Ukraine will not break – it will endure and drive out the Russian evil from its land – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

22 October 2023 – 19:53

Dear Ukrainians,

First and foremost, I want to dwell on the Russian attack on the Nova Poshta terminal near Kharkiv. The rescue operation has been completed, and necessary assistance has been provided to all the affected. In total, there were 17 of them. Six people were killed in this attack. My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased!

We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for every manifestation of its terror, including this attack.

Terrorists will not break the Ukrainian will to defend and protect own state, own independence by any means. The readiness of our people to work for their country, for their Ukraine. The determination to fight so that there is never any real basis for Moscow to hope that Ukraine will ever break. It will not break. It will endure. It will hold up. And despite everything, it will drive out the Russian evil from own land.

The main focus is the front, our defense, our actions, our results, and the support of everyone to those who are currently in the battle, on the combat posts, in the positions. Every day, we need results for Ukraine – to withstand Russian assaults, to eliminate occupiers, and to move forward. Whether it’s by a kilometer or 500 meters, but forward every day, to improve Ukrainian positions, to press the occupiers. This strengthens our state. It motivates the entire world to help us. And it proves that Russia’s terror does not work.

Today, I want to mention our warriors who have distinguished themselves during these weeks. The warriors who have provided exceptional assistance to Ukraine, on different fronts and in different tasks, but equally powerfully and effectively.

Kupiansk direction, Kharkiv region. The warriors of our strong 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade and the 1st Mechanized Battalion of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade – I thank you! You’ve done an excellent job!

Avdiyivka and Maryinka directions, particularly intense. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are defended. The 53rd and 110th Separate Mechanized Brigades, the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, and the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade – I thank all of you, warriors, for a truly exemplary defense. It instills confidence throughout the country.

And each time, it’s an honor for me to thank the warriors of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade, which actively and effectively supports all our guys in defending Donetsk.

Lyman direction – thank you for thwarting the occupier’s plans. Our 68th Separate Hunting Brigade and units of the renowned 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade – well done, guys!

Bakhmut direction – both defense and our offensives, and our results are very, very good. I thank the warriors of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade and the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. Thank you for your strength, guys!

Among all directions in the south, I want to particularly acknowledge the paratroopers of the 46th Airmobile Brigade – Melitopol direction. Thank you, guys, for truly helping the entire front with your results.

And the next week will bring more opportunities for Ukraine – for our defense, for our protection against Russian terror, for our Peace Formula, which continues to unite the world.

Today, I spoke with the Emir of Qatar and thanked him, among other things, for the readiness to participate in the next Peace Formula meeting, as well as for the unwavering support for our territorial integrity and sovereignty. We also discussed Qatar’s mediation in the release of deported and captured Ukrainians.

I thank everyone in the world who is helping Ukraine! I also thank everyone in our country who uses each day to make us all, the entire Ukrainian people, stronger!

Glory to all of you!

Glory to Ukraine!

Avdiivka:

Avdiivka. Destroyed Russian AFVs near Vodyanehttps://t.co/5A4TMq6joM pic.twitter.com/AWQMRB1IM5

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 22, 2023

Ukrainian reconnaissance spotted what they claim to be a Polutorka, a 1930s pre-WWII GAZ AA truck, used by Russians to assault Ukrainian positions south of Avdeevka. pic.twitter.com/uBG2IbM4So

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 22, 2023

I did not know that the Avdiivka classic car show and expo was in October.

Russian assault battalion commander was reportedly killed in Avdiivka on 21 October. The note about this appeared on the Russian VK social network. It is unclear how he died but he was the son of a Russian officer who went through Afghanistan, so the loss is significant, given…

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 22, 2023

Russian assault battalion commander was reportedly killed in Avdiivka on 21 October. The note about this appeared on the Russian VK social network. It is unclear how he died but he was the son of a Russian officer who went through Afghanistan, so the loss is significant, given his position as the battalion commander.

https://poteru.net/soldier/34571

Kupyiansk:

The 🇺🇦🦑Kraken unit 🦑🇺🇦 is fighting the Russians in the Kupyansk direction.
P.S: Also the Spesial Kherson Cat/@69thSB campaign to provide Kraken with a NAFO pickup truck was successfully completed! The truck will depart to Ukraine as part of the next NAFO convoy.… pic.twitter.com/4bjx8sYT1z

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 22, 2023

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1716141308987711616

I’ve been informed that the Kraken Unit was never retained to handle legal matters by former President Trump during the 2020 election.

