Work in the regions on the physical protection of critical facilities and urgent reconstruction has to be carried out by winter – address by the President of Ukraine

4 October 2023 – 19:08

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A brief report for the day. There were different meetings, and among the main ones was a meeting with the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate. A substantive one. About good things for Ukraine – we managed to accomplish something important in security matters. More details later.

On the conference call today, there was a report by the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine on countering collaborators. Also an informative one.

Overall, we have reasons to thank our guys from the Security Service today. Important operations, and most importantly, effective ones. Well done!

I held a meeting with government officials – we agreed on it yesterday in Kharkiv. We have various government programs to restore the regions and help people who lost their homes. There is work on rebuilding the social sector and physical protection of energy facilities. I have instructed to draw up a detailed report on these issues.

We are doing our best to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems before winter. And now, by the way, we are expecting certain decisions from our partners. But all the work in the regions that relates to the physical protection of critical facilities and urgent reconstruction has to be completed as much as possible by winter.

Today I also had an important conversation with Azerbaijani President Aliyev. I thanked him for the humanitarian aid provided to our country, in particular for our energy sector. We reaffirmed our common commitment to the principles of territorial integrity and protection of state sovereignty. We discussed our views on global and regional security formats and the security architecture in general.

And today, I presented state awards to our Turkish friends. The Ambassador of Türkiye to Ukraine, who actively interacts with our country, fruitfully and powerfully strengthens our relations personally. In particular, he is working on the implementation of the Peace Formula. I also awarded the head of the Turkish company “Onur”, which actively cooperates with our country, invests, creates jobs and helps our defense. I am grateful for the support.

And we are preparing for intensive international activities – this week and next week should be productive for Ukraine.

We are constantly adding to our warriors’ power!

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelenskyy also did an interview with Italian TV station Sky TG24. Video followed by the English language description from the President of Ukraine’s website below.

Ukrainians are doing everything for this to be the last war in Europe and the world – Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Sky TG24

4 October 2023 – 20:28

Ukraine is fighting back against the Russian aggressor, defending the principles of international law and doing everything to make the current war the last one in Europe and the world, so assistance to our country must continue. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the Italian TV channel Sky TG24.

“It should be understood that Ukrainians are doing everything to make this the last war in Europe and in the world. And this is why we are fighting – for the sake of respect for international law, human rights, sovereignty, territorial integrity, respect for life,” the Head of State said answering the hosts’ questions.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainians had prevented Russia from occupying our country at the cost of their own lives.

The President thanked the Italian audience and the entire Italian society for supporting Ukraine at the level of ordinary people.

“This support is very important. At the beginning of the war, the support of the whole of Europe and the world helped us join forces in the fight against the aggression of the Russian Federation,” he said.

The Head of State emphasized that the world cannot get tired of helping Ukraine, because our country is repelling the Russian aggressor.

“Of course, everyone wants swift developments on the battlefield, but it happens differently. The full-scale war has been ongoing for the second year in a row. Everyone is getting tired: the land itself is getting tired, people are getting tired – it’s obvious. We are highly motivated. We are going to defeat the enemy. The initiative is now in our hands. Even if it’s slow, but every day we are driving Russia out of our land step by step,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President noted that the Ukrainian military has to overcome a number of difficulties at the front: densely mined areas, shortage of weapons and ammunition, lack of air defense systems.

“Winter is coming. This is another challenge for all our citizens: our civilians and our warriors. We must go through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield,” the Head of State emphasized.

A new report from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees makes the cost clear:

Another six cases of extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by russian occupiers have been confirmed in a new report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A group of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Donetsk region were forced to… pic.twitter.com/45zl3KQyNe

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 4, 2023

Another six cases of extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by russian occupiers have been confirmed in a new report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A group of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Donetsk region were forced to transport ammunition through a minefield for three months. One POW was killed after stepping on a mine, another was shot for refusing to obey orders. Five others were seriously injured.

The report mentions the execution of two prisoners of war in March 2022 in the village of Sloboda, Chernihiv region.

