We are working to increase the effectiveness of our mobile firing groups and to provide even more regions of Ukraine with electronic warfare systems – address by the President

11 February 2024 – 20:10

Dear Ukrainians!

A few important things about this day. I started this day with more appointments. Then there were reports on the situation at the front from our military. As well as reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Emergency Service, and regional authorities on the work of our air defense – countering Russian strikes, eliminating the consequences, and bolstering our capabilities. And now, first of all, I want to thank all our defenders of the sky who repel Russian drone and missile attacks every day and night. To the extent that the capabilities of our air defense system allow at the moment. From last night to this morning alone, forty “Shahed” drones have been destroyed – the majority of what Russia has used. This result was achieved mainly by our mobile firing groups. In various regions – Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy regions, our Dnipropetrovsk region… I thank every warrior who is on combat duty, saving our infrastructure and our people on a daily basis. Since the beginning of the year and up to now, 359 “Shahed” drones have been shot down. The accuracy of our sky defenders, the work of the electronic warfare systems, and the support from each of our partners in terms of the sky shield literally save lives. We are working to increase the effectiveness of our mobile firing groups and to provide even more regions of Ukraine with electronic warfare systems. This is one of the key priorities of the year.

And today I would like to especially commend the staff of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine – everyone who works at the sites of the hits, extinguishes fires, and clears debris. Kharkiv and the region, Zaporizhzhia and the region, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Chernihiv regions. There is always help in each of our communities, there are always those who rescue after Russian shelling. And this is also the functionality of our state, it is also the heroism of our people, all those people who are just doing their job and helping the whole of Ukraine to withstand. Our rescuers, I thank you! Today I would like to recognize the employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region – Chief Master Sergeants Dmytro Pavinskyi, Denys Shapovalov, Oleksiy Nazarenko, Captain Artem Yehorov and Lieutenant Colonel Serhiy Azartsov. Thank you, guys! I would also like to recognize the rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Mykolaiv region – Sergeants Dmytro Pikh and Vasyl Levkov, Master Sergeant Ihor Ponomarenko, Chief Master Sergeants Mykola Bashlyk and Serhiy Kurichenko, and Major Oleksandr Dovhopol. Thank you for your selflessness! I would also like to commend the staff of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv, who always promptly eliminate the consequences of shelling and help Kyiv residents whenever they need it. Sergeants of the Civil Protection Service Taras Romantsov, Orest Havryliuk, Serhiy Bezpalyi, Master Sergeant Ivan Kaharlytskyi and Chief Master Sergeant Oleksandr Shostka. Thank you!

I thank everyone who has been fighting and working to strengthen Ukraine since February 24! I thank everyone who is in Ukraine and with Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

Here are the changes to the General staff:

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1756779132686324083

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1756779139929870449

3. And today, several more key commanders have been replaced.

– First Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Pavliuk became the head of the Ground Forces (previously led by Syrsky).

– The commander of the Joint Forces, Serhyi Naiev, was dismissed. Former Marine Corps commander Yuri Sodol was appointed in his place.

 

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1756779148469469198

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1756621050350100528

Recently appointed head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, warns about russian disinfo campaign to paint C-i-C Syrskiy as a “russian man” to undermine trust in the Defence Forces.

He implies commentators should be vigilant so as not to play into the russian hands.

https://t.me/akovalenko1989/6732

The Baltics:

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1756625442600104198

https://twitter.com/GatisSmagars/status/1756636373245632966

https://twitter.com/GatisSmagars/status/1756636574752579830

NATO:

https://twitter.com/LungescuOana/status/1756713431913115767

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1756800528909037614

Poland:

https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1756751499235836323

Hungary:

https://twitter.com/pravda_eng/status/1756821163555332138

Ukrainska Pravda has the details:

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that Ukraine should be left as a “buffer zone” between Russia and the West, which would provide certain security guarantees but not admit Ukraine as a member of the EU or NATO.

Source: Orbán in a conversation with former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel as part of the European Voices media project; an excerpt from the conversation published by Die Presse has attracted considerable attention in the Hungarian media, European Pravda writes

Quote: “Whether you like it or not, whether Ukrainians like it or not, Ukraine is where it is on the map. The best prospect is for it to be a buffer zone between Russia and the West – with security guarantees, of course. If that doesn’t work, Ukraine will continue losing territory.

