Georgia:

Day 182 of continuous #GeorgiaProtests

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM

Day 182. We are winning – slowly but surely!

We just shouldn’t give up before the enemy does! #GeorgiaProtests

📷 @rusudandjakeli.bsky.social

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 3:11 PM

🇬🇪 photographer Raymond Red Rodgers added the opera version of the vulgar anti-GD chant (yes, we have that) to the latest firework launching.

I love it.

On rare occasions, it can be slightly amusing to be in the middle of this national disaster.

🎆 = resistance symbol, banned.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 6:45 AM

1/ The U.S. Embassy in Georgia released a statement saying that, at the request of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Ambassador attempted to arrange a meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili to deliver messages from the Trump administration, but the request was denied.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM

2/ “Bidzina Ivanishvili has refused to meet with Ambassador Dunnigan to hear a message from the Trump Administration”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM

3/ “At Secretary Rubio’s request, on May 22 Ambassador Dunnigan asked for a meeting with Ivanishvili to communicate a message from the Admin and to again relay specific steps the Georgian gov’t can take to show it is serious about resetting its relationship with the US”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM

4/ “It is our hope that the Georgian government sincerely wishes to return to 33 years of partnership and friendship with America and the American people”, The statement reads.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM

Regime MP Irakli Zarkua on the US Embassy: this country has a PM, MFA, so they can communicate with them instead of some backstages – don’t make relationships harder [by adding steps].

No, Irakli, everyone knows that all of you are disposable puppets with relevance below zero.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 5:59 AM

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 8:34 AM

Regime collapse is unavoidable, there won’t be a power vacuum in Georgia; a viable political alternative needs to form under the Resistance Platform – says the President.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM

Germany:

Germany will provide Ukraine with military aid worth €5 billion, though the details have not yet been disclosed.

Today, the defense ministers signed an agreement to fund the production of long-range weaponry made in Ukraine.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 10:14 AM

/1. Germany will finance the future production of long-range weapons systems in Ukraine. The two ministers agreed to this in writing in Berlin.

A significant number of these long-range weapons systems are expected to be produced by 2025.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 2:28 PM

/2. The weapons systems will be quickly available to the Ukrainian armed forces—the first ones can be deployed in just a few weeks. www.bmvg.de/de/aktuelles…

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 2:28 PM

The US:

Reporter: What stopped you from imposing sanctions on russia?

Trump: “I think I’m close to getting a deal. I don’t want to screw it up by doing that…” he says before gears switch abruptly, and he proceeds to blame Biden Zelenskyy and Putin in this order 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 12:54 PM

“I will let you know in two weeks whether Putin is he is tapping us along or not. And if so, we will respond a little differently.” – Trump.

A month ago, he also said it would be two weeks.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 12:50 PM

It’s the natsec and foreign policy version of infrastructure week!

Back to Ukraine:

We don’t scream about this enough. We must be much louder. Please, help to amplify.

As Ukrainian POWs die in russian prisons, autopsies point to a system of brutality.
apnews.com/article/russ…

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 7:37 AM

From the AP:

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — “Everything will be all right.”

Ukrainian soldier Serhii Hryhoriev said this so often during brief phone calls from the front that his wife and two daughters took it to heart. His younger daughter, Oksana, tattooed the phrase on her wrist as a talisman.

Even after Hryhoriev was captured by the Russian army in 2022, his anxious family clung to the belief that he would ultimately be OK. After all, Russia is bound by international law to protect prisoners of war.

When Hryhoriev finally came home, though, it was in a body bag.

A Russian death certificate said the 59-year-old died of a stroke. But a Ukrainian autopsy and a former POW who was detained with him tell a different story about how he died – one of violence and medical neglect at the hands of his captors.

Hryhoriev is one of more than 200 Ukrainian POWs who have died while imprisoned since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago. Abuse inside Russian prisons was likely a contributing factor in many of these deaths, according to officials from human rights groups, the U.N., the Ukrainian government and a Ukrainian medical examiner who has performed dozens of POW autopsies.

The officials say the prison death toll adds to evidence that Russia is systematically brutalizing captured soldiers. They say forensic discrepancies like Hryhoriev’s, and the repatriation of bodies that are mutilated and decomposed, point to an effort to cover up alleged torture, starvation and poor health care at dozens of prisons and detention centers across Russia and occupied Ukraine.