It also confirms the authenticity of two of the most widely circulated videos of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war — one in which the head of a Ukrainian prisoner of war is severed with a knife, the other of the execution of Hero of Ukraine Oleksander Matsievskyi.

War is not a moving picture on a screen. If we do not stop russia in Ukraine today, everything you have seen in war movies could become a reality in your country.

🎥 Andriy Goopsa pic.twitter.com/2HJbja4IZG

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 4, 2023

Klischiivka:

Klishchiivka. A swarm of russian locusts flew through.

🎥 Liut [Fury] Brigade pic.twitter.com/U1KzQIJkhO

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 4, 2023

Robotyne:

First tweet from Tatarigami’s thread followed by the rest from the Thread Reader App.

Leading up to and during the counter-offensive, many independent observers underestimated the preparedness of russian defenses. Seemingly unremarkable tree lines concealed well-prepared russian positions, fortified and complemented by extensive minefields. 🧵Thread: pic.twitter.com/Ci2JtxaSfh

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) October 4, 2023

2/ In Section One, which displays satellite imagery of the tree line near Robotyne on July 13th, it is evident that while there are some noticeable changes near the tree line, such as earthworks, the majority of positions remain concealed and not clearly visible. 

3/ In Section Two, the August imagery exposes the presence of russian positions after tree destruction. many observers primarily focused on visible defensive lines, often missing concealed positions. This led to a misconception of vast, empty spaces between the fortifications.

4/ In the final, third section depicting the situation on September 11th, we can finally discern a system of trenches and concealed individual positions along the tree line.

5/ Let’s take another look and run a brief comparative analysis. In this case, independent observers may focus on the visible trench, ignoring concealed positions. However, the absence of foliage reveals the defensive positions clearly

6/ Overall, these positions are typically detectable by drones, particularly when occupied by enemy forces. Yet, there have been cases where they eluded detection, were only partially revealed, or mistakenly presumed unmanned, catching approaching Ukrainian forces off guard. 

7/ As events progressed, it became clear that these seemingly empty areas were fortified and ready for defense. The remaining spaces were heavily mined and closely watched by drones, which allowed artillery and loitering munition to attack approaching troops

8/ This can also partly explain the lack of a swift advance after Ukrainian forces breached the visible defensive line, with AT trench and dragon’s teeth.
Ukrainian troops must still face enemy positions in many tree lines, along with FPVs, artillery, mines, and helicopters. 

9/ Continuing offensive progress hinges on artillery ammo availability for advancing troops, as it’s vital to suppress numerous enemy defenses and force their withdrawal. Additionally, the readiness of reserves to advance and take positions remains crucial. 

10/ The comprehensive analysis can be found on my project’s website, “Frontelligence Insight,” listed in my bio. It offers a more detailed and expanded version of this thread.

11/ I kindly request you to like, follow, and share the first message in the thread.

These materials are accessible thanks to the support received through Buy Me A Coffee. This support enables me to acquire and share imagery with analysis, including this thread. 

Kharkiv & Bakhmut:

We are yet to fully comprehend the lasting impact of the war on our children. Kharkiv used to be thriving university center and hub of bookstores. With offline education suspended, only a handful of book kiosks remain open in this once-bustling book market. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/46XE1E8Gq0

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) October 4, 2023

A teacher from Bakhmut, shared this photo with me saying 'This used to be my daily route to school' pic.twitter.com/wY2NIldaxa

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) October 4, 2023

Mariupol:

More here: https://t.co/cpDMPcGqgL

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 4, 2023

Here’s the full text of Dmitri’s tweet:

Russian blogger came to Mariupol and found the real meaning of the “Russian World”: people living in and around the new builds devastated the playgrounds. After the video gained traction, the area was “cleaned”. The blogger returned for a check but found from the locals that the basements of these new builds were full of water after the guttering burst, and authorities did not want to deal with it. The foul smell fills properties across the whole house. Watch till the end.

