Dec 25: E-Stories

Day669 Kherson Tokmak Su34 F16s BehindLines Kulykovsky UAart UNICEF/UA Allies NATO Latvia EU GER Taiwan A&P Matviichuk Zelensky DefenceUkraine Zabrinsky Bengtsson Sipher Kallas ISW Sandu SantaClaus

Dec 25, 2023

Catching up…

EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.

Happy Holidays!

Stories we’re following…

Many Ukrainians will on Monday celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December for the first time, after the government changed the date from the Orthodox Church observance of 7 January in a snub to Russia, Agence France-Presse reports. The law signed by president Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted that Ukrainians wanted to “live their own life with their own traditions and holidays”. It allows them to “abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7”, it added. Christianity is the largest religion in Ukraine, with the Russian Orthodox Church dominating religious life until recently.

President Zelensky’s Christmas Address:

The nights before Christmas are the longest of the year. However, the day has already begun to lengthen and the light has begun to prevail. The light grows stronger. Day by day and step by step, the darkness retreats. Darkness will eventually lose. Evil will be defeated….

Oleksandra Matviichuk: ordinary citizens doing the impossible

I was in a taxi on my way to the Ukrainska Pravda Award when a car crashed into ours. I was jolted a great deal, and while I was trying to figure out if my head, arms, and legs were intact, I was thinking – just not today, I have to present an award to a special person.

Olena Tolkachova, the head of Azov’s patronage service, received the UP award in the "Civic Stance" nomination. She has been at war since 2014 and managed to build an institution that provides full medical support to wounded soldiers and takes care of the families of the fallen.

Other units explore their experience as they fearlessly and effectively save lives. Life is the most valuable.
On stage, I quoted my teacher, philosopher, author, and dissident Yevhen Sverstiuk. He would often say, "One man on the battlefield is a warrior." It is about each person's responsibility to do everything and even more in the place where he or she is.
However, since February 2014, the "battlefield" has ceased to be a metaphorical expression. Owing to Olena and her team, no one is alone on this battlefield.

The award was presented to another special person. Posthumously. Many people watched the video of the last words of Oleksandr Matsiievskyi, who threw "Glory to Ukraine" at the occupiers and was shot by machine gun fire.

This is not just an act of defiance. This is the manifestation of dignity.
We really have something to count on. There are many bright people around. We support each other. Together we will get through these difficult and dark times.

Zarina Zabrinsky has been reporting from Kherson for weeks, recording these clear messages from the local residents about the Russian attacks that have increased in the past weeks. Look at the apartment building behind the man. The windows are boarded up, some probably shattered by blasts or strong waves of vibrations from the constant boom of the strikes. Some are there for protection. Can you imagine stepping out for milk, coffee or the weekly shopping and hoping you’ll get back.

Dec 24: During the night, Russia attacked Ukraine in several regions with 15 Shahed drones. A total of 14 were shot down.

Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast kill 4, injure 9 over past day. Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast killed four civilians and injured nine others over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Dec. 24.

President Zelensky on the Russian missile attack on Kherson:

The elimination of the consequences of Russian strikes on Kherson lasted all night. Terrorists deliberately target civilian infrastructure and ordinary streets. Their shelling damaged a school, a boiler facility, hospitals, city heating networks, as well as private and multi-story residential buildings. There are injured, including a child. All of them are getting assistance. Unfortunately, there are also fatalities.
My condolences to the families. All necessary services and our rescuers are working around the clock to restore power and heat supply. I am grateful to everyone who is working day and night, on weekdays and holidays, to provide Ukrainian cities and villages the opportunity to live.
And I am grateful to everyone who is doing everything they can to make the Russian terrorists feel our Ukrainian response, a completely fair response to their attacks.

The village of Novomykhailivka has been under attack for several weeks. There are 100s of these villages in the south east and elsewhere that have been next to erased by Russian attacks and Ukraine trying to get them out. Reconstruction will take generations.

Combat Situation Update

ISW: Russia confirms use of prohibited chemical weapons in Kherson Oblast. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claims that Russian naval infantry units have confirmed they are using prohibited chemical weapons in the village of Krynky, located 30 kilometers northeast of Kherson, the ISW said in their latest assessment on Dec. 23.

