Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

The head of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, Lidia Izovitova, appealed to the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov and the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in connection with numerous violations by the employees of the mobilization centers of the rights and guarantees of advocacy during the professional protection of citizens of Ukraine. These are the facts of interference in activities, violence against defense lawyers, illegal deprivation of liberty, confiscation of personal belongings, including those containing lawyer's secrets - actions that directly hinder the lawyer's activity and violate human rights to protection and obtaining legal aid. https://unba.org.ua/news/9118-tisk-na-advokativ-pokaznik-porushennya-prav-lyudini-v-ukraini-naau.html

And then I saw a lecture on legal nihilism from the deputy who makes the laws, and I understood that further degradation of the state is no longer possible. https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukr/ukraina/2024-05-13/5851484-intervyu-z-fedienko

[ke6sls]

"There is no such thing as giving away four-fifths of the income just for a roof over your head anywhere in Europe."

I'm glad folks in Europe have better living conditions.  Here in my county, it is common that rent is more than a person earns for the month which means you have to have room mates to share the toxic rents being charged.  What is the worse, in my opinion, is that this land is where all the wood came from to build houses in California

"I don't think that congressmen are stupid people and believe in propaganda."

Our politics have become nightmarish over the last decade and a half.  Yes, there are representatives who believe the damnedest things! 

I listen to many viewpoints trying to find deeper meanings and common cause/remedy.  One day I listened to speaker who was talking about the russian invasion and over the course of an hour, it was as if russia had placed him before this audience.  A couple days later, I listened as a representative parroted the same misinformation, much of it word for word.

Wlad, I'm glad you got to see and talk with your son!  I'm impressed by your pride in his educational work.  Knowing many languages actually makes it easier for him in so many ways.  Just contemplating this brings joy to me.

The solar events have all but eliminated much of amateur radio over the last 4 days.  But this morning, I was able to have a regular QSO with my friends on the other side of the mountain on 75m at 7:30 local.  Tonight, we'll have an emergency net on 75m SSB, then I will run an emergency digital net on 80m.  This will be at 18:30 - 19:15 local time.  I think digital will work despite the harsh band, but the SSB net will be a challenge!

Last night, 75m perked up well.  By 21:00 local, I was hearing stations up to 600 miles (950km.)  I'll host our night net tonight and hope the band will continue to improve.

Obipuss just jumped on my lap, I think he's also wishing you well

73
Jaye

[KD8ZM-Brady]

In the US, rent is highly dependent on the part of the country that one lives in, specifically what the average income is where one lives. For instance if one lives near Silicon Valley, rent is going to be unaffordable because there are lots of tech billionaires and venture capital firms. Here in Ohio, rents are much more reasonable in most places, but that's because incomes are moderate. I make a good income but I couldn't (and shouldn't) expect to be able to live in SF or other super-high-income areas, since I'm not in the super-high-income class. IF I tried to live in SF despite my moderate income, of course I would be spending more than 80% of my income on rent. So, I don't live there.
This video does a pretty good job of explaining why housing has gotten more and more unaffordable in the US, over time. But it's a complex issue and can't be boiled down to the sound bites that politicians like to deal in:  https://youtu.be/OtJD45cTV9c?si=YhrwZjTbCABKk-6I

[N0TZU]

Excellent points and video, Brady! The private enterprise of people will solve most of the problem if not hobbled. I’ve long been frustrated with the typical zoning laws and NIMBYs that are a very large part of the problem (and have secondary effects like forcing unnecessary automobile use, and increased crime in commercial areas devoid of housing and therefore people to look out for the neighborhood.)

Around here it’s beginning by allowing small  “mother in law” or “granny” homes to be built, or manufactured homes placed, on existing single family housing lots. One such manufactured tiny home was added to the property of a house in our neighborhood for a relative of the owners.

Another that was just signed into law in Colorado overrides the arbitrary limits in local zoning codes on how many unrelated people may live in one house. Limits for legitimate health and safety reasons are still allowed.

There is a role for government, as the video mentioned, perhaps in backing private loans for situations not served by the current home mortgage banking system even with its government backing.

[US7IGN]

Thanks for the information, it’s always interesting to compare the situation in different countries, although we must admit that the cost of housing in itself means nothing without taking into account all other factors.

Braden, I sent the video to my son. He should be interested, considering that urban planning is his profession.

In Ukraine, I can’t shake the feeling of the unreality of what’s happening. The russian offensive showed that the fortifications were insufficient and the threat was quite serious. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1790414765531054347

At the same time, graduates of Kharkiv schools dance the waltz, demonstrating fearlessness. https://twitter.com/InUKRofficial/status/1787097914961219592
Well, if the waltz compensates for the lack of fortifications, I will be only happy. So far, there is new destruction every day in Kharkiv.

