and do not be afraid; we are not your enemies. Unlike Putin’s zombies, we do not harm civilians and do not use them for our own purposes”.

They also promised to provide the details later.

Update: Later, the Legion reported that Kozinka, a settlement in Belgorod Oblast in Russia, had been liberated. The Freedom of Russia legion and the Russian volunteer corps are reported to be “advancing”.

Quote: “The Freedom of Russia legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps have liberated the settlement of Kozinka in Belgorod Oblast. Their units have entered the settlement of Graivoron.”

Details: Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, claimed that a “reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” has entered the territory of the Graivoron district.

He added that the Armed Forces of Russia, in cooperation with Russia’s Border Guard Service, the National Guard and the FSB, “are taking the necessary measures to neutralise the enemy”.

More at the link!

There are two distinct groups here. The Freedom of Russia Legion, aka the Russian Legion, are a group of Russians who have been fighting in Ukraine on behalf of Ukraine similar to the Georgian Legion. The Russian Volunteer Corps are somewhere between a militia and a partisan underground. Their leader is an anti-Putin white supremacist and Russian nationalist and their members join up for a variety of reasons. So two different groups here doing overlapping things.

The Financial Times has more details as well:

A group of anti-Kremlin fighters stormed Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine on Monday, moving along a main road in armoured vehicles as Russian forces rushed to respond.

The sabotage group, made up of Russians who have aligned themselves with Ukraine’s military, claimed to be “liberating” Russian territory. The Kremlin promised to “destroy” the group, and videos shared by Belgorod residents showed attack helicopters flying over houses in the area.

While the anti-Kremlin Russian groups have previously mounted operations within Russia, this appears to be the first in which the goal is to occupy territory. A Ukrainian military intelligence official confirmed his government’s knowledge of the operation but stopped short of claiming direct involvement.

The fighters in the videos appear to be from two Ukraine-based groups who oppose the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion. Both have claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack inside their native country.

The Legion posted on its channel on the Telegram messaging app on Friday that it had “completely liberated” a tiny border settlement called Kozinka just inside Russia, and was moving inwards towards Graivoron, a settlement 60km from the regional centre. “Russia will be free!” it declared.

“We are Russians just like you. We are people just like you. We want our children to grow up in peace and be free people, so that they can travel, study and just be happy in a free country,” a fighter of the Free Russian Legion said in a video message.

A second video published by the group on a closed Telegram channel purported to show the body of a slain Russian border guard lying amid a mess of papers and Russian passports in an office, with a portrait of President Vladimir Putin hanging on the wall. The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed.

While Ukraine stopped short of claiming involvement in the attack, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the country’s military intelligence department, told Ukrainian state media that Kyiv was aware of an operation being carried out by Russian citizens in order to create a “security zone” to protect Ukrainians near the border and to occupy territory there.

The Russian Volunteer Corps is headed by Russian far-right extremist and former mixed martial arts fighter Denis Nikitin and is composed of other Russians opposed to the Putin regime.

The Free Russia Legion claims also to be composed of Russian citizens, including Russian soldiers who defected to the Ukrainian side, and formed the unit with the help of Ukraine’s state security service. Its goal, the unit has said, is to “protect Ukrainians from real fascists”.

Much more at the link!

Take a closer look – the footage allwgedky shows Ukrainian armor attacking the Gaivoron border control point in Russia.

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) May 22, 2023

Whether it was the Freedom of Russia Legion or the Russian Volunteer Corps or Russia’s own air defense mistargeting again, someone brought down another Russian chopper.

Strange things are happening in Grayvoron. Russian Legion liberates Russia. pic.twitter.com/k1kZd8rK31

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 22, 2023

Same time as the unexplained incident in Belgorod is taking place, Ukrainian GUR head Kyrylo Budanov published an appeal, in Russian, to all Russian servicemen to surrender via the "I want to live" project to save their lives from the "upcoming meatgrinder". "It will get worse",… pic.twitter.com/2Go048RQzv

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 22, 2023

Full text:

Same time as the unexplained incident in Belgorod is taking place, Ukrainian GUR head Kyrylo Budanov published an appeal, in Russian, to all Russian servicemen to surrender via the “I want to live” project to save their lives from the “upcoming meatgrinder”. “It will get worse”, says Budanov.

Really interesting messaging by the RDK, too – they're not "attacking" or "invading" anything, they are liberating occupied Russian territories from Kremlin. This puts a different spin to the story.