Russia will destroy Ukraine again and again and again. Russia will never accept having an EU and NATO member like Ukraine on its borders, never.”

Details: At the same time, the Hungarian prime minister believes that Ukraine and Georgia could have joined the EU and NATO in 2008, but that opportunity was missed, and with it went “Ukraine’s prospects for future membership of the EU and NATO”.

In response to Schüssel’s remark that a ceasefire now would mean defeat for Ukraine, Orbán said that the assessment may depend on “how we look at the future”, as Ukraine could lose even more territory while the hot phase of the war continues.

The Hungarian prime minister also disagreed with arguments that Ukraine’s membership would protect Europe, as almost all EU members are already members of NATO, and the alliance is stronger than Russia.

“There is no danger of Russia attacking a NATO member state,” Orbán said.

He also expressed the opinion that Russia will never take Ukraine seriously as a partner in negotiations – “only the US and maybe the EU”.

Schüssel noted that there is no certainty that agreements with Russia can be trusted. Orbán replied that in his opinion, “it is not a question of trust, but of strength”.

“We Europeans are not strong enough for the Russians to take us seriously. This is a power play. This is a war. We must demonstrate strength and clearly convey to the Russians: we have our own interests, they have theirs, and on this basis, we can negotiate something,” Orbán said.

He said he does not believe the Russian-Ukrainian war will end in 2024, and that it is necessary to “at least ensure a ceasefire and bring about a situation in which negotiations can be conducted”.

In addition, Orbán believes that Europe is unable to support Ukraine with enough weapons because the societies of European countries “already think the aid is too much”.

“We cannot afford to help Ukraine until it wins militarily,” the Hungarian prime minister added.

Background:

• Hungary’s foreign minister complained that the Hungarian authorities were being labelled “Putin’s friends” when in fact they were simply raising “strategic issues”.
• Meanwhile, the Swedish far-right announced that they would leave their group in the European Parliament if Orbán’s party was admitted.

Moldova:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1756738055170384202

Here’s more on the Starlink Snowflake and his Starlinks.

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1756782100076699930

https://twitter.com/Lavrovskyi/status/1756284782458130791

https://twitter.com/Rebel44CZ/status/1756317741110231091

https://twitter.com/Rebel44CZ/status/1756318868182556788

Avdiivka:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1756811244428800426

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1756614543441076607

 

Russian occupied Donetsk Oblast:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1756727579422187969

Deepstate publishes satellite images of the Russian 30 km train-barrier in the Donetsk region

“The Russians in Donetsk have assembled a 30-km-long “tsar-train” consisting of more than two thousand cars

🚋 The continuous structure of goods wagons stretches along a branch from the railway station in Olenivka to Volnovakha and has about 2100 wagons of various types. The construction of this “railwagon centipede” began in July 2023. For construction, apparently, railwagons were stolen from temporarily occupied territories.

🤔 This is a very specific engineering structure, the effectiveness of which is difficult to assess. The idea is clear – an obstacle to the advancement of the Defense Forces. It can be considered as a separate line of defense, because it is extremely difficult to damage, move or blow up a 30-kilometer-long mass of metal, and the movement of equipment through such an obstacle without breaking through the corridor is impossible.

🛰 The given radar images are publicly available, to understand the scale of this formation. The construction of the “train” has been visually verified by our team on pictures from different periods of time.”

https://t.me/DeepStateUA/18821

For you Maxim machine gun enthusiasts, which, really, is everyone.

https://twitter.com/TDF_UA/status/1756667903720468584

An assessment of Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson by the director of the Polish Institute for International Affairs.

https://twitter.com/SlawomirDebski/status/1756695891153445011

What we have learnt about Putin? My comment.
👇

Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson has reverberated worldwide and has already been analyzed in great detail by social and traditional media. Since being hired as a Russian foreign policy analyst at @PISM_Poland in 2000, I have researched dozens of Putin’s speeches and interviews professionally. I have written countless articles and non-public notes on this subject. I have also had the opportunity to comment on Putin’s speeches in interviews and even live on commercial television. And to me, Putin became quite dull.

Did I learn anything new about Putin?

Both yes and no.