Source: https://youtube.com/@walkandtalk_

And the full text of Borodin’s:

What do the “Potemkin villages” of new buildings in Mariupol hide? What is hidden behind the beautiful picture of Russian propagandists where “Mariupol residents have already received housing and are living better than before”?

A Russian blogger came to Mariupol to show the revival of the city and add optimism to the situation, but SOMETHING WENT WRONG…

Listen to how ordinary city residents live in the once prestigious Cheryomushki district after more than 1,5 years of Russian occupation:
– out of 25 apartment buildings, only 2.5 houses remain after Russian attack;
– no lighting at all in the night in a whole district;
– the occupying power avoids as much as possible compensation payments to people for repairs (they refuse compensation if a person, for example, has a formal 8m2 in a barn outside the city);
– they give compensation not for the size of the apartment, but for 1 person registered in it);
– people were simply deceived by promising full renovations of apartments destroyed by Russian bombings immediately after the occupation of the city – and then the administration simply retracted their words;
– residents to whom Russia today pays $100 pensions are offered to make repairs in their apartments themselves, which approximately costs about $10,000;
– the sewerage collector in a district was destroyed and not restored;
– the city water supply service does not work because workers are not paid and are on strike.

In fact, all these people were liberated not from the “mystical Nazis,” but from all their property, which they had earned throughout their lives. But instead they were given Russian passports!

This sentence is still actual always: “Russia will always screw you over, son!”

Russian occupied Crimea:

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine published a video of the landing during one of the operations on the coast of the Crimean Peninsula.https://t.co/AgvFmajn8S pic.twitter.com/AiHB2plx0O

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 4, 2023

Ukrainska Pravda has the details:

Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has stated that units of the Special Operations Forces landed on the territory of the occupied Crimean peninsula and attacked the Russians, and after completing the mission, they retreated.

Source: Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence; Andrii Yusov, representative of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Quote from Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence: “The Stugna and Bratstvo special operations units, as part of the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence’s special unit headed by Tymur, landed on the territory of the Crimean peninsula and inflicted fire on the Moscow occupiers!

Crimea will be Ukrainian! Glory to Ukraine!”

Details: Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence posted a video showing the boats heading towards the shore.

The Wall Street Journal has reported this afternoon that Russia has removed its Black Sea fleet from Crimea:

Russia has withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in occupied Crimea, a potent acknowledgment of how Ukrainian missile and drone strikes are challenging Moscow’s hold on the peninsula.

President Biden has called the US’s EU and NATO allies to (try to) reassure them regarding the failure to get the next $24 billion in military aid for Ukraine passed. The Financial Times has the details:

President Joe Biden hosted a call with western leaders to co-ordinate assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday following a compromise to keep the US government open in a deal that excluded more aid for Kyiv.

The call appeared to be aimed at reassuring jittery allies as Ukraine tries to gain some advantage in a fight that looks increasingly like a stalemate and as Kyiv prepares for another challenging winter.

The Biden administration is pressing Congress to hold another vote soon on additional funds for Ukraine but infighting on Capitol Hill and uncertainty over Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s grip on power have put immediate additional assistance in doubt.

The White House would announce another lethal aid package for Ukraine soon, officials said, but they added that Congress would need to vote soon.

“We cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted. Time is not our friend,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. The Pentagon had about $5bn left in authorised funds, but this was only enough to meet Ukraine’s needs “a little longer”, Kirby said.

He added: “A lapse in support for even a short period of time can make all the difference on the battlefield. Just as critically, such a lapse in support will make [Russian president Vladimir] Putin believe that he can wait us out.”

Kirby said it was clear from the call “that the world is watching”, adding that Biden had told other leaders that he was confident of future bipartisan support for Ukraine.

Included on the call were leaders from Canada, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the UK, France, Nato, the European Commission and the European Council.

Biden “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes”, according to a White House account of the call which said other leaders had “echoed their commitments”.

