Russia Must Feel That Every Step It Takes to Expand the War Has Consequences for It – Address by the President

24 November 2024 – 20:08

Dear Ukrainians! And all our partners!

As we come to the end of the week – the week in which Russia took yet another step to expand the war by striking Ukraine with a new missile – it’s important for us to acknowledge and thank everyone who has taken new steps to support our nation, our people, and our life. Ukraine has friends. Ukraine has those it can rely on, and because of this, we are able to respond to Russian terror and defend lives.

This week brought new defense packages. Denmark committed close to a billion kroner – funds that will support our defense industry. Norway has prepared the first tranche, which, following the Danish model, will support arms production, specifically production in Ukraine. Sweden will also contribute funding following Denmark’s model. The United States has approved a $275 million package, including munitions for HIMARS, as well as Javelins, drones, and mines that we urgently need to defend positions, particularly in the Donetsk region. Germany has provided a new package as well. There is a new NASAMS from Canada. I am deeply grateful for every single step like this. Sanctions are no less important – this week we have new US sanctions against Russia, very effective ones against the banking sector. These measures significantly weaken Putin’s system, and we need more of them. He must constantly lose the means to finance its war – week after week. And no matter how much Russia tries to blackmail everyone it can, we must not lose our resolve, we must keep pushing, and only in this way will real peace become closer.

Today, Ukraine’s Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs presented media agencies with fragments of the Russian missile that struck Dnipro. Experts are currently analyzing the evidence and working with our partners to establish all the details and specifications of this missile, and to find a response together to this latest Russian escalation. The world has air defense systems capable of countering such threats. Everyone must focus on this. Russia must feel that every step it takes to expand the war has consequences for it.

Those consequences are reflected in our actions at the front, in the actions of our warriors, our units. They are also reflected in the actions of the world, in how the world responds. Putin cannot be given a single week to adapt or find countermeasures. We must consistently do everything to force Russia into seeking peace – true peace. This can only be achieved through two things: helping Ukraine and pressuring Russia. I thank everyone around the world who is doing just that – standing with us, with Ukraine, with the Ukrainian people. I thank all our people who are fighting and working for the sake of Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

Here’s last night’s Ukrainian air defense tally:

⚡️ Ukraine downs 50 of 73 Russian drones in overnight attack, Air Force says.

Ukraine shot down 50 of the 73 drones launched by Russia overnight on Nov. 24, the Air Force reported. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) November 24, 2024 at 3:24 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Ukraine shot down 50 of the 73 drones launched by Russia overnight on Nov. 24, the Air Force reported.

Russia reportedly targeted Ukraine with Shahed drones and an unspecified type of drone launched from the Russian oblasts of Oryol and Bryansk.

The drones were downed over Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Zhytomyr oblasts, according to the Air Force. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.

As of 9 a.m. local time, four Russian drones remained in Ukrainian airspace, with combat operations ongoing.

Kyiv authorities reported in the morning that air defense forces shot down more than a dozen drones targeting the capital.

“Preliminary reports indicate no damage in the capital, and no information about casualties has been received,” the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram.

Russia has increased large-scale drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, depleting Ukraine’s air defense systems and targeting critical infrastructure.

On Nov. 17, Russian forces launched one of the heaviest aerial strikes of the full-scale war, primarily targeting the energy grid. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 102 of the 120 missiles and 42 of the 90 drones launched overnight.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), reported on Nov. 18 that Russian forces are using cheap decoy drones with foreign components to overload Ukraine’s air defense systems.

According to HUR, Russian manufacturers produce the Gerbera drone — a cheaper and less deadly equivalent of Iran’s Shahed — at a plant in Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan, central Russia. These drones are reportedly made with components from the United States, China, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

The Kursk cross border offensive:

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces regarding tonight’s missile strike on Kursk, allegedly Russian S-400 radar system was targeted: t.me/GeneralStaff…

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 4:02 AM

Kherson:

#Kherson is under another attack now. Loud explosions.

📷 Driving down the central street in a car previously attacked by a drone.

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— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 2:10 PM

Kyiv:

Kyiv currently under attack by Russian/Iranian Shahed attack drones. Loud in my part of western Kyiv (like in video), and they’re all over the capital. Earlier, monitors predicted around 80 drone launches, attacking around the country.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 4:50 PM

bsky.app/profile/marg…

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 4:54 PM

Zaporizhzhya also under mass Russian drone attack. In Kyiv, in Dniprovsky district in the left (eastern bank) a residential building has been hit, probably by debris from a shot-down drone, and the top (9th) floor is on fire.

