We Will Continue to Strengthen the Ukrainian Fleet Together with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – There Are Promising New Details of Our Cooperation – Address by the President

7 July 2024 – 20:14

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today, I am in Odesa – on Ukrainian Navy Day. This is a day of gratitude to all naval warriors and negotiations to ensure that the Defense Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Navy, and our entire country gain even more capabilities. Today, here in Odesa, we were joined by the new Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, as well as the new Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom. I informed them about the situation on the battlefield, and there was a report from Navy Commander Neizhpapa. We will continue to strengthen the Ukrainian fleet together with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – there are promising new details of our cooperation. We also discussed strengthening air defense, which is our absolute priority, and I am grateful for the willingness to take the next steps – particularly regarding the F-16s.

Of course, we were honored to be here today. I had the honor of personally awarding our Navy servicemen, those who have particularly distinguished themselves. Among them are the Hero of Ukraine, Junior Sergeant Vladyslav Andrushchenko, as well as those who have been awarded the Crosses of Military Merit, the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and the Orders “For Courage.” I awarded the Order of Princess Olga to Sergeant Iryna Bovshchyk, a combat medic of the 36th separate marine brigade. I am proud of each and every one who truly changes everything for our country – defending the state, opening new opportunities for Ukraine, fighting for Ukraine, working, and securing international support for our country. Each of our joint achievements – including the success in the Black Sea and the expulsion of the Russian fleet – is the result of many of our people who remained loyal to both the state and themselves. Glory to all of you! Today, I also paid a visit to our warriors who are undergoing treatment and rehabilitation after being wounded. I wished them a speedy recovery and thanked the doctors and nurses.

I also held a meeting regarding the situation in Odesa and the region. We discussed security, the operation of our transport arteries, energy and social issues.

And one more thing. I want to extend a special gratitude to our 110th separate mechanized brigade for shooting down another Russian combat aircraft in the Donetsk region – the twelfth in the past few months. Your accuracy is truly exemplary! Well done!

Glory to Ukraine!

The new British Defense Secretary was in Odesa today with President Zelenskyy.

Odesa. Together with the UK Secretary of State for Defence, we visited the hospital where sailors wounded in battles with Russian occupiers are being treated and spoke with these brave warriors.

I honored the defenders with state awards. I am grateful for their fight, service,… pic.twitter.com/58lTVka3vI

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 7, 2024

Odesa. Together with the UK Secretary of State for Defence, we visited the hospital where sailors wounded in battles with Russian occupiers are being treated and spoke with these brave warriors.

I honored the defenders with state awards. I am grateful for their fight, service, and defense of Ukraine.

I also extend my gratitude to the medical staff who treat our warriors and bring them back to life.

In Odessa today with @ZelenskyyUa I made clear that Britain’s commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is steadfast.

We will step up UK support for Ukraine with a new military aid package and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends for as long as it takes. https://t.co/soCr9Xg4Dr

— John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) July 7, 2024

The UK’s new Defence Secretary, John Healey, announced that the UK would provide a new package of support to Ukraine during his official visit to Odesa.

List of promised equipment from the official UK government website: https://t.co/zdkHQQScLg pic.twitter.com/lw04OVbba4

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 7, 2024

France:

Quite the celebration as the French Left takes to the streets of Paris for a joyous chant of “No pasarán!”pic.twitter.com/yBR76IyuHe

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) July 7, 2024

Quite the celebration as the French Left takes to the streets of Paris for a joyous chant of “No pasarán!”pic.twitter.com/yBR76IyuHe

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) July 7, 2024

Mood in France tonight — a split screen of #TeamDemocracy/Left 🇫🇷 vs. the Far-right #TeamDemocracy
/MT🎩: @ianbremmer

pic.twitter.com/qVD6SI1KUB

— Kim (@kim) July 7, 2024

So, how are things with Le Pen and her splendid little plan to make France kneel before Putin, huh?

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) July 7, 2024

Macron’s gambit sort of paid off. Now he just has to figure out if he can make an agreement with the New Popular Front to make governing easier despite the differences between them and his centrist coalition.

France24 published an excellent article today that interviewed surviving members of the French partisan underground during World War II in regard to the current moment in France.