Russian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. They have previously accused Ukraine of mistreating Russian POWs — allegations the U.N. has partially backed up, though it says Ukraine’s violations are far less common and severe than what Russia is accused of.

Hryhoriev joined the Ukrainian army in 2019 after he lost his job as an office worker at a high school. When the war began three years later, he was stationed with other soldiers in Mariupol, an industrial port city that was the site of a fierce battle — and far from his home in the central Poltava region.

On April 10, 2022, Hryhoriev called his family to reassure them that “everything will be all right.” That was the last time they ever spoke to him.

Two days later, a relative of a soldier in Hryhoriev’s unit called to say the men had been captured. After Mariupol fell to Russia, more than 2,000 soldiers defending the city became Russian prisoners.

Soon his family got a call from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which confirmed he was alive and officially registered as a POW, guaranteeing his protection under the Geneva Conventions. “We were told: ‘that means everything is fine … Russia has to return him,’” Hryhoriev’s wife, Halyna, recalled.

In August 2022, she received a letter from him, that addressed her by a nickname. “My dear Halochka,” he wrote. “I am alive and well. Everything will be all right.”

Desperate for more information, his daughter Oksana, 31, scoured Russian social media accounts, where videos of Ukrainian POWs regularly appeared. Eventually, she saw him in one — looking gaunt and missing teeth. His gray hair was cropped very short, framing gentle features now partially covered by a beard.

In the video, likely shot under duress, Hryhoriev said to the camera: “I’m alive and well.”

“But if you looked at him, you could see that wasn’t true,” Oksana said.

The truth was dismal, said Oleksii Honcharov, a 48-year-old Ukrainian POW who was detained with him.

Honcharov lived in the same prison barracks as Hryhoriev starting in the fall of 2022. Over a period of months, he witnessed Hryhoriev absorb the same severe punishment as every other POW at the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Correctional Colony in southwest Russia.

“Everyone got hit — no exceptions,” said Honcharov, who was repatriated to Ukraine in February as part of a prisoner swap. “Some more, some less, but we all took it.”

Honcharov endured months of chest pain while in captivity. Even then, the beatings never stopped, he said, and sometimes they began after his pleas for medical care, which were ignored.

“Toward the end, I could barely walk,” said Honcharov, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis once back in Ukraine – an increasingly common ailment among returning POWs.

A 2024 U.N. report found that 95% of released Ukrainian POWs had endured “systematic” torture. Prisoners described beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexual violence, prolonged stress positions, mock executions, and sleep deprivation.

“This conduct could not be more unlawful,” said Danielle Bell, the U.N.’s top human rights monitor in Ukraine.

The report also said some Russian POWs were mistreated by Ukrainian forces during their initial capture — including beatings, threats and electric shocks. But the abuse stopped once Russian POWs were moved to official Ukrainian detention centers, the report said.

Hryhoriev was physically strong and often outlasted younger prisoners during forced exercises, Honcharov recalled. But over time, he began showing signs of physical decline: dizziness, fatigue and, eventually, an inability to walk without help.

Yet despite his worsening condition, prison officials provided only minimal health care, Honcharov said.

Much more at the link.

Nor sure where this is, Russian occupied parts of Ukraine or Russia itself:

Strikes on the Russian air defense systems discovered by the Shark reconnaissance drone

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 3:46 PM

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday that Russia had amassed 50,000 troops in its Kursk region “to prepare offensive actions against the Sumy region” of north-eastern Ukraine. www.ft.com/content/607c…

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) May 28, 2025 at 9:54 AM

There is nothing at that link about President Zelenskyy or Sumy Oblast. But there is at The Guardian:

Ukraine and Germany have agreed to future military cooperation in which Berlin will help finance long-range weapons production on Ukrainian soil.

The deal came as Zelenskyy warned that Russia had amassed 50,000 troops in the Sumy region bordering Russia, where Vladimir Putin has declared an intention to establish a buffer zone.

More at the link, but it’s all about the Ukrainian-German collaboration for weapons production.

Sumy Oblast:

Deadly russian “human safari” threatens the city of Sumy!