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 5:22 PM

Donestk Oblast:

⚡️Russia preparing to break through to southern Donetsk Oblast, military says.

“The enemy is trying to break through to the south of Donetsk region, where Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts meet,” Southern Command Spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn said.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) November 24, 2024 at 3:44 PM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Russian forces are preparing to break through to the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, Vladyslav Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command, said on Nov. 24.

Kyiv has been warning of a potential Russian offensive in the south, as Moscow’s troops continue advancing in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

“The enemy is trying to break through to the south of Donetsk region, where Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts meet,” Voloshyn told Apostrophe TV.

Voloshyn said the push would likely concentrate around Velyka Novosilka, one of the largest settlements in the area. Russian troops are also gearing up for assault operations in the direction of Orikhiv and Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

“There is a high probability that the enemy will also launch assault operations, trying to break into our defense,” he said.

Russian forces are creating assault groups, transferring ammunition, and conducting aerial reconnaissance with drones, Voloshyn said, citing Ukrainian intelligence. These actions signal preparations for an upcoming offensive.

“In addition, the enemy is actively trying to hit the previously scouted areas in these areas… and is finding out where our firepower is located, trying to suppress and destroy it to make it easier for them to conduct assault operations,” he said.

Ukrainian forces have been preparing for a Russian push in the south. Voloshyn on Nov. 12 said that Russia could launch a renewed assault on Zaporizhzhia Oblast “any day.” Ukraine is busy building heavy fortifications near Zaporizhzhia, the military told the Economist on Nov. 24.

Earlier in October, Voloshyn said that Russian forces were massing for a breakthrough in the direction of Orikhiv and Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The area was the main axis of Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive in 2023, which led to the liberation of the settlement of Robotyne but achieved no major results.

Russia is currently gaining territory in eastern Ukraine at a rapid rate, seizing towns in Donetsk Oblast at the cost of heavy personnel losses.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Nov. 2. that Ukraine is now facing “one of the most powerful” Russian offensives since the start of the all-out war.

Pokrovsk:

Spent exclusive day with the 14th Regiment near Pokrovsk. Drones are helping Ukraine make up for limited artillery—they’re precise and hit key targets like Russian air defense systems or Buk launcher. Ivasyk, who joined 8 months ago, put it best: “Russia won’t bomb itself—we gotta get back to work.”

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— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 8:06 AM

Speaking of bombing Russia, there’s a lot of stuff going boom and burning there tonight.

Kaluga Oblast:

Kaluga in russia decided to burn some of its oil out of the blue

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 7:14 PM

Drone attack on Russian oil refinery in Kaluga region of Russia is reported.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 6:02 PM

/2. Oil refinery in Kaluga, Russia, burning after the drone attack

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 6:24 PM

And a Russian plane caught fire upon landing in Turkey.

Antalya airport:

Russian passenger plane caught fire at Antalya airport.

The fire occurred on board the Sukhoi Superjet 100-95LR aircraft of Azimut Airlines, which arrived from Sochi, Russia.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 2:40 PM

/2. Video of Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100-95LR catching fire in Antalya

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 3:20 PM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

A new video from Patron’s official TikTok:

@patron__dsns

Земля – дивна річ, чи не так? Вона може здаватися твердою, як скеля, або м’якою, як ковдра під ногами, коли ти йдеш ранковою росою. Вона може обіймати коріння дерев, тримати фундаменти наших домівок. Але буває, що землю вкривають і страхи. Міни. Боєприпаси. Речі, яких земля не мала б бачити, а тим більше — торкатися. Проте вони є. Замість врожаїв і квітів, замість дитячих босоногих кроків. Але й є ті, хто робить землю такою, як вона і повинна бути — чистою і безпечною. Це сапери. Вони йдуть туди, де кожен крок — це ризик. І вони свідомо обирають цей ризик, щоб захистити нас із вами. А коли цей ризик, на жаль, наздоганяє їх, сапери опиняються перед іншим випробуванням: як почати жити заново. Вони втрачають значно більше, ніж просто час або сили. Сапери втрачають частини себе, справжні, фізичні. Поранення важке, але життя триває. Наприклад, як у сапера Артема Посоха. На жаль, він втратив ногу при розмінуванні. Після болю та усвідомлення був довгий шлях протезування та реабілітації… І от він сам сів за кермо і подолав аж 1400 кілометрів, аби обійняти своїх рідних 🥹А є і такі, як Михайло Пугач, який зараз робить перші, несміливі, але тверді кроки у центрі Superhumans. І робить їх завдяки вашій підтримці та донатам ❤️‍🩹 Я збираю гроші для таких, як вони. Бо коли приходить біда — вони лишаються наодинці зі своєю найважчою битвою. Битвою за звичне життя. За можливість знову стати на ноги, обійняти рідних, відчути міцність землі під собою. І я дуже хочу, аби ми допомогли їм виграти у цій битві! Адже нам усім потрібна безпечна земля. Нам усім потрібні ті, які робитимуть її такою. Як і ті, що житимуть на ній. Ходитимуть босими ногами і збиратимуть квіти. Посилання на банку мого фонду можна знайти тут у шапці профілю, в тауож у хайлайтс «Добро» в моєму інст. А ось мій PayPal: [email protected] Дякую кожному за найменший донатик у мій фонд! Ви перетворюєте кожну гривню на речі, яким ціни немає! І лизь всім, хто долучиться до збору (грошима, репостиком чи добрим словом у коментарях ❤️) 👅 #песпатрон

♬ оригінальний звук – Patron_official

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

The earth is a strange thing, isn’t it? It can feel as hard as a rock or as soft as a blanket underfoot when you walk through the morning dew. It can hug the roots of trees, hold the foundations of our homes. But sometimes the earth is also covered with fears. Mines. Ammunition. Things that the earth should not see, let alone touch. But they are there. Instead of harvests and flowers, instead of children’s barefoot steps.

But there are also those who make the land the way it should be – clean and safe. These are sappers.

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The link to my foundation’s bank account can be found here in the profile header, and in the “Dobro” highlights on my instagram. And here is my PayPal: [email protected]

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Open thread!

During the Operation of Our Grain From Ukraine Program, We Have Managed to Save 20 Million People from Hunger – Speech by the President at the Third International Grain From Ukraine Conference

23 November 2024 – 15:38

Dear participants, our dear guests – of our Ukrainian state – ladies and gentlemen, all attendees!

I am pleased that we have gathered for the third time here, in Kyiv, in Ukraine, to support one of our most important and symbolic initiatives – the Grain From Ukraine program.

The program is working really successfully and will continue to expand. I want to thank everyone who makes this possible.

Today, important figures, important volumes are being announced here, which represent the most important thing – the real lives of people: children, families in different parts of the world. And it’s not just Europe, of course, which is very important for us. But Africa and Asia – the entire world. These are the countries that we have really helped. Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen.

Now there was a very sensitive video. It was Nigeria and Gaza and so on. Many parts of the world. And I am very pleased, and I want to express my gratitude. And I would like us to applaud the whole team, all the countries that provide all this – such support for people. They bring life to people. Thank you very much!

Overall, during the operation of our Grain From Ukraine program, we have managed to save 20 million people from hunger. And this is solely due to one of our humanitarian programs.

In total, Ukraine’s food exports feed 400 million people in 100 countries of the world.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest contributors to food security. And we maintain this status despite everything. Despite this colonial challenge from the Russian Federation. This war is a war against the lives of Ukrainians, against our people, our families.

I want to remind you that the full-scale Russian invasion began, among other things, with the Russian fleet blockading Ukrainian ports. This was the starting point. And Russia was well aware of the consequences of this. They wanted those consequences, of course, the terrible outcome for the whole world – not just for Ukraine.

They wanted global food prices to rise. And this was not just a desire for more money, more profits. This certainly is the case, and it was the case in Russia. But then it was primarily about power. If they can create a food catastrophe, it means they can subjugate a nation that is dependent on food imports – any food. This is an extremely sensitive issue for most African nations, for a significant number of people in Asia. And in Europe or in America, the question of prices is always a question of stability in this or that region. And stability is important for people’s lives.

That is why it is so important that we continue to stand together in defending food security, the security of food supply routes and other critical export goods.

Solely during the operation of the food export corridor in our Black Sea – from July of last year to this month – 321 infrastructure facilities in our ports have been damaged by Russian missiles and Iranian drone’ strikes. More than 20 vessels – ordinary civilian vessels – were also damaged in the strikes. And we are talking about other countries’ vessels. It is not about Ukrainian vessels. More than 60 targeted strikes were aimed specifically at food infrastructure.