Ukraine’s military is confronting a “critical” situation in the country’s northeast, facing troop shortages as it tries to repel a russian offensive that has been advancing for several days,  Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Monday. russian troops surged across the border last week to open a new line of attack near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city after Kyiv, capturing at least nine settlements and villages and forcing thousands of civilians to flee. General Budanov assessed that Ukrainian forces would be able to shore up their lines and stabilize the front within the next few days. But he expects russia to launch a new attack further north of Kharkiv, in the Sumy region. https://www.nytimes.com/article/russia-ukraine-kharkiv.html

Blinken is also having fun in a bar https://www.bbc.com/news/world-69013071 while 40 percent of Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian aid, according to a UN report https://unric.org/en/two-years-of-war-in-ukraine-about-40-of-the-ukrainian-population-will-need-humanitarian-aid-by-2024/#:~:text=The%20need%20for%20urgent%20help%20persists.&text=Two%20years%20after%20the%20invasion,assisted%2011%20million%20people%20nationwide.

[US7IGN]

All this once again emphasizes how different the situation looks for different people. The new legislation recognizes the majority of men 18-60 as healthy by default, unless they prove otherwise, possibly while already in the army. They are outlawed and now it depends only on the officials of the mobilization centers whether they will be arrested, deprived of property or sent to the army. Many people have not understood for a long time why they have to fight, seeing as how the authorities, behind the back of the police, who are exempt from military service, continue to rob and destroy the country. I'm not sure that the economy will withstand the transition of even more people into the shadows. Businesses are already experiencing a critical shortage of personnel, and energy companies are experiencing a critical shortage of personnel capable of repairing and maintaining damaged networks. Yesterday there were emergency power outages in Kyiv and throughout the country. On the other hand, we see the existence of Syria. People get used to everything, and the authorities that remain in power must be recognized as successful in this. The positive thing about all this is that the Ukrainian authorities will be able to provide supplies of cannon fodder for some time, extending their rule. Unless, of course, another uprising occurs.

The number of views on the video discussing ways to renounce Ukrainian citizenship is indicative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZi0NQ5iam0 - 263к

Meanwhile, in russia, pootin has made personnel changes that indicate a readiness to continue the war of attrition. https://www.facebook.com/protydiyadezinformatsiyi.cpd/posts/pfbid02WXSdCJ9fS1FJTqogeRbeNLXd395T5M7Ybh8iqS1pgsKQJWSVF4p2ybc53MPPu2b6l

A breakthrough in russia's war in Ukraine will not be achieved at the peace summit to be held in Switzerland in June, voiced this opinion German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to him, the conference in Bürgenstock in the best case will lead to direct negotiations between Ukraine and the russian federation. Nobody should have "excessive expectations", the head of the German government believes. "We are not negotiating the end of the war," he said. The summit will also discuss the safety of nuclear power plants in Ukraine during the war, grain export, prisoner exchange and the prohibition of nuclear weapons, the chancellor said, wrote DW. https://www.dw.com/ru/solc-prizval-ne-svazyvat-crezmernye-nadezdy-s-sammitom-mira/a-69072747

At the beginning of May, a series of visits by China's Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui to the countries of the so-called Global South took place. The Chinese diplomat, who is engaged in settling the situation surrounding russia's war against Ukraine, this time visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, and also held a series of meetings with representatives of Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and South Africa. Beijing coordinated with these countries its approach to the so-called "cooling off" of the war. Apparently, China and russia are preparing an alternative plan, essentially freezing the war.

[US7IGN]

Recently, a huge number of lawyers have appeared on YouTube who comment on changes in legislation related to mobilization. Personally, I like this one the most. Yes, and she says everything correctly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rniUkYh7DwI&t=2s

I remember the reasons for the defeat of the Confederates and see some analogies:
The Confederates built an explicitly white-supremacist, pro-slavery, and antidemocratic nation-state, dedicated to the principle that all men are not created equal.
Combined with the exemptions the government was forced to make for slaveholders, conscription quickly gave rise to charges that it was a “rich man’s war, poor man’s fight.”
The C.S.A.’s level of military mobilization was unsupportable in an agrarian society. By 1863, the government faced a starvation crisis and a wave of food riots organized by white soldiers’ wives protesting the government’s military policies. The Confederacy adopted a series of highly intrusive taxes, labor regulations, and impressment policies. Nobody loved Jefferson Davis when they had to live under his government. The modern embrace of the C.S.A. as a symbol of states’-rights government is particularly ironic in light of its history.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/confederacy-wasnt-what-you-think/613309/

[US7IGN]

Blackouts returned to Ukraine, and Kyiv was without electricity almost all night today. Schedules predict more time without electricity than with it, so you will have to plan again the time that can be spent at the computer. My wired Internet also disappears, and mobile Internet becomes very bad. Anyway, the battery on my laptop died about 10 years ago and I can't do anything on it without electricity in the outlet.