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 9:37 AM

Kherson Oblast:

UN Commission concludes that Russian armed forces’ drone attacks against civilians in Kherson Province amount to crimes against humanity of murder

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel…

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM

From the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

GENEVA / VIENNA, 28 May 2025 – Russian armed forces have committed murder of civilians as crimes against humanity using drones, concludes the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine in a new report.

From July 2024, Russian forces have recurrently killed and injured civilians in an area stretching over more than 100 kilometres along the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Province. The drone attacks have been widespread, systematic and conducted as part of a coordinated state policy, the report said.

The attacks followed a regular pattern and the same modus operandi, demonstrating that they were planned, directed, and organized. There is no information suggesting that Russian military and civilian authorities have taken any steps to prevent or stop the commission of the crimes.

Nearly 150 civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured as a result of the drone attacks in Kherson city and 16 localities in the Ukrainian-controlled areas, according to official sources. Victims were men, women, and children, mostly men. Civilians were targeted in various circumstances, as they stepped out to carry out their daily activities whether on foot or in any type of vehicle.

The drone operators used video feeds transmitted in real time by the cameras embedded in the drones, focused on targets that were visibly civilian, and dropped explosives on them. Hundreds of these video feeds have been regularly disseminated on Russian Telegram channels, some of them with thousands of subscribers, displaying the crimes, as well as text posts announcing further attacks.

Ambulances, which have special protection under international law, have been targeted and struck by drones, so as to prevent them from reaching victims who had been previously attacked. Some of these victims have died as a consequence of not being moved to a medical facility in time. A 45-year-old man from Stanislav village recounted that in November 2024, a drone dropped an explosive near him as he was riding a moped, badly injuring his leg. An ambulance arrived, and while he was receiving first aid, a drone dropped two explosives on the ambulance.

The use of drones to target civilians and civilian objects is a violation of the fundamental principle of international humanitarian law, according to which attacks may only be directed at military objects. The evidence collected leaves no doubt that the perpetrators intended to carry out these acts. The Commission therefore concludes that Russian armed forces perpetrated the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians in Kherson Province. It also finds that posting videos of civilians being killed and injured amounts to the war crime of outrages upon personal dignity.

The civilian population in the areas affected by drone attacks lives in constant fear. Residents take risks every time they go outside, as they fear being struck by drones. Many wait for cloudy days to go out, or seek cover under trees, where possible. Fear is further induced by frequent messages posted on Telegram, such as “Get out of the city before the leaves fall, you who are destined to die.”

The circumstances of the attacks, the videos, and the explicit threatening text posts demonstrate that Russian armed forces and those supporting them have committed acts or threats of violence for the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population, in violation of international humanitarian law. Referring to Russian soldiers, a senior health professional of a hospital in Kherson said: “They are simply chasing and hunting civilians who are on their way to work or walking their dogs. They drop explosives from drones like it is a video game.”

The scale and intensity of the drone attacks against civilians and civilian objects as well as the destruction of houses and basic infrastructure, the targeting of all means of transport, and attacks against emergency and rescue services, have all rendered the affected areas unliveable and left many residents with no other choice than to flee.

The recurrent drone attacks, the widely disseminated videos showing them, and numerous posts explicitly exhorting the population to leave suggest a coordinated state policy, on the part of the Russian authorities, to force the population of Kherson Province to leave the area. The Commission therefore concludes that Russian armed forces may have committed the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population.

The Commission examined over 300 publicly available videos of attacks and over 600 text posts on Telegram channels and, where possible, identified victims of these attacks. It interviewed 91 persons from the areas affected by drone attacks, including victims, witnesses, local authorities and medical personnel.

Background: The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to, among other things, investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The Commission comprises Erik Møse (Chair), Pablo de Greiff and Vrinda Grover.

 The Commissioners were appointed by the President of the UN Human Rights Council; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights Office provides support to the Commission of Inquiry, the commissioners serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including the UN. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the mandated commissioners.