Through this war against Ukraine, Russia has shown that there are no truly distant countries in the world. Everything in the world is now strongly interconnected. There is no distance. There is none.

Food prices in Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, and other countries of Africa and the African continent depend directly on the ability of farmers and agribusinesses in Ukraine to function properly. The speed with which we can clear our fields of Russian mines determines how quickly the food market can return to its normal stability. And here, of course, I would like to thank our people, our farmers – we have very little time for this gratitude during the war. First of all, we mention our priority – our army, and this is only fair. But I want to tell you: because of this war, because of the heavy mining of our lands, the large amount of land – we are talking about hundreds of thousands of hectares – a significant number of people were injured, but the farmers continued to work, continued to do all this, despite the technical lack of equipment in Ukraine to demine such volumes. I want to thank all the farmers, all the people in the world who have been fighting against hunger around the world. Thank you very much!

And for Ukraine, it is important to remind everyone of this on these very days, now, when we commemorate all the victims of the large-scale and artificial famine in Ukraine, the Holodomors of different times. Primarily the Holodomor of 1932-1933, which was orchestrated against our people by the then-Moscow authorities. More than 90 years have passed, but the memory of this in Ukrainian families has not and will not fade because millions of people died. We should certainly value every person, tens, thousands, hundreds of thousands. But when it comes to the Holodomor, it is a real genocide because millions of people died.

We have not forgotten that it all happened. And we must do everything to prevent Russia, again because of its colonial ambitions, or anyone else from creating similar catastrophes that happened in Ukraine – similar catastrophes around the world.

I want to thank everyone who is here today. I thank all the diplomatic representatives, all our guests, for honoring the victims of the Holodomor. Thank you for standing with Ukraine at such an important moment.

Glory to Ukraine!

There was also a press conference. Here’s that video:

President Volodomor Zelensky marked Holodomor Remembrance Day on Nov. 23, honoring the victims of the Soviet man-made famine that killed an estimated three to five million Ukrainians.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) November 23, 2024 at 10:37 AM

President Zelenskyy and First Lady Zelenska also attended the Holodomor Memorial Day events today. Here is the write up from the President of Ukraine’s official site:

The President and the First Lady Honored the Memory of Holodomor Victims in Ukraine

23 November 2024 – 13:56

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in events commemorating the victims of the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932-1933, as well as the Holodomors of 1921-1923 and 1946-1947.

In the morning, a prayer service was held at the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to commemorate the Holodomor victims in Ukraine.

The service was also attended by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, church leaders and representatives of religious organizations, heads of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine, military personnel, military chaplains, and representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora.

After the prayer, the Head of State, the First Lady, representatives of the military and political leadership, and the clergy marched to the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska laid sheaf compositions at the Bitter Memory of Childhood monument and paid tribute to the Holodomor victims.

After the presidential couple, our warriors, including Heroes of Ukraine Roman Mamavko and Bohdan Dronov, as well as other participants, including representatives of the diplomatic corps, honored the memory of the victims of genocide.

The Kyiv Independent has more details on the Zelenskyys Holodomor Memorial Day observances:

President Volodomor Zelensky marked Holodomor Remembrance Day on Nov. 23, honoring the victims of the Soviet man-made famine that killed an estimated three to five million Ukrainians.

The Holodomor occurred from 1932 to 1933 under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s rule. The Ukrainian government has called on the international community to recognize it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.

On Holodomor Remembrance Day, Ukrainians traditionally light a candle at 4 p.m. and place it in their window to honor the memories of those who perished in the famine.

“They wanted to destroy us. To kill us. To subjugate us. They failed. They wanted to hide the truth and silence the terrible crimes forever. They failed,” Zelensky wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“They wanted to confuse us, mislead us, make us doubt—to forget, and in forgetting, to forgive. They failed.”

Several of Ukraine’s European allies also marked Holodomor Remembrance Day.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote that “Europe joins the people of Ukraine to remember and pay tribute (to the victims).”

“Russia continues what it started 91 years ago – trying to erase the Ukrainian nation from the Earth. Then via manmade famine, today with rockets, missiles, bombs, murders, rape, attacks on ports, energy facilities,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze wrote, noting that Latvia recognized the Holodomor as a genocide in 2008.