Putin has always been obsessed with his myth of the Russian past. The myth of eternal Russian power is partly responsible for his trauma over the collapse of the Soviet Union, which, as we recall, he regards as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
Nor is there any news that Putin is obsessed with Ukraine. He agrees with Zbig Brzezinski that Russia, deprived of Ukraine, will never be an empire.

(Brzezinski, incidentally, borrowed this observation from Marshal Pilsudski of Poland, who formulated this view as early as 1920).

For Putin, on the other hand, Russia and the empire are a victim. Without an empire, Russia does not exist. Either it is a superpower, or it is doomed to non-existence.
Therefore, for Putin, the war with Ukraine is existential for Russia. There is no room for compromise here. Thus, Ukraine has no choice but to defeat Putin if it wants to exist—nothing new to see here again.

Nevertheless, I found something interesting in this interview – well, Putin’s obsession with Russian history has already turned into Putin’s obsession with his place in Russian history.
Putin is keen to talk about a thousand years of Russia because he is about to join the pantheon of rulers who ruled Russia the longest.
Ivan the Terrible – led for 37 years; Peter I – 39; Catherine the Great – 34; Alexander I – 24; Nicholas I – 30; Stalin – 38; Brezhnev – 28. And Putin has already ruled for 24.

Each of these great predecessors expanded the territory of the Russian empire. Putin wants to go down in Russian history as the tsar who stopped the disintegration of Russia and, reversed the trend, began to expand Russia anew. Ukraine is central to this project. He will not succeed in going down in Russian history as the founding father of its reborn power without subjugating Ukraine.

And the fact that he has failed to conquer it is mainly to the credit of…. Poland, which has been the quickest to support Ukraine in 2022 militarily, financially and by welcoming Ukrainian war refugees, it has managed to mobilise other allies, including the U.S., to enable it.
Poland has mobilised the West. Thus, it stood in Putin’s way. He is aware that if he wants to subjugate the Baltic states, it will mean a confrontation with Poland. Putin is burning with a lust for revenge. He will, therefore, seek to isolate Poland, deprive it of its allies, and attack it under favourable international circumstances.

But by attacking Poland, Putin will attack the global position of the U.S. and the whole West. Ultimately, what he wants is to kick Americans out of Europe and help the others to kick them out of the Pacific.

Here’s a bonus: one of my previous comments regarding Putin’s historical manipulations:

https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/01/09/putins-stalinist-history/

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight, so here’s some adjacent material.

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1755458434118434943

https://twitter.com/juli_archangel/status/1756256748719968638

https://twitter.com/juli_archangel/status/1756257226233172003

https://twitter.com/InUKRofficial/status/1754413549084934347

Open thread!

Combat commanders, brigades’ real-life experience must be implemented for the Armed Forces’ success – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

10 February 2024 – 19:14

Dear Ukrainians,

In Kharkiv, the clearing of debris and emergency work continues after a strike using Shahed drones. Four people have been rescued. Assistance is being provided to all who have been affected. Dozens of people have been evacuated. More than 20 buildings have been saved from the spread of fire. Unfortunately, there are casualties. Among them are three children, very young boys: seven years old, four years old, and seven months old. My condolences to their families and loved ones!

Russian terrorists must and will be held accountable for all their actions. History must remember that those responsible for such killings did not escape punishment. And it will.

Today, I spent the entire day in meetings with military leadership and the Government. We continue to reboot the management team in the Armed Forces. Now, people who are well-known in the army and who themselves know well what the army needs are taking on new responsibilities. Combat commanders of this war, whose experience will be useful at the all-army level.

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi – his focus is on unmanned systems and the development of utilization of drones by our soldiers, and Colonel Andriy Lebedenko – his focus is on innovation, specifically the technology component of the army and combat systems – have been appointed deputies of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Clear practice with new technologies is needed. There are more than enough theories; everything must work in practice for the sake of Ukrainian goals and the maximum preservation of the lives of our soldiers. Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk – his focus is on operational work, staff work, planning, management, in every staff, they must fully understand the front, Brigadier General Oleksiy Shevchenko – his focus is on logistics, ensuring maximum quality of logistics in our army, and Brigadier General Mykhailo Drapatyi – he will be responsible for the quality training of our military – have been approved as deputies of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All the real-life experience of combat commanders, combat brigades, our units, who have built a quality training system for soldiers and evaluation and analysis of combat actions – all this experience must be implemented for the success of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

I also held a detailed and wide-ranging meeting regarding Ukrainian arms and ammunition production – everything we already produce and what we plan to produce. Drones, drone munitions, artillery, and rounds, our equipment. The development and provision of mobile fire groups was in focus. The Commander-in-Chief, commanders, government officials. Clear tasks regarding financing and expediting contracts. Everything planned for the year will be executed.