Donetsk:

79th Brigade of Ukraine repels Russian attacks in Donetsk region. https://t.co/Ikr1huH31C pic.twitter.com/0tsrK2OKxU

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 22, 2023

“What are you doing step FPV?” https://t.co/7KMekxLium pic.twitter.com/kClSPviNCA

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 22, 2023

For those of you armor enthusiasts:

I feel the need, the need for speed.

📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/ic9ycUuAOs

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 22, 2023

Stridsvagn translates as combat wagon and the 122 is an improved version of the German Leopard 2A5. The improvements are to the fire control system and the armor.

For both you drone enthusiasts and fans of Russian military equipment going boom:

Booom!
There was russian TOS-1A "Solntsepyok", which costs $15 mln, but a $400 FPV drone blew it up.

📹: 59th Motorized Brigade pic.twitter.com/3js4pngbSo

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 22, 2023

And for you very niche enthusiasts of Russians destroying their own military equipment:

Presumably another Russian air defense friendly fire occurred somewhere at the front.

According to a Russian source associated with Russian military aviation:
“The very first losses of our aviation in the Northern Military District were from our own air defense. On the very… pic.twitter.com/SZd5jg3tcQ

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 22, 2023

Presumably another Russian air defense friendly fire occurred somewhere at the front.

According to a Russian source associated with Russian military aviation:
“The very first losses of our aviation in the Northern Military District were from our own air defense. On the very first day of the war.
I think our last crew shot down in the war will also be attributed to our air defense.

Moreover, every loss is investigated. The reason for the loss is copied. Deceased crews are awarded the Order of Courage.
Air defense crews are awarded the Order of Courage a little later, and so on in a circle.
As I understand it, this suits everyone except the pilots.
Moreover, lately we have to dodge our missiles more and more often. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

To the crew of the Mi-8MTV-5 eternal flight…”

Christopher Miller, who covers Ukraine for The Financial Times, dives into the legitimate concerns that Ukraine will get lost in the Israel-Hamas war shuffle.

Oleksiy Melnyk of Razumkov Center said the Israel-Hamas war “is already distracting the west from helping Ukraine”. Dwindling media attention, he said, “accordingly, affects priorities, and priorities of not only political attention, but also resources”. https://t.co/iXxqmQVx4y

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 22, 2023

“We cannot afford to take our eye off supporting Ukraine,” @WarintheFuture says. “Not only does Russia pose an existential threat to Ukraine, but Russian success there would radically reset the norms of international behaviour to a far grimmer future…” https://t.co/iXxqmQVx4y

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 22, 2023

@WarintheFuture is Australian MG (ret) Mick Ryan.

Here’s more from the article:

When Volodymyr Zelenskyy strode into Nato headquarters earlier this month, he found western leaders buzzing about war — but not his war.

Just four days before the Ukrainian president’s visit to Brussels, Hamas militants had launched a surprise attack on Israel, which then responded with air strikes and began mobilising for a new conflict that has thrust the Middle East again into crisis.

Zelenskyy was cautious about not appearing as though he was competing for attention, while showing empathy for Israelis who had lost loved ones in the attacks and drawing parallels between his war and theirs.

“Terrorists like Putin, or like Hamas, seek to hold free and democratic nations as hostages and they want power over those who seek freedom,” Zelenskyy said. “That means we must win. It requires patience, it requires steady and continuous support.”

He also urged “all leaders to visit Israel and show their support for the people”. If anyone knows the importance of showing up and putting up a united front it’s Zelenskyy, whose country remains locked in a fight for survival against Russia and is heavily dependent on western support.

Zelenskyy reportedly asked prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu whether he could visit Israel along with other leaders to show solidarity. The response from Jerusalem came quick and cold: “Now is not the time,” according to Hebrew-language media.

To many Ukrainians, the denial felt like more than a snub: it was a red alert.