The participants discussed providing Ukraine with necessary ammunition and weapons, strengthening its air defences and preparing to repair Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the winter, the White House said. Additionally the leaders are working to bring in new donors for the country’s economic recovery.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said it was a “good phone call” and added that Europe’s support for Ukraine was “unwavering”. She said she had proposed €50bn in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine, pledged 1mn rounds of ammunition to be delivered by March 2024 and promised the EU would take action to ensure “full accountability for Russian crimes against Ukrainians”.

A statement from the German chancellery said the call had focused on “the fixed conviction of all participants that we must support Ukraine in its defensive fight against Russian aggression for as long as is necessary”.

As Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited his troops in north-eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, an adviser in his administration called on Kyiv’s western allies to “call a spade a spade”.

“You (our partners) also badly need Ukraine to have artillery shells, long-range missiles and air defence systems,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Because this is about existence, about . . . what is cheaper . . . to stop Russia now or to wait until Russia’s bloodthirsty ambitions grow significantly,” he added.

Edward Luce, writing in The Financial Times, explains why the mess that the House GOP caucus has created is bad news for Ukraine and its war effort.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there is no “expiration date” on Ukraine’s willingness to fight Russia. But it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the potential shelf life of America’s support for his cause.

Matt Gaetz, the ultra-Maga lawmaker who led the move on Tuesday to eject Kevin McCarthy as Republican Speaker, cited an alleged secret side deal McCarthy made with Joe Biden to keep funding Ukraine. This was in spite of the fact that McCarthy had struck $6bn in Ukrainian aid from last weekend’s deal to keep the US government open. It capped a bleak few days for Zelenskyy. Even assuming the next Speaker is sympathetic to Ukraine, they would be in an even weaker position than McCarthy.

The Republican party has been moving in Russia’s direction for a while. More than eight in 10 Republican voters now support candidates — Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy — who would sever aid to Ukraine. Roughly half of Americans likewise want to pull the plug. For the first time since the 1920s, Americans are likely to be given the option next year of putting an isolationist in the White House. That would be a fateful choice.

The “isolationist” label is often misused. It does not automatically mean neutrality in fights between foreigners, though that sentiment was a feature of the US republic at its birth. It can also mean bias towards one side. Charles Lindbergh, who headed the America First Committee in the early stages of the second world war, made his sympathies for Nazi Germany plain. All kinds of supporters — pacifists, big business and anti-Semites — flocked to his banner.

Today’s rising isolationism is not about even-handedness between Russia and Ukraine; its driving force comes from Republicans in sympathy with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The others are getting sidelined or pushed out. In an effort to keep his job, McCarthy refused Zelenskyy’s request to address Congress when he was in Washington two weeks ago. Last Saturday, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, tried to pass a separate bill that would have reinstated the Ukrainian funding. He was blocked by Republican colleagues.

America’s two parties broadly agree that China poses the main challenge to US hegemony. Russia, however, is a real-time arsonist in the western neighbourhood. US isolationism’s roots were about avoiding entanglements with Europe. It did not have much to say about the rest of the world. Lindbergh volunteered in the Pacific after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The country’s postwar isolationists, led by Senator Robert Taft, opposed Nato’s creation in 1949 yet were outraged by America’s failure the same year to stop China’s communist revolution. “Who lost China?” was an isolationist rallying cry. A similar pattern is visible today. Isolationist Republicans say the Ukraine war is diverting America’s focus from the true threat in China. Ramaswamy refers to Zelenskyy as “their Pope” — pointing at pro-Ukraine colleagues. Beijing, on the other hand, wants to turn Americans into “Chinese serfs”.

The imminent threat assessment points to Moscow. Putin has been explicit about his plans to re-establish the russky mir (Russian world). He dismembered Georgia in 2008, seized Crimea in 2014, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and then annexed four Ukrainian regions. The last time Chinese forces invaded another country was Vietnam in 1979; it went badly. Today’s most overblown fears about China’s designs sound more like a replay of the 1950s McCarthyite “red scare” than a balanced appraisal of America’s current risks.