Also, there was a fire in the neighboring house and the firefighters were making a lot of noise.

The situation at the front near Kharkiv and elsewhere remains very difficult, although there are reports of damage to the military airfield in the occupied Crimea. https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-belbek-krym-pozhezha/32949024.html

In Europe, assassination attempts on the heads of states have started again, and this is a very bad sign.
Slovakia PM Robert Fico in stable but serious condition after shooting https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-69019121

[N0TZU]

I hope that the fire in the neighboring house caused only minor damage, no injuries, and was not was not a threat to your house.  Also I hope the electricity situation will improve for you as repairs are made to the system and air defense shipments arrive and are deployed soon.

Wlad, you always impress me with your broad knowledge of the world and of the US. It hadn't occurred to me but yes there are some similarities between the CSA government policies and the situation Ukraine.

If I may digress, romanticized revisionist history in the US South used to be formally supported there, and still are in subtle ways such as by softening or omitting some things in their school textbooks. A friend, also retired, from South Carolina was taught there in public school that the Civil War was started by the Union North to destroy vague “states rights” and slavery wasn’t mentioned as the fundamental issue.

It was referred to as the “War of Northern Aggression”, and the CSA were therefor the righteous defenders of the South. (Ironic since the SC state militia fired the first shots of the war on Ft. Sumpter. ) This nonsense is still with us among some people and groups of course, but doesn’t have official sanction anymore that I’m aware of except by hints, winks and nods from some politicians.

[US7IGN]

I hope that the fire in the neighboring house caused only minor damage, no injuries, and was not was not a threat to your house.  Also I hope the electricity situation will improve for you as repairs are made to the system and air defense shipments arrive and are deployed soon.

Wlad, you always impress me with your broad knowledge of the world and of the US. It hadn't occurred to me but yes there are some similarities between the CSA government policies and the situation Ukraine.

Hi Bob! Thank you!

Since I still have electricity, although it has already been cut off in many areas, I will write now. I went and saw the aftermath of the fire. The apartment on the top floor burned down, but since I didn’t listen to the police, I don’t know about any possible victims. The apartment below is flooded, I did not notice any other damage.

I am very interested in knowing everything, but unfortunately I don’t have time to read and watch everything that interests me. The history of the United States is especially interesting because in Ukraine this country is associated with freedom, for the sake of which generations of Ukrainians left Ukraine under the rule of one or another tyrant and left for the United States.

When I saw today a scan of the order of the Ministry of Economy on the reservation of casino chain workers from military service, I first thought that this was a fake and russian propaganda. But then the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - the Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko canceled this order due to the public outcry https://www.facebook.com/yulia.svyrydenko/posts/pfbid0MyJYtWCzoDM6q4JwCjdjZHmscyn7ds3Pc886cDDxYetp9WExboa9QaymufaYYrsvl

That is, she did not object that from the point of view of the authorities, the casino is a strategically important enterprise in war conditions or about the investigation of corruption in the actions of those who contributed to this. It’s strange that the government responded to the protest from those who still dare to criticize it.

Actually, what surprised me was not how the authorities once again offers the people to eat shit, but the fact that the people calmly eat it. Let me remind you that this authorities was elected by 73% of the population who refuse to take responsibility for the consequences.

[KD8ZM-Brady]

Hi Wlad and others. There is so much to respond to and agree with, here, so I won't attempt it all. Speaking of historical parallels though (such as the CSA), I must admit that when I first heard of the assassination attempt on Slovakia's PM, I immediately thought of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Czechoslovakia (and we all know what that event started). Yes, I know that the parallel is very questionable, but it seems to me that the political state of Europe is ripe for war now just as it was then, and suddenly an assassination occurs. Hopefully that is one parallel that won't follow the pattern of the past.
Although there is no "like" button on this forum, I am reading it.
My best to each one of you.

[US7IGN]

The analogy with Franz Ferdinand is so obvious and negative that I also decided not to talk about it. But as I expected, it appeared in everyone who was interested in the history of Europe and the First World War. However, now the situation is completely different and of course there will be consequences, but they will be different.