Dec 24: Explosions reported in the occupied city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region. On the map, you’ll find on the top left under the fortified line.

Russia is turning captured cities into real fortresses, - legal mayor of Melitopol Fedorov. Map of Russian fortifications in the occupied south.

Russian forces are trying to drive Ukrainian Defence Forces out of the footholds they had gained on Dnipro’s left (east) bank in Kherson Oblast. They carried out 15 unsuccessful assaults on Saturday, 23 December, suffering significant losses, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 23 December.

Noel Report: "F-16 in connection with Patriot will be able to strike at Russian jets without entering the zone covered by Russian air defense," aviation expert Bohdan Dolyntse said.
"If Russian jets try to overtake/intercept the F-16, a Patriot or SAMP-T will effectively land it," he adds.

“The first batch of F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine will be modified, modernization is being carried out by enterprises in Europe and the USA,” spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ignat reported.

Me: Russian social media has been frantic for the past few days, posting mixed messages regarding Putin’s so-called desire to reach a ‘peace’ deal first reported in the NYT, and others that the Russian economy is stronger than ever, including videos on stores in Moscow or St Petersburg filled to the brim with shoppers. At the same time, a story about Putin giving the go for Prigozhin’s assassination—the macho leader. None of my contacts are remotely taking any overtures of so-called peace with Russia seriously.

What Ukrainian soldiers wish for this Christmas.

Noel Report: Iceland joined the IT Coalition and the Mine Action Coalition and will also provide additional funding for the purchase of medical supplies for Ukraine.

Behind the Lines

The Polish blockade at the Medyka-checkpoint has ended. According to Ukrainian border guards, the farmers ended their strike this morning. Trucks in the direction of entry into Ukraine are processed in the usual manner.

15-year sentence demanded for ‘butcher’ of Izolyatsia secret prison in Russian-occupied Donetsk

The trial of Denys Kulikovsky, or 'Palych' over his role at the Izolyatsia concentration camp in occupied Donetsk is a vital test for Ukraine and evidence of systematic use of torture in occupied territory since 2014.

Kulykovsky in court Photo Oleh Horbachov

The trial is ending in Kyiv of Denys Kulykovsky, or ‘Palych’, as he was known to former Ukrainian hostages held and savagely tortured at the notorious Izolyatsia secret prison in the Russian proxy ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [‘DPR’]. Oleh Horbachov, the lawyer representing one of the victims, has described the case as “a test for Ukraine which will demonstrate the country’s ability to bring key war criminals to justice”.
The charges against Kulykovsky are of human trafficking (Article 149 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code); creating a terrorist gang or organization (Article 258-3); creating unlawful militarized or armed formations (Article 260); involvement in a crime committed by a group of people (Article 28) and violation of the laws and practice of war (Article 438). The last of these charges is effectively the only possibility under Ukraine’s current Criminal Code of prosecuting people for war crimes, and it remains woefully inadequate. Shortly after Kulykovsky’s arrest, Oleksandra Matviychuk Director of the Centre for Civil Liberties, expressed frustration over the problems that this creates and noting that the charges should have been of numerous war crimes, including murder, torture and inhumane treatment, deliberate infliction of acute suffering, grievous bodily harm as well as damage to health and rape.
Aseyev was held prisoner in ‘DPR’ for 31 months, and was imprisoned for 28 of these in Izolyatsia. In his words, Kulykovsky was not merely in charge of Izolyatsia, but, “for his own satisfaction, took part around the clock in torturing, raping and ill-treating people. At night he would get drunk, open cells and, in the best instance, beat prisoners, including women.”

Defence of Ukraine: That's how childhood looks when your neighbor's country is a terrorist. "Under the dark clouds of war" by Patryk Jaracz won UNICEF Photo of the Year.

Knewz.com has learned that the propagandists are attempting to brainwash people into thinking that Russia has improved the living conditions of the occupied city. The propagandists, posing as journalists, have been spreading fake news about maintenance and improvement projects in the city that were actually undertaken prior to the Ukraine war.