Eleven days ago, Franco-Austrian Mélanie Berger-Volle was filled with immense joy when she was selected by the Loire département, or district, in central France to carry the Olympic flame due to her participation in the Resistance during the Second World War.

The 102-year-old carried the flame in a retirement home in the city of Saint-Étienne, with a broad smile on her face. “I was very happy to show that an elderly person could carry the flame. It made me so happy”, she said.

But now, three days after the far-right National Rally party (RN) came out on top in the first round of legislative elections, the former résistante spoke with a heavy heart.

“I’m appalled that France, which has achieved so much, is turning to the far right,” she said, adding that “I’ve no choice but to speak my mind”.

‘I’ll vote for anyone, but not for them’

Born into a Jewish family in Vienna in 1921, Berger-Volle lived through one of the darkest periods in recent history.

In 1938, the then 17-year-old was forced to leave her country following the annexation of Austria by the German Reich.

“People forget that Hitler came to power legally”, Berger-Volle said.

After a brief stay in Belgium, Berger-Volle came to France where she joined the Resistance when Nazi Germany occupied the country.

Arrested in 1942 for distributing anti-Hitler leaflets to German soldiers, Berger-Volle was sent to the Saint-Michel prison in Toulouse, then to Marseille’s Baumettes Prison from where she managed to escape with help from comrades.

The young activist then continued working with the Resistance until France was liberated in 1945.

More than 80 years on, she is stunned by the rise of the far right in the country for which she fought against the Nazis.

“I’ll vote for anyone, but not for them,” Berger-Volle said, referring to the RN. “They are very intelligent. They say they’ve become like everyone else, but if you scratch the surface a bit, nothing has changed.”

In Toulon, when there was a far-right mayor, “the first thing he did was to attack [the city’s] culture, even though we can’t live without it,” Berger-Volle said.

She added that she would cast her ballot on Sunday despite her old age.

“Of course, I’ve always voted. I fought for it during the war”.

‘I don’t want us to be governed by former SS men’

On France’s west coast, Roger Lebranchu also had the honour of taking part in the Olympic torch relay on May 31, when it passed through Mont-Saint-Michel.

“I carried this symbol, which represents peace in the world and dignity between peoples. I never thought I’d do it one day”, he points out.

The former rowing champion, selected for the London Olympics in 1948, was chosen for his sporting achievements and his past as a member of the Resistance.

“I was arrested in 1943 because I wanted to reach North Africa via Spain”, Lebranchu said.

Aged merely 22, he was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp and the nearby Schönebeck camp where he spent nearly two years. He escaped in April 1945 just before the Americans arrived.

After the liberation of France, Lebranchu took up rowing again and won the French championship, twice.

Now at 101 years of age, Lebranchu is worried about the future of his country.

“I was deported for acts of resistance, I don’t want us to be governed by former SS men”, he said, referring to founding members of the FN. Among them were Léon Gaultier and Pierre Bousquet, two Frenchmen who had joined the ranks of the Waffen-SS.

“When you’ve been through the hands of the SS like I have, you can expect anything,” the former Resistance fighter said, adding that he hopes that parties from “the centre will come together and stand shoulder by shoulder” against the far right.

‘Danger on our doorstep’

Meanwhile former Resistance fighter Jean Lafaurie takes a broader approach. For him, it is necessary for parties across all political divides to band together to prevent the National rally from taking power.

“We have to block this party, which is harmful to France,” he said. “When I hear people from the right or government representatives say that we can’t vote for the New Popular Front (a left-wing alliance)” because they object to certain candidates, “I say that blocking means blocking. We can discuss the details later”.

“We’re back to the same things that we’ve been through at the end of the 1930s. I think we’re in the same system,” said Lafaurie, who was shaken upon learning the election results from the first round of voting last Sunday.

“The danger is on our doorstep”, he said.

Lafaurie had already faced a very similar danger over eight decades ago.

At 20, he joined the communist resistance fighters, or FTPF (Francs-tireurs et partisans), in his home region of the Lot in southwest France.

In July 1943, he was arrested and sentenced to ten years hard labour.