And one more thing. I spoke with President Macron of France. And these were very fruitful, much-needed talks. Needed right now. The content of the talks, which strengthens us for sure – all of us in Europe. I informed Emmanuel about the situation on the battlefield – everything very clearly. About the threats, about our needs. We thoroughly discussed what will strengthen our soldiers. EW and air defense, artillery. I thanked him for the effective French Caesar systems. We discussed the current shortage of artillery rounds and how we can fill it. Ukraine appreciates France’s leadership in the Coalition to strengthen our artillery created within Ramstein, which adds perspective to our defense against Russian attacks. We also discussed in detail the security agreement between our states – security commitments. We are already finalizing the agreement. Teams are actively working, and we can reach a very ambitious level, which will be a necessary signal to the entire global community. A signal that Europe knows how to protect lives, knows how to add security – for generations. Emmanuel, Mr. President, I thank you!

Thank you to everyone who helps Ukraine! Glory to all our warriors – everyone who saves us from Russian madness.

Glory to our people!

Glory to Ukraine!

In addition to throttling and corrupting the ability to embed the posts from Ukrainian/pro-Ukrainian accounts on the platform formerly known as Twitter, including videos of the effects of Russian attacks posted by Ukrainians, such as the one from Bakhmut I was going to post, but can’t as it won’t embed the Starlink Snowflake has decided the same thing that every arms supplier eventually learns: you can make more money selling to both sides.

https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1756401138402730320

Defense One has the details:

Russian forces appear to be using SpaceX’s Starlink communications service inside Ukraine, suggesting that a company celebrated for helping the defenders is now also aiding the invaders.

Ukrainian troops first detected Russia’s frontline use of the satellite-connected devices several months ago, according to one Ukrainian source. A second Ukrainian source confirmed the use of Starlink, and added that its usage appeared to be increasing. Both sources were granted anonymity to discuss topics that they were not authorized to discuss.

Right now, Russian forces appear to be using tens of Starlink terminals across the long front, the first Ukrainian source said.

“When they have hundreds, it’ll be hard for us to live,” the first Ukrainian source said.

Russia’s use of Starlink compounds the problems faced by the Ukrainian military, which is already severely short of munitions. Ukrainian artillery units, for example, are firing around 2,000 shells per day, barely a fifth as many as their Russian counterparts.

Reports that Russian forces were using the Starlink service within Ukraine first appeared in Ukrainian media, citing social-media posts. Prominent Russian volunteer groups supporting the Russian invasion have also shown off Starlink terminals purchased for army units.

Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen said U.S. officials are aware of the reports, but referred questions to “our Ukrainian partners for any current operational information regarding satellite communications activities of this kind.”

In a Feb. 8 tweet, SpaceX officials said the company “does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military. Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country. SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia.”

Multiple Russian companies advertise Starlinks for sale, including iMiele.ru and DJIRussia.

“If Russian stores are claiming to sell Starlink for service in that country, they are scamming their customers,” the tweet said.

But Russians can easily acquire Starlinks from abroad and then bring them back to distribute to their forces, the second Ukrainian source noted.

“It’s purchased through third parties,” the source said. “I’m amazed they didn’t do this sooner.”

SpaceX’s tweet did not directly address reports that Russian forces are using Starlink’s services within Ukraine.

It did say, “If SpaceX obtains knowledge that a Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we investigate the claim and take actions to deactivate the terminal if confirmed.”

SpaceX is capable of preventing the use of Starlink devices in Russian-occupied territory. According to a biography of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, he refused a request by Ukraine to enable Starlink access in Russian-occupied Crimea to enable a Ukrainian attack.

However, Russian troops may be obscuring their use of Starlink to SpaceX, according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Russia could simply “provide a false GPS signal to the Starlink terminal so it thinks the user is in Ukrainian-held territory,” Clark said. Clark also supported the idea that Ukraine could tell if Russia was using Starlink, as the terminals’ signals can be identified with signals intelligence equipment.