Melitopol became occupied territory soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is located a few miles away from what is now the northern frontlines of the war.
Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, said in his statement to Ukrainian TV that the so-called journalists have spread fake stories about building a new maternity hospital that was actually built in 2021.
Furthermore, the propagandists also praised Russia for the renovation project of a sports school in the occupied city, which Mayor Fedorov said had already been done in 2017.
"They are printing nearly all newspapers which used to be published before February 24, 2022... They brought a large number of the so-called journalists from continental Russia, who are running around Melitopol and talking about good living conditions under occupation, mistaking the wish for the reality," Fedorov said in his televised statement, according to the Kyiv Post.
The mayor also mentioned that the target audience for the fabricated reports written by the propagandists are those living in Russia. "A whole ‘battalion’ of propagandists trying to brainwash people, but they are mostly focused on those who live in Russia," Fedorov mentioned.

Meanwhile in Russia

John Sipher: “The mouse who roared. As my friend and former colleague Rob Dannenberg commented in @thecipherbrief, Putin has mortgaged Russia’s economic future as a leading technological society for the sake of a few hundred kilometers of Ukrainian territory.”

NYT: Putin open to ceasefire if Russia keeps occupied territories. Putin's sought ceasefire would mean Russia would keep the territories it illegally occupies in Ukraine, where the population is subject to abductions and summary executions. Ukraine laid out its 10-point "peace formula" in November 2022. One of the key points as a precondition for starting peace talks is the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

Me: Again. Every few months Putin’s people start circulating the fairy tale about peace negotiations. The Russians most likely need a moment to regroup since they are taking a huge hit on the Avdiivka front and elsewhere. Just a reminder what Russians really think of negotiations from the Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas:

In Dagestan, 45 refugees from the Gaza Strip were issued Russian passports.

A group of Palestinian refugees in Dagestan received Russian Federation passports. RIA Novosti writes that 45 Palestinians received documents.
As the deputy chairman of the government of the republic, Abdurakhman Makhmudov, said, passports will allow refugees to “realize themselves in various fields of activity” and also provide “rights and benefits” provided for by the Constitution. This includes medical care, education, and work opportunities.

Me: They’ll be sent to the front.

An unknown person threw a grenade at a party of the BBC Russian Service in Riga. Journalists believe that the attack is related to their professional activities As one of the participants of the events told "Novaya Gazeta Europa", during a party in the Riga bar Čē, the door opened, a man looked inside and threw a training grenade under the feet of the journalists standing in the hall. It exploded, stunning several people.

Allied Support

A little Christmas cheer from the NATO troops!

Taiwan together with the "Alliance of Polish Metropolises" created a fund to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and contributed $1 million. The funds will be directed to improving the living conditions of refugees in Poland, improving education for Ukrainian children and youth, as well as preparing for the future return of refugees to Ukraine after the war.

EU foreign policy chief warns that Putin won’t be “satisfied with a limited territorial victory” in Ukraine.

Maybe this is the moment in which we have to look at the danger coming from a great power which threatens our democracy, which threatens Europe itself, not only Ukraine.
And if we don’t change course rapidly, if we don’t mobilise all our capacities, it will let Putin win the war in Ukraine. Similarly If we are not able to stop the tragedy which is happening in Gaza, I think our project will be very much damaged.
Putin cannot be satisfied with a piece of Ukraine and to let the rest of Ukraine belong to the European Union, but he cannot be satisfied with a limited territorial victory.
He will not give up the war, especially not before the American election, which may present him with a much more favourable scenario. So we must prepare for a conflict of high intensity for a long time.

Germany pulls through for Ukraine: while we’ve been focusing on the self-imposed political storm in the U.S. over funding for Ukraine, the Germans have been quietly providing a steady stream of lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine for close to two years. I’ve been following every delivery. Now one German representative to the federal government would like to introduce a tax whose proceeds would entirely go to aid Ukraine.

Me: This is one brave woman. Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, is never given enough attention for the stand that she and her country have taken in the past 3 years, defying the Russians at a very high cost. Thinking back to the summer 2021, Moldova was the first country hit by Russia’s weaponisation of energy supplies. She didn’t fold at that time and has stood steadfast in bringing her country into the EU and providing assistance to Ukraine. Moldova will be the next country the Russian leadership will take should Ukraine fall.