The issue of Zelensky’s legitimacy is again being actively debated https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cqvnv52y361o , although many confuse legitimacy with the presence of legal grounds for holding office. As a lawyer, I can justify both positions, but I don’t see the point. When it comes to power, you either hold onto it no matter what or lose it, as happened with one of the previous presidents of Ukraine - Yanukovych in 2014. The authorities, of course, call any doubts about their legitimacy russian propaganda. People don't seem to care.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers changed the procedure for booking employees of enterprises that provide IT services and designated the Ministry of Digital Affairs as the responsible body. Employees of enterprises that provide electronic communication services or access services to electronic communication networks and their infrastructure, which are determined by the Ministry of Digital Affairs to be critically important in the field of digitalization, are subject to reservation regardless of military rank, age, and military accounting specialty. https://sud.ua/uk/news/publication/300911-kabmin-izmenil-poryadok-bronirovaniya-rabotnikov-predpriyatiy-predostavlyayuschikh-it-uslugi-i-opredelil-mintsifry-otvetstvennym-organom

At the same time, drivers are afraid of mobilization centers and abandon trucks abroad. No one will be released abroad without updated data. In fact, some companies no longer send such drivers abroad, as cases of cars being abandoned and drivers running away have become more frequent. They said that one of the carriers has 25 refrigerators left in Poland. There are also enough gas trucks there. An interesting picture also emerged among oil traders, where the absolute majority of truck drivers have no reservations. https://hvylya.net/uk/news/292749-voditeli-boyatsya-tck-i-brosayut-fury-za-granicey-kuyun-skazal-zhdat-li-deficit-benzina

The accounting and mobilization system has generated corruption flows of unprecedented size, which probably exceed the size of all the assistance provided by the West.

[US7IGN]

Yesterday, border guards shot and killed a man who was trying to leave Ukraine https://inforesist.org/ua/zmi-u-lisi-prikordonniki-zastrelili-cholovika-yakij-namagavsya-nelegalno-perejti-kordon/ . All over the world, the border is guarded so that no one can enter the country, and only in Ukraine and North Korea do they shoot at their citizens who want to leave it. It seems that this was also done to those who wanted to climb over the Berlin Wall.

For the second day, electricity has been cut off throughout the country. In Kyiv this is usually done in the evening and turned on in the morning. The authorities say that this situation will last at least until the end of the summer, then blackouts will repeat in the winter, and it may take years to restore the lost power generation capacities. They say that this is due to the destruction of the energy system. But it was destroyed two months ago, and shutdowns are only now and at night when consumption is at its minimum. Some see a connection with the government's intentions to raise electricity prices and consider this coincidence suspicious. They say that this can be done specifically so that the population will accept the price increase. Now I can believe in anything except that the authorities act lawfully and fairly. Considering that they canceled the elections and are acting as president and deputies after expiration of their powers, this does not surprise me either. As Orwell said, power is not seized in order to give it away.

But as you understand, even a blackout for me means not only stale food in stores, but also clear air and radio, which I enjoy. Yesterday I took out my QRP radio and the straight key again and made several QSO. It was interesting to hear quiet Brazilian stations and distant thunder discharges without any noise.

[US7IGN]

Today the weather is beautiful, but the streets are not crowded. Also today, changes to the legislation on mobilization came into force, including the need to have a military ID, and the majority probably decided not to tempt fate. Many are even planning to stay away from work on Monday and wait a while to watch. The sky still didn't fell to earth, only truckers spontaneously blocked one of the country's main roads, but by evening the action ended. https://suspilne.media/odesa/748729-na-odesini-perekrita-trasa-na-kiiv/?utm_source=copylink&utm_medium=ps

There is also a discussion about the "Reserve+" application for persons liable for military service, conscripts and reservists. https://unn.ua/en/news/ukraine-launches-reserve-application-for-persons-liable-for-military-service-conscripts-and-reservists
Some programmers have already studied it and doubt its reliability and data security, but in order to use this service you need to have a smartphone and a bank account. With the threat of account blocking, many already prefer cash and work unofficially.

Conspiracy theories have even emerged linking blackouts to these changes to further disorient and emotionally affect people. However, they didn’t turn off my electricity today, and I’ve been emotionally unstable for at least the last 10 years and it hasn’t gotten any worse.

I came across some interesting analytics on Afghanistan and see some similarities with Ukraine. It seems that only those who are close enough to the people can retain power. Those who view the people as property and do not respect the rights of people, sooner or later destroy the country and lose power. It is not enough for a regime to be democratic formally; it must be so in essence.

Democracy, leading to the inclusion of many voices in governance, is likely to lead to less repressive governance. In a multi-ethnic state like Afghanistan, a democratic system is less likely to marginalize or mistreat ethnic communities. Less marginalization is likely to lead to greater stability as well as greater justice. While many Afghans seemed to have ambivalent feelings about the democratic system of the former Republic, this appears to have had more to do with the flaws and corruption in its practice than opposition to its principles. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/afghanistan-under-taliban-what-we-know-and-don%E2%80%99t-know-211013

[N0TZU]

It seems that, by degrees, Ukraine has stepped through Alice’s looking glass to where everything is reversed from what normal logic should dictate.