SpaceX may also be hesitant to tightly police the location of Starlinks, said Todd Humphreys, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. With Ukrainian forces at times pressing attacks against Russia, SpaceX may “fear that a mistake in defining the front line could leave Ukraine without Starlink coverage,” he said.

More at the link.

Musk’s security clearances should be pulled and caged. Every one of his assets should be frozen pending forensic examination. SpaceX should be nationalized. Don’t take my word for it, here’s the Chief of Staff of the Azov Brigade:

https://twitter.com/BohdanKrotevych/status/1756344549511671956

Speaking of the Soldiers of Mariupol, this is more evidence of Russian war crimes:

WARNING!! WARNING!! DISTURBING IMAGERY!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1756317216742457373

This is not the former inmate of a Nazi Concentration camp in WW2, or the inmate of a Serbian Concentration Camp in Bosnia in the 1990s. This is Volodymyr Tsema-Bursov, a resident of Mariupol and soldier of the 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. Before being a POW his weight was 95 kg. He returned with 57 kg (his height is 191 cm).

Source of picture: @nexta_tv

#Ukraine #Mariupol

ALL CLEAR!!!!

Avdiivka:

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1756429932182278200

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1756264039238234144

The US Republican party is now handing Putin the domestic pre-election win he needed by limiting arms to Ukraine sufficient that their positions in the east are overun by Russians.

That is now happening as Russia is pressing into the city of Avdiivka under the cover of Iranian/North Korean artillery.

Never again wonder what Putin gets from his disinformation behemoth’s billions spent on promotion of Republicans.

https://twitter.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1756336600127099358

https://twitter.com/jana_skhidna/status/1756391382820761730

Machine translation:

today, as always, we say Avdiyivka is Ukraine 🙏🏼

these streets no longer tell happy stories, they no longer hear laughter…

these streets tell stories of struggle and insubordination!

you can support Avdos here:
http://send.monobank.ua/jar/yzzi7qW5w
yy — [email protected]

 

Russian occupied Luhansk Oblast:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1756348480128172353

Russian 50P6E of the S-350 Vityaz air defense system which hit a mine.

“The complex belongs to one of the units of the Russian Airborne Forces.

Fortunately for the crew, the launcher missiles did not detonate. There were no casualties.

The chassis was badly damaged. The source claims that the launcher still stands in the same place. They are afraid to evacuate because of the large number of mines.

The S-350 Vityaz is a very rare beast. Adopted into service in 2020.

February 6, 2024.

Lugansk region.”

https://t.me/dosye_shpiona/489

A Russian military base somewhere. I’ve gone to the original Telegram post and it does not indicate if this is in Russian occupied Ukraine or in Russia proper.

Here’s the link, because this is another one of these tweets that won’t embed because Musk has had the code for them tweaked to make them not work properly as retweets, quote tweets, and/or embeds.

Moscow:

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1756043266804301881

Russian Telegram channels reported that the interview with Carlson and Carlson himself was not to Putin’s liking, and the interview itself was considered a failure:

“The Kovalchuk clan sharply criticizes the idea of an interview with the American journalist Carlson. They say that the problem is the unpreparedness of the interview arrangement – it was Gromov’s and Peskov’s mistake. Putin should have talked about conservative values, the creation of a conservative alliance, and moving on – but he went into history and platitudes about Ukraine. Naryshkin, who allegedly planted ideas with documents of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and nonsense with Poland, also played a negative role here. He set Putin up to the fullest. Medinsky would not allow such a thing.”

According to reports, Putin didn’t like Tucker Carlson – “a snob and a useful idiot who got a meaningful fee, but was lazy and lacked creativity.”
Kovalchuk family believes they could have done better with Tucker Carlson, but “everything was wasted.” There’s a wave of complaints in the Kremlin.

We all know what Putin does to useless idiots that annoy him. If I was Tucker I’d stay away from windows, any building with more than one floor, tea, all other beverages, food, bathroom sinks, bathtubs, household furniture, sharp objects, projectile weapons, etc.

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1756359300769837536

Speaking of idiots:

https://twitter.com/SenTuberville/status/1756051756763521291

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight. Here’s some adjacent materials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1756327127501115668