Kharkiv Oblast:

Last night, russian forces launched a massive attack on two settlements in Kharkiv Oblast – one near Kharkiv city and another in Chuhuiv district. One civilian was killed, seven injured. Homes, infrastructure, and a civilian enterprise were destroyed.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 4:03 AM

An intense night in Kharkiv. There were about a dozen explosions—Russian drones detonating just outside the city. Now, Russian drones are in Kharkiv itself, and we’ve received a warning about possible ballistic missiles heading our way.
01:17

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:18 PM

Odesa Oblast:

Monitors say 10 Shaheds are buzzing around the southern part if Odesa Oblast, close to the Romanian border. They’ve passed over Prymorsk, Vylkove and now Katlabuh. Target may be Izmail port?

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 8:10 PM

Bakhmut:

AASM Hammer air strike on the Russian command post in Bakhmut t.me/soniah_hub/1…

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 11:58 AM

Dubna, Moscow Oblast:

drones reportedly targeted the Kronstadt UAV production facility located in Dubna, Moscow Oblast.

The strikes also extended to the Elma Technopark in Zelenograd, Moscow Oblast 👀🔥

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 6:50 AM

The target is over 530 kilometers from the nearest part of Ukraine.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 2:53 AM

🕊🇺🇦 Tonight, SBU drones struck the strategic “Raduga” enterprise near Moscow, which manufactures cruise missiles.
Ukrainian drones bypassed the air defense system protecting the Russian capital and hit the enterprise’s workshops, where a fire is still burning.
The only sanctions that work! 🔥

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 12:09 PM

Moscow:

This is the current situation at Moscow’s airports following the visit of the “friendly” drones.

At Sheremetyevo, hundreds of Russians are standing in long lines trying to exchange their tickets for other flights.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 6:35 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.

Ukrainian military cats can do everything 😀

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— Meanwhile in Ukraine (@meanwhileua.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM

Open thread!

Hundreds of Ukrainian Companies Are Already Producing Results for Ukraine’s Defense Forces, With More to Follow – Address by the President

27 May 2025 – 20:29

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

A few updates for today. I held an extended meeting with the military leadership: Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff Hnatov; Defense Minister Umerov was also present. The agenda included planning our actions, our readiness to respond to Russian strikes, to their threats, and taking preventive measures, which means increasing the production of our drones and our missiles. I am grateful to everyone working toward this goal. Hundreds of Ukrainian companies are already producing results for Ukraine’s Defense Forces, with more to follow – I’m certain of that. We are now fully mobilizing our entrepreneurial capacity for weapons production. We are also preparing new agreements with our European partners in the near future, to attract investment into Ukrainian production. First and foremost, this means the production of unmanned systems and long-range capabilities – everything that allows us to maintain control on the front lines, protect the lives of our warriors, and operate at significant distances. Of course, we cannot publicly disclose our existing plans and our capabilities, but the prospect is clear: to respond symmetrically to all Russian threats and challenges. They in Russia must clearly feel the consequences of what they are doing against Ukraine. And they will. Attack drones, interceptors, cruise missiles, Ukrainian ballistic systems – these are the key elements. We must manufacture all of them.

I was also briefed today by Government officials on our country’s economic prospects, the decisions needed to ensure the operation of enterprises in Ukraine – those that already exist, as well as the establishment of new businesses. We are working in detail on practical changes to attract capital to Ukraine and to enable the most mutually beneficial cooperation with partners for investment and Ukraine’s recovery. A normal social life in Ukraine, the development of our infrastructure, our communities, Ukrainian healthcare, and our educational opportunities – everything that sustains people’s lives – is only possible with real and tangible economic growth. This is a key task for the Government.

And one more thing.

Today, for the first time in May, we celebrate the professional holiday of the personnel of our Special Operations Forces. This is one of the most effective components of our Ukrainian defense. Truly awesome guys. Today, I had the honor of personally thanking them, presenting awards to some and handing over Orders of the Golden Star to the families of fallen Heroes. We must never forget the kind of people who have stood up to defend Ukraine and who are truly keeping it alive. Everyone who has fought and continues to fight for Ukraine, everyone who works for our state and for our people – all deserve our deepest gratitude. Independence is upheld by those who fight for it and strengthen it.

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

A man was detained by 25 policemen yesterday after he burned the Georgian Dream flag.

Today, on Day 181, the regime flag was burned again, and this time with an unmasked woman.

She further added: “This is how we will get rid of you too!”

#GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 PM

1/ Yesterday, on May 26, following a protest rally, citizen Ucha Kemashvili was arrested. Kemashvili is known for distributing fruit to demonstrators. On that day, he burned the Georgian Dream flag. The police are accusing him of disobeying a lawful order from a police officer.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:56 AM

“Burning cloth, handing out fruit, or making TikToks isn’t punishable. The suspicion is that 10–20 officers approached him, claimed he resisted, and used that as a pretext to detain him,” said lawyer Lasha Tkesheladze.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:56 AM

Around 30 policemen grabbed Strong Georgia youth member Luka Natsvlishvili and took him to an unknown destination as the Independence Day rally in Batumi was concluding.

They gave no reason or explanation.

Luka has been abducted and detained by the regime. #terrorinGeorgia

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 26, 2025 at 4:09 PM

‪They gave Luka 12 days jail and we still don’t know for what exactly. Not like it matters. ‬

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 2:05 PM

⭕️According to @rjukneviciene.bsky.social, five MEPs from the @europarl.europa.eu’s DROI delegation were denied access to visit jailed journalist Mზია Amaglobeli in #Georgia.

MEP @lenaats.bsky.social was also blocked from visiting her during a prior trip on May 16–18.
#FreeMzia
#MediaUnderAttack

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) May 27, 2025 at 1:18 PM

Bachiashvili was detained. We are all very confused.

Some now reflect on Zurab Pololikashvili’s statement that his Secretary General of UN Tourism position (and Georgia’s prominence) was traded off by the GD with Arabs over a favour.

And Bachiashvili was in UAE.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 4:15 AM

By the way, check out this article just just came out yesterday to have a better look into how dictator Ivanishvili thinks and operates.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m…

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 4:33 AM

🧵1/ Georgian Dream’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze responded to a joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany, and Poland — in which Macron, Tusk, and Merz condemned Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic actions:

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM

2/ “As for this trilateral statement, it’s clear that the so-called ‘deep state’ is strong in Europe. That’s obvious from everything. To say nothing of the substance — even the etiquette is telling”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM

3/ “Issuing this kind of statement on May 26 is inappropriate. May 26 is a celebratory day, and on such a day, it’s customary to send congratulatory letters and make festive statements”

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM

4/ „They don’t even follow protocol or basic etiquette. This shows they’re not acting based on real, objective interests — not even their own — and are instead following a line that goes against their actual interests. That is deeply regrettable and unfortunate”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM

5/ The joint statement by the Presidents of France and Poland and the Chancellor of Germany was issued on Georgia’s Independence Day. They condemned GD’s actions against civil society, the media and government critics, urging the repeal of laws that contradict European standards.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM

Prominent activist Niko Managadze reveals important information regarding the October 4 local elections – both in terms of how these elections will be conducted and the uneasy condition the regime finds itself in. 1/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

He said he had, before the fraudulent Parliamentary elections, entertained the idea that in case of the opposition’s (legitimate) defeat, he’d run as an independent candidate for the local elections in his native Kutaisi. 2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

Now, however, he sees no point in entering a fraud, and warns against legitimizing the Georgian Dream by participation – in addition to other concerns such as guaranteed low turnout. 3/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

Some weeks or months ago, the Georgian Dream representatives spoke to him and assured him that they would grant him victory in his district in Kutaisi, as long as he simply ran for the office. Nothing else was required of him, no deals or adjustments with the regime, just participation. 4/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

Managadze immediately refused the offer, but he says he can imagine what pressure or lucrative prospects are presented to parties, especially the four coalitions/parties that passed the Parliamentary threshold and have been more or less established as the main ones in these last 7 months. 5/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

Managadze believes the GD is desperate to at least have “competitive” in int’l assessment of the local elections, and that even if some random parties take part, without the 4 major ones the GD risks being alone on ballots in most rural municipalities where very few have party infrastructure. 6/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

He requests that Gakharia – For Georgia abandon their (apparent) plans to announce participation TODAY;

Encourages Strong Georgia to make decision based on national interests rather than fears for their local structure collapse, since worse is coming if anyone participates in these elections. 7/7.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM

Giorgi Bachiashvili told this to The Guardian.

