A bevy of bavovna, set to “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath.
WARNING: Some Russians were harmed in the making of this video.
One Ukrainian Leopard tank vs. a Russian column.
There are mass graves of thousands of Russian soldiers in the town of Snizhne, which is about 80 km east of the city of Donetsk.
Meanwhile, in Vovchansk, a Russian soldier/blogger who a flair for writing describes a harrowing journey through Ukrainian drones and mortars.
Fifty meters. Maybe less. In the gray pre-dawn haze or the impending evening darkness, it's impossible to determine the exact distance. At any other time, peeking out from the basement of a completely destroyed building would be strictly not recommended. And the basement itself is mostly filled with rubble, concrete beams, tiles, and metal structures. I've been hiding under them for the eighth day. A sniper's bullet went through my leg. Luckily, it passed through the soft tissue. The hole is quite large! You can stick a finger through it.
"Fifty meters, no more," say those who managed to cross that distance in our direction. The path is blocked by debris, construction waste, and bodies. Bodies, bodies, bodies of our soldiers. They are everywhere. As far as the eye can see, there are dead. Some lie in the basement where we're hiding, some have been there for just one day, others for fifteen. Those who can't move lie there the longest. They need evacuation, but there is none, and there is no sign of it. These fifty meters are completely controlled by Banderite drones and snipers. When the drones aren't flying, everything is fired upon by mortars. Their spotters never sleep — as soon as one of ours appears in the open for just a few seconds, several
mortar shells land on them immediately.
There are many who have died or been fatally wounded. They are already lying in two or three layers, close to the wounded. The persistent smell of death and decaying flesh fills the basement. The guys are rotting, and the medic can't help them. He only gives painkillers delivered by drone. Medicine and a pack of cigarettes — that's all the help we get from those sitting just fifty meters away.
You can only breathe in short gasps. Twilight has begun, the sky is filled with clouds, and the wind has started to blow in gusts. Over the radio, all the wounded who can move on their own are advised to "make a run for it." I tape up my pants that were cut while bandaging. I cautiously peek out from the basement. The buzzing makes me duck back inside. I play this peek-and-look game for about an hour. The "birds" fly in flocks. It quiets down a bit. I listen. I decide. A quick dash outside. Behind me is Igor. His arm is shattered, but both legs are intact. We leap over one body, then another. Now, a slight incline, and we reach a hole in the wire fence. No matter how hard I try to aim carefully, I still snag my hat on the fence. It stays there. A large part of the way is covered! Just a little more, and we'll be safe. Whizz. An explosion behind us. A hot wave passes over me. I glance back — even a second of hesitation could cost me everything. But I turned my head anyway. The kamikaze drone hit Igor. His lifeless body was thrown aside. I make one last lunge, slip through the broken gate, and into a relatively safe place. I hear several mortar explosions. I don't know if anyone ran after us. If anyone did, they certainly weren't as lucky...
Meanwhile, in Kursk.
Russia sent an armored column down a road in the Kursk region. Ukraine withdrew from the road and several villages along it and took up positions alongside the road in the forest and on higher ground.
The Russians dropped off infantry to hold the villages but Ukraine destroyed the armor, leaving the infantry vulnerable.
The Russian plan was for these groups to provide an all-around defense and secure the road for additional reinforcements to pass through in the future. However, these groups were left vulnerable without support after the mechanized forces were destroyed. Meanwhile, Ukrainians had saved their combat power by not engaging the Russian assault outright and were in a much stronger position in the forests and on top of the hills.
As Russians did not have enough soldiers to cover the settlements completely, Ukrainians rapidly moved into the gaps and encircled the Russian soldiers stuck in the settlements. Russians realized the disaster unfolding and sent several armored vehicles to break through to the encircled soldiers.
Russia then tried to send more armor to reach the cut off infantry.
This time, Ukrainians did not allow the Russians to pass through, as geolocated footage shows several Russian armored vehicles being destroyed by Ukrainian defenders. Russian military analysts later confirmed that no reinforcements were able to break through to their soldiers and that these groups had been fully cut off for days, relying solely on supplies dropped from drones.
Russians increased the pressure on the Ukrainian western flank to salvage the situation and turn the tide of the battle, launching five waves of mechanized assaults on Novoivanovka in only one day. Here is where Ukrainians inflicted massive casualties on Russian forces, destroying 18 out of 29 Russian armored vehicles in the process.
Still, Russians were able to land several infantry groups in the settlement and the tree lines around it, posing a substantial threat to the Ukrainian western flank. Ukrainians promptly dealt with the Russian threat by sending in several mechanized assault groups, supported by Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles, to clear out the Russian positions. Impressively, the Ukrainian modifications to the Bradley’s armor allowed them to shrug off several hits by Russian FPV kamikaze drones, and safely deploy their infantry to clear the positions.
More video of battles in Kursk:
WARNING: Shows dead Russians
Another 1,690 Russians and 19 tanks.
Here is the thing about Scholz and his government — Germany has supplied Ukraine with a great deal of military and humanitarian aid. As a percentage of GDP, it is probably as much or more so than anyone else.
But he will be remembered for his obstinate stance on Taurus cruise missiles.
Cannon fodder complains about being cannon fodder.
Russian soldiers have been looting in the Kursk region for a while. Now they are also reportedly looting near Belgorod.
Probably a mistake for him to go to Serbia.
Robot machine gun.
Keeping these supplied with ammunition should be a problem.
There are still people who think Trump won’t be so bad for Ukraine.
Won’t do much good if Trump cuts off the flow.
The bombing in Kryvyi Rih that killed a mother and her three children has resonated throughout the country.
Kharkiv continues to suffer because of Russia.
Winter comes to Kharkiv.
Lukashenko says a woman says a woman cannot be president of Belarus because she would be able to be commander-in-chief. The voters in Belarus disagreed when they elected Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya before Lukashenko stole the election.
Who says a penny doesn’t buy anything anymore? It buys a ruble.
Eating is so overrated.
Defending Ukraine is a dirty job but someone has to do it.
Look! It’s a Bluesky embed.
They don’t embed properly but it’s not bad without photos or videos.
We're going to have a Christmas tree in downtown Kyiv again, yay!
Not as grandiose as what we had before 2022 and hopefully funded by volunteering businesses instead of city budget... but kids (and not only kids) need to feel the Christmas miracle even in the time of war.
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) November 14, 2024 at 6:02 AM