Interned in the Eysses prison in Lot-et-Garonne, Lafaurie took part in a mutiny that ended in the execution of 12 prisoners and the deportation of more than 1,000 others to the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.

There, Lafaurie survived for almost a year as prisoner number 73 618 before he was liberated in April 1945, weighing just 36 kilos.

“The concentration camps were a bit like what the Nazis intended to do in the rest of the world. A world of slaves with the Nazis as the sole representatives of authority”, Lafaurie said.

Deeply marked by the experience, which is now “ingrained” in him, Lafaurie said he is dismayed to see that some people in France are suggesting trying the far right.

“We’ve been there!” Lafaurie said.

“They may have changed the way they talk to better deceive people, but the basis of the movement is still the same. Marine Le Pen has shown her ties with Putin. France is really in danger, but so is the whole of Europe at the moment”, he said.

For years, Lafaurie travelled the country to speak in schools, where he believes the history of the Second World War has not necessarily been properly passed on.

After 1945, “two generations wanted to forget the war and didn’t talk about it. We must try and reawaken this memory, but it’s not easy. We’re trying to sow small seeds with the idea that they’ll grow one day”.

‘We’re going to get through this’

96-year-old Daniel Huillier from Villard-de-Lans in the Isère department also recounts his story tirelessly to young people.

One of the last surviving resistance fighters from the Vercors Maquis, Huillier joined the Resistance at the age of 15, following in the footsteps of his father and several members of his family.

“During the war, I lost two uncles, cousins and friends aged 16 or 17”, Huillier said.

Last week, Huillier recalled fraternal values advocated by his former comrades in arms in an article published ahead of the first round of elections.

“In the Resistance, there were of course French people, but there were also many foreigners. There were 36 nationalities in our ranks”, he wrote.

Huillier, who took part a few weeks earlier in several ceremonies honouring the maquis of the Vercors, is saddened by the current situation.

“What’s happening is dramatic. We’re in trouble”, he said, adding that many French people “cast their ballots mindlessly because our leaders don’t know where they’re going”.

While Huillier believed he has “no instructions to give to people”, he regretted that those who vote for the far right “don’t think about the consequences”.

Nevertheless, Huillier, who narrowly escaped the German repression in the Vercors, remained optimistic.

“We mustn’t despair. We’re going to get through this. Unfortunately, things like this must happen for people to start thinking,” Huillier said.

These men and women, and their other surviving peers, are those who we should be listening to right now. I don’t think this applies to anyone here, but my advice to anyone who tells me they’re not going to vote is if that’s the case then you need to read everything you can about the French partisan underground in WW II, the Bielskys, and Bernard Fall’s Theories of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency. Fall was a member of the French partisan underground.

And we all need to be taking this to heart:

The leader of La France Nisiuses(LFI), one of the 5 parties in the New Popular Front, says “a magnificent surge of civic mobilization has taken hold!” and the French “people have clearly rejected the worst-case scenario.”

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 7, 2024

Estonian Army Reserve Soldier Artur Rehi has posted an interesting assessment of Russian capabilities written by Finnish doctoral candidate Joni Askola.

1/8 One more miserable failure: the window of opportunity for russia to achieve anything on the front in 2024 is steadily narrowing. Analysis by @joni_askola

2/8 russia had its prime opportunity in a long time, from October 2023 to the autumn of 2024, to make gains on the front, as Ukraine faced shortages in manpower, shells, and fortifications.

3/8 Despite its best efforts, russia miserably failed to achieve anything significant while Ukraine was at its weakest. Its only accomplishment was the capture of Avdiivka, at the expense of tens of thousands of casualties.

4/8 russia’s diversionary offensive north of Kharkiv did not achieve its objectives, but it compelled Ukraine’s allies to permit Ukraine to launch strikes into russian territory.

5/8 As russia squandered its opportunity, Ukraine has been mobilizing, fortifying, boosting production, targeting russian energy infrastructure, and ultimately receiving shells and equipment from its allies.

6/8 russia has yet to capture the small but important town of Chasiv Yar, and its time for launching a decisive offensive is running out. By the year’s end, Ukraine will have become too formidable for russia to achieve significant successes on the front.