With a slow-going counteroffensive and Russia showing no sign of quitting, Ukraine faces the prospect of a long war, which will require unprecedented, long-term support from allies. The Israel-Hamas war comes on top of turmoil in the US Congress, widening fractures in EU support for Kyiv, and stumbling efforts to woo the so-called global south that were already worrying Ukrainians about the world growing weary and distracted at their expense.

When EU foreign ministers convene for a regular meeting on Monday, Ukraine will not be the first item on the agenda for the first time since February 2022, displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Ukrainians are now wondering if the world has the attention span and courage to focus on two major wars.

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Congress to approve a new security package for both Ukraine and Israel.

“We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win — I refuse to let that happen.”

But Biden’s words have done little to alleviate the concerns of Ukrainians, whose fears are not unfounded: the world has forgotten Russia’s war against Ukraine before.

When outside observers marked 600 days of Russia’s war against Ukraine earlier this month, Ukrainians marked day number 3,525. For Kyiv, the conflict began on February 20 2014, when President Vladimir Putin sent troops in unmarked uniforms to Crimea and from there into Ukraine’s eastern regions known as the Donbas.

And Ukrainians remember how the world largely ignored them after Minsk 2, a controversial accord aimed at providing a road map to peace, was signed in 2015.

The accord froze the frontline and turned the hot war to a simmer, with media — including the FT — dubbing it “Europe’s forgotten war”.

“After the second Minsk, the world’s attention was fading away. Especially in 2016, 2017,” said Yarema Dukh, a communications officer for former president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

It was between 2015 and 2022 that Russia cemented its grip on Crimea and the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and began preparing for its full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy has spoken openly about the consequences of that being repeated.

“Russia needs a pause in the war in Ukraine to better prepare for a new and bigger invasion and to then attack Ukraine’s neighbours, which are members of Nato,” he told France 2. “I think that Russia will take advantage of this situation, this tragedy.”

Serhiy Nykyforov, Zelenskyy’s spokesperson, was unequivocal when asked how concerned the president’s office was about global focus shifting to the Middle East: “Our main goal is to draw attention to Ukraine.”

Russian propagandist has a heel turn.

Yevgeniy Satanovsky, a Russian-based publicist who insulted Maria Zakharova after her comments on Israel, for which he was fired by Solovyev from his channel, continued his rants, this time going over Putin's potential successor, and insulted Medvedev.

Satanovsky has been known… pic.twitter.com/GGPOLV9EwB

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 22, 2023

Yevgeniy Satanovsky, a Russian-based publicist who insulted Maria Zakharova after her comments on Israel, for which he was fired by Solovyev from his channel, continued his rants, this time going over Putin’s potential successor, and insulted Medvedev.

Satanovsky has been known to the wider Russian audience for at least a decade, he is a pundit who often appears on the big screen, so his critique of the authorities is actually an interesting turn. Perhaps not all that impactful, but meaningful nonetheless.

If you’re wondering why the news media has trouble covering the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, or almost anything else fast moving today, this is a thought provoking thread by The Financial Times chief data reporter. First tweet from the thread, the rest of the thread from the Thread Reader App:

Some quick thoughts on why large parts of the mainstream media keep slipping up on Gaza/Israel (and why it was the same at times with Covid):

The main reason is a failure to keep pace with modern news gathering techniques, but there’s more.

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) October 18, 2023

With the proliferation of photos/footage, satellite imagery and map data, forensic video/image analysis and geolocation (~OSINT) has clearly been a key news gathering technique for several years now. A key news gathering technique *completely absent from most newsrooms*. 

Obviously not every journalist should be an OSINT specialist, just as not every journalist is a specialist in combing through financial accounts, or scraping websites, or doing undercover investigations. But any large news org should have *some* OSINT specialists. 

Some of the biggest international news orgs now do have OSINT teams (or similar). @washingtonpost calls theirs “visual forensics”, @nytimes and @FT go with “visual investigations”. But most news orgs, even large ones, still don’t. 

This means that when you have events unfolding rapidly amid a fog of war, most news orgs are still completely reliant on what they’re told by their sources. This isn’t ideal at the best of times, but especially so when different sources are clearly motivated to mislead. 

It was the same during Covid, when everyone was quoting officials talking about things that could easily be checked and sometimes debunked by someone capable of doing their own data analysis. But there weren’t enough of those skills in newsrooms, so unchecked claims abounded. 