From the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv:

In 1928, the Soviet leadership announced a policy of collectivization, by combining individual private farms with the collective farms of state property. Each farmer had a certain number of workdays, for working off of which they were paid for by natural products. However, mainly the totality of workdays was so miserable that denied the opportunity for the farmers to feed themselves and their families. Considering Ukrainian farmers’ strong sense of individualism, the collective farm policy system implementation in Ukraine received resistance. That is why villagers were forcefully dragged into collective farms by compulsion, terror and propaganda war with dissenters, whom the regime marked as “kulaks,” “bourgeois nationalists,” and “counter-revolutionaries,” and destroyed those people.

The policy of the Soviet regime provoked the Ukrainian people’s resistance. Historians have recorded about 4 thousand farmers’ mass demonstrations in the early 1930s against collectivization, tax policy, robbery, terror and violence done by authorities.

A sense of national identity of Ukrainian farmers, combined with mental individualism, contradicted the ideology of the Soviet Union. That was the basis of Ukrainian nationalism and was a threat to the unity and the very existence of the USSR. That is why the object of genocide crime was the Ukrainian nation, to weaken which the Stalinist totalitarian regime carried out genocidal extermination of the Ukrainian farmers as the prevalent part of the nation and the source of its spiritual and material strength.

The danger of riots and rebellions for the existence of the USSR was well aware in Kremlin by Stalin and his associates. Not wanting to lose Ukraine, the Soviet regime created a plan to exterminate the Ukrainian nation, which was disguised as grain procurement plans to the state. It was about the complete removal of all stocks of grain and other food and property confiscation as penalties for failure of grain procurement plan. After Ukraine was turned into the territory of famine, the regime cut off all the ways to salvation. Only Ukrainian and Kuban’ farmers were forbidden to travel to cities in Russia and Belarus. 22,4 million people were physically locked within the territory of the Holodomor.

Stalin, who considered farmers the basis of the national movement, hit the Ukrainian farmers as the bearer of Ukrainian traditions, culture and language. In 1932, an unrealistic implementation grain procurement plan, of 356 million poods of grain, was set for Ukraine. To approve the plan, Stalin’s closest associates, Kaganovich and Molotov, came to Kharkiv, who were well informed about the scale of the famine in the first half of 1932, Ukraine. The Genocide was organized and committed by the legalization of violence and mass murder of Ukrainians by government representatives. About 400 archival documents confirm this.

In the early 1930s, the policy of collectivization in Ukraine collapsed. Farmers massively abandoned farms and took their property back: livestock, stock, and earned grain. On August 7, 1932, to preserve farms and property in state hands, the regime adopted a repressive resolution known among the people as a “Law On Five Ears of Grain.”

According to the resolution of CEC and Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR “On Safekeeping Property of State Enterprises, Collective Farms and Cooperatives and Strengthening Public (Socialist) Property,” all the collective property equated to the state property and it was set a severe punishment for its theft. With a law like this, the state punished hungry farmers for collecting the crop leftovers from fields for ten years imprisonment with confiscation of property or execution. The law took away people’s right to have any food. According to the resolution, a specific group of people was organized to carry out searches among the population to forcefully withdraw the grain. Those searches were accompanied by terror and physical and psychological abuse of people.

The next genocidal decision was the establishment of food fines – the right of the state to take from farmers not only grain but all the food and property that could be sold or exchanged for food, which there wasn’t in any other Soviet republic. To strengthen the famine in Ukraine, the Politburo of the CC CP (B), under the pressure of Molotov, on November 18, 1932, adopted a resolution which introduced a specific repressive regime – the “black boards”. Including into the “black boards” meant physical food blockade of farms, villages, and districts: total removal of food, ban of trade and transportation of goods, and ban on leaving for farmers and the surrounding place by military units, GPU, police. In 1932 – 1933 the regime of “black boards” acted in 180 districts of the USSR (25% area). Such a repressive regime was used only in Ukraine and Kuban, in the areas where Ukrainians lived.

Kremlin created conditions of life designed to destroy the Ukrainian nation through the complete withdrawal of all food supplies. Resolution of the CP ECP (b) and the People’s Commissars of the USSR from January 22, 1933, signed by Stalin and Molotov, blocked Ukrainians inside the starving territory and forbade them to leave the Ukrainian SSR and Kuban to buy any bread. For any other administrative region of the USSR, such a decision was not applied.

The Stalinist regime declared famine in Ukraine as a non-existent phenomenon. That is why, they refused the assistance offered by many NGOs, including foreign Ukrainian communities and the International Red Cross.