7/8 For Ukraine to maintain its advantage in this war, the best approach is to refrain from large-scale offensives and concentrate primarily on defense. Ukraine’s success will not come from reclaiming territory, but from conveying to the russians that the war is unwinnable.

8/8 It may take years for the average russian to recognize in their imperialistic, revanchist, and materialistic mindset that the war is unwinnable and futile, but that realization will eventually occur. For that day to arrive sooner, Ukraine needs to defend itself.

The Economist recently did an accounting of Russian losses in Ukraine. It’s not good.

Sweet Jesus. @TheEconomist graphics put Russian losses in Ukraine since 2022 in appalling perspective — this is so much worse than every other Russian war since 1945, combined. /1 pic.twitter.com/Q4U58QorjI

— Sydney Freedberg (@SydneyFreedberg) July 7, 2024

And the carnage is only getting worse as Russia keeps throwing men into grinding offensives to take tiny slices of ground — this tracks deaths by week: /3 pic.twitter.com/d9BtZZrbjj

— Sydney Freedberg (@SydneyFreedberg) July 7, 2024

PS: To the folks saying “Mother Russia always throws her sons into the meat grinder, dictatorships can take it”: For every 1945 there’s a 1905 and a 1917. Russia is strong but also rigid, and no one knows her breaking point — including Putin since his own people lie to him. https://t.co/gEHVhcOR9B

— Sydney Freedberg (@SydneyFreedberg) July 7, 2024

And some additional analysis:

The numbers documented in the latest article of the Economist reporting on the Russian losses in Ukraine in the last two years are staggering. They have exceeded all losses the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation experienced from 1945 to 2022, combined. Somewhere between… pic.twitter.com/tXOgGrnKvl

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) July 7, 2024

The numbers documented in the latest article of the Economist reporting on the Russian losses in Ukraine in the last two years are staggering. They have exceeded all losses the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation experienced from 1945 to 2022, combined. Somewhere between 462,000 and 728,000 of Russian soldiers have been permanently eliminated, basically confirming the numbers Ukrainian forces have been reporting all along.

You can also see from that chart that the numbers of destroyed Russian militants has increased, significantly, over the past months, especially in connection with the failed Kharkiv incursion. It confirms what I was suspecting for a while. Russia is trying to brute-force a decision on the battlefield, respectively, is trying to project that it is making progress on the ground and lie to the public that Russia is winning the war. Though a few gains have been made on the ground, they all have been tiny. In some cases such as the Kharkiv incursion, they have been even partially reversed.

Strategically seen the Russian offensives have been all but a string of failures. The attrition rate of Russian human material and hardware is not sustainable on the long run. The situation of the Russian armor and the reserves have recently also been part of the debate. Depending on the analysts, Russian reserves of armor will last between 18 and 36 months, but it will end in a foreseeable future.

The Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian oil facilities and other high value targets in Russia might expedite Russia’s downfall. It is a thorn in Russia’s side, which many still don’t take notice of enough.

Summarizing the paragraphs above, it appears that the Kremlin considers this year to be the make-or-break period. The Russian reserves are not enough to sustain a prolonged war, beyond the next 2 or 3 years. It is coming to on end, one way or another, so more than ever Russian cannon fodder has to be thrown into the fire. Putin needs to convince or more specifically bluff that Russia is winning, now more than ever, but numbers are not lying and Russia is failing by virtually every metric.

This is why Russians are investing so much to install their puppets in Western leadership positions and hope that they stop the war for them. This concerted effort by Russia will accelerate in the coming months. If Russians fail in doing so or their puppets do not turn out being this good, especially after realizing that long-term precautions have been taken to mitigate those risks, it will have a dramatic impact on the Russian war effort.

Europe and especially Germany are holding the keys for Russia’s end. It is up to their determination to steer into the right direction, even without the US. The economic capacities are available even today.