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 22, 2023

Full text of the first tweet:

While the situation is still developing, the incursion into the Belgorod territory today reminds me of the raids a few months back, but with several major differences.

The attack is much more brazen, a larger number of combat vehicles are being used this time, with much heavier artillery and mortar support. It is also being conducted in broad daylight, and drone footage is immediately being published online, to reach the maximum psychological effect.

In the previous incident, we began finding out details when forces were already withdrawn, and the attack began early in the morning when it was still dark.

What is also interesting is that both “Russian Volunteer Corps” and “Free Russia Legion” have left their marks today, they could potentially be operating in two separate areas (Legion in Dronivka, RDK in Grayvoron).

If we consider this incident a part, perhaps the first one, of the counter-offensive, then it's a symbolic one: Russians liberating Russian territory from Kremlin.

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 22, 2023

Above was my best attempt at translating what he actually said directly.

It can be a bit hard to follow though, so here's a non-literal translation that's hopefully a bit easier to understand. pic.twitter.com/LQSznMwQga

— Dmitry Grozoubinski (@DmitryOpines) May 22, 2023

Magyar says to prepare popcorn🍿:

"Get popcorn ready for the evening.
A lot.
The movie will be great."

(it's not an old post, he just probably made a mistake saying 20.05) pic.twitter.com/kGuvsEiEoC

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 22, 2023

Together with the video, a photo was shared showing Russian military IDs against the backdrop of a sign reading "RF FSB … BORDER POINT FOR BELGOROD AND VORONEZH OBLASTS" … "BORDER CHECKPOINT GRAYVORON".

This could indicate that the BTR was captured exactly at the checkpoint… pic.twitter.com/39K8lqwhSp

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) May 22, 2023

Here’s the full text of the first tweet:

New video emerged apparently showing two Russian Volunteer Corps fighters driving what they claim to be an FSB BTR-82A. It appears as if they don’t have much experience driving the vehicle as they thank a certain “Shayba” for coming through to them and, possibly, helping them evacuate the vehicle.

It is therefore reasonable to assume they are taking it back to where they came from. Regardless, having two soldiers from a reportedly small (80 people) unit freely leaving the combat area could be showing things were going quite well for them.

It is currently 9PM in Belgorod, so the video is from a few hours ago, at least.

And of the second tweet:

Together with the video, a photo was shared showing Russian military IDs against the backdrop of a sign reading “RF FSB … BORDER POINT FOR BELGOROD AND VORONEZH OBLASTS” … “BORDER CHECKPOINT GRAYVORON”.

This could indicate that the BTR was captured exactly at the checkpoint we saw being run over this morning.

And I give you the stupidest take of all!

Here are some reports which if accurate would indicate a US-backed land invasion of Russia is currently underway pic.twitter.com/PmBu67tPZp

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 22, 2023

And if the reports are inaccurate, presumably Twitter will be promptly punishing all these purveyors of destabilizing disinformation

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 22, 2023

That guy gives butter goblins everywhere a bad name!

This is, however, an excellent assessment:

That awkward situation when you have carried out mobilization, and hold 90% of you military in Ukraine, and have slaughtered tens of thousands of convicts and mercenaries to spend a year seizing a provincial town — and end up not able to defend your own fucking state border.

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) May 22, 2023

As you can see, its pretty much all Belgorod all the time for right now.

However, the Biden administration has announced another tranche of aid to Ukraine:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine
May 21, 2023 |

Following President Biden’s meeting with President Zelenskyy in Japan, the Department of Defense (DoD) today announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This authorization is the Biden Administration’s thirty-eighth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It includes additional ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and critical enablers valued at up to $375 million that Ukraine is using on the battlefield to push back against Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression.

The capabilities in this package include:

• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
• Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
• Laser-guided rocket system munitions;
• Demolition munitions;
• Armored bridging systems;
• Armored medical treatment vehicles;
• Trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment;
• Logistics support equipment;
• Thermal imagery systems;
• Spare parts and other field equipment.

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

That’s enough excitement for one evening.

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A new video from Patron’s official TikTok. Apparently the embedding process has resolved itself!

@patron__dsns

Коли прийшов до грумінг салону на декілька процедур одночасно🤭

♬ оригінальний звук – Patron_official

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

When you come to a grooming salon for several procedures at once 🤭

Open thread!