In the spring of 1933, the mortality rate in Ukraine became catastrophic. The peak of Holodomor fell in June. Then the martyr’s death took away every day 28 thousand people, every hour – 1168 people, and every minute – 20 people. At that time, Moscow gave Ukraine seed (for sowing) and food loans. In case when food reached villages, it was provided mainly in form of catering and only to those collective farmers who were still able to work and live in field conditions.

That all was carried out with large grain stocks, available in the centralized state reserves and large-scale food exports.The totalitarian regime’s actions confirm the intention to destroy part of the Ukrainian nation within the specified time limits.

During the commission of a particularly grave crime of genocide in 1932–1933, the communist totalitarian regime exterminated millions of Ukrainians.

Certain historical circumstances complicate the calculations and, even more so – establish the names of the killed. The communist totalitarian regime did everything possible to conceal the consequences of its crime. It was forbidden to record the real number of deaths. Today, secret lists of some village councils, with the list of those who died in 1932-1933, were discovered. These lists are twice the official data. It is quite clear that such cases were not isolated. There was a ban on recording the cause of death as “hunger”, so death certificates indicated “from typhus”, “exhaustion”, or “from old age”. In 1934, all the registry office books about death registration were transferred to a specific department of GPU. Ukrainians died out in families, villages, and the records were held not always. The level of unreported deaths is unknown, but it is clear that millions died. The rate of unreported deaths is unknown, but it is clear that millions died.

The Soviet Union convinced the international public “not to see” the mass murder of Ukrainians with the help of propaganda and bribery of individual journalists. However, there were publicists who wrote the truth. Reports of ambassadors and diplomats have been kept. The regime took measures to erase the memory of the killing of millions of Ukrainians but the memory of the people is indestructible. Moreover, with the independence of Ukraine, the ban on talking about the Holodomor was lifted.

At the entrance to Kyiv’s memorial park, a haunting sculpture depicts a very thin girl with a very sad look and a handful of wheat. Behind her stands a giant Candle of Remembrance of the Holodomor, a man-made famine that killed millions of Ukrainians.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

In the aftermath of World War I, Ukraine was independent. However, in 1919, the Soviet Union forcibly annexed the nation. Ukrainians, yearning for self-determination, were seen as a threat to Moscow’s imperial ambitions.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

In 1932, not wanting to lose control of Europe’s main source of grain, Stalin confiscated the grain-producing land from Ukrainian peasants and took all the grain, creating an artificial famine. The goal was to teach Ukrainians a lesson so they would no longer oppose Moscow.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

The people who produced the most grain in Europe were left without a crumb of bread.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

The height of this horrific event was in the spring of 1933, when millions of Ukrainians perished from hunger.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

My late grandfather was only 9, during the Holodomor. He recounted witnessing people starving to death in the streets, their bodies eventually collected and disposed of in mass graves. In rare moments when he’d open up about it, it was very clear that the event deeply scarred him for life.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

To conceal the extent of the genocide, Stalin’s regime erased evidence, executed census takers, and resettled russian populations in Ukrainian villages. For decades, the Holodomor remained a silenced history, buried beneath layers of Soviet propaganda.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

The Holodomor at that time broke the Ukrainian resistance, but it made the desire for Ukraine’s independence eternal, forever imprinting it in our DNA.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

As russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the specter of the Holodomor looms
Every fourth Saturday of November, we light a candle to remember the victims of the Holodomor. This year, light a candle with us and share information about the genocide of the Ukrainian people that is happening yet again

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 9:03 AM

We leveled your cities, carried out mass executions of civilians and POWs, denied your nationhood and language, denied your agency to conduct foreign policy, and invaded you twice. But if you downsize your army and become neutral, we promise we won’t touch you again, trust me bro

— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 5:31 PM

 

 

The Kursk cross border offensive:

Reports indicate an attack on the Kursk region, with air defense systems actively engaged.

The regional governor has reported an assault involving Ukrainian UAVs. Other sources suggest the enemy may be employing ATACMS ballistic missiles or Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 3:02 PM

In Kursk, Russia, a threat of attack by ballistic missiles (ATACMS) was reported. Local residents heard explosions in the city.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 3:27 PM

Kurakhove:

The Russian T-90M tank may have achieved a world record in the “turret yeet” category following an ammunition detonation. Struck by fighters from the National Guard’s special unit, its turret reportedly soared an astonishing 200 meters into the air. This remarkable feat took place near Kurakhove.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 10:02 AM

Kharkiv:

Today, Kharkiv lights candles in remembrance of the victims of the Holodomor.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 10:54 AM

Kherson:

A walk downtown #Kherson: at a corner, a pit and fresh flowers for a woman just killed here by a Russian shell.