There are three overlapping issues here. The first is that the majority of the GOP base has now fully adopted the pro-Putin, pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine, anti-American support to Ukraine position. This will have major electoral effects as Republicans running for reelection to the House and the Senate, especially for the House, will move themselves into line with their primary voters positions on Putin, Russia, Ukraine, and American support to Ukraine in order to win their primaries. Which for almost all House GOP members is the only election they have to worry about. This will also force GOP senators to move towards these positions, but because they run statewide it may not happen quite as fast. This shift in the GOP base, the conservative movement whatever conservative now means, and its effect on Republican running for the House, Senate, and the presidency will make it harder and harder for the US to sustain its support for Ukraine. As I wrote in an update, as well as that one email newsletter Cole asked to do for you all while th site was being held hostage, we needed to give Ukraine everything we would ever possibly give them prior to the swearing in of the current Congress in 2023 because if even one chamber flipped eventually the aid was going to stop because it would be stopped. We’re just about there now. The third issue here is that the Republican Party and conservative movement framing of the PRC problem set has been adopted lock, stock, and barrel within the US nat-sec, defense, and foreign policy establishment within the beltway, those trying to influence it, and those aspiring to be part of it. As a result and as with so many of our domestic and foreign policy issues, the conceptual space has now been so completely artificially narrowed that every really creative and potential effective policy option and strategy to achieve them to move US-PRC relations on to a better footing are all now outside of the artificially narrow boundaries that have been set. As a result, the drumbeat for a war with the PRC will only grow over the next several years given the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of Xi’s statements about the what the PLA’s state of readiness needs to be by 2027 and why the PLA should achieve that state of readiness. As I type this the US nat-sec, defense, and foreign policy establishment is in an ongoing process of talking itself into a future war with the PRC, setting the conditions for it, and establishing the justifications that it would be the PRC’s fault.

Simon Ostrovsky’s reporting below is an example of this informational framing capture regarding Russia. If this is accurate, this guy and his company should be subjected to a full counterintelligence investigation, have clearance and access pulled, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and be shutdown.

My new @NewsHour investigation into the owner of US defense contractor @usa_nsh, whose founder believes the “the white population must stand together” and whose industrial technology is helping Russia re-arm for the war in Ukraine. https://t.co/VeHwOM5hXx

— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky) October 3, 2023

Here’s more on Russia’s annual mobilization:

Shoygu says he is satisfied with the amount of fresh human resource at his disposal, and more are coming every month voluntarily. This is not surprising, as the country that can offer a salary of $300 per month on average has heaps of desperate people who are ready to kill and… pic.twitter.com/8USUA4yall

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 3, 2023

Shoygu says he is satisfied with the amount of fresh human resource at his disposal, and more are coming every month voluntarily. This is not surprising, as the country that can offer a salary of $300 per month on average has heaps of desperate people who are ready to kill and die to feed their families. Having said that, he could have pulled this numbers out of his bottom anyway.

But don’t be fooled thinking the mobilisation is not coming, it definitely is on the cards still. I believe it would have already happened if it wasn’t for Prigozhin’s March of Justice which scared the Kremlin Looney shitless. With the so-called “presidential campaign”, i.e. fake elections, as 23 years is not enough for the Tsar, on the way, the last thing they want now is discontent among the populus.

 

Each and every life matters to us. This is the primary difference between Ukrainians and those who engage in acts of violence in the name of russia.#WorldAnimalsDay
🎥 @MFA_Ukraine pic.twitter.com/hZoRXYoCUO

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 4, 2023

Cats are always the first to know. pic.twitter.com/vVKfh4L3TD

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 4, 2023

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Autumn. Romantic village collection🙂

More you can find here:https://t.co/Hsf1MIYAhH pic.twitter.com/O099mc4pi0

— Patron (@PatronDsns) October 4, 2023

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok:

@patron__dsns

Рідко показую вам тут нашу роботу через чисельні обмеження у TikTok, але це – не можу не показати🔥 #fakefire #fakesituation #fakeall

♬ оригінальний звук – Споконвіку

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

I rarely show you our work here because of the number of restrictions on TikTok, but I can’t help but show you this 🔥 #fakefire #fakesituation #fakeall

Open thread!