1/ Adding another perspective to The Economist’s recent reporting on Russian casualties in Ukraine (see thread below), the Russian milblogger ‘Vault 8’ comments that almost everyone he knows who fought in Ukraine has been killed or wounded.https://t.co/psHJaewWo9

— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) July 7, 2024

3/ – 6 died, including an old friend (by Special Military Operation standards).
– 5 were wounded, 3 of them seriously, and did not return.
– 2 are on the verge of losing their health. One has a mental condition, the other has a back problem, nerve compression in the lower back.

— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) July 7, 2024

3/ – 6 died, including an old friend (by Special Military Operation standards).
– 5 were wounded, 3 of them seriously, and did not return.
– 2 are on the verge of losing their health. One has a mental condition, the other has a back problem, nerve compression in the lower back.

— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) July 7, 2024

No man’s land:

The front line in Ukraine is visible from space.

Russia’s full-scale invasion has left many fields in Ukraine inaccessible or within occupied territory. pic.twitter.com/Yb2CgLRtvx

— Brady Africk (@bradyafr) July 7, 2024

The Ukrainians brought down another Su-25 over Donetsk Oblast:

Great news to make your Sunday better!
The warriors from the 110th Mechanized Brigade shot down a russian Su-25 jet in the Donetsk region.
Good job! pic.twitter.com/2WvoRB80fs

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 7, 2024

Serebryansky forest, Russian occupied Luhansk Oblast:

The Groza Battallion showed a first-person video of the combat actions in the Serebryansky forest. pic.twitter.com/ZTaluXOz32

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 7, 2024

The Avdiivka front:

MURAMASA unit continues destroying Russian 2S19 Msta-S self propelled howitzers on the Avdiivka front. https://t.co/L3BeybRYCu pic.twitter.com/e4JHckKnxk

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 7, 2024

Novooleksandrivka, Donetsk Oblast:

Aviation strike on Russian positions. And destruction of the Russian BUK air defense system. https://t.co/WivsowMR4m pic.twitter.com/mDYM5vBn6W

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 7, 2024

Moscow:

In other news, there’ll be also a partnership with Sinaloa Cartel to fight international drug trafficking https://t.co/ew9xRBpqus

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) July 7, 2024

Oy vey.

Great video by Covert Cabal estimating the number, models and condition of tanks remaining at Russian storage bases using satellite images.

YouTube: https://t.co/eSD3If60C1 pic.twitter.com/TiWRzDOoLW

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 7, 2024

Here’s the full video:

Voronezh Oblast, Russia:

Continued large explosions in Sergeevka, Voronezh Oblast, where a field ammunition depot placed over 9 thousand square meters has been attacked by a drone earlier today.

The Russians stored surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, shells for tanks and artillery, and… pic.twitter.com/01hJatasc1

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) July 7, 2024

Continued large explosions in Sergeevka, Voronezh Oblast, where a field ammunition depot placed over 9 thousand square meters has been attacked by a drone earlier today.

The Russians stored surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, shells for tanks and artillery, and boxes of ammunition for firearms at the facility.

More ammo that’ll never make it to Ukraine..

Hours after being struck, the ammo depot in Voronezh, Russia continues detonating. pic.twitter.com/ZcyqFtseCX

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) July 7, 2024

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

First, some adjacent material from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

Once discovered as a small puppy at the training ground, Buch become a service dog who approaches Ukraine’s victory.

📷: 47th Artillery Brigade pic.twitter.com/UMc7qcHx3M

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 7, 2024

Swallows have made a nest in the Ukrainian Defenders’ dugout.

“We saw that there were four eggs. When I woke up in the morning, there was an eggshell next to me. We realized that the first baby had hatched. That’s how our four babies appeared,” a Ukrainian Warrior said.

📹:… pic.twitter.com/j0GpzFFaxI

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 7, 2024

Baby battle birds!

Swallows have made a nest in the Ukrainian Defenders’ dugout.

“We saw that there were four eggs. When I woke up in the morning, there was an eggshell next to me. We realized that the first baby had hatched. That’s how our four babies appeared,” a Ukrainian Warrior said.

📹: Radio Svoboda

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Чекаємо з нетерпінням ❤️🤞🏻 @Ukrzaliznytsia

♬ оригинальный звук – perchikov_v

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

Looking forward to it ❤️🤞🏻 @Ukrzaliznytsia

Open thread!