Same block, flowers, and candles to commemorate the Kherson victims of the totalitarian regime and Holodomor, Stalin’s death by hunger, in 1932–1933.

Why?

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— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 4:33 PM

Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast:

Footage (with subs) of the defense forces repelling a mechanized assault by the Red Army near Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region. As seen, the enemy’s equipment is heavily modified with various upgrades, resembling Frankenstein’s monsters.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 7:30 AM

Full 3-minute video is here: t.me/wartranslate…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 7:30 AM

Fragment of video showing a Ukrainian drone firing on enemy positions in a treeline southeast of Velyka Novosilka using a mounted gun.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 7:13 AM

Russian forces are reportedly advancing near five settlements in Donetsk Oblast, the crowd-sourced monitoring website Deep State reported on Nov. 23.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) November 23, 2024 at 10:38 AM

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

Russian forces are reportedly advancing near five settlements in Donetsk Oblast, the crowd-sourced monitoring website Deep State reported on Nov. 23.

The settlement of Velyka Novosilka was targeted directly by a military column of “at least” five armored fighting vehicles, as well as two others through tree lines south of the settlement of Rozdolne, according to Deep State.

Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops out of Rozdolne, but the situation in the area remains “extremely challenging,” Deep State reported.

In addition to Velyka Novosilka and Rozdolne, Russian forces are advancing near Maksymivka, Pustynka, and Toretsk, Deep State wrote.

Russia has been mounting increasingly intense attacks along multiple areas of the eastern front, attempting to breach Ukraine’s defenses in Donetsk Oblast and to reach the cities of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk.

Avdiivka:

Fresh footage from the city of Avdiivka, reduced to rubble by the Rashists. The “liberation” of the city from life was a success. Now, the “Russian world” has fully taken root here.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 7:06 AM

Russian occupied Crimea:

⚡️Crimean Tatar editor goes missing in occupied Crimea.

Ediye Muslimova, the editor-in-chief of a Crimean Tatar children’s magazine, disappeared in Russian-occupied Crimea on Nov. 21. Local sources say she was forced into a vehicle by three men and is being detained by the Russian FSB.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) November 22, 2024 at 10:53 PM

Here are the details from The Kyiv Independent:

Ediye Muslimova, the editor-in-chief of a Crimean Tatar children’s magazine, disappeared in Russian-occupied Crimea on Nov. 21, according to the NGO Crimean Solidarity.

Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a journalist and human rights activist, said Muslimova was seen being put into a white GAZelle vehicle by three unknown men near her home the morning of Nov. 21.

Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Following Moscow’s illegal annexation, Russia began targeting the peninsula’s indigenous Tatar population, which has been particularly vocal in resisting the occupation.

Muslimova’s family became concerned after Muslimova, 61, would not answer or return calls, according to her niece, Elzara.

“I started calling — she has two phones (a work phone and her regular phone), both phones are turned off,” Elzara Muslimova said.

“There is no connection: no Telegram, no WhatsApp, no Viber.”

Zudiyeva’s account of an apparent abduction was supported by Zarema Bariieva, manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center (CTRC).

“Recently, it became known that a 61-year-old woman is being held in the FSB (Russia’s Federal Security Service) building,” she said in a Facebook post.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these reports at the time of publication.

Muslimova is the daughter of Crimean Tatar activitst Refat Muslimov and editor of the children’s magazine “Armanchyk,” which has been published monthly since 2011. It is reportedly the only glossy children’s magazine in the Crimean Tatar language.

According to the CTRC, 70% of all political prisoners in occupied Crimea are Crimean Tatars.

Russian occupied Berdyansk:

Overnight on the south coast, #Ukraine looks to have struck the occupied city of Berdiansk. A loud explosion occurred in “the port area.” Russia uses the port to bring in military supplies & to loot Ukrainian grain, coal etc. So fingers crossed 1 less orc ship. t.me/berdmisk/11258

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— Glasnost Gone (@glasnostgone.bsky.social) November 23, 2024 at 3:48 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

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

The elusive Ukrainian cat squirrel.

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— Nate Mook (@natemook.bsky.social) November 17, 2024 at 6:44 AM

Open thread.