Even when newsrooms have built up these resources (whether OSINT or data) the newness of those teams means there’s some initial wariness about relying on new people (often young and not from traditional journalism backgrounds, so considered outsiders) for massive news lines. 

The result is most mainstream news orgs today are either simply not equipped to determine for themselves what’s happening in some of the world’s biggest stories, or lack the confidence to allow their in-house technical specialists to cast doubt on a star reporter’s trusted source 

So you end up with situations where huge, respected news organisations are reporting as fact things that have already been shown by technically adept news gatherers outside newsrooms to be false or at the very least highly uncertain. It’s hugely damaging to trust in journalism. 

Even without an in-house OSINT team, organisations like @bellingcat and @airwars have been around for almost a decade now to assist. With a situation like Gaza/Israel, any time you’re getting a comment from an official spokesperson, you should also be getting a comment from OSINT 

Of course, news orgs also don’t help themselves by insisting on coming out with definitive takes immediately.

I obviously get the desire to be first, and the instinctive dislike of ambiguity.

But in situations like this, surely it’s better to be second and definitively correct? 

Plus, with the sheer amount of footage these days, and the number of OSINT specialists combing through it, we’re often only talking about waiting a few hours. 

I’m sure mainstream media will catch up, but it needs to happen fast in order to retain trust and even relevance, or readers will go elsewhere.

“According to a spokesperson” just doesn’t really cut it when the primary evidence is right there. 

Beyond OSINT, I think the overarching issue is:

There’s an implicit assumption in most of journalism that the only way to find out what’s happening is to ask someone.

For years now it’s been possible to do better than that, but the industry has not fully taken this on board. 

One final thought:

Fact-checks after the fact are inherently limited. “A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on”.

Forensic, investigative, truth-seeking work should be a proactive part of breaking news coverage, not a reactive add-on afterwards. 

Here’s Rob Lee’s take on this:

There is another issue. Our traditional forms of determining expertise for conflicts (e.g. PhDs or military experience) are often a poor indicator of understanding OSINT or recognizing OSINT expertise. It is a different skill set and OSINT literacy is a problem in academia. https://t.co/RwiptqlTC8

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 22, 2023

One of the biggest problems with mis/disinformation from this war is when people with traditional forms of credibility retweet or boost conspiracy theorists, instead of real OSINT experts. It happens all the time, and was particularly bad this summer.

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 22, 2023

And here’s mine. Overall I think this is largely correct. My major quibble is that both Burn-Murdoch and Lee reduce open source intelligence (OSINT) to doing imagery and visualization analysis. This may be what the term is used as short hand form, but that is NOT what OSINT is. OSINT, more properly open source research, analysis, and assessment is the ability to collect timely and relevant information from open sources in order to answer specific questions to facilitate better decision making. This is what I do. I also am the primary author of one of the Army’s manuals about how a team that does this work should be organize, should operate, and should be utilized by senior leaders at brigade and echelons above brigade. Imagery and visual analysis is important, but reducing or limiting it to that significantly short changes what OSINT should actually be and what its practitioners can actually do.

One final point in regard to last night’s contretemps, this is what Tamir Rice’s mother had to say about Shaun King:

This is what Tamir Rice’s mother had to say about Shaun King.

Not listening to Black women has been detrimental to our society. Period. pic.twitter.com/rlINGQZz9s

— Renee (@PettyLupone) October 21, 2023

Here’s the whole screen shot:

I think that answer’s last night’s bizarre question.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight, so here is some adjacent material from the Patron Pet Center in Kyiv’s account.

Patron Pet Center is not a shelter, we are really something more. We are a full-cycle adoption center, and this cycle includes not only working with animals, but also working with people.

There should be absolutely no homeless animals in Ukraine. And we will do everything for it pic.twitter.com/dOhzyq1IvM

— Patron Pet Center (@PatronPetCenter) July 26, 2023

Kindergarten at our Patron Pet Center wishes everyone a good day, and our puppies share a good mood with you!) pic.twitter.com/8ZB8RuRNpG

— Patron Pet Center (@PatronPetCenter) August 2, 2023

Open thread!