According to it, Ivanishvili’s lawyer denied that a “voodoo doctor” lived with him. He said: “These statements by Bachiashvili are absurd. I can assure you that no doctor lives with him and no experiments are being conducted”.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 7:33 AM

I really got nothing on that last one.

The US:

Well! That’s going to have Putin shaking in his tiny platform shoes!

Trump sounds like a kid making threats in a school playground.

He’s reducing the US to an international laughing stock.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 12:01 PM

He seems to be saying he’s been protecting Russia for some time already…

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 12:11 PM

The UN:

After 3 days of consecutive attacks on Ukraine, Russia calls UN meeting over alleged European ‘threats to peace’
->Kyiv Independent | #StandWithUkraine #RussiaUkraineWar #Peace | More info from EcoSearch

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— Climate, Ecology, War and More by Dr. Glen Barry (@bigearthdata.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 8:38 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Moscow requested a meeting of the U.N. Security Council over Europe’s alleged “threats to international peace and security,” Russia’s U.N. envoy, Dmitry Polyansky, said on May 27, only a day after Russia launched its largest drone attack against Ukraine.

Russia launched a three-day wave of aerial attacks from May 24 to May 26, firing more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles across Ukraine. On May 26, Russian forces carried out the most extensive drone attack of the full-scale war, reportedly involving 355 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys.

Moscow, which holds a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, requested the session because of what it called attempts by European countries to prevent a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine, according to Polyansky.

Russia expects the meeting to be scheduled for May 30, one day after another Security Council meeting requested by Ukraine’s European allies over the humanitarian situation in the war-torn country.

Ukraine and its European allies have repeatedly called for a complete ceasefire to bring the war to a close. Russia has consistently rejected these proposals, only escalating its attacks against Ukrainian cities and reportedly preparing a new offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin again refused to support a full ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 19. Instead, the Kremlin proposed drafting a “memorandum” on a possible future peace settlement.

Recent peace talks in Istanbul, the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, failed to achieve a breakthrough, with a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange seen as the only tangible result.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s weeklong delay in preparing a proposal on a peace settlement a “mockery of the whole world.”

Back to Ukraine.

The cost:

Ukraine bids farewell to young mother Anna, who shielded her son Mark during a russian attack.
Every parent’s heart must be breaking into a thousand pieces reading this.
Please, pray for Mark’s recovery — he is still fighting for his life.
russia must be defeated.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM

Evacuation of fallen Ukrainian reconnaissance drones Leleka and Mara by using other drones. By the 63rd Brigade. t.me/ombr_63/1234

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 8:37 AM

✈🇺🇦 Its rumble over the fields and forests is a call to fight, and each maneuver is a step towards the defense of Ukraine, inspiring the hearts of the nation. Today it flies to meet the challenges, proudly carrying the flag of freedom in the sky!

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 8:33 AM

The Kursk cross border offensive:

✈🇺🇦 Effective combat work of the Air Force to defeat ground targets in the Kursk region. The orcs are very fond of our GBU-39s and more. It’s going to get better! 💥

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM

Somewhere along the front:

SDB airstrikes on the Russian frontline positions by Su-27 t.me/soniah_hub/1…

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM

The Russian border with Donetsk Oblast:

The Washington Post reports that Russia is planning a major offensive with the main strike focused on the Donetsk region.

Believing that time is on his side, Putin has moved over 125,000 troops to the borders.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0…

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 3:00 PM

From The Washington Post:

KYIV — Russia is expected to mount a major offensive this summer against Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region which it has been trying to conquer since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian military officials and analysts said.

The warnings over the offensive, which some analysts say has already begun, come as a U.S.-brokered peace process has limped along with inconclusive meetings and little concrete results. Russia has rejected repeated U.S. and European calls for an immediate ceasefire.

U.S. analysts have said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears confident that he can still win the war militarily though sanctions and heavy casualties may be slowly eroding Russia’s war machine, and this summer could be its last chance for a major push.

Controlling Donetsk region in its entirety has been a priority for Putin since he failed to capture Kyiv at the start of the war in 2022. In September of that year, Putin declared the whole of Donetsk region, along with three other Ukrainian regions, to be part of the Russian Federation — despite not having totally conquered any of them.

The analysis that Russia is seeking to gain more territory comes as it insists it is interested in discussing peace but says that a cessation of hostilities can only come by addressing the “root causes” of the conflict. Following direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on May 16, each side agreed to draw up a memorandum detailing its principles for any agreement.

In the meanwhile, Russia over the weekend launched some of its largest airstrikes against Ukraine since the invasion began.

Accompanying the main push into Donetsk, of which it controls about 70 percent, the Kremlin plans to carry out smaller attacks along the border of Ukraine’s northeast Sumy and Kharkiv regions to put more pressure on Ukraine’s already overstretched front-line troops, say analysts.

Russia’s plan is to “try to pin down Ukrainian forces along the front line, including in Sumy and Kharkiv regions, but otherwise they will prioritize Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka,” said Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, speaking of the two Donetsk towns which Russia has been trying to capture for almost a year.

He added that though Kostiantynivka was not on the verge of being taken, it was a “promising” prospect for the Russians at present, as Russia was in a position to attack it from three different directions.

Analysts had predicted last summer that the two towns would fall by December and Russia’s difficulty in taking them reflects Ukraine’s massive effort to defend them. But Ukraine is still struggling with recruitment and firepower, meaning the coming months will be yet another challenge.

Russia, meanwhile, is exceeding its military recruitment targets, but it still lacks the numbers needed for multiple successful offensives, say analysts and Ukrainian military officials.

“I expect them to focus on Donetsk region, everything else will be diversion and dispersion of Ukrainian resources and attention,” said Bielieskov, adding that prioritizing Sumy or Kharkiv region won’t give the Russians the chunk of territory they are looking for.

More at the link.

The Dnipro River:

The Russians tried to cross the river by boat, hoping to secretly break through to the rear. But they were spotted by operators of the “Sky Ryders” unit and sent to feed the fish.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM

“Pack” from the 40th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade destroyed a small assault group of Russians along with the boat that brought them to an island in the Kherson region.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 1:10 PM

Multiple locations in Russia:

Drone attack triggers airport closures across Russia, claims of 99 drones intercepted

Several airports temporary suspended flights following reported drone strikes in Tula, Voronezh, and Kaluga.
euromaidanpress.com/2025/05/27/d…

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— Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 8:38 AM

From EuroMaidan Press:

On 27 May, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 99 Ukrainian drones between 20:00 on 26 May and 07:00 on 27 May. Despite these efforts, several airports in Russia were temporarily closed as a result of the ongoing drone strikes. Local sources confirmed air defense activity, but there were no immediate reports of damage from the attack.

Ukraine has been conducting an air campaign against Russian strategic targets such as ammunition depots, command centers, military factories, oil processing and storage facilities.

Drone strikes targeted several Russian regions overnight, including the Tula and Voronezh oblasts. Explosions were reported in the cities of Novomoskovsk and Uzlovaya in Tula, as well as in Borisoglebsk in Voronezh. Also, one drone being shot down was captured on video in Murom.

Local residents described hearing multiple explosions, with flashes visible in the sky. Russian officials from Tula and Voronezh stated that over 20 drones were detected over four municipalities in Voronezh, with debris from one downed drone sparking a forest fire in the east of the oblast. The fire was quickly extinguished, according to regional authorities.

In response to the drone attack, airports in several Russian regions were temporarily closed for safety. The Russian authorities imposed restrictions on civilian air traffic in airports located in Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, and Tambov. However, by the morning of 27 May, air traffic in Saratov resumed as the restrictions were lifted.

The Russian aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, confirmed that safety measures were taken across several airports.

More at the link.

Tula Oblast, Russia:

“ATESH” partisans disrupted Russian railway supplies to the occupiers’ army in the Kursk direction with a fire attack. In the Tula region, they disabled a relay cabinet, paralyzing military train movement on a vital section of the route.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:37 AM

Borisoglebsk. Voronezh Oblast, Russia:

Reports online say that the Murom Instrument-Making Plant was also hit. The consequences are still unknown, but eyewitnesses are reporting explosions in Borisoglebsk. Due to the attack, the Russians implemented the “Carpet” plan at several airports.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.

DOGS OF WAR:

Mariana met those two little dogs near the park, dressed in red outfits. They immediately ran up to her and started posing when she pulled out her camera to take a picture.

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— Tim Mak (@timkmak.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 9:32 